96 Easy Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes

Classic Sweet Potato Casserole

This classic sweet potato casserole is topped with a crunchy brown sugar and pecan streusel. This is so good, that you'll need to be prepared to take a bow.

Homemade Mashed Potatoes and Variations

While there are all kinds of ways to make potato dishes, mashed potatoes are almost always found on Thanksgiving menus. Serve them with sliced roasted turkey and gravy for a traditional take on this holiday dinner.

Green Bean Casserole (No Soup)

This homemade green bean casserole is a nice departure from the standard condensed soup version. With sour cream and cheddar cheese as the substitute to condensed soup, you will be left with a very rich casserole that your guests are sure to enjoy.

Baked Carrots with Cheddar Cheese Sauce

This carrot dish is a delicious baked gratin with cheddar cheese and a crumb topping. It's a nice change of pace from sweetened glazed carrots.

Vegetarian Butternut Squash Casserole

Fresh butternut squash and apples team up in this tasty vegetarian casserole. To make it vegan, use margarine instead of butter.

Leek Gratin With Cream and Fontina Cheese

If you are looking for a way to create a gratin dish, but don't want to incorporate potatoes, check out this leek gratin recipe with cream and Fontina cheese. Feel free to switch things up and use Gruyere or cheddar cheese in this dish. It's a lovely, creamy gratin—an unexpected treat.

Skillet Candied Sweet Potatoes With Apple Cider Glaze

This is a super-easy way to prepare sweet potatoes. Use a heavy Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet, create an apple cider glaze, and then add some toasted pecans to the sweet potatoes just before serving if you'd like.

Easy Cheesy Corn Bake

This corn casserole is made with cheese, breadcrumbs, and eggs. Combinations of cream-style corn and flavors from traditional Mexican cuisines are used in this dish.

Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

If you're looking to switch things up on the potato front, this is a great change of pace from mashed or candied sweet potatoes. Chopped walnuts and maple syrup flavor the unique sliced baked potatoes.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash With Cranberries

This attractive fall-themed vegetable dish would make a great Thanksgiving side. Another excellent seasonal blend is this roasted Brussels sprouts dish with pears and walnuts.

Surprisingly Simple Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes

Is your oven filled to the max? These slow cooker scalloped potatoes are super easy to fix and cook. Use cheddar or a milder cheese in the dish.

Mashed Potatoes and Rutabagas

Rutabagas add depth of flavor to these mashed potatoes. Nutmeg is added along with butter and some chopped parsley.

Catalan Spinach

This Spanish dish is a simple combination of spinach, olive oil, garlic, raisins, and pine nuts. The dish is easy and uncomplicated, and yet it still produces a complex flavor, making it seem like you did more. Your guests will never know.

Chinese Green Beans

Skip the casserole and add some new flavors from some traditional Chinese cuisines to your Thanksgiving menu with these green beans. Add extra chile peppers if your family likes hot and spicy food.

15-Minute Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

The Instant Pot, or electric pressure cooker, is another appliance that will come in handy when the oven and stovetop are full. Just throw your ingredients into the pot about 15 minutes before you are ready to eat and voilà. They're so quick, you might start making them on the regular.

Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This basic macaroni and cheese is a real family-pleaser. With creamy cheddar cheese and a breadcrumb topping, what's not to like?

For a gluten-free version, feel free to use gluten-free macaroni and omit the ​breadcrumbs. 

Shoepeg Corn Casserole With Sour Cream and Green Beans

This fantastic casserole is attractive and delicious. Buttery crackers provide a crunchy topping.

Roasted Parsnips

Roasting intensifies the sweetness in parsnips, and it's such a simple way to cook them. Toss the parsnips with vegetable oil, duck fat, or drippings for amazing flavor.

Spicy Sauteed Okra

If you've always wanted to try okra but weren't even sure how to prepare it, now is the time to learn. With this easy-to-follow recipe, learn how to create sautéed okra with a kick. The garlic, chile peppers and cumin will add fabulous flavor.

Classic Harvard Beets

These nutritious, delicious beets are another great option for your Thanksgiving menu. With a bit of glaze, a sweet, and sour mixture, and butter, this sweet side dish will be a perfect off-set to the savory main course: turkey. 

Savory Scalloped Potatoes

These scalloped potatoes are baked with a tasty white sauce seasoned with green onions and a dash of nutmeg.

Creamed Kale

The texture of the kale in this dish makes it more interesting and more flavorful than the typical creamed spinach. So if you're looking to spruce your normal traditional creamed spinach recipe, we recommend using this one in its stead.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole

A simple white sauce, Parmesan cheese, and buttery breadcrumb topping will transform this fresh cauliflower and broccoli florets into a delicious casserole.

