Thanksgiving Side Dishes: 60+ easy, colorful recipes to impress your guests

Whether you're making Thanksgiving dinner, holiday menu or cooking up a hearty pot roast, no dinner feast is complete without a side of buttery, creamy mashed potatoes. We can all agree that mashed potatoes go with virtually every dish, making them a fantastic side for any occasion.

In many households, Thanksgiving means turkey, and turkey means stuffing. Loaded with fresh herbs, garlic, tender chopped celery, and onions, this buttery homemade stuffing might be the tastiest out there. Part crispy, part tender, homemade stuffing, also known as dressing, is wonderful with a beautifully roasted Thanksgiving turkey plus all the fixings.

No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without a side of homemade cranberry sauce to dollop over your roast turkey. This classic Thanksgiving recipe is incredibly easy to make and even more delicious than the canned cranberry sauce you can find in stores. It also adds a fantastic sweet-tart flavor that's a perfect complement to all the savory items on the table.

With its gorgeously creamy texture and crunchy, buttery pecan topping, sweet potato casserole is one of our favorite casseroles to whip up in the fall. It's a sweet, rich casserole that you can serve as soon as the leaves start falling off the trees.

While roast turkey is often the star of Thanksgiving dinner, it's the spread of side dishes that help make this holiday meal special. One classic side dish that no Thanksgiving dinner should be without is green bean casserole. It's made with its perfectly tender yet crisp green beans cooked in a rich, creamy mushroom sauce, and topped with crispy fried onions.

Cornbread is a classic quick bread that's a staple in Southern cooking. No barbecue or cookout is complete without a plate of homemade cornbread. This tasty bread is popular all over the US, thanks to its wonderfully buttery, rich corn flavor and fluffy, moist texture.

It's Thanksgiving Day, and your table is set with a beautifully, delicious dishes. The only thing you need to complete your perfect Thanksgiving dinner? Turkey gravy, of course!

For a healthy, flavorful side dish that will go with just about any main dish, there's nothing better than roasted vegetables. Crispy and golden brown on the outside, tender on the inside, oven-roasted vegetables are the perfect nutritious side dish to make with everything from roasts to pasta, stews, casseroles, burgers, and more.

If you’re looking for a recipe that is quick to make, easy to scale up and makes an impressive statement on the dinner table, you’ve come to the right place. These glazed carrots will make a great vegetarian side dish recipe. It’s also versatile. You can add spices if you like, and you can either make it for a weeknight dinner or during the holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas.

If you've been searching for an easy, nutritious, low-carb side dish you can serve for any occasion, this creamy mashed cauliflower recipe is perfect for you! Cauliflower mash is a low-carb, keto-friendly dish you can serve on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, or enjoy whenever you fancy.

Beautifully buttery and scented with warming baking spices and the amazing flavor of caramelized sugar, candied yams are one side dish you don't want to skip at Thanksgiving dinner. This simple, easy recipe is a must-have at Thanksgiving dinner in the American South, and it's no wonder – sweet, tender, buttery yams loaded with spices like cinnamon and ginger are hard to resist.

If you’re looking for a recipe that can do double duty this holiday season, this mushroom gravy is a must! It’s the perfect recipe to serve with the main dish, on mashed potato, schnitzel, veggies, bread—you name it! The mushroom gravy is a beautiful brown color with a rich savory flavor and creamy texture.

If you've been looking for an easy recipe for the best-tasting mashed potatoes, your search is over. This Instant Pot mashed potato recipe is the easiest way to make beautifully buttery, creamy mashed potatoes that your whole family will love. It's a faster recipe than regular mashed potatoes thanks to the Instant Pot.

No holiday dinner is complete without a side of roasted Brussels sprouts. Crispy and lightly charred on the outside and tender on the inside, roasted Brussels sprouts have a rich, nutty, caramelized flavor that's hard to resist. You don't need to wait for Turkey Day to serve roasted Brussels sprouts. They're a delicious side dish with any type of roast, stew, or casserole. 

Meltingly soft and tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, baked sweet potatoes are always a winner at the dinner table. Baked sweet potatoes are super versatile and offer more nutritional benefits compared to regular potatoes. They're great as a healthy meal, especially when paired with a side salad, soup, or sandwich, or try serving them alongside your favorite roasts, stews, steaks, and casseroles. All types of protein go great with this tasty tuber – fish, chicken, tofu, beef, pork, and beans.

Garlic creamed spinach is a simple yet delicious recipe you can serve as side. Creamy, garlicky and tasty, it's a hearty dish which will win you over. You need few simple ingredients to make creamed spinach in less than 15 minutes that is much butter than the store-bought.

Roasted sweet potatoes are a mouthwatering versatile side dish that can be customized in so many different ways. It's a popular side dish for fall and winter when sweet potatoes are in season, which is one reason why you'll see this tasty dish on many a Thanksgiving and Christmas table.

Roasted garlic lemon broccoli is an easy and healthy side dish you can make in no time. Broccoli florets are crispy, flavorful and bright green in color. Simply roast the broccoli with garlic cloves, olive oil, then season and squeeze in lemon juice to dampen the strong flavor of the broccoli.

Whether served mashed, baked, roasted, or made into a pie, sweet potatoes are a fixture for any Thanksgiving dinner. Creamy, buttery mashed sweet potatoes are always a popular way to serve this tasty tuber during the holidays.

If you're looking for a healthy, comforting vegetarian dish to serve this fall and winter, stuffed butternut squash is the perfect recipe for you. Roasted stuffed butternut squash has the best of both worlds. It's savory and sweet, packed with tender, nutritious quinoa, kale, chickpeas, and dried cranberries.

Golden brown tender roasted carrots are a foolproof side dish for Thanksgiving dinner. Naturally sweet carrots are roasted with garlic until they're ultra-tender and brown, giving them an incredible flavor that goes with everything from roast turkey to lamb, chicken, or beef. All you need to make the perfect homemade roasted carrots is garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and of course, carrots!

Sautéed Brussels sprouts are crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. This recipe transforms your favorite crucefirous vegetables into a charred and flavorful vegetarian side dish everyone will love. Instead of roasting in the oven, use just a heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat on your stove to achieve the perfect texture and flavor on your Brussels.

Oven-roasted potatoes are an effortless, super versatile side dish that goes with just about anything. The best roasted potatoes are beautifully golden brown and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Roasted butternut squash is an easy side dish recipe perfect for fall.

Because cauliflower is naturally low-carb and keto-friendly, this recipe is not only easy but healthy too! Recipes for Whole Roasted Cauliflower have become quite popular among chefs and it can be served as both a side or a main dish.

Who doesn't love a beautifully cooked baked potato? With its ultra-fluffy, lighter-than-air insides and crispy, golden brown outsides, a baked potato is the perfect side dish. Also known as a jacket potato in the UK, baked potatoes can be customized any way you like. Load your potato with toppings like cheese, bacon, sour cream, and beans to make it a hearty, comforting main meal that will delight your taste buds.

Move over roast potatoes, there’s a new favorite in town. These Crispy Smashed Potatoes are cooked twice, making them perfectly crispy on the outside, but soft and fluffy on the inside. The flavor is buttery with just the right amount of savory. And the best of all? They’re super easy to make!

This easy, basic recipe for roasted pumpkin wedges is just what you need this fall season. At this time of year, it’s all about entertaining and spending time with friends and family. So why not make this versatile Thanksgiving side dish that requires little effort with a huge payoff! Roasting the pumpkin gives it a nutty, yet slightly sweet flavor. The surface of the pumpkin is crispy, while the inside remains soft and tender.

Everyone loves creamy mashed potatoes, but they can be a bit of a hassle to prep and cook. So what's the solution when you want to serve up great-tasting mashed potatoes? Use your crockpot! Slow cooker mashed potatoes are a cinch to make, which makes them a perfect side dish for weeknight dinners and amazing when you're cooking up elaborate meals on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

With its sweet, nutty, savory flavor, stuffed acorn squash is an incredibly nutritious, wholesome low-carb dish to serve up this holiday season. Fall is squash season, so it's the ideal opportunity to enjoy acorn squash, a delicious small winter gourd that boasts a heavenly mild nutty flavor.

There are many great ways to cook cauliflower, but roasted cauliflower steak has to be one of the best. This recipe is easy to prepare, with only a few ingredients, many of which you'll already have in your kitchen. The beauty of roasted cauliflower steak is that it can be served as a starter or a side dish, making it a fantastic way to get a tasty vegetable on the table whether you're a meat-eater, vegetarian or vegan, or follow the keto diet.

Looking for a nutritious side you can whip up in no time? Sautéed spinach is the perfect side recipe for you! Made with just a few ingredients, this healthy, delicious dish is a great way to add more veggies to your diet. Sautéeing the spinach helps preserve nutrients and keeps the spinach's vibrant green color.

Creamed corn is a quick, easy recipe you can enjoy as side. Ready in less than 15 minutes, this is a great last-minute dish that will save your meal. It's is creamy and tasty, a perfect recipe to enjoy all year long, from weeknight to holiday dinners like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, sautéed green beans are a delicious, easy side dish that goes with just about anything. This healthy veggie dish takes under ten minutes to make, so they're perfect when you need to whip up a nutritious, tasty side dish on the fly.

Brussels Sprouts Gratin is an easy, hearty side dish recipe perfect for the holidays. Gratin is simply a fancy term used to describe a technique whereby an ingredient is topped with cheese (and sometimes breadcrumbs) and then baked until golden. The sprouts are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. It also has a cheesy, crispy crust.

No matter what you cook as the main dish for the holidays, you'll need to serve up some tasty sides to make a complete meal. Spinach gratin is a fantastic side dish to serve on Thanksgiving or Christmas, thanks to its mouthwatering cheesy, buttery, savory flavor.

If you love potatoes but are getting bored with making baked potatoes week in, week out, it's time for you to meet the Hasselback potato. This phenomenal potato side dish is as impressive looking as it is delicious.

Perfectly delicious, creamy, and rich sweet potato casserole with marshmallows is a traditional Thanksgiving dish that has been popular for decades. It started as a dessert and over time, has become a must-have side dish to accompany roasted turkey, gravy, and green bean casserole.

This is the hands-down best homemade baked macaroni and cheese recipe around. Also known as mac and cheese in Canada and USA, it's decadently cheesy, deliciously creamy, and oh-so comforting. The beauty of this simple recipe is that it's easy to prepare and boasts amazing flavor thanks to the mouthwatering blend of sharp cheddar and Gruyere cheese. It's something you can serve for a hearty dinner or as a holiday side dish – your friends and family will love it.

Moist, tender, crumbly sausage cornbread stuffing is a must-have for any Thanksgiving dinner. Stuffing is a much-loved traditional Thanksgiving side dish that's easy to make and is packed with flavor. Sausage cornbread stuffing is herby, savory, with just a hint of sweetness thanks to the cornbread.

Corn pudding is a buttery, gluten-free Southern side dish that's great to make for the holidays and other special occasions, especially Thanksgiving. Made with creamed corn, corn kernels, butter, milk, and seasoned with various spices, corn pudding has the perfect balance of sweet, salty, and savory – just like grandma's. It's technically a casserole with a creamy custard-like texture on the inside and a crisp outside.

This loaded cauliflower casserole has it all: tender cauliflower florets, crispy bacon, and crunchy green onions coated in a creamy, cheese sauce. The casserole gets its amazing creamy texture thanks to a combination of heavy cream, sour cream, and plenty of sharp cheddar cheese. Try one bite, and you'll agree, this is one casserole that everyone can get on board with.

Stuffing is a staple side dish for Thanksgiving dinner, but not everyone is keen on the heavy, bread-based version that graces so many holiday tables. So what do you do if you need a delicious alternative? Make cauliflower stuffing! This healthy, low-carb vegetarian cauliflower stuffing recipe is ideal for Thanksgiving, even if you're on a keto diet.

Love a loaded baked potato? Then get ready to fall in love with sensational twice-baked potato casserole. It's made from creamy, rich mashed potatoes topped with crispy bacon and gooey cheddar cheese.

Green bean casserole is a classic Thanksgiving side dish, and for good reason. This recipe is a healthier and lighter version of the beloved baked dish. Serve it at your thanksgiving gathering, and your guests will be thankful to you!

No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without stuffing. There are endless recipes for homemade stuffing but one of our favorites has to be oyster stuffing. It's made with salty, savory oysters, sausage, fresh herbs, and hearty bread. Very popular in coastal areas where oysters are usually cheaper, this oyster stuffing tastes amazing with turkey, so it's perfect for holiday dinners such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

If you've been searching for an effortless side dish to serve with your weeknight dinners, look no further than this irresistible cheesy potato casserole. This sensational recipe is also perfect for holidays or parties where you have a large crowd to feed – it's always popular with guests. It's creamy, tangy, and absolutely delicious!

Homemade carrot raisin salad is always a hit. Perfectly crunchy, wonderfully sweet with a hint of tanginess, it's a great salad to serve up at picnics, potlucks, or any time you need to feed a crowd.

Whether serving it as a side dish with roasts, stews, or soups or adding it to your Thanksgiving spread, butternut squash salad is one of the best salads for fall.

Tender yet crunchy green bean salad is a phenomenal side dish to serve this summer. This delicious, healthy salad is served cold, making it perfect for hot weather. Made with crisp green beans, tomatoes, crumbled feta and chopped black olives tossed in a homemade balsamic vinaigrette, this easy green bean salad refreshes with every bite.

Planning the menu for your next summer barbecue? This easy German potato salad is the perfect side dish for your next backyard bash! Great for potlucks, picnics, cookouts and even Oktoberfest, German potato salad has it all.

The Caesar salad is a classic salad made of romaine lettuce, crispy croutons, tender, smoky chicken breast, and parmesan cheese. Caesar salad is usually served with a creamy dressing made of lemon juice, oil, egg, anchovies, Worcestershire sauce and spices as it perfectly balances texture and tangy, savory flavors.

Roquefort Pear Salad is an easy, healthy recipe to try during the cold seasons. You can whip it up in no time and serve it as a gourmet dish to your guests for your next dinner party or potluck. You only need a few ingredients to prepare this salad. The tangy blue cheese and vinaigrette go well with sweet, fruity pears. The walnuts are perfect for creating a crunchy texture that contrasts with the creaminess of the dressing.

Creamy broccoli salad with bacon is a sensationally tasty dish that everyone will love. This is a brilliant recipe to serve for the broccoli skeptic in your life: the tantalizing combination of savory bacon and red onion combined with a hint of sweet raisins and a mouthwateringly red wine vinegar-mayonnaise dressing make broccoli bacon salad hard to resist. Even the most broccoli-averse folks out there will be converted. It's effortless to prepare, so you can throw this simple salad together if you need a quick, delicious side dish for your table.

Pomegranate salad has it all – this beautiful yet simple salad is sweet, salty, and tart, and has a fantastic crunchy texture thanks to the pomegranate seeds and candied pecans. It's a stunning salad to serve for the holidays and is sure to impress your guests, thanks to the jewel-like look of the pomegranate seeds.

Homemade loaded cauliflower salad is a fast, simple, delicious side dish you can throw together in no time. It's made with lightly steamed, tender cauliflower that's mixed with cheese, bacon, olives, bell peppers, and herbs and tossed with a tangy, creamy dressing.

Make the most of seasonal autumn produce with this phenomenally delicious butternut squash soup. It's an easy-to-make vegan soup with a luscious creamy, velvety texture that's perfect for warming you up during chilly fall and winter evenings.

There's nothing like a hearty, comforting soup, especially when the weather begins to get chilly. This mouthwatering cauliflower leek soup is both simple to make and healthy, packed with nutritious vegetables and made entirely without dairy. It's a paleo and keto-friendly soup that can easily be made vegan with a few tweaks. Its rich, creamy texture comes from the tender cauliflower florets and it's hearty enough to be eaten as a filling appetizer or side, or as a light main meal. Serve it with plenty of crusty bread or dinner rolls – creamy cauliflower leek soup is so delicious you'll definitely want something to mop it up with!

If you're looking for a fast, easy-to-make soup recipe you can make in about 30 minutes, you'll love cream of mushroom soup. Perfect for chilly fall and winter days, cream of mushroom soup is thick, rich, and velvety with a beautiful savory, earthy mushroom flavor.

It’s pumpkin season! And while we love all things flavored with pumpkin, the season tends to be tough for the waistline. So you’ll be happy to know that this pumpkin soup is made without cream. It's low in calories, and is full of vitamins. It’s perfect for the fall season and holidays such as Thanksgiving, but because it’s so healthy, you don’t have to feel guilty if you’re having a second helping.

The pureed soup of sweet potatoes is a warm and comforting autumnal first course. These tuberous roots, also called American or sugary potatoes, are characterized by their firm and compact pulp and a beautiful orange color and by the irresistible flavor that recalls a mix of pumpkin and chestnuts. In our recipe, very simple and quick to prepare, they are cooked in vegetable broth and then blended until you will get a thick and creamy puree. The final garnish of the crispy bacon and croutons will give flavor and crunchiness to the dish, balancing taste and compactness. A perfect comfort food for a home dinner, when you want something that warms and invigorates, but also for an elegant and special occasion. So let’s find out how to prepare it by rigourosly following all the steps.

Potato rolls are a tasty, pull-apart side dish recipe you can serve with any meal during holidays such as Thanksgiving. They're fluffy, super soft yet moist thanks to mashed potatoes. The golden brown top is shiny and crisp because of butter and honey.

Homemade garlic knots are an amazingly delicious appetizer the whole family will love. This tasty side dish takes virtually no time at all to make – within 20 minutes, you'll have a warm batch of soft golden brown garlic knots to enjoy with your main meal. Ultra-fluffy and topped with lashings of garlic herb butter, these garlic knots are light, fluffy, and perfect with everything from Italian dishes like pasta in tomato sauce or your favorite roasts, stews, and soups. Because they're so easy to make, this recipe is a fantastic choice if you're looking to introduce your kids to cooking. You can also serve garlic knots at dinner parties or enjoy them as a snack.

It’s pumpkin season! And we’re looking forward to enjoying all things that celebrate the fall season… which means lots of pumpkin recipes. This pumpkin bread roll recipe is one with a difference. Not only does it taste like pumpkin, but it also looks like little pumpkins!

No barbecue or potluck is complete without a side of homemade skillet cornbread. With its light, fluffy texture and a sweet yet savory flavor, skillet cornbread is a versatile side dish that goes with just about anything. It's great with grilled chicken, baby back ribs, pulled pork, grilled sausage, and more. It's a classic Southern side dish that's perfect for summer, but don't be surprised if you make this easy skillet cornbread all year round.

Take advantage of persimmon season with year by baking this stunning persimmon bread. This easy-to-make soft, moist quick bread is perfect for fall and winter and is full of beautiful warming autumn flavors.

Cornbread muffins are a versatile Southern side dish you can pair with any meal – both sweet and savory. Super quick and easy to make, they're tender, moist in texture, and slightly sweet in flavor. Lighter and fluffier than a traditional cornbread, serve these tasty corn muffins fresh from the oven for your weeknight dinner together with chili or as a hearty holiday side – especially at Thanksgiving. You can even enjoy them at breakfast with honey, jam or butter.

It might not be very traditional, but this Pumpkin Focaccia is definitely something you’d want to make. It’s perfectly suited for vegetarian fall-themed dinners, but will be a great addition to the table any time of the year.