75 of Our Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes · i am a food blog

Let’s start off with this one because, green equals health. This is the mushroom-iest green bean casserole you’ll ever have. I love how the beans are crisp, snappy, and so fresh, all thanks thanks to an ice bath that leaves them an almost absurd shade of green. The mushroom sauce has a quadruple dose of umami thanks to mushrooms, soy sauce, fish sauce, and parm. Store bought crispy onions finish the whole thing off. Honestly, I can eat just these and call it a meal.

Who doesn’t love mac and cheese? Velveeta mac forever and ever because it’s a creamy, dreamy classic. I mean, just look at that bowl. It’s got the the cheese! Glossy, smooth, and simply delicious. It’s the best and will forever be on our Thanksgiving menu.

Some people might think that making your own homemade rolls is overkill, especially considering stuffing is an essential. I say, give me all that carb on carb action. Thanksgiving is just once a year and homemade squishy buns are so dreamy. It’s a pro move to brush garlic butter on top after they come out of the oven.

I’m a mashed potato connoisseur. Mike once did a double blind taste test for me with varying potato varieties and recipes and I was able to identify every singe one. This is my go-to recipe for mashed potatoes. It’s smooth and creamy, buttery and fluffy. It’s truly the best. The secret is that there is no secret, just good technique. Pure potato goodness from just potatoes, garlic, butter, and milk.

Stuffing (or dressing, if you must) lovers unite! I love stuffing so much that I make extra so I can eat it for breakfast every single day after thanksgiving. Turkey sandwiches? No thanks, give me stuffing please! This recipe, which I love making in the crock pot so it frees up the oven, is crisp and custard-y, and full of flavor. You can make it in the oven too, but don’t skip out on toasting the bread before making the stuffing, it’s what makes it so good.

Super creamy, super Instant (Pot) mashed potatoes with garlic and cream and butter.

Cheesy potato balls because even better than mashed potatoes are mashed potatoes stuffed with cheese and deep-fried with a crispy outer crust.

Crispy air fryer potatoes for those times when you want a crispy roast potato but the turkey’s in the oven.

Potato salad because why can’t you have potato salad at Thanksgiving? This one has addictive kewpie mayo and rice vinegar in it.

Irish boxty potato pancakes are soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. Nothing like latkes, more plush and potato-y.

Mini little potatoes you can just keep popping into your mouth, filled with ranch, bacon, and cheese.

If your oven isn’t free, these are the potatoes for you: crunchy on the outside and deliciously creamy on the inside.

If you want the most flavorful roast potatoes, duck fat is what you need. Maybe the best roasties you’ll ever make.

Smoked gouda adds creaminess and a deep smoke flavor to these crispy little potato pancakes.

Make your roast potatoes extra lux this Thanksgiving and serve them up with some melty creamy burrata.

White miso gives these creamy potatoes an extra warm hit of super savory umami.

This might be one of my favorite ways of making potatoes: thinly sliced, trimmed into rectangles, and baked. The edges turn into a crispy chip and the centers are thick and creamy.

This is the purest sweet potato you’ll ever taste. Toasty, caramelized goodness.

Roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes tossed in a lime-soy dressing with a crunchy savory granola situation on top.

Classic stuffing flavors with the power of soft and plushy challah bread.

This stuffing is made in the Instant Pot and it’s gosh darn delicious!

If you love the crispy bits on stuffing, these little stuffing cakes are for you.

A little bit of herb-y lemongrass is always a good thing. Stuffing with a Vietnamese twist.

Technically this isn’t stuffing, more of a herby breakfast strata, but really, what is stuffing if not bread cubes soaked with deliciousness and baked up?

Creamy acorn squash and bread cubes together forever, topped off with cheese because cheesy stuffing is a game changer.

Not only are they cute, they taste good too! Serve up some honeynut squash with greek yogurt and honeyed walnuts.

Sweet and tender with crispy edges, almost just like deep-frying 🙂

These oven baked tots are only 5 ingredients and full of cauliflower-cheesy goodness.

Forget your classic green been casserole and serve up some crisp green beans tossed in a miso dijon dressing.

Sweet and savory honey garlic sprouts because honey garlic vegetables are basically like candy.

Again, see above 🙂

Ditto, but make it squash.

I love how sweet and caramelized cauliflower gets when you roast it. Hmm, I think I like sweet vegetables, gotta work on getting more of those bitter greens in my life.

Kale is a leafy green! One that tastes amazing when you braise it in tomato sauce and top it off with burrata.

I love all things in tot form and these broccoli tots are just so poppable. And forkable. And delicious.

Zucchini but make it noodle-y. And add cream sauce.

So fresh, so green. The air fryer makes all vegetables taste good, to be honest.

Fresh and feisty oven roasted sprouts with lemon and dill.

What do you mean kale chips aren’t a Thanksgiving side?! When you think about it, kale chips are just crispy kale and that’s a side in my books.

Oven roasted cauliflower but make it tangy and spicy kind of like buffalo wings, but cauliflower.

Super simple pan-seared asparagus with rich and savory miso butter.

Perfectly crips with just the right amount of char.

If you’re more a fan of tender sprouts without the crispiness, this is the sprouts recipe for you.

This is the softest, most plush bread you’ll ever make. Spread some butter on and sprinkle on the flaky sea salt!

I love the chewy crisp texture of pao de queijo and bonus, it’s gluten free!

These little pillow puffs are so soft. Break one open and make the best turkey slider.

Pretzels are a celebration food and Thanksgiving is a celebration!

Fluffy crisp focaccia dimpled with olive oil and seasoned with rosemary.

Make a loaf of sourdough: crusty, fragrant, hearty, and soul stirring.

These guys will go like hot cakes! So garlicky and so good.

Soft and fluffy dinner rolls brushed with butter and everything bagel spice.

A easy basic challah!

Little mini potato buns that are soft and squishy with the power of potatoes.

Use your food processor to make these biscuits: light and fluffy with crispy bottoms.

Sky high biscuits studded with scallions and cheddar.

Salty, smoky specks of salmon and punchy chives in these flaky biscuits.

Soft on the inside, crispy on the outside copycat Red Lobster style biscuits.

Quick and easy drop biscuits with pepper, parm, and chives.

I could eat just this salad and be happy! Crunchy tender broccoli, red onions, sliced almonds, and craisins.

A nutty crunchy satisfying salad that eats like a meal.

Crunchy cucumbers and creamy buttery avocados.

Pan seared shiitakes with avocado and quinoa in a shallot oil dressing.

If you’re looking for a light salad that will bring some freshness to the table, this is it: chopped veggies, crispy pitas, and a sumac lemon dressing.

Kind of like a Vietnamese vermicelli bowl but with quinoa. Super refreshing.

Pumpkin because it’s fall and celery because it crunches. This is a fall celebration salad.

Super refreshing and crunchy to offset the richness of Thanksgiving dinner.

Juicy papayas, crunchy pears, and peppery arugula in a lime mustard vinaigrette.

A super festive quinoa salad with all the textures and flavors in a orange honey vinaigrette.

Pumpkin mac and cheese at Thanksgiving is just the right thing to do.

Just in case you need a little spice in your life.

Did you know you can waffle mac and cheese!? The edges get wonderfully crisp and crunchy and the insides are soft and cheesy.

Spicy and creamy with bonus broccoli.

This one isn’t really a mac and cheese but I had to include it because it has scoobi doo mac and it has burrata, which is cheese!

Literally the EASIEST mac and cheese you will ever make because it is just penne and Boursin cheese.