Creamed Peas With Mushrooms and Onions

Swap out your boring old peas for this gussied-up version with sautéed onions and mushrooms. Your guests will sure be thankful.

Brown Sugar Glazed Golden Beets

These easy golden beets are vying for a gold medal as one of your Thanksgiving Day sides. Glazed with a mixture of brown sugar, butter, and fruit juice, sweet and savory fans will be cheering "hurray."

Easy Green Beans and Bacon

Now, we know that we have a few green bean sides on this list, however, these fresh green beans are a delicious option as they are flavored with butter, bacon, and simple seasonings. 

Easy Asparagus Casserole With Mushrooms

This tasty and versatile casserole is made with a basic seasoned white sauce (a.k.a. béchamel sauce). Add shredded cheese or toasted pecans if you'd like to jazz things up.

Creamy Mashed Cauliflower and Leeks

Buttery sautéed leeks and garlic give this mashed cauliflower a flavor boost. This is an excellent choice for guests who are watching their carbohydrate intake or are looking for an alternative to the traditional potato dishes.

Butternut Squash Kugel

This dairy-free kugel is flavored with maple syrup and vanilla. It's made with a pecan topping and works as a nice replacement for a sweet potato casserole.

Japanese Kale Kobachi

Try a dish with Japanese flair for your holiday meal. Sautéed kale is seasoned with mirin, soy sauce, and a pinch of sea salt.

Brussels Sprouts Gratin

A rich cheese sauce and buttered breadcrumbs bring out the sweet flavor of the Brussels sprouts in this easy baked dish. Add crumbled bacon to the dish if you'd like to add a bit of crunch and feel free to replace the fontina cheese with cheddar.

Crab Stuffed Potatoes

Up your potato side with these elegant stuffed potatoes. Lump crabmeat, garlic, and sour cream team up to make these baked potatoes extraordinary.

Simple Honey Glazed Baby Carrots

This is a popular holiday side dish. The baby carrots are glazed with a simple mixture of honey, lemon, brown sugar, and butter.

Kohlrabi in Light Sauce

This German dish is made with cooked kohlrabi (German turnip) in a simple velouté sauce. Renowned for being thrifty and simple, if you're looking for a side dish to be ready in under 30 minutes, this is a winner.

Cheddar Cabbage Gratin

Cabbage is cooked and seasoned with garlic, a little spicy mustard, and a cheddar cheese sauce. The cabbage is baked with a buttered breadcrumb topping.

Savory Sweet Potato Gratin

This is a nice change of pace from the ubiquitous sweet potato casserole. It's made with only four ingredients, plus salt and pepper.

Green Beans Amandine

These fresh cooked green beans are flavored with some garlic, butter, and lemon juice. Sliced almonds add crunch to the dish.

Cauliflower and Cheese Casserole

This cheesy casserole is another family-pleaser. The cheddar cheese sauce gets some bite from a small amount of Dijon mustard.

Loaded Potato Casserole

If you love loaded baked potatoes or baked potato soup, you'll love this casserole. Mashed potatoes are combined with cream cheese, sour cream, butter, and cheddar cheese. Green onions, bacon, and more cheese top it off. Yum.

Roasted Butternut Squash With Sage

In this savory dish, cubed butternut squash is roasted with onions and sage. So easy and so delicious.

Easy Roasted Rutabaga

Roasting brings out the naturally sweet flavor of the rutabaga, and it is a super easy way to cook the vegetable. 

Easy Creamed Peas

This is an easy way to make creamed peas. The peas are cooked with some sliced onion and then they're combined with white sauce and pimiento.

Snow Peas With Butter and Lemon

Peapods are a simple preparation. Fresh snow peas are briefly boiled and then sautéed with butter and lemon zest. Toasted slivered or sliced almonds make a nice garnish.

Scalloped Potatoes With Bacon

A creamy bacon and onion sauce takes these scalloped potatoes to new heights. 

Slow Cooker or Baked Carnival Squash

Nutty carnival squash is cooked with butter in either the slow cooker or oven. If you want to add a bit more depth to the flavor, feel free to add some maple syrup or brown sugar.

Broccoli Casserole With Stuffing Crumb Topping

Buttery stuffing crumbs are baked atop this easy broccoli casserole.

Glazed Carrots With Five-Spice Powder

The combination of flavors in the five-spice powder - sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, and salty - add a powerful yet pleasant punch to the sweet glazed carrots.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Milk

These yummy mashed sweet potatoes will surely please your vegetarian and vegan guests. Coconut milk, ginger and curry powder add a warm fall-flavor to this mash.

Buttery Creamed Spinach

There's no labor-intensive sauce in this easy creamed spinach dish. The spinach is simply combined with heavy cream, butter, and Parmesan cheese.

Broccoli Au Gratin

This kid-friendly broccoli casserole is made with cheese soup, sour cream, and shredded cheese. The topping is made with butter and Ritz cracker crumbs.

Easy Delicious Mashed Turnips

These easy cooked turnips are mashed with butter and milk (or cream). Add some potato to give the mash more body.

Butternut Squash and Apple Casserole With Crumb Topping

Apples and butternut squash team up to deliver incredibly decadent fall-flavors in this casserole. Topped with a brown sugar and butter crumb mixture, your guests will surely be asking for the recipe.

Slow Cooker Corn with Cream Cheese

This is a very easy slow cooker corn recipe made with the addition of cream cheese and butter. The combination makes for a creamy corn side dish your family will love. This is an excellent side dish to serve with pork chops, a pork loin roast, or add it to your holiday dinner menu.

If you're looking for a simple vegetable recipe for the slow cooker, this is an excellent choice.

Buttermilk Cornbread With Cream-Style Corn

Cream-style corn makes this buttermilk cornbread extra tender and flavorful. The kernels act as a natural sweetener, and you can add bacon, cheese, or jalapenos for more of a savory kick.

Lemon Garlic Broccoli

Spice up this simple broccoli with some crushed red pepper flakes, finely chopped red onion or shallots. 

Scalloped Asparagus With Cheddar Cheese Sauce

A basic white sauce and breadcrumbs make this asparagus casserole special enough for a Thanksgiving dinner menu.

Easy Maple Glazed Baby Carrots

For a worry-free vegetarian side dish, make these baby carrots with maple syrup and spices.

Creamed Onions

Use a combination of small white onions and small red onions for an attractive presentation. The cooked onions are served in a Cajun-spiced white sauce.

French Green Vegetable au Gratin

Vegetable gratin is such a lovely, versatile dish. It makes a great side dish that works well with many meats and fish dishes, especially turkey for Thanksgiving. The smallest hint of a secret ingredient, poultry seasoning, is nearly undetectable hidden in the cheese and green vegetable mixture, yet gives the dish a special complexity.

If you are serving this dish for a vegetarian, then leave out the poultry stock. 

Yellow Squash Casserole

A summer squash casserole is a popular holiday side dish in the South, and there are many ways to prepare it. This version includes cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, an egg, and a breadcrumb topping.

Steamed Green Beans

These no-frills green beans can be gussied-up with butter or olive oil and some chopped toasted walnuts or almonds. Lemon juice is another fantastic addition.

Baked Beet Casserole

Beets, lovely beets. This baked beet casserole recipe sweetens them up with a bit of sugar and adds just a touch of spices, so the natural flavors really shine through. Beet casserole is the perfect colorful side dish for your vegetarian or vegan Thanksgiving. 

Sweet Potato Casserole With Marshmallows

This marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole is always a hit. Best part about it is that this casserole can be prepared up to one day in advance, leaving you time to focus on how much turkey one needs for Thanksgiving.

Vegan Potatoes Au Gratin

Do you love potatoes au gratin, but need a tasty vegan side dish for this Thanksgiving? Then look no further. This vegan potatoes au gratin casserole dish is an ideal option, covered in a rich and creamy cheese sauce that has no dairy ingredients. 

Cheddar Cheese Scalloped Potatoes

This cheesy potato casserole is a great choice for your Thanksgiving feast. Feel free to add some ham or bacon to the potato mixture, or use a different cheese or blend of cheeses. Rub a cut clove of garlic over the baking dish for light garlic flavor. 

Brussels Sprouts With Stewed Tomatoes

Brussels sprouts team up with tomatoes in this colorful and flavorful dish. (Feel free to use canned or homemade stewed tomatoes). The tomatoes, bell pepper, and seasonings lend to a surprisingly quick preparation—about 30 minutes—and make it an excellent side dish for your holiday meal. 

Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes

Using the slow cooker to make mashed potatoes means you have more room on the stovetop to make the gravy, vegetables, and other dishes, like cranberry sauce.

Make Ahead Duchess Mashed Potatoes

These mashed potatoes are mounded or piped onto baking sheets and then baked to golden brown perfection. A great option is that these mounds of potatoes may be made ahead and frozen.

Summer Squash Souffle

The cooked summer squash is combined with eggs, shredded cheese, and milk, then baked with a buttered breadcrumb topping.

Crock Pot Roasted Vegetables

Root vegetables are slow-cooked to perfection in the crock pot. Add as much garlic as you like.

Extra Special Three-Cheese Macaroni 'N' Cheese

Macaroni 'n' cheese is a popular side dish in the Southern states, and this version is perfect for holiday dinners. Goat cheese and fresh herbs are combined with the cheddar cheese to make this mac 'n' cheese a dish to remember.

Stuffed Baked Potatoes With Bacon and Cheddar Cheese

This is yet another way to cook your potatoes. If you want something a little different, try these delicious baked stuffed potatoes.

Brown Sugar Candied Sweet Potatoes

These easy skillet sweet potatoes are glazed with a simple mixture of brown sugar and butter.

Classic Baked Corn Pudding

This popular corn pudding is an excellent choice for a Thanksgiving menu.

Pan-Roasted Asparagus

Get the crispy delicious browned bits you find on roasted or grilled asparagus without having to heat up your oven or grill. Pan-roasted asparagus is tasty, quick, and couldn't be easier. A hot pan, a bit of oil, and a tight-fitting lid to keep in the heat and help the asparagus cook evenly are all you need to create this Thanksgiving veg.

Green Beans With Sautéed Onions and Crunchy Za'atar Breadcrumbs

Za'atar seasoned breadcrumbs take this green bean dish to a whole new level of flavor.

Crockpot Glazed Carrots

Baby carrots are perfect for this dish, but large carrots may be used as well. All you need is some honey, butter, and water. The carrots are cooked in the water and then they're glazed with the honey mixture.

Easy Brussels Sprouts Gratin

This simple version is made with six ingredients: Brussels sprouts, bacon, butter, cream, cheddar cheese, and bread crumbs. The stand-out feature is that there's no sauce to make. 

Healthy Roasted Vegetables

Carrots, red potatoes, onions, zucchini, and parsnips are among the ingredients in this easy oven dish. 

Mashed White Sweet Potatoes

The white-fleshed sweet potato is as versatile as the traditional English potatoes. In the Caribbean, sweet potatoes come in a variety, and people are always finding different ways to use them. Often, they are substituted for regular potatoes. In this case, you can substitute your traditional mashed potato dish for this Caribbean sweet potato one.

Caraway-Scented Red Cabbage

Braised red cabbage is attractive and tasty, and it goes particularly well with baked ham. So if you're thinking of forgoing the traditional turkey, and cooking a baked ham, this cabbage—flavored with caraway seeds and a splash of vinegar —is a delicious option.

Quick Broccoli With Cheese and Toasted Almonds

If you want a jazzed-up dish without a heavy sauce, this is an excellent choice. Slivered almonds and cheddar cheese are added to the steamed broccoli.

Mexican Corn With Peppers

Try something new with this corn dish inspired by some traditional Mexican cuisines. Bell peppers and seasonings flavor this tasty corn blend. (Feel free to use frozen corn kernels in this recipe, as corn is typically out of season during the fall.)

Braised Belgian Endives

Butter and lemon juice transform endives. Braising them makes the endives more tender and delicious, adding a depth of flavor your guests will appreciate.

Asparagus With Cream Sauce

Fresh asparagus is lightly dressed with a tasty, creamy sauce. The sauce is seasoned with a little lemon juice and Dijon mustard. In addition to being a unique Thanksgiving side, this makes a nice brunch dish as well.

Cheesy Green Beans

This is another no-sauce recipe made with cheese, butter, cream, and seasonings.

Southern Turnip Greens With Ham Shanks

If you want to venture away from the traditional sides like salad and green beans, go for this dish. With ham shank, garlic, greens, and cayenne, the fun-flavor profile of this side will be a big hit with your friends and family during Thanksgiving.

Creamy Baby Lima Beans

Cream and simple seasonings transform these simple baby lima beans into something more. Add some fresh or frozen corn for a simple succotash.

Peas and Carrots

The three ingredients in this side make a simple dish everyone will love. Feel free to add some red bell pepper, corn, or broccoli to the mix.

Skillet Corn With Bacon and Sour Cream

Bacon, bell peppers and sour cream add flavor, color, and interest to this easy skillet corn dish. 

10-Minute Roasted Asparagus

Put the fresh asparagus in the oven at the last minute for a simple yet delicious side dish.

Simple Semi-Homemade Scalloped Potatoes

A packaged mix of scalloped potatoes is jazzed up with butter, heavy cream and some Parmesan cheese.

Smashed Red Potatoes With Garlic

Unpeeled red-skinned potatoes add texture and flavor to these garlic mashed potatoes.

Creamed Potatoes With Green Beans

This combination brings two fabulous side vegetables together. The creamy sauce is a snap to make, and the dish is attractive and delicious. Use any baby potatoes or standard red-skinned or round white potatoes, cubed, to make this dish shine.

Stir-Fry Spinach With Garlic

Garlic, chili paste, and sesame oil add flavor to this simple spinach stir-fry.

Roasted Carrots

Roasting brings out the sweetness of the carrots. Optional additions include garlic, herbs, yogurt, and spices.