18 Best Recipes for Thanksgiving Sides

Sidle up to all the best recipes for Thanksgiving sides.

Turkey, you’re ok. But really, don’t we all love the Thanksgiving side dishes best of all? Read on for this collection of all the best recipes for thanksgiving sides, from homemade cranberry sauce to satisfying stuffings and mashes. 

The Best Thanksgiving Stuffing and Dressing Side Dishes

These two stuffings (or dressing if you’re thinking outside the bird) are both satisfying and savory in different ways: one made with soft bread, the other with cornbread and sausage.

Challah Bread Stuffing

A classic challah bread stuffing folded with sweet and savory add-ins from onion to apple for the perfect balance of Thanksgiving side dish flavors.

Cornbread Sausage Stuffing

This side dish recipe, adapted from Vice President Harris’s family recipe, is absolutely fantastic. Get ready to make this stuffing recipe your family recipe, too.

Fresh + Green Thanksgiving Sides

Recipes for Thanksgiving sides tend to skew heavy and brown. These holiday recipes add some fresh color and flavor, while also keeping very much in the traditional Thanksgiving spirit of things.

Kale and Butternut Squash Salad

This is just so good. Autumnal satisfaction meets fresh salad in all the right ways.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts are both incredibly nutritious, and extraordinarily tasty when baked. These Brussels make a perfect green side dish, soft but crispy, elevated with a sweet maple glaze.

Roasted Green Beans With Toasted Breadcrumbs

While green bean casserole is a standard Thanksgiving dish, we think this lighter interpretation of simply roasted green beans, topped with buttery crunchy goodness, make a simpler, and lighter, alternative.

Artichoke Casserole

Artichoke casserole may not be the most traditional recipe for a Thanksgiving side, but it certainly should be an every-year thing. This is directly inspired by true Italian artichokes stuffed with herbs, breadcrumbs, and cheese, but without the hard work.

Roasted Acorn Squash

A simple, and simply lovely, Thanksgiving side.

Classic Mashes: Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes

Is there anything better, honestly, than a buttery, fluffy mash to go with the turkey? Universally loved, these mashed and sweet potatoes deserve a centerpiece spot on the Thanksgiving table.

Mashed Potatoes

Classic mashed potatoes but with a little more flavor from steeping the milk in onion, garlic, and herbs. The subtle difference helps make this classic dish extra special, but no less traditional.

Candied Sweet Potatoes With Marshmallow Topping (or Not)

Why mess with perfection? Go full retro and whip up these sweet candied sweet potatoes with brown sugar and butter, then top with good old-fashioned marshmallow fluff.

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes (Light and Keto Friendly)

Want all the satisfaction of mashed potatoes, but with incredible nutrition (hold the carbs)? Mashed cauliflower is the almost magical answer. Cauliflower mashed potatoes are easy to make, and are guaranteed to be a big hit.

Rich and Creamy Thanksgiving Sides

These rich recipes fall into the “go big or go home” category. Recipes for Thanksgiving sides never tasted so comforting and homey.

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

Comfort food doesn’t get much better than this homemade easy stovetop mac and cheese recipe, ready in about 20 minutes.

Ina’s Cauliflower Gratin

This is the baked cauliflower gratin recipe your life has been missing. Cheesy, creamy, and a little classy, too. Adapted from Ina Garten’s famous recipe.

Thanksgiving Side Dish Sauces and Spreads

Tiny but mighty, these Thanksgiving sides and spreads may not be big, but they pack a big punch of flavor without much effort.

Cranberry Sauce With Orange and Ginger

With this homemade cranberry sauce, orange and ginger help boost the flavor to something absolutely phenomenal: sweet, tart, and fragrant with spice and citrus. Get this essential Thanksgiving recipe.

Homemade Pumpkin Butter

This easy, homemade pumpkin butter recipe makes a wonderfully sweet spread for the Thanksgiving table. Made with a simple can of pumpkin, spices, and brown sugar, this pumpkin butter tastes just like pumpkin pie — but without the work.

A Big Fall Charcuterie Board

Let’s not forget the appetizers! There is an art to assembling a fantastic fall charcuterie board. Here’s how to select and arrange the right cheeses, condiments, and decorative elements to wow your guests.

A Native American Recipe

Celebrate the true reason for the season with this special recipe.

Roasted Sweet Potato With Wild Rice Sauté

We celebrate Thanksgiving every year because of the help the Native American Indians gave to the Pilgrims to help them survive their early days in the New World. This nourishing, authentic Native American sweet potato and wild rice recipe is made from indigenous American ingredients, and tastes extraordinarily good. Thanksgiving side dish recipes don’t get more special than this.

Homey Biscuits and Breads

There’s nothing like a tender, homemade biscuit or a sweet, seasonal loaf to round things out just right on the Thanksgiving table. These recipes cover all the bases, and will definitely become part of your annual tradition.

Pumpkin Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttermilk biscuits are good. Buttermilk biscuits with pumpkin are even better. This easy buttermilk pumpkin biscuit recipe makes a gorgeous, seasonal treat.

The Best Pumpkin Pecan Bread

This moist pumpkin bread loaf studded with nuts is the only pumpkin bread recipe I make. It has just the right amount of sweetness and spice.

Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread Loaf

This sweet cornbread recipe is my favorite. It’s an easy, moist, mildly sweet cornbread with buttermilk and fresh corn, baked as a homey loaf that’s ready in about an hour.

Better Jiffy Mix Cornbread

The Jiffy cornbread recipe is the go-to for easy box cornbread mix. But let’s make Jiffy cornbread better. Here’s the original recipe for Jiffy cornbread, with 10 Jiffy cornbread mix hacks, add-ins, and tips for sweet, savory, moist cornbread. An essential Thanksgiving side dish recipe.

Love these Thanksgiving side dish recipes? You’ll also love:

• 10 Fall Apple Recipes to Sweeten the Season
• The Best Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers
• What Wine to Pair With Turkey? Sommeliers Spill.