Our 50 Best-Ever Thanksgiving Sides

Updated October 06, 2020

Move over, turkey. These Thanksgiving sides will be the star of your holiday table. We take the classics, including stuffing, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole, and add a tasty and creative spin. Although the holiday season may look different this year, you can still celebrate with flavorful recipes like Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Buttermilk and Caramelized Apple & Onion Stuffing.

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Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes with Buttermilk

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These garlic mashed potatoes are extra creamy, thanks to the addition of both butter and buttermilk, but you can substitute it with sour cream if buttermilk isn't available near you. To prevent the potatoes from getting gummy, be sure not to overmix them in Step 2. Mashed vegetables tend to get cold easily; keep all tools—the ricer and bowl—warm by running under hot water before using.

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Green Beans with Parmesan-Garlic Breadcrumbs

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In this easy green bean recipe, browning the butter before tossing it with the breadcrumbs produces a nice nutty flavor. Serve this green bean dish as a healthy alternative to green bean casserole to keep things light on Thanksgiving Day.

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Caramelized Onion & Apple Stuffing

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Caramelized onions are a sweet and savory addition to this healthy stuffing recipe. Choose an apple that becomes tender yet holds its shape when cooked—try Jonagold or Cortland.

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Sauteed Broccoli & Kale with Toasted Garlic Butter

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In this easy vegetable side dish, broccoli and kale are drizzled with a butter, garlic and crushed red pepper sauce. Serve this healthy recipe alongside roasted chicken, turkey or ham--or on top of your favorite whole grain, such as quinoa or farro.

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Balsamic Roasted Carrots

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Roasting carrots brings out their sweetness, which is enhanced further with a tangy balsamic and maple glaze. Serve them straight-up for an easy weeknight side dish or garnish with chopped hazelnuts for holiday meals and dinner parties.

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Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

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The genius hack in this recipe: topping sweet potatoes with marshmallows while they're still piping hot from the slow cooker yields a baked marshmallow topping that's typical with baked sweet potato casseroles.

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Cider-Braised Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

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Everyone loves Brussels sprouts when they're drizzled in a tangy-sweet sauce. Plus, bacon! Serve with chicken, pork or steak and roasted potatoes.

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Beer-Braised Cipollini Onions

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Creamed pearl onions have long been a staple Thanksgiving side dish, but this lighter, sweet-and-savory cipollini onion recipe may send that traditional recipe to the back of your file for good. For a fruity (and gluten-free) twist, use your favorite hard cider instead of beer.

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Roasted Honeynut Squash

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Honeynut squash looks just like mini butternut squash, but on the inside you'll find an even sweeter, deeper orange flesh. This winter squash has only been available at farmers' markets and in select grocery stores for a few years. If you see it, grab a few to try! This simple roasting method enhances the natural flavor of the squash with butter and spices.

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Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes with Spinach

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Classic scalloped potatoes get a burst of color, heartier texture and a healthy update with the addition of chopped spinach. The greens in this side dish also create a nice contrast to the creamy, velvety potatoes.

 

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Slow-Cooker Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions

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Thanks to fresh green beans, an easy homemade cream sauce and crispy onion topping, this green bean casserole recipe is healthier and more delicious than traditional recipes that use canned soup, beans and onions. Plus, the slow cooker saves you time cooking at the stove. Make sure to use fresh green beans, as frozen green beans will become mushy.

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Classic Slow-Cooker Stuffing

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Save space in your oven and use your slow cooker to whip up this easy, classic stuffing. Hearty whole-grain bread gets toasted in the oven for only 10 minutes (and you can toast the cubes ahead of time!) while your slow cooker does the rest.

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Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes

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These healthy mashed sweet potatoes owe their kick to the chipotle peppers. Want it spicier? Add another tablespoon to your mash. You can even use chipotle chile powder to punch up the heat—use a couple teaspoons instead of the full 3 tablespoons of chipotles in adobo.

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Honey & Orange Glazed Carrots

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Bright and fresh, these candied carrots have just a hint of sweetness from the honey and citrus. This one-pan dish is quick and easy to make, but also has such a pretty presentation that it works both as an entertaining-worthy or weeknight side dish. Look for carrots that are similar in size so they cook evenly.

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Winter Greens Salad with Pomegranate & Kumquats

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Kumquats deliver a piquant burst of citrus, especially when eaten skins, seeds and all. Here we toss them with a trio of greens for their vivid orange color as much as their zestiness. Pomegranate seeds and pistachios bring a jewel­like finish.

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Honey-Glazed Roasted Delicata Squash

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Tangy cider vinegar, sweet honey, crunchy pine nuts and fresh mint come together to make an amazing glaze in this healthy roasted winter squash recipe. If you use delicata, the whole squash--including the gorgeous skin--is edible.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts

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Chef Michael Symon loves Brussels sprouts because they can be cooked so many different ways. In this healthy recipe, the rich flavor of the walnuts, Dijon and capers is perfection with roasted meats.

