Christmas Side Dish Recipes

When it comes to Christmas dinner, elegant Christmas side dishes are exactly what you need to round out the meal. From mashed potatoes to Christmas vegetables, we have a variety of recipes to choose from to help you plan your best holiday meal yet!

Staff Picks

Green Bean Casserole Salad

Rating: Unrated
1
Trying to lighten up your green bean casserole? Try this quick and easy salad version, which combines fried shallots, croutons, mushrooms, green beans, and chopped chard leaves for a lighter take on a holiday classic.
By Lauren Grant

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Rating: Unrated
1
Oven-roasted fingerling potatoes can be a special holiday side dish, but they're quick enough to enjoy on a weeknight too. The secret to these crispy roasted fingerling potatoes? Getting the baking sheet nice and hot before you spread the potatoes on it.
By Marianne Williams

Caramelized Onion & Apple Stuffing

Rating: Unrated
1
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.
By Summer Miller

Broccoli Casserole

Rating: Unrated
10
The lightened-up luscious sauce elevates this easy casserole recipe over standard broccoli and cheese side dishes.
By Breana Killeen

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Onions

Rating: Unrated
11
Fresh herbs, onion and bacon sauté alongside Brussels sprouts in this easy vegetable side dish recipe. This savory dish is delicious in the fall and winter months, when Brussels sprouts are in season. If you can find them still attached to the stalk, don't be intimidated--buy them, as they're likely more fresh. Recipe adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Rosemary-Ginger French 75

Rating: Unrated
1
Rosemary and ginger add a flavorful twist to a classic citrusy gin cocktail topped with a little bubbly for a festive libation.
By Stephanie Olson

Maple-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Rating: Unrated
41
In this easy vegetable side dish recipe, sweet potatoes are tossed with maple syrup, butter and lemon juice and are roasted until tender and golden brown. The delicious glaze that forms on these maple-roasted sweet potatoes transform this ultra-simple dish into something sublime.
By Kathy Farrell-Kingsley

Massaged Kale Salad

Rating: Unrated
19
Here a pungent garlicky dressing is infused into kale by massaging the greens and the dressing together with your hands. Any type of kale will work in this kale salad recipe, just remember to remove the tough stems before you start.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Slow-Cooker Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Rating: Unrated
1
This simple slow-cooker mashed potatoes recipe skips tedious peeling and boiling and helps save precious stovetop space by letting the slow cooker do the work. It's a great timesaving set-it-and-forget-it side dish recipe to round out any hearty meal. Buttermilk makes the mashed potatoes creamy while garlic and shallots add flavor.
By Carolyn Casner

Hasselback Potatoes with Cheese

Hasselback potatoes are the perfect side dish for people who love crispy potato-chip-like slices as well as the tender interior of a baked potato. Simple to prepare, these hasselback potatoes look impressive and decadent with melted Cheddar cheese and a sprinkle of paprika on top.
By Carolyn Casner

Air-Fryer Brussels Sprouts

These super-crispy and browned air-fryer Brussels sprouts with sweet onions and salty bacon--all amped up with bright lemon juice--are sure to be a hit, whether you serve them for a weeknight side dish or as part of your holiday spread for Thanksgiving. This recipe makes enough to serve eight but is easily halved, though once you taste it you may well want a double serving. And if you prefer a vegetarian side, simply omit the bacon.
By Anna Theoktisto

Sauteed Broccoli & Kale with Toasted Garlic Butter

Rating: Unrated
3
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.
By Lia Huber

Inspiration and Ideas

Slow-Cooker Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Slow-Cooker Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This simple slow-cooker mashed potatoes recipe skips tedious peeling and boiling and helps save precious stovetop space by letting the slow cooker do the work.
10 Brussels Sprout Salad Recipes

10 Brussels Sprout Salad Recipes

These 10 Brussels sprout salad recipes are the perfect way to add a festive pop of green to your Christmas dinner and will have you craving Brussels all year long.
Kale-Butternut Squash Gratin

Kale-Butternut Squash Gratin

18 Make-Ahead Christmas Side Dishes for an Easier Holiday

18 Make-Ahead Christmas Side Dishes for an Easier Holiday

Spinach Salad Recipes That Need to Be on Your Christmas Menu

Spinach Salad Recipes That Need to Be on Your Christmas Menu

10 Fruit Salad Recipes That Are Perfect for Christmas

10 Fruit Salad Recipes That Are Perfect for Christmas

Honey-Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

Balsamic vinegar and honey combine to give a sweet-tart coating to these roasted Brussels sprouts. These honey-balsamic Brussels sprouts are quick enough for a weeknight meal, but they are special enough to make a no-fuss side dish for Thanksgiving or any other holiday meal.

All Christmas Side Dish Recipes

16 Last-Minute Christmas Side Dishes

These recipes are easy to make and require just 15 minutes or less of active cooking time.

23 Showstopping Christmas Salad Recipes

Roasted Potatoes & Brussels Sprouts

Roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts make a great quick and easy side dish for dinner, or you can twist it into a breakfast hash served with an egg on top. Either way, with its super-easy prep, you'll come back to these roasted potatoes and Brussels sprouts again and again.
By Jasmine Smith

Roasted Honeynut Squash

Rating: Unrated
2
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.
By Carolyn Casner

Brown Sugar-Glazed Beets

Rating: Unrated
7
Try a sweet glaze on beets or other root vegetables to help balance their earthy flavor. This easy recipe will work with steamed carrots, turnips or rutabaga too.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Savory Chestnut Puree

Rating: Unrated
2
Try this easy, elegant chestnut puree with roasted quail, turkey or chicken.
By Virginia Willis

Oven-Roasted Squash with Garlic & Parsley

Rating: Unrated
23
Winter squash becomes tender and sweeter when roasted--a delicious side for a holiday dinner. Look for interesting squash like kabocha or hubbard at your farmers' market and try them in this recipe. Recipe adapted from Alice Waters.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Basic Risotto

Rating: Unrated
8
Slowly adding hot broth to arborio rice helps release the starch from the rice, giving risotto its characteristic silky, creamy texture. We add a splash of wine along with each addition of broth to give the dish a more pronounced wine flavor. If you'd prefer the wine to be more subtle, add the entire cup at the end of Step 2 and cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed, then begin adding the broth. If you prefer to omit wine, use more broth in its place.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Yukon Gold & Sweet Potato Mash

Rating: Unrated
13
The addition of delicious sweet potatoes gives a nutrient boost to mashed potatoes. Double it: Cook the potatoes in a Dutch oven rather than a large saucepan.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Green Beans with Parmesan-Garlic Breadcrumbs

Rating: Unrated
3
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 or as an easy side with steak, chicken or fish.
By Breana Killeen

Warm Pear & Spinach Salad with Maple-Bacon Vinaigrette

Rating: Unrated
2
Mature, larger-leaved spinach holds up better to the warm bacon vinaigrette than baby spinach in this healthy spinach salad recipe. If you don't want the spinach to wilt, let the dressing cool before tossing it with the salad.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Roasted Green Beans with Applewood Bacon

Cooking bacon and green beans on a sheet pan together simplifies holiday meal prep. Red-wine vinegar and lemon juice provide a balanced, bright flavor.
By Andrea Kirkland M.S., RD

Winter Salad with Toasted Walnuts

This salad was one of the favorites chosen from over 1,000 salad recipes for our 30th anniversary issue. In 2004, Deborah Madison waxed poetic about winter ingredients, particularly nuts. “In the chill air of winter, nuts move up to center stage as do their warming, substantial, golden oils--so good with winter salad greens and vegetables, such as shaved fennel, all of which are likely to end up in a salad together,” she says. Madison suggested using a mix of lettuces that balance each other here--a mild, tender variety, such as Boston, with a more intense and sturdy green, such as escarole, for instance.
By Deborah Madison

Cauliflower Casserole with Mixed-Seed Crust

Rating: Unrated
1
The cheesy-seedy crust that tops this healthy cauliflower casserole recipe evokes everything bagels. Serve for the holidays or as a hearty side dish with roast chicken.
By Nora Singley

Apple, Onion & Cranberry Stuffing

Rating: Unrated
1
Apples and fresh cranberries add a unique twist to this variation on the classic stuffing. Use fresh sage or rubbed sage in this recipe; the ground version is too bitter.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Spinach Salad with Warm Maple Dressing

Rating: Unrated
5
Pure maple syrup, as opposed to artificially flavored and colored “pancake” syrup, is an extraordinary cooking ingredient. Here it adds body as well as rich flavor to the dressing, providing a perfect counterpoint to the smoked cheese.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Carrot-Parsnip Gratin

Make this creamy carrot-and-parsnip casserole for your next holiday meal--everyone will beg you for the recipe! Our healthier version skips the heavy cream and butter found in most recipes--saving about 160 calories and 12 grams of saturated fat compared to a traditional version.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Sweet Potato & Turnip Mash with Sage Butter

Rating: Unrated
6
This sweet potato and turnip mash is fragrant with fresh sage.
By Raghavan Iyer

Lemon-Herb Roasted Beets

Rating: Unrated
6
We love how roasting brings out the sweet flavor of beets. Golden beets look especially pretty when tossed with the fresh herb and lemon seasoning mix, but any type of beets will work in this recipe. If you're a lemon lover, be sure to add the squeeze of fresh lemon juice after the beets are roasted.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Beet Salad

Rating: Unrated
8
It's time we rescued beets from our childhood nightmares--when they were little better than bland wedges scooped out of a can. Roasted beets are delightful, sweet but very earthy and aromatic--great for a side salad.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

Make this classic comfort food side dish in an electric pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot, to get the potatoes soft and tender in a jiff! This easy, 5-ingredient recipe is perfect for the holidays because it's all done in one pot and doesn't take up any extra oven or stove space.
By Hilary Meyer

Egg & Sausage Casserole

Rating: Unrated
4
A dozen for brunch? No problem with our delicious makeover of a classic egg casserole. Assemble the casserole the evening before you plan to serve it.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Kale-Butternut Squash Gratin

This colorful gratin dish livens up any holiday plate. Creamy melted Gruyère is comforting, while a blend of cumin, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper lends a warm, spicy note.
By Andrea Kirkland M.S., RD

Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

Rating: Unrated
1
If you're looking for a twist on classic scalloped potatoes, this recipe using roasted sweet potatoes and melty Gruyère has all the creaminess of the original with a new flavor twist. The sweet potatoes and lightened sauce--made with flour and low-fat milk--keep it healthier than butter- and cream-laden versions. Don't cut your sweet potatoes too thin--they'll turn mushy under the sauce.
By Hilary Meyer
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