Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Build your traditional and non-traditional Thanksgiving side dishes menu fast: make-ahead classics, ≤30-minute options, veg sides that could be mains, salads, and condiments.
Plus an at-a-glance serving quantity and reheat chart – a cheat sheet for the holiday season.
Legend: 🌟 = Our Top Picks
We celebrate both Canadian and American Thanksgiving, and after 30+ years of hosting we still lean into the classics for our holiday table – turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and fresh cranberry relish – sometimes with a few twists or new recipes.
This year I’m making a Thanksgiving menu that involves zero-stress – ultra-juicy sous vide turkey breast with all the sides (stuffing is still our #1). Cooking for a smaller group? Try our bone-in turkey breast with pear chutney.
Below you’ll find our best Thanksgiving side dishes – classics/make-ahead, ≤30-minute, veggie-packed, and more. Judge for yourself. Happy Thanksgiving!
Classics/Make Ahead
🌟Homemade Bread Stuffing (65 min)
Mashed Potatoes (No Peel) – 25 minutes
Green Beans With Lemon-Panko Crunch (17 Min)
Turkey Gravy From Scratch (Make-Ahead)
Quick/30 Minutes
🌟 Stovetop Creamed Spinach (15 Minutes)
🌟Better Than Bouillon Gravy (5 Min)
Homemade Stovetop Stuffing – 22 Min
Easy Roasted Zucchini (20 Min)
Cheddar Bay Biscuits With Bisquick (20 Min)
Vegetable Quinoa Stuffing (30 Min)
Maple Glazed Carrots With Thyme and Orange Zest (30 Min)
Veg Sides That Could Be A Main Dish
🌟 Vegetable Strudel In Puff Pastry (50 Min)
🌟 Pumpkin Risotto, Instant Pot (40 Min)
Veggie Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms (36 Min)
Old Fashioned Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Spinach (40 Min)
Potatoes & Roots
Oven Roasted Vegetables (45 Min)
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Candied Sweet Potatoes With Pecans (30 Min)
Instant Pot Potatoes and Carrots (24 Min)
Green Beans and Potatoes With Bacon (35 Minutes)
🌟 Root Vegetable Mash (28 Min)
Roasted Parsnips With Honey (38 Min)
Side salads
🌟 Roasted Pumpkin (or Sweet Potato) Salad With Couscous – 40 Min
🌟 Tomato Onion Salad (15 Min Prep)
Citrus Salad With Greens (15 Min)
Chopped Salad (4 Holiday Themes) 15-45 Min
Pretty Orange and Beet Salad (12 Minutes)
Fig Salad with Pomegranate & Balsamic (20 Min)
Recipe for Winter Salad (Festive, 15 Min)
Mandarin Orange Salad
Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cinnamon Dressing (35 Min)
Condiments
🌟 Cranberry Orange Relish (5 Min)
Chunky Applesauce – No Peeling (25 Min)
Peach Chutney (30 minutes)
Quantities & Reheat At A Glance
| Side | Per person | Make-ahead & Reheat |
|---|---|---|
| Mashed potatoes | ½ lb potatoes (~¾–1 cup mashed) | Cover; 325–350F for 25–40 min. Add splash of milk. Or use warmer ring on stovetop or microwave. |
| Stuffing / dressing | ~¾ cup | Moisten with broth; Warm 350F 10-15 min covered. |
| Glazed/roasted carrots | ½–¾ cup | 350F 15–20 min covered; or microwave for 1-2 minutes. |
| Creamed spinach | ½–¾ cup | 300–350F 15–20 min or gentle microwave; don’t boil. |
| Green veg / roasted veg | ½–¾ cup | 350F 10–15 min; uncovered. |
| Gravy | ¼–½ cup | Reheat gently on stovetop; thin with stock; whisk |
| Green salad | ~1 cup (side) | Prep ahead; dress just before serving. |
America’s Most & Least Favorite Side Dishes
According to an online Instacart survey by The Harris Poll, which surveyed over 2000 adult Americans:
- Most-loved nationwide: mashed potatoes (#1), stuffing/dressing, rolls, gravy, sweet potato casserole, green beans, Brussels sprouts, mac & cheese, corn, glazed carrots.
- Least-loved in polls: canned cranberry sauce (try our fresh cranberry-orange relish instead!), green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole.
Thanksgiving FAQs
If you are hosting this year, here are a few handy tips for keeping foods warm. In a nutshell: Use low oven (200–250F / 95–120C), covered dishes, foil, slow cooker on “warm,” Instant Pot “on keep warm,” insulated cooler (as a hot box), and warming trays. Add a splash of broth/milk to moist sides before holding.
For 6 guests: Make 1–2 starches, 2 vegetable dishes and 1 salad/condiment. Add ~1 more side for an additional 4–6 guests.
Our Classics section above covers the traditional favorites – mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey gravy, green bean with panko.
Stovetop: mashed potatoes (or root vegetable mash), 5-minute gravy, creamed spinach.
Instant Pot: Instant Pot potatoes/carrots,
Salads/condiment (cold and room temperature sides): no-cook cranberry relish,, tomato & onion salad, fig salad, winter salad, mandarin orange salad, citrus salad.
All recipes are included above.
Turn extras into a whole second meal: simmer the carcass to make leftover turkey soup with stuffing croutons.; turn leftover turkey into these chicken sliders (works just as well with turkey); build a turkey shepherd’s pie; or crisp up cold mashed potatoes as mashed potato pancakes.