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Roasted Fennel & Italian Sausage Stuffing

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This homemade stuffing recipe is special because it comes complete with a sausage-making lesson from the Sausage King himself, author and famed business owner Bruce Aidells. 

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Artichoke-Potato Gratin

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This gratin dish has all of the craveable flavors of artichoke dip in a more sophisticated form. It makes a terrific side with any roasted meats or poultry. 

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Wilted Kale With Warm Shallot Dressing

Vinegar is the key to making this sautéed kale recipe special. Look for vinegar that's cloudy—it likely still has some of the mother in the bottle and will give you a sweet acidity rather than a harsh bite. Organic apple cider vinegar is usually your best bet. For the most eye-catching version of this side, use different colored varieties of kale.

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Parsnip Mash with Olive Tapenade

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Nutty parsnips make for a tasty mashed-potato substitute. For the best parsnip mash, puree the root veggie in a food processor instead of using a ricer, as parsnips are woodier than potatoes.

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Roasted Vegetable Antipasto

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A zesty vinaigrette makes these roasted beets, fennel, carrots and Brussels sprouts pop. If you can't find small carrots, halve larger ones crosswise then quarter lengthwise. Put this vegetable antipasto on your Thanksgiving menu as a side dish or appetizer.

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Roasted Lemon-Parmesan Cauliflower with Capers

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Roasted cauliflower and lemon segments tossed with Parmesan, olive oil and capers makes an easy side dish. Pair it with roast chicken.

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Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Green Horseradish Sauce

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These roasted smashed potatoes show off all the goodness of russets: fluffy insides surrounded by shatteringly crisp skin. The easy horseradish sauce topping adds a delicious flavor boost. 

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Apple, Fig & Brussels Sprouts Salad

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To add a little bit of green to the Thanksgiving table, this Apple, Fig & Brussels Sprouts Salad is a sweet-tart side to neutralize heavier dishes. Salad dressing made from sweet and mellow white balsamic vinegar balances out the assertive greens and Brussels sprouts in this fall salad. If you have one handy, a small mandoline makes it easy to slice the Brussels and apple.

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Mashed Cauliflower & Yukon Golds

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The term “cauliflower mashed potatoes” usually means subbing cauliflower for potatoes completely, but in this recipe we use both cauliflower and potatoes: Yukon Golds add to the buttery hue of the mash and their waxy texture balances out the more watery cauliflower to keep it velvety. The mash is easy enough to make as a weeknight dinner recipe, but it would also make an excellent side dish for Thanksgiving or another special occasion.

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Carrot Soup

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This easy carrot soup recipe is a great way to use up a bag of carrots that were forgotten in your produce drawer. The carrots cook together with aromatics like onions, garlic and fresh herbs before being puréed into a silky smooth soup that's delicious for dinner or packed up for lunch.

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Roasted Cranberry, Squash & Cauliflower Salad

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Serve this healthy salad as a main course or as a starter for a special meal. To speed up prep, look for precut butternut squash in the refrigerated area of the produce section at your grocery store.

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Chorizo, Chestnut, Brussels Sprout & Apple Stuffing

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Who says a Thanksgiving stuffing recipe has to be dominated by the bread? Check out this veggie-packed healthy stuffing, with 4 cups of Brussels sprouts topping the list. Chorizo adds some piquant flavor, in this case a zesty chile-pepper-and-vinegar kick found in the Mexican version of the sausage, but quite frankly you won't go wrong using any type of fresh, spicy sausage.

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No-Sugar-Added Sweet Potato Casserole

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Instead of loading up this comfort food side with tons of brown sugar and marshmallows, we have turned to sweet spices, vanilla and inherently sweet dried fruit to enhance the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. A topping of pecans and pepitas replaces traditional marshmallow topping to keep it healthy and add texture and color for a beautiful casserole.

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Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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Roasting butternut squash with herbs and garlic gives this healthy soup a more complex flavor. A bit of maple syrup adds sweetness, while a splash of apple-cider vinegar brightens up the flavors. This easy recipe requires just 15 minutes of active prep time, but you can cut down on that even more by buying precut squash. Serve with bread and a salad for a light supper, or as a starter for a holiday meal.

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Garlic & Chive Mashed Potatoes

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Russets are our potato of choice for this garlicky mashed potato recipe because they cook up super-fluffy.

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Farro Salad with Cranberries & Persimmons

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When shopping for this healthy salad recipe, be sure to pick up the right type of persimmons. The flat-bottomed Fuyus called for here are bright orange and have texture of an almost-ripe peach when ready to eat—perfect for salsas and salads, with or without the peel. Oval-shaped, darker orange and larger Hachiyas are only edible when almost liquid on the inside. The flesh is best used in baking or can be scooped out of the skin and eaten like custard. Underripe, they are off-puttingly tart.

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Smoky Mashed Sweet Potatoes

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This colorful twist on traditional mashed potatoes swaps in roasted sweet potatoes and incorporates the flavors of smoked paprika, cayenne, and orange zest. You can use regular paprika instead of smoked, and can omit the cayenne for a less spicy version.

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The Best Homemade Cranberry Sauce