Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Changing up your holiday meal sides each year is a great way to find new family favorites. Give one or more of these easy Thanksgiving side dishes a try.
Do you go traditional with your Thanksgiving meal? Whether we are hosting a crowd or are alone for the holiday, we tend to stick with the usual turkey and mashed potatoes and then try something new by way of side dishes.
I’ve found a bunch of sides over the years that are easy to make and super flavorful. Enjoy these easy Thanksgiving side dish recipes.
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How many side dishes should I make for the holidays?
When you are cooking for the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas you might be wondering how many side dishes to make. It’s traditional to make at least two vegetable side dishes.
I usually try and choose recipes that are complementary in terms of flavors but are different in terms of colors. Like making sweet potatoes and carrots, they are both orange! Mix it up and make some green beans and corn to add some pops of color.
Another thing I like to consider is who is attending and if they have any restrictions in their diet. If someone needs a more plain dish or something without a lot of fat or sodium I like to make some fresh steamed veggies or I add a salad to the menu.
How do I get all of these side dishes ready in time?
Here’s a trick for you to try! Making side dishes ahead of time is easy and you can heat them up. Choose sturdy side dishes that are able to be popped into the oven or the microwave to reheat them.
You can make them before the chaos of the stuffing and the turkey and the ham and then not have to worry about getting everything done in time.
Should I serve bread as a side dish?
I don’t consider the rolls or the bread part of the side dishes. I usually grab some prepared rolls in order to avoid having to bake rolls at the last minute.
Something else to consider is that you can make cornbread and have that be part of your sides, your bread option, and it’s a pop of yellow for your table!
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Easy Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes:
Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Here are some of the best easy Thanksgiving side dishes for your meal plan this year!. Try out all of these great side dishes to make your feast epic this year!
Oven roasted butternut squash with cranberries and feta is a great side dish for any fall meal. This recipe is so simple, and the results are delicious.
Green beans and tomatoes are great for Thanksgiving. These beans are the perfect side dish and they're so easy to make!
Cauliflower Au Gratin is an easy low carb side dish for every holiday...or any weeknight for that matter! It's indulgent, delicious, and perfect for the holidays.
If you've never tried Brussels Sprouts before, why not try them with bacon! My kids ask for this dish year round, and it's become a regular at our Thanksgiving table.
Looking for an easy but festive salad to add to your Thanksgiving meal plan? This honey mustard vinaigrette recipe goes great on any salad!
Enjoy this winter squash with a simple topping of butter and brown sugar. The most iconic fall side dish vegetable.
This easy and delicious homemade mashed potatoes recipe is great with any main dish. Learn how to make mashed potatoes from scratch the easy way!
If you're looking for lighter fare than traditional mashed potatoes and stuffing, this Asparagus and Tater Toss is just right! It's quick to make with tiny fingerling potatoes.
With only 8 minutes oven time, you can make these Oven Roasted Garlic Green Beans right before serving the meal. They have an unusually delicious caramelized sweetness.
Just three ingredients make these carrots an easy and flavorful side dish. It's also a sugar-free recipe for those who don't want a typical sweet carrot side.
Just 5 ingredient but incredible flavors and textures! You'll love this roasted squash recipe with bacon!
The simple homemade Maple Mustard Vinaigrette brings these fabulous fall flavors together in a salad that takes just 10 minutes to prepare.
This Autumn Chopped Salad has a great combination of flavors–apple, pear, cranberry, feta and bacon (we skip the peanuts because of allergies).
Once you make your own creamed corn, you'll never go back to canned! See how simple it is to make this delicious side with fresh ingredients.
This Gingered Orange Cranberry Sauce has my favorite combination of flavors–ginger and orange to cut the bitterness of the cranberries.
Many years ago (before kids), a delicious broccoli casserole was brought to Thanksgiving dinner by our friend Joe, and became a tradition ever since. I like this revised version (with no cream soup) of Broccoli Casserole.
These delicious Brown Sugar Baked Carrots are an easy recipe for any holiday meal. The brown sugar and butter caramelizes the carrots, creating a sweet glaze.
This easy corn salad is great for adding a pop of color to your table. It's full of fresh flavors and it's super easy to make in advance!
These roasted red potatoes with rosemary are deliciously simple. They're one of my favorite oven roasted red potatoes recipes!
This is such a great round up! That orange cranberry sauce looks amazing! Thanks so much for linking up to Creative K Kids Tasty Tuesdays. I’m pinning this to the Tasty Tuesdays Pinterest Board. We would love to have you join us again this week!
MMMMMMMM…. these look so good! I love all of the traditional options at Thanksgiving, and these are traditional-with-a-twist. I’m definitely going to add some of these in to our family favorites this year.