Thanksgiving

73 Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Complete Your Turkey Day Feast

Round out your holiday table with our best ideas for Thanksgiving sides.
Photo of Romano Beans Mustard Thyme Vinaigrette
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Megan Hedgpeth, Food Styling by Simon Andrews

Turkey may be the center of many holiday gatherings, but what would the 4th Thursday in November be without a profusion of Thanksgiving side dishes set out to impress? Whether you’re looking for ideas for classic Thanksgiving sides (creamy mashed potatoes, green bean casserole) or something a little more dynamic (roasted carrots with creamy nuoc cham dressing), we’ve got you covered.

Our best Thanksgiving side dishes run the gamut: If it’s stuffing recipes you seek, we’ve got plenty. Sweet potato recipes? Buttermilk biscuits? Thanksgiving salads to round out the holiday table? They’re all right below. And if you need even more inspiration, head over to our collection of easy Thanksgiving appetizers for what to serve while you’re getting all your chosen sides together.

  • A serving bowl of green beans with garlic from our easy garlicky green beans recipe.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert
    1/73

    Garlicky Green Beans

    Too often, fresh green beans can recede into the background–but not in this Thanksgiving side dish recipe. The beans’ grassy sweetness and snap shine bright, enhanced with fresh garlic and a quick fry in a hot pan.

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  • The best Thanksgiving side dishes to accompany your turkey from refreshing salads to the creamiest mashed potatoes we've...
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Anna Surbatovich, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson
    2/73

    Our Favorite Stuffing With Cornbread and Sausage

    Stuffing is subjective, but know that the Epi Test Kitchen has crowned this herby sausage and cornbread version the ultimate addition to your Thanksgiving table.

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  • Mashed potoes swirled into a serving bowl topped with melting butter and black pepper.
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone
    3/73

    Our Favorite Mashed Potatoes

    We put many spuds to the test before landing on these dreamy, creamy mashed potatoes. The secret? Buttery Yukon Golds seasoned with garlic, thyme, and tangy sour cream.

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  • A bright blue platter holding a bunch of roasted young carrots with about 1 inch of their greens still attached.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    4/73

    Roasted Carrots

    This minimalist recipe for roasted carrots comes from the pages of Gourmet. It leans on kitchen staples to produce caramelized, tender roots with no distraction from the vegetable’s natural sweetness: a perfect, simple Thanksgiving side.

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  • A baking dish of Macaroni and Cheese with a serving spoon.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne
    5/73

    Our Favorite Mac and Cheese

    A good mac and cheese has real potential to steal the Thanksgiving spotlight, and this crispy-topped, creamy dish is a result of our favorite elements of mac and cheesery.

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  • A plate of roasted sweet potato pieces with a spiced maple glaze.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert
    6/73

    Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Spiced Maple Glaze

    These sweet potatoes are first roasted at an aggressive heat for just the right char. Off heat, they’re tossed with maple and spices, so each nub has a noticeable shimmery slick of syrup.

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  • A platter of parmesan roasted cauliflower with caramelized onions and thyme.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    7/73

    Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower

    Cheese loves cauliflower, cauliflower loves cheese, and brassica haters will be charmed by this roasted cauliflower recipe’s flavor boosts of onion, garlic, parm, black pepper, and thyme. It’s a Thanksgiving win.

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  • Basic easy cranberry sauce recipe topped with orange zest shown in a white bowl with square edges alongside some...
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi
    8/73

    Classic Cranberry Sauce

    Sweet, tart cranberry sauce is the unsung hero of Thanksgiving dinner side dishes. It can brighten up any holiday main, and the leftovers are fabulous on turkey sandwiches.

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  • Hash brown casserole in a baking dish being served with a spoon.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Haubert
    9/73

    Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

    With its crispy top and cheesy middle, hash brown casserole is always a crowd-pleasing side dish for Thanksgiving. We love the old-school classic as-is, but it’s also delicious studded with herbs, scallions, or bacon.

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  • Sauted collard greens being served on a platter.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele
    10/73

    Quick and Easy Collard Greens

    In this efficient side dish, collards receive an abbreviated, yet unfailingly delicious braising treatment, which produces ethereally tender greens in record time. The secret? Slicing the leaves as thinly as you can.

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  • A corn casserole topped with crushed Ritz crackers one of our best cornmeal recipes in a white baking dish with a spoon.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Bill Clark
    11/73

    Mississippi Corn Casserole

    Here’s a casserole recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner that's a bonafide corn lover’s dream. It's got fresh corn, cheddar, onion, celery, and a buttery, crunchy cracker topping.

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  • A white bowl filled with a massaged kale salad tossed with Parmesan.
    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson
    12/73

    Simplest Kale Salad

    Go minimalist on your salad recipe: There will be plenty of other lively dishes on your plate and you'll be glad for the bit of respite this cheesy, lemony kale number provides.

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  • A baking dish of vegetarian stuffing made with bread cranberries apples and carrots.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele
    13/73

    The Best Vegetarian Stuffing Ever

    This herbaceous stuffing is an eggless wonder brought together by two sticks of butter, crusty baguettes, aromatic vegetables, tart Pink Lady apples, and plenty of fresh sage.

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  • A plate of Korean scallion salad with serving chopsticks.
    Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Susan Kim
    14/73

    Scallion Salad With Sesame

    Don’t skip soaking the scallions for this Thanksgiving side dish idea. The step mellows the onions' bite, delightfully curls them, and keeps them snappy.

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Meredith Stettner has covered food and lifestyle for various publications and worked in content editing and digital marketing for clients in the health and e-commerce sectors. She covered Brooklyn restaurants, chefs, and lifestyle for Industry Magazine, hyper-local real estate news for Jersey Digs, and science for Mechanical Engineering. Her writing has ... Read More
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The Epicurious editorial team develops original recipes, and publishes stories about cooking better, faster, and more creatively, sustainably, and affordably. See our full masthead, here. ... Read More
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