Last updated on December 1st, 2019
Looking for Thanksgiving side dishes? Here are 18 delicious accompaniments that have appeared on my own holiday table over the years. Most are easy to make, some are gluten-free, and all are guaranteed to please!
18 Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Pommes Anna with Chives (GF). Cooked briefly on the stove top and finished off in a hot oven, this French classic has a crisp, potato-chip-like exterior, and a soft and creamy interior. It’s beautiful to serve and unfathomably delicious to eat. Here’s the recipe.
Herbed Cottage Cheese Biscuits. These are perfectly perfumed and absolutely scrumptious. Don’t make me beg you to try them! The recipe.
Colorful Veggie Tian (GF). Red potatoes, yellow squash and green zucchini arranged in concentric circles in a shallow baking dish. An elegant side dish for the Thanksgiving table. And it’s quite simple to do. The recipe.
Gratin of Leeks. Who can resist tender leeks when they are gloriously suspended in Sauce Mornay (white sauce with cheese), and topped off with crisp, buttery bread crumbs? You can assemble the dish several hours ahead of time, and then bake it off about 30 minutes before your Thanksgiving guests arrive. The recipe.
Kevin’s Carrot-Ginger-Orange Soup. This is a delicious, fragrant, and gluten-free brew. I could sip it every day for the rest of my life. Make it for Thanksgiving, and everyone will think you’re a genius. The recipe.
Cecina. I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that at least one person at your Thanksgiving party will be unable to eat wheat. Why not surprise them with this gluten-free Tuscan flat bread? The recipe.
Bacon and Sausage Stuffing Balls (GF). You can never have too many of these for Thanksgiving. They’re addicting! The recipe.
Timbale of Broccoli (GF). Even broccoli-haters will love this light, airy, nutmeg-scented side dish. It looks nifty, too! The recipe.
Cranberry Sauce with Red Wine and Ginger. This ain’t your Aunt Abigale’s cranberry sauce. It’s much, much better! I mean, just look at the main ingredients. The super-simple recipe.
Spinach, Fennel, & White Bean Gratin. Is this a side dish or a vegetarian main course? Your Thanksgiving guests won’t ask such a question. They’ll just tuck into the colorful collage because…crunchy topping. The recipe.
Mushroom, Spinach, & Rosemary Tart. If the Pate Brisee crust doesn’t slay you, the scented filling surely will! The recipe.
Homemade Spaetzle with Butter & Herbs. Why settle for packaged stuffing when you can have these exquisite dumplings instead? The recipe.
Creamy Mashed Potatoes. There’s only one way to make mashed potatoes. And that is with a bucket of butter and a river of heavy cream. My step-by-step recipe.
Apple Salad with Pumpkin Bread Croutons. Apples. Onions. Goat cheese. Cranberries. Put ’em together and what will you have? A salad worth serving on Thanksgiving Day. (And should I mention the salad’s orange-ginger vinaigrette?) The recipe.
Blender Corn and Herb Soufflé (GF). This soufflé is a breeze to make. Just toss the ingredients into a blender and whir them into a puree. Then divide the puree between ramekins, sprinkle the tops with fresh herbs, and bake until puffed and golden. The recipe.
Quinoa “Stuffing” with Leeks and Sun-Dried Tomatoes (GF). I made this for a dinner party recently, and everybody loved it. For an extra-festive version, substitute the tomatoes for dried cranberries. The recipe.
Hominy au Gratin. This creamy, comforting casserole is THE perfect accompaniment for a Thanksgiving turkey. It’s a dang delicious side for a humble hamburger, too. The recipe.
Caramelized Butternut Squash Soup. Everybody loves this perfumed potion of caramelized squash, smokey bacon, and savory thyme. It’s my favorite first course for Thanksgiving. The recipe.
Is this lengthy list of side dishes helpful to you? Talk to me in the comments field below. Meantime, happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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Rosalyn says
What a treasure of wonderful recipes! Thank you so much. It must have taken a lot of time to set these up too. Much appreciated.
GinaG says
Kevin — Some of the links are broken and you can’t get to the recipes. I’d like to see the soup recipe, thanks!!
Peggy M. says
Corn souffle link broken too. BTW, love love love getting this newsletter. So glad I found you!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi GinaG – I tested all of the links just now, and they worked for me. Which recipes are not appearing for you?
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Peggy – Thanks so much. Corn Souffle link is working on my end. Try this link: Blender Corn and Herb Souffle.
Kat Harper says
Thank you so much! I will definitely be trying a few of these this year. Brilliant!
frederique jennette says
Thank you! What a wonderful list of dishes to select from! Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Kat Harper and Frederique Jenette – Enjoy!
Marlyn Anderson says
Blender Corn Souffle recipe is not working.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Marlyn – Let me know if this link works for you: Blender Corn and Herb Souffle
Lori says
Hi Kevin! When I clicked the recipe for the Caramelized Butternut Squash Soup says Error 404, page not found. (Psst, why wait for Thanksgiving? Lol).
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Lori – Very strange indeed! When I click on the link, the page comes right up. Anyway, try this link and please let me know if it worked for you: Caramelized Butternut Squash Soup
Philip Pascoe says
Hi Kevin,
You have just saved me a lot of time with your thanksgiving recipes. We don’t do Thanksgiving in Australia, but my partner is from not far from you (Rhinecliff, NY) so each year we have to have a celebration in the New England style. Some of these will make a great addition to serve with the customary turkey to our seven guests.
Love you weekly emails and have done many of your recipes.
Marietta says
I was lucky enough to get them all. Can’t wait to try them. Thank you so much!
GinaG says
Hi Kevin, the link is broken for the caramelized butternut squash soup. When you click on that link you get an error page. I’d really like to try that soup, any chance you could reload that page or email it to me? Thank you!
Kate says
Kevin, can the butternut squash soup be made a day or so in advance, and can it be frozen?
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Philip – Welcome. Glad to be of service to you and your partner!
Hi Marietta – Enjoy!
Hