Holiday Side Dish Recipes

Is our all-natural, totally homemade version of the iconic Thanksgiving side more work than the one made with canned stuff? Well, yes. But wow, is it good.

Can-Don't Green Bean Casserole 

This rich mash is more than just a vehicle for gravy. It’s a subtly sweet blend of parsnip, celery root and two kinds of potato, plus plenty of butter, sour cream and nutmeg.

Hidden Roots Mashed Potatoes

We added walnuts, cranberries and seedy bread to classic sage-and-onion turkey dressing—and we did it in a slow cooker. The lidded appliance keeps the stuffing perfectly moist and, of course, frees up the oven for another pie.

No-Bake Harvest Stuffing 

Laced with garlic and rosemary and topped with pecans and goat cheese, this easy casserole gives a savory wink to the traditional sweet-on-sweet Turkey Day staple.

Sweet Potatoes with Goat Cheese "Mallows"

Fresh or frozen whole-kernel corn blends with canned cream-style corn for a delicious take on this favorite side dish. Toasted and buttered crushed crackers add more texture to the top of the casserole.

Old-Fashioned Scalloped Corn

Tossing cauliflower with bread crumbs, Dijon, cheddar, herbs and almonds makes this humble veg holiday-special.

Cauliflower Gratin

Roasting brings out squash's natural sugars. Blending with maple syrup, butter and nutmeg makes it utterly addictive. Bonus: This dish reheats beautifully.

Maple-Butternut Puree

This ridiculously flavorful vegetarian gravy will satisfy even the heartiest meat-eaters. Along with sherry and tomato paste, dried porcini mushrooms (available in the produce sections of large supermarkets) replicate the savory flavor of drippings. 

Mushroom Gravy with Sherry and Thyme 

Compared to traditional super sugary glazed carrots, our recipe bridges sweet and savory. Come Thanksgiving, this dish is well worth a spot on the holiday table. 

Lazy-Braised, Maple-Glazed Carrots 

The recipe makes more than enough of chef Anne Kearney's Spiced Pecans for this dish. Not to worry. They're fantastic for snacking or sprinkling on salad. Tuscan kale, sometimes called dinosaur or lacinato kale, has darker, smoother leaves than curly kale. It also has a more tender texture.

Tuscan Kale with Brown Butter, Pecans and Golden Raisins

Luxuriously silky leeks—slow-cooked in butter and seasoned with lemon juice and thyme—ripple through sweet potatoes. Feel free to substitute ordinary potatoes if you prefer.

Mashed Sweet Potato with Melted Leeks

Flavored with port wine, orange juice, cloves and cinnamon, our real-fruit mold packs holiday spice and a jiggly punch of throwback glamour. (And don't worry; the alcohol cooks off, so it's actually family-friendly.)

Boozy Jellied Cranberries 

For a gloriously orange update to scalloped potatoes, we layered sweet potatoes, sharp cheddar and chipotle peppers. But the luscious creamy goodness? Still the same.

Spicy Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

Fresh and dried fruits simmer in an aromatic mix of brown sugar, onion, cinnamon and star anise. This chunky chutney pairs well with roast pork and poultry, but we also recommend serving it as part of a cheese tray.

Spiced Apple-Cranberry Chutney

Orange zest, nutmeg and smoked paprika add layers of flavor to these tender biscuits.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

The carrots from chef Edward Lee’'s cookbook Smoke and Pickles are sweet, buttery—and, yes, boozy.

Bourbon-Ginger Glazed Carrots

Mix pantry ingredients—canned apple pie filling, canned sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, apricot preserves, orange marmalade and chopped pecans—for a quick-and-easy side dish with a crunchy nut topping.

Cranberry-Apple Sweet Potatoes

The Inn at Irish Hollow in Galena, Illinois, serves this creamy, curried soup throughout the fall and winter. You can make your own crème fraîche for the garnish, or use purchased crème fraiche or sour cream.

Spiced Pumpkin Bisque

These sweet oven-roasted carrots are a perfect complement to a holiday menu, but they're easy enough to be a weeknight side. This comfort food recipe comes from Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri.

Cinnamon Carrots with Maple Thyme Butter

Toasted pecans and melty marshmallows top whipped sweet potatoes in this classic holiday side dish.

Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Pecans

Garlic, shallots and lemon brighten crisp-tender beans. Save time by parboiling the green beans a day early.

Lemony Green Beans

Buttery onions, cheddar and green chilies lace our stuffinglike pudding. Inspired by traditional skillet corn bread, this recipe works as a side or as a meatless main served with a salad or garlicky sauteed kale.

Southwest Corn Pudding

Quivey's Grove in Madison, Wisconsin, whips up this version of mashed potatoes that matches plenty of dairy richness with garlic, Parmesan, black pepper and green onion.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Juniper berries add an earthy, pine-tinged flavor to this make-ahead relish; it’s a perfect complement to rich meats and cheeses. Purchase the berries at specialty and spice stores or online.

Juniper-Marinated Mushrooms and Onions

Frying bacon in the skillet, then tossing sprouts and red onion in the drippings before roasting means you'll only dirty one pan making this elegant side dish.

Bacon-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Whether you're looking to tweak your favorite dressing or create a new tradition, this method meets the challenge. Start with the basic recipe, then try one of the blends shown at left or craft your own custom dressing.
--Top right: Whole wheat bread anchors a mix of sweet potato, celery, almonds, apricots and sage.
--Left: Wild rice stands in for bread in this dressing studded with button mushrooms, celery, bacon, pecans, golden raisins and thyme.
--Bottom right: Sourdough bread cubes blend with cooked bulk Italian sausage, celery, dried cranberries, pine nuts and rosemary.

Mix-and-Match Bread Dressing

Cranberries and apple simmer with red onion, ginger and mustard seeds for a spiced variation on traditional sauce. Try it on a sandwich with leftover turkey.

Cranberry Chutney

You can serve this hearty, fruit-studded dressing with roasted or grilled pork, poultry or ham. The recipe comes from the historical Story Inn in Nashville, Indiana.

Pappa’s Pear Stuffing

This fresh alternative to canned cranberry sauce is flecked with festive green pistachios and flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg. Serve it with turkey (of course!), or pan-fried pork chops.

Fresh Cranberry-Apple Relish

Masa harina, a fine corn flour, gives this bread light texture and corn flavor. Store in refrigerator up to 2 days before your meal, then reheat just before serving.

Make-Ahead Pumpkin Cornbread

Cranberry-Orange Relish, from chef Richard Fisher of Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota, goes well with meats such as turkey and pork.

Cranberry-Orange Relish

A little bit of rice thickens this unexpectedly delicious and weeknight-easy celery soup; a few slices of pear add the perfect sweet finish (and look beautiful, too).

Curried Celery Soup with Pear 

This delicious sweet-and-sour relish sparkles with the flavor of fresh cranberries and Asian pears. Make it up to five days ahead of your holiday meal.

Cranberry-Pear Chutney

Give Brussels sprouts a fresh taste with this colorful side dish. The trick to preserving the vegetables' mild flavor is to avoid overcooking.

Browned Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Feta

Puree wintry vegetables like potato, leek and parsnip into a velvety soup. Don't skip the crisp, buttery dippers. They're delicious dunked in the soup.

Pumpkin Parsnip Bisque with Hazelnut Toasts

Need a side dish in a hurry? Just melt together butter and orange marmalade, and toss with tender steamed carrots to create this super-easy side.

Orange-Glazed Baby Carrots

This rich side dish casserole, perfect for entertaining, has both yellow and sweet potatoes as well as cream cheese, butter, sour cream, bacon and canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. 

Chipotle Smashed Potatoes

Sweet squash and apple pair with sharp Gorgonzola and tangy dressing in this autumn salad from Black Star Farm in Suttons Bay, Michigan. The dressing calls for verjus, a tart pressed grape juice. You can order verjust online or find it as specialty stores, but wine vinegar makes a good substitute.

Butternut Squash and Apple Salad

Sliced apples, roasted cashews and dried fruit combine with mango chutney, spinach leaves and curry for an exotic, fresh-tasting salad. The recipe comes from the New Albany (Ohio) Cooking with Friends community cookbook.

Cranberry Cashew Salad

Maple syrup adds sweetness to Gingered Pumpkin Soup, which makes a creamy side dish or appetizer.

Gingered Pumpkin Soup

Homey corn bread meets woodsy sage, thyme and shitake mushrooms. Carrots and apricots add color and sweetness.

Calico Corn Bread Dressing

Apples, dried cranberries and grapes meet crunchy celery and wheat berries in this festive holiday salad tossed with apple-cinnamon dressing.

Wheat Berry Waldorf Salad

Click below for more delicious holiday recipe ideas.