19 Thanksgiving Side Dishes You Don't Have to Cook in the Oven

Precooked farro makes this dish come together in no time. And you can make it in the same bowl you serve it in, minimizing cleanup! 

James Beard Award-winner and Top Chef contestant Karen Akunowicz of Fox & the Knife in Boston turns this Italian-inspired bread salad into a hearty fall dish. Instead of tomato, fennel mingles with the vinaigrette to let the bread soak up its licorice notes, while the arugula lends the dish a hint of pepper. The lemony vinaigrette is so simple and tastes so much fresher than store-bought. Make a double batch to toss on other salads. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week. Add some shredded chicken to the salad to make it a meal.

Bitter radicchio is a strong foil for sweet-tart apricots and maple vinaigrette in this go-with-anything quinoa salad.

This lima bean recipe is the creation of Mable Clarke, a South Carolina cook and activist. This side dish is on the menu for Clarke's monthly fish fry that she started to save the Soapstone Baptist Church. No need for ham hocks with this recipe--her onion-rich roast turkey stock gives these humble beans a rich, savory flavor, but store-bought will also do the trick. A long, slow simmer coaxes the creaminess out of the limas. 

Mable Clarke, a South Carolina cook and activist, serves this collard greens recipe at monthly fish fries to support the Soapstone Baptist Church in the community where she grew up. There, farmers' markets overflow with big, leafy collards that are typically simmered with ham stock to make up this traditional Southern side dish. Clarke uses premade ham stock but it can be hard to find. We adapted the recipe with chicken broth and a ham bone or hock. As the bone simmers it adds flavor to the broth and yields enough meat to serve with the collards. 

This bitter green salad turns the bland lunch salad on its head with its Mediterranean flair. Quickly charring radicchio and toasting dried oregano adds complex flavor, and slightly spicy soppressata pairs especially well with the sweetness of marinated cherry peppers. Pecorino Romano has a tangier, saltier taste than Parmesan, so just a bit provides the salad with plenty of nutty, sharp flavor. This salad can easily be made into a main course or served as a substantial side dish.

Chef Fabio Viviani, of Siena Tavern in Chicago, shines a bright light on Brussels sprouts with this side dish. In this Brussels sprouts salad recipe, the sharpness of the sprouts gets tamed with honey, toasted almonds and shaved Parmesan cheese. It comes together in about 20 minutes--you can thinly slice the Brussels sprouts with a knife or mandoline, but it's overkill for weeknights. A food processor with a slicing blade will give you pro results. Or grab a bag of shredded Brussels sprouts from your supermarket.

This healthier version of classic corn fritters uses less oil for frying but still packs plenty of fresh corn flavor. A creamy dill sauce on the side brightens up each bite.

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.

Just a touch of butter adds silkiness to the balsamic sauce that coats broccoli and meaty mushrooms in this easy broccoli side dish recipe.

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.

Making risotto has never been easier, thanks to an electric pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot. In this easy recipe, you don't have to stand over the stove constantly stirring. Just add everything into the multicooker and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes and this delicious dinner side dish is ready.

Beets and kale, speckled with chewy wild rice and crunchy sunflower seeds, make a satisfying, colorful dinner salad. The beets are nicest when they are sliced paper thin. Use a mandoline or vegetable slicer, if you have one.

These simple sautéed mushrooms work as a quick, weeknight side dish. To turn them into a main course, toss with cooked pasta and a generous handful of Parmesan cheese or fold into an omelet with Gruyère, fontina or Swiss cheese.

Get into the fall spirit with this one-pan gnocchi with a creamy pumpkin sauce. Some pumpkin and other squash sauces can be cloyingly sweet, but not this one—it's savory all the way, thanks to the bacon, garlic and thyme. Instead of being boiled, a package of store-bought gnocchi—one of our favorite convenience products—is browned and crisped in a little bit of bacon fat. Then the sauce (made with canned pumpkin—another great convenience product) is prepared right in that same pan, so cleanup is minimal too. Serve with a simple green salad for an easy dinner that comes together in 30 minutes.

Sautéeing butternut squash in olive oil quickly yields perfectly cooked results and slightly caramelizes the squash for extra flavor. This recipe makes a delicious vegetable side dish to pair with roasted meats.

This sweet potato and turnip mash is fragrant with fresh sage.

Make a healthier version of classic macaroni and cheese with this recipe that adds broccoli for a nutritional boost and an easy way to eat more vegetables. Using an electric pressure cooker, such as the Instant Pot, gets dinner on the table in just 30 minutes.

The lightly sweet, creamy homemade poppy seed dressing takes this crunchy salad to the next level for a mouthwatering vegetable side dish or light lunch. Top with cooked chicken for a heartier meal.