40 Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes | The Modern Proper (2024)

November 14, 2023

Here are our 40+ Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes! All of your favorite classic holiday recipes, plus a few extra for good measure.

Photography by Gayle McLeod

All Your Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes, in One Place

From potatoes to stuffing, veggies to salads, this Thanksgiving recipe round-up list isn't missing a thing. If you are like us, you're already planning ahead to make the week leading up to Thanksgiving a breeze! Our hope for this extensive list is that it will be your one-stop recipe shop for all your easy Thanksgiving side dishes needs.

Classic Thanksgiving Side Dishes

• Classic Sausage Stuffing—day-old French bread is scented with sage and tossed with sausage and baked to perfection! If you are a purist looking to jazz things up? Then try this Cornbread Stuffing recipe.
• These Candied Yams with Honey and Brown Sugar are comfort food at its finest and even easier than making a casserole.
• Toasted almonds, with their delicate crunchy texture, are a perfect foil for these Green Beans Almondine. The resulting side dish is as elegant as it is simple—which is to say, very.
• Cranberry Sauce is an argument for opening one less can. Make these (Cranberry Relish or Cranberry Chutney) from scratch using fresh or frozen cranberries.

Our Favorite Thanksgiving Casseroles

• Cheesy Corn Casserole or Spoon Bread– both with creamed and whole kernel corn and sour cream, both are always a hit!

• Our homemade Green Bean Casserole recipe gives your favorite creamy veggie side dish a bit of a makeover.

• Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows and Pecan Streusel is perfect if you're sticking with traditional dishes.

• A super-cheesy Zucchini Bake that’ll make anyone fall in love with it.

Rolls and Biscuits for Thanksgiving Dinner

• If you still can’t decide what bread to make for your Thanksgiving meal, we highly recommend these pillowy Parker House Rolls.

• Onion Chive Biscuits for a little bit of oniony kick in fluffy biscuit form.

• Quick and delicious, Herby Garlic Dinner Rolls are a total snap thanks to a shortcut secret ingredient: a bag of frozen Rhodes rolls.

• Your favorite Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits are a perfect Thanksgiving indulgence!

Best Thanksgiving Potato Side Dishes

• Potatoes are an absolute must for the Thanksgiving table, and we like Scalloped Potatoes for the texture (and cheesiness).
• Classic Mashed Potatoes make everyone happy. Our Thanksgiving plate is normally at least sixty percent mashed potatoes.
• These Crispy Shallot Mashed Potatoes (Front Cover) will transport your Thanksgiving dinner to the next level.
• Our Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes take a simple potato and elevate it with lots of butter, whole milk and of course a long roasting of whole garlic.
• Hasselback Potatoes with Garlic and Herb Butter that will melt your heart and your butter.

Salads Make The Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes

We LOVE salad and we have so many that work perfectly for your Thanksgiving lineup! It might be hard to choose!

• A lightened up, dressed up, Endive Salad is crisp, refreshing, and lovely to look at.
• Radicchio Salad with Crème Fraîche Vinaigrette: This wintertime salad is full of crispy charred edges and a tangy creamy dressing.
• Celery Pear and Hazelnut Salad: Crisp celery, hazelnuts, fresh pear and shaved fennel bulb are tossed in a pear vinaigrette to make for a perfect Thanksgiving salad.
• Another perfect Thanksgiving salad: Maple Roasted Squash Salad.

• This stunning Grated Beet Salad is so simple and shockingly delicious.
• This hearty Kale Salad is our go-to for satisfying crunch.
• A celebration in itself this Kale Salad with Apples and Pumpkin Seed Clusters is colorful, healthy, and tossed with creamy apple cider vinegar dressing.
• Prepare your hearts for this Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad With Creamy Maple Dressing, you’re gonna love it!

Best Creamy Thanksgiving Side Dishes

• Creamed Spinach, the best way to eat your leafy greens on a holiday.

• A simple side of Creamed Brussels Sprouts is prepared with cream, seasonings, parmesan, and toasty hazelnuts, and goes a long way on compliments.

• A very easy spin on a classic would be this Creamed Corn. Made on the stove-top with only two ingredients and bonus—it's dairy-free!

• This tasty Spinach Dip whips up quickly, and scoops up even faster.

Traditional and Non-Traditional Gratins

• This Broccolini au Gratin can be made on Thanksgiving, but is also good for dinner anytime.

• Our Brussels Sprouts au Gratin is creamy and cheesy in all the right ways.

• Here’s a classic that always brings a little holiday magic: the always-popular Potatoes Au Gratin.

• Win over your family members (even the picky ones) with this incredibly flavorful, rich and creamy Asparagus Gratin.

Roasted Thanksgiving Side Ideas

• Brushed with a sweet-and-smoky spiced butter, this Roasted Acorn Squash is simple, cozy winter fare at its finest.

• Sweet potatoes 2 ways! Try our Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Labneh or our Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Orange Vinaigrette.

• Roasted Cauliflower 3 ways! Be sure to try our Za'atar Roasted Cauliflower with Herb Whipped Feta or Roasted Cauliflower with Toasted Panko.

• Carrots 3 ways! Roasted Carrots, Za'atar Roasted Carrots with Feta and Pumpkin Seeds or easy peasy Glazed Carrots.

• Bacon Wrapped Asparagus roasted to perfection, a true mvatch made in heaven.

Mushroom Filled Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes

• These Creamy Brussels Sprouts With Wild Mushrooms are an amped up version of green bean almondine.

• Cheesy and baked to crispy-capped perfection, meet the best Stuffed Mushroom ever.

• Calling all mushroom lovers, this Wild Mushroom Galette makes the perfect side dish or Thanksgiving appetizer. It’s also just great any day of the week.

• Crusty bread turns custardy and tender as it bakes in a bath of whipped eggs and herb-speckled cream in this hearty, flavorful Gruyère, Mushroom and Leek Bread Pudding.

A Few More Thanksgiving Sides You’ll Love

• Braised Leeks drizzled with a rich French butter sauce—aka beurre blanc—make an elegant side dish for your holiday table.

• Bursting with the flavors of the season, these Green Beans with Apples and Sage Butter are the visual lift that your Thanksgiving menu needs.

• If you want to really impress your kids (and adults too) make this Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese.

• Candied Brussels Sprouts...need we say more? Just a regular old veggie that undergoes a little magic with brown sugar, maple syrup, and lemon juice.

• Beautiful Braised Greens with Golden Raisins and Maple. This recipe works perfectly for any hearty green.

We Hope You Love These 40 Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes.

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