20 Ultimate Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes

Let’s be honest, most of us load up our Thanksgiving plates on the sides and leave just a little room for turkey. These are the Thanksgiving side dishes that disappear first at our house, from creamy mashed potatoes and candied sweet potatoes to Grandmama’s crock pot cornbread dressing and a pot of slow-simmered collard greens.

You’ll find make-ahead casseroles, slow cooker sides that free up the oven, and a few appetizers to keep everyone happy while the bird rests. When you’re ready for dessert, our best Thanksgiving desserts are waiting, and our Thanksgiving menu ideas help you put it all together.

Potato and Sweet Potato Sides

No Southern Thanksgiving table is complete without at least one potato dish, and most of us need two.

1Homemade Mashed Potatoes with Evaporated Milk

1
Homemade mashed potatoes with evaporated milk.
Homemade Mashed Potatoes
A Southern specialty, these homemade mashed potatoes with evaporated milk are the perfect side dish, with a rich and creamy flavor.
Check out this recipe

Evaporated milk is the old-fashioned secret to these extra creamy mashed potatoes. They serve about 10, so they’re ready for a crowd.

2Easy Candied Sweet Potatoes

2
candied sweet potatoes
Easy Candied Sweet Potatoes
Easy Southern candied sweet potatoes made with canned sweet potatoes, sugar, butter and cinnamon. Bake at 350°F until syrupy. Perfect for Thanksgiving.
Check out this recipe

Canned sweet potatoes bake in a buttery brown sugar glaze, so this classic is on the table in about 45 minutes.

3Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes

3
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
These quick and easy mashed sweet potatoes are deliciously creamy and fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness and spice, thanks to honey and cinnamon.
Check out this recipe

Creamy, fluffy mashed sweet potatoes with just the right amount of sweetness, ready in about 30 minutes.

4Hash Brown Casserole with Sour Cream

4
Hash brown casserole with sour cream
Hash Brown Casserole With Sour Cream
This Hash Brown Casserole is made with a sour cream, cheddar, frozen hash browns, and condensed soup base and topped with a melted butter and Ritz cracker topping. It's the heart and soul of any Southern social gathering and always hits the spot.
Check out this recipe

Frozen hash browns, sour cream and cheddar bake into a cheesy casserole you can assemble the night before.

5Butter Dill New Potatoes

5
butter dill new potatoes
Butter Dill New Potatoes
Check out this recipe

Tender little new potatoes tossed in butter and fresh dill make a lighter side that’s ready in 30 minutes.

6Sweet Potato Fritters

6
Plate of sweet potato fritters with dipping sauce
Golden, Crispy Sweet Potato Fritters
Crispy, golden brown on the outside and tender in the middle, these Sweet Potato Fritters are packed with flavor and come together in just 25 minutes! They make a perfect breakfast appetizer, side dish, or savory snack.
Check out this recipe

Crispy outside, tender inside, these little fritters are a fun twist on sweet potatoes that kids love.

Dressing, Breads and Casseroles

These are the hearty, make-ahead favorites that hold everything else on the plate together.

7Crock Pot Dressing with Cornbread

7
Grandmama’s Crockpot Dressing Recipe with Cornbread
Grandmama’s crockpot dressing recipe layers Southern cornbread dressing with turkey or chicken and cream of chicken soup, then cooks low and slow so it stays moist and frees up your oven.
Check out this recipe

Grandmama’s cornbread dressing cooks in the slow cooker, which keeps it moist and frees up precious oven space.

8Southern Cornbread Dressing

8
Close-up of southern cornbread dressing.
Southern Cornbread Dressing
Moist, flavorful, and filled with vegetables, this southern dressing with cornbread is a holiday side dish best served with turkey gravy.
Check out this recipe

Moist cornbread dressing filled with vegetables and seasoned just right, the classic way.

9Homemade Dinner Rolls

9
Homemade Dinner Rolls
These homemade dinner rolls (Preston Rolls) are soft, fluffy, and beginner-friendly. Made with yeast dough that keeps up to a week in the fridge, they’re perfect for family dinners, holidays, or anytime you want fresh-baked rolls.
Check out this recipe

Soft, fluffy dinner rolls that are beginner-friendly, and one batch makes about 2 dozen.

10Southern Skillet Spoonbread

10
A spoon scooping Southern spoonbread from a cast-iron skillet.
Southern Skillet Spoonbread
Soft, buttery Southern spoonbread baked in a cast iron skillet, somewhere between cornbread and a soufflé.
Check out this recipe

Somewhere between cornbread and a soufflé, this soft, buttery spoonbread bakes right in a cast iron skillet.

11Creamy Baked Velveeta Mac and Cheese

11
Macaroni and cheese
Creamy Baked Velveeta Mac and Cheese
Ditch the box and skip the grainy, separated cheeses. This creamy baked Velveeta mac and cheese relies on uniform cubes of Velveeta to create an incredibly smooth, velvet-gold sauce that blankets every single noodle, finishing with a beautifully set, bubbly top right out of the oven!
Check out this recipe

Velveeta makes this baked mac and cheese extra creamy, and it’s ready in about 30 minutes.

12Fresh and Creamy Green Bean Casserole

12
Fresh & Creamy Green Bean Casserole
Check out this recipe

Fresh green beans in a creamy sauce with a crunchy topping, the way the classic should taste.

Vegetables and Salads

A little color and tang balance out all that richness.

13Traditional Southern Collard Greens

13
A bowl of collard greens in a black bowl with bacon and cornbread.
Traditional Southern Collard Greens
Tender, slow-simmered Southern collard greens, a must for any holiday feast.
Check out this recipe

A pot of slow-simmered collard greens is tender, savory and exactly what a holiday feast calls for.

14Candied Carrots

14
candied carrots
Candied Carrots
This candied carrots recipe is a popular Southern holiday side dish. It includes tender baby carrots cooked in the most delicious honey and brown sugar syrup. 
Check out this recipe

Tender baby carrots in a buttery brown sugar glaze, ready in about 40 minutes.

15Mustard Slaw

15
Mustard Slaw
Take coleslaw to the next level with this tangy mustard slaw recipe, made even better with crisp green onion, cabbage, and radish slices.
Check out this recipe

A tangy mustard slaw that cuts through the richness of a holiday plate.

16Cranberry Fluff Salad

16
A bowl of cranberry fluff salad with fresh cranberries
Colorful Cranberry Fluff Salad
This Cranberry Fluff Salad is a creamy, fruity classic that brings a pop of color to any holiday table. Tart cranberries are sweetened and blended with pineapple, marshmallows, and whipped cream for a light, fluffy treat that tastes like dessert but pairs perfectly with your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
Check out this recipe

Tart cranberries, marshmallows and whipped cream make this fluffy salad half side dish and half dessert. Make it ahead so it can chill.

Appetizers and Extras

Set these out early so nobody hovers over the stove.

17Spinach Artichoke Dip

17
A bowl of spinach artichoke dip
Creamy, Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Dip
This spinach artichoke dip is rich, bubbly, and loaded with flavor. A classic crowd-pleaser that’s quick to make and always the first dish gone!
Check out this recipe

Rich, bubbly spinach artichoke dip that keeps guests happy while the turkey rests.

18Pumpkin Pie Dip

18
Top down view of a bowl of pumpkin pie dip
Creamy, Delicious Pumpkin Pie Dip
Pumpkin Pie Dip is a sweet, creamy blend of pumpkin, cream cheese, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and ginger that tastes just like pumpkin pie filling. It’s fast, festive, and perfect for dipping everything from gingersnaps to apple slices.
Check out this recipe

A sweet, creamy pumpkin dip for gingersnaps or apple slices that doubles as an easy dessert.

19Mac and Cheese Balls

19
A plate of mac and cheese balls
Golden, Crispy Mac and Cheese Balls
These crispy mac and cheese balls turn everyone’s favorite comfort food into the ultimate party snack. Creamy, cheesy centers wrapped in a golden, crunchy coating, perfect for game day, holidays, or any time you need a crowd-pleaser.
Check out this recipe

Crispy, golden mac and cheese bites that make a fun starter. One batch makes about 18.

20Handheld Chicken Pot Pies

20
A plate of two handheld chicken pot pies
Flaky, Creamy Handheld Chicken Pot Pies
These handheld chicken pot pies are filled with creamy chicken and veggies tucked inside golden, flaky puff pastry. It’s a cozy classic made perfectly portable!
Check out this recipe

Flaky handheld pot pies filled with creamy chicken and vegetables, great for using up leftover turkey too.

Tips for Planning Thanksgiving Sides

  • Make casseroles like hash brown casserole a day ahead and bake them while the turkey rests.
  • Use your slow cooker for dressing or greens to save oven space.
  • Plan at least one potato, one green vegetable and one bread so every plate is balanced.
  • Leftover turkey and sides make great handheld pot pies the next day.

Thanksgiving Side Dishes FAQs

How many side dishes do I need for Thanksgiving?

For most families, 5 to 7 sides is plenty: a couple of potato dishes, dressing, a green vegetable, rolls and a cranberry dish.

What Thanksgiving sides can I make ahead?

Hash brown casserole, cranberry fluff salad, dinner roll dough and collard greens can all be made a day ahead.

What are the most traditional Southern Thanksgiving sides?

Cornbread dressing, candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, mac and cheese and collard greens are the classics.

Need one more casserole for the table? My Southern broccoli casserole with Ritz cracker topping is a cheesy one with a buttery, crunchy top.

64 Comments

  1. I printed 4 of these, grabbed your crockpot turkey breast and your snicker caramel apple salad! I am ready to cook!! Thanks

    Reply

  3. Christy,
    A wonderful story about friendship. I still have that friend from my 1956 high school class. She and I still start and/or end each other’s sentences.
    I love, love your Creamy Cucumber recipe. When I prepare it, I taste test it so much that there’s not a lot left, so I end up doubling the recipe.
    Thanks Christy, for sharing.
    JoAnn Clem

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *