Thanksgiving Side Dishes That Steal the Show

Here's a controversial Thanksgiving take: the turkey is the least interesting part of the meal. The real stars? The side dishes. The creamy mashed potatoes, the tangy cranberry sauce, the buttery rolls, the casseroles, the pies.

Let's make every side dish unforgettable.

🥔 Potatoes: Three Ways

Classic Mashed Potatoes

The #1 Thanksgiving side. The secret: Yukon Gold potatoes, warmed cream and butter (never cold), and a potato ricer for the smoothest texture.

Pro Tips:

• Boil potatoes whole or in large chunks (less waterlogging)
• Warm the milk/cream + butter before adding
• Don't overwork — over-mixing makes them gluey
• Season generously with salt and white pepper

Our potato recipes:

• Boulangère Potatoes — Elegant sliced potatoes baked in stock
• Fennel Dauphinoise — Cream, cheese, fennel, and potato layers
• Mustard Champ — Irish-style mashed potatoes with mustard and scallions
• Breakfast Potatoes — Crispy cubed potatoes (great as a Thanksgiving rerun too)

Sweet Potato Casserole

Mashed sweet potatoes topped with either marshmallows (modern) or a brown sugar-pecan crumble (traditional). Divisive but beloved.

Sweet potato recipes:

• Sweet Potato Salad (Turkish) — Warm, spiced, and unique
• Jamaican Sweet Potato Pudding — Dense and warmly spiced

🥗 Salads & Vegetables

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

The vegetable that converted a generation of haters. Halved, tossed in olive oil, seasoned with salt, and roasted at 220°C (425°F) until caramelized and crispy-edged. Game-changing.

Green Bean Casserole

The classic: green beans in creamy mushroom sauce topped with crispy fried onions. An American Thanksgiving icon since 1955.

Cranberry Sauce

Homemade puts canned versions to shame:

• 1 bag cranberries + ¾ cup sugar + ½ cup water + orange zest
• Simmer for 10 minutes until cranberries burst
• Cool. Done. It sets as it cools.

Other Vegetable Sides

• Ratatouille — A colorful Provençal vegetable medley
• French Lentils with Garlic and Thyme — Earthy, herby, protein-rich
• Warm Roast Asparagus Salad — Elegant and seasonal

🍞 Bread & Stuffing

Classic Thanksgiving Stuffing/Dressing

Bread cubes (ideally stale or toasted), sautéed onion and celery, sage, thyme, and chicken broth. Baked until golden on top, moist inside.

To stuff or not to stuff?

• Stuffing = cooked inside the turkey (absorbs turkey flavor, but can be a food safety risk)
• Dressing = baked separately in a dish (more reliably safe, crispier top)

Rolls

Nothing beats warm, buttery rolls fresh from the oven. Any simple enriched dough recipe works — brush with melted butter right out of the oven.

🥧 The Desserts

Pumpkin Pie

The undisputed queen of Thanksgiving desserts. Pumpkin Pie →

Pecan Pie

Rich, caramelized, nutty, and indulgent. Especially with chocolate chips. Choc Chip Pecan Pie →

Apple Pie / Crumble

Because some people prefer apple to pumpkin. And that's okay.

• Apple & Blackberry Crumble — Bubbling fruit + buttery topping
• Apple Frangipan Tart — Elegant French-style
• Apple Cake (Dutch) — Dense, moist, apple-loaded

Other Dessert Options

• Key Lime Pie — Tangy, creamy, and refreshing after a heavy meal
• Salted Caramel Cheesecake — Indulgent showstopper
• New York Cheesecake — A crowd-pleasing classic
• Strawberry Rhubarb Pie — Tart, sweet, and beautiful

🦃 Don't Forget the Turkey

While the sides steal the show, the turkey still deserves respect:

Basic Turkey Guide:

Weight	Cook Time (180°C/350°F)	Serves
4-5 kg (8-10 lb)	2.5-3 hours	6-8
5-7 kg (10-14 lb)	3-3.5 hours	8-12
7-9 kg (14-18 lb)	3.5-4.25 hours	12-16

Internal temperature: 74°C (165°F) in the thickest part of the thigh.

Creative turkey ideas:

• Turkey Meatloaf — For a smaller gathering
• Turkey Bánh Mì — Best use of leftover turkey ever
• Turkey pot pie — Use leftover turkey in a Chicken Ham & Leek Pie format

The Thanksgiving Timeline

Day	Tasks
3 days before	Thaw turkey (in fridge), buy groceries
2 days before	Dry brine turkey, make cranberry sauce, bake pie shells
1 day before	Make pies, prep stuffing (don't bake), prep vegetables, make gravy stock
Morning of	Turkey in oven (early!), prep remaining sides
2 hours before	Bake stuffing, casseroles, rolls
30 min before	Turkey rests, make gravy, reheat sides
Serve time	Carve, plate, give thanks, eat!

Portion Planning

Item	Per Person
Turkey	500g (1 lb) uncooked
Mashed potatoes	200g (½ cup)
Stuffing	½ cup
Cranberry sauce	3 tbsp
Gravy	¼ cup
Rolls	1-2
Pie	1 slice (⅛ of a pie)

Leftover Ideas

The day-after-Thanksgiving sandwich is a meal unto itself: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and gravy between two slices of bread. But also try:

• Turkey soup — Simmer the carcass for stock, add vegetables and noodles
• Turkey Bánh Mì — Our recipe puts pickled vegetables and cilantro on turkey
• Turkey pot pie — Leftover turkey + vegetables + gravy inside pastry

External Resources:

• Thanksgiving Food Safety — USDA
• History of Thanksgiving Dinner — History.com

More seasonal content:

• Fall Pumpkin Recipes
• Christmas Dinner Recipes
• All Recipes