Looking for the perfect side dish for your Thanksgiving feast? Never fear—The Spruce is here! Below we provide a whole host of options to consider for your Thanksgiving menu. From our uber-popular sweet potato casserole and scalloped potatoes to a homemade (no soup) cheddar green bean casserole and make-ahead mashed potatoes, you're sure to find a fabulous side here!
Watch Now: Classic Sweet Potato Casserole
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Classic Sweet Potato Casserole
The Spruce
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!
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Homemade Mashed Potatoes and Variations
The Spruce
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.
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Green Bean Casserole (No Soup)
The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga
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.
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Baked Carrots with Cheddar Cheese Sauce
Diana Rattray 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.
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Vegetarian Butternut Squash Casserole
The Spruce
Fresh butternut squash and apples team up in this tasty vegetarian casserole. To make it vegan, use margarine instead of butter.
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Leek Gratin With Cream and Fontina Cheese
Diana Rattray 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.
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Skillet Candied Sweet Potatoes With Apple Cider Glaze
Diana Rattray 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.
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Easy Cheesy Corn Bake
Diana Rattray This corn casserole is made with cheese, breadcrumbs and eggs. A combination of cream-style and Mexican-style corn are used in this dish.
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Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
Diana Rattray 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.
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Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash With Cranberries
Diana Rattray 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.
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Surprisingly Simple Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes
The Spruce
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.
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Mashed Potatoes and Rutabagas
Diana Rattray Rutabagas add depth of flavor to these mashed potatoes. Nutmeg is added along with butter and some chopped parsley.
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Catalan Spinach
Lisa Hubbard / Getty Images
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!
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Chinese Green Beans
The Spruce
Skip the casserole and add some Asian flavor to your Thanksgiving menu with these Chinese green beans. Add extra chile peppers if your family likes hot and spicy food.
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15-Minute Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
Diana Rattray The Instant Pot, or electric pressure cooker, is another appliance that will come in handy when the oven and stovetop are full. Just through your ingredients into the pot about 15 minutes before you are ready to eat and voila! They're so quick, you might start making them on the regular!
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Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese
The Spruce
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.
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Shoepeg Corn Casserole With Sour Cream and Green Beans
Diana Rattray This fantastic casserole is attractive and delicious. Buttery crackers provide a crunchy topping.
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Roasted Parsnips
The Spruce
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.
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Spicy Sauteed Okra
The Spruce
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.
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Classic Harvard Beets
The Spruce
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.
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Savory Scalloped Potatoes
Diana Rattray These scalloped potatoes are baked with a tasty white sauce seasoned with green onions and a dash of nutmeg.
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Creamed Kale
Laura Agra / Katie Workman / themom100.com 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.
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Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole
Diana Rattray A simple white sauce, Parmesan cheese, and buttery breadcrumb topping will transform this fresh cauliflower and broccoli florets into a delicious casserole.
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Creamed Peas With Mushrooms and Onions
Diana Rattray Swap out your boring old peas for this gussied-up version with sautéed onions and mushrooms. Your guests will sure be thankful!
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Brown Sugar Glazed Golden Beets
Diana Rattray These easy golden beets are vying for a gold metal 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"!
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Easy Green Beans and Bacon
The Spruce
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.
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Easy Asparagus Casserole With Mushrooms
Diana Rattray 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!
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Creamy Mashed Cauliflower and Leeks
Diana Rattray 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.
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Butternut Squash Kugel
The Spruce / Ulyana Verbytska
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.
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Japanese Kale Kobachi
Despite the exotic name, this is a really simple dish. Sautéed kale is seasoned with mirin (sweet cooking sake), soy sauce and a pinch of sea salt.
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Brussels Sprouts Gratin
Diana Rattray 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.
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Crab Stuffed Potatoes
Diana Rattray Up your potato side with these elegant stuffed potatoes. Lump crabmeat, garlic, and sour cream team up to make these baked potatoes extraordinary.
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Simple Honey Glazed Baby Carrots
The Spruce
This is a popular holiday side dish. The baby carrots are glazed with a simple mixture of honey, lemon, brown sugar and butter.
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Kohlrabi in Light Sauce
Luzia Ellert / Getty Images
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!
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Cheddar Cabbage Gratin
Diana Rattray 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.
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Easy Asparagus Gratin With Walnuts
Diana Rattray If you're looking for a side that provides a bit of extra crunch, this asparagus casserole offers something a little different with the chopped walnuts and cheese sauce.
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Savory Sweet Potato Gratin
Diana Rattray This is a nice change of pace from the ubiquitous sweet potato casserole. It's made with only 4 ingredients, plus salt and pepper.
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Green Beans Amandine
The Spruce Eats / Teena Agnel
These fresh cooked green beans are flavored with some garlic, butter and lemon juice. Sliced almonds add crunch to the dish.
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Corn Gratin With Cracker Crumb Topping
Diana Rattray This corn casserole is comfort food for many people. It's made with a crunchy cracker crumb topping.
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Cauliflower and Cheese Casserole
Diana Rattray This cheesy casserole is another family-pleaser. The cheddar cheese sauce gets some bite from a small amount of Dijon mustard.
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Loaded Potato Casserole
Paul Poplis / Getty Images 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!
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Roasted Butternut Squash With Sage
Diana Rattray In this savory dish, cubed butternut squash are roasted with onions and sage. So easy and so delicious!
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Maple Mashed Sweet Potatoes
The Spruce
If you're looking for a simple recipe for sweet potatoes, this is a good choice. The sweet potatoes are cooked and mashed with maple sugar, butter and a dash of cinnamon.
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Easy Roasted Rutabaga
Diana Rattray Roasting brings out the naturally sweet flavor of the rutabaga, and it is a super easy way to cook the vegetable.
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Easy Creamed Peas
The Spruce
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.
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Snow Peas With Butter and Lemon
Diana Rattray Pea pods 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.
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Scalloped Potatoes With Bacon
Diana Rattray A creamy bacon and onion sauce takes these scalloped potatoes to new heights.
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Slow Cooker or Baked Carnival Squash
Diana Rattray 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.
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Broccoli Casserole With Stuffing Crumb Topping
Diana Rattray Buttery stuffing crumbs are baked atop this easy broccoli casserole.
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Glazed Carrots With Five-Spice Powder
The Picture Pantry / Getty Images 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.
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Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Milk
belchonock / Getty Images 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.
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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.
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Broccoli Au Gratin
: Fotosearch - Getty Images 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.
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Easy Delicious Mashed Turnips
The Spruce
These easy cooked turnips are mashed with butter and milk (or cream). Add some potato to give the mash more body.
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Butternut Squash and Apple Casserole With Crumb Topping
The Spruce / Diana Chistruga
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.
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Slow Cooker Corn with Cream Cheese
Diana Rattray 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.
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Buttermilk Cornbread With Cream-Style Corn
The Spruce
Cream-style corn makes this buttermilk cornbread extra tender and flavorful. The kernels acts as a natural sweetener and you can add bacon, cheese, or jalapenos for more of a savory kick.
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Slow Cooker Butternut Squash With Brown Sugar and Cinnamon
Diana Rattray This butternut squash is slow cooked to perfection with apple juice, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
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Lemon Garlic Broccoli
Diana Rattray Spice up this simple broccoli with some crushed red pepper flakes, finely chopped red onion or shallots.
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Scalloped Asparagus With Cheddar Cheese Sauce
The Spruce
A basic white sauce and breadcrumbs make this asparagus casserole special enough for a Thanksgiving dinner menu.
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Easy Maple Glazed Baby Carrots
The Spruce Eats/Anastasiia Tretiak
For a worry-free vegetarian side dish, make these baby carrots with maple syrup and spices.
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Creamed Onions
Philippe Desnerck / Getty Images
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.
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French Green Vegetable au Gratin
Diana Miller/Getty Images Vegetable gratin is such a lovely, versatile dish. It makes a great side dish which 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.
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Yellow Squash Casserole
Diana Rattray 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.
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Steamed Green Beans
Diana Rattray 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.
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Baked Beet Casserole
Meighan Makarchuk/Getty Images 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.
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Sweet Potato Casserole With Marshmallows
The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga
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.
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Vegan Potatoes Au Gratin
The Spruce
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.
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Cheddar Cheese Scalloped Potatoes
The Spruce / Diana Rattray
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.
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Brussels Sprouts With Stewed Tomatoes
Diana Rattray 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.
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Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes
The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck
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!
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Make Ahead Duchess Mashed Potatoes
Rita Maas / Getty Images
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.
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Summer Squash Souffle
Diana Rattray The cooked summer squash is combined with eggs, shredded cheese and milk, then baked with a buttered breadcrumb topping.
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Crock Pot Roasted Vegetables
The Spruce
Root vegetables are slow-cooked to perfection in the crock pot. Add as much garlic as you like.
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Extra Special Three-Cheese Macaroni 'N' Cheese
Diana Rattray 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.
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Stuffed Baked Potatoes With Bacon and Cheddar Cheese
Imagesbybarbara / Getty Images
This is yet another way to cook your potatoes. If you want something a little different, try these delicious baked stuffed potatoes.
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Brown Sugar Candied Sweet Potatoes
The Spruce
These easy skillet sweet potatoes are glazed with a simple mixture of brown sugar and butter.
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Classic Baked Corn Pudding
The Spruce
This popular corn pudding is an excellent choice for a Thanksgiving menu.
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Pan-Roasted Asparagus
Molly Watson 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.
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Green Beans With Sautéed Onions and Crunchy Za'atar Breadcrumbs
Anita Schecter Za'atar seasoned breadcrumbs elevate this fabulous green bean dish.
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Crockpot Glazed Carrots
The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck
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.
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Easy Brussels Sprouts Gratin
Diana Rattray 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!
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Healthy Roasted Vegetables
Getty Images/clubfoto Carrots, red potatoes, onions, zucchini and parsnips are among the ingredients in this easy oven dish.
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Mashed White Sweet Potatoes
The Spruce Eats / Nita West
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!
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Caraway-Scented Red Cabbage
Photo © Molly Watson Braised red cabbage is attractive and tasty, and it goes particularly well with baked ham. So if your 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.
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Quick Broccoli With Cheese and Toasted Almonds
Diana Rattray 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.
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Mexican-Style Corn With Peppers
Diana Rattray Give your Thanksgiving a little Latin flair with this Mexican-style corn. Bell peppers and seasonings flavor this tasty Mexican-style corn blend. (Feel free to use frozen corn kernels in this recipe, as corn is typically out of season during the fall.)
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Braised Belgian Endives
The Spruce Eats / Ulyana Verbytska
Butter and lemon juice transform endives. Braising them makes the endives become more tender and delicious, adding a depth of flavor your guests will appreciate.
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Asparagus With Cream Sauce
Diana Rattray Fresh asparagus is lightly sauced 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.
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Cheesy Green Beans
Diana Rattray This is another no-sauce recipe made with cheese, butter, cream and seasonings.
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Southern Turnip Greens With Ham Shanks
Diana Rattray 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.
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Creamy Baby Lima Beans
Diana Rattray Cream and simple seasonings transform these simple baby lima beans into something more. Add some fresh or frozen corn for a simple succotash.
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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.
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Skillet Corn With Bacon and Sour Cream
Diana Rattray Bacon, bell peppers and sour cream add flavor, color, and interest to this easy skillet corn dish.
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10-Minute Roasted Asparagus
Diana Rattray Put the fresh asparagus in the oven at the last minute for a simple yet delicious side dish.
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Simple Semi-Homemade Scalloped Potatoes
LauriPatterson/Getty Images
A packaged mix of scalloped potatoes is jazzed up with butter, heavy cream and some Parmesan cheese.
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Smashed Red Potatoes With Garlic
Diana Rattray
Unpeeled red-skinned potatoes add texture and flavor to these garlic mashed potatoes.
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Creamed Potatoes With Green Beans
Diana Rattray 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.
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Stir-Fry Spinach With Garlic
Aleksandra Piss/Getty ImagesGarlic, chili paste and sesame oil add flavor to this simple Chinese spinach stir-fry.
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Roasted Carrots
William Joseph Boch / Getty Images
Roasting brings out the sweetness of the carrots. Optional additions include garlic, herbs, yogurt, and spices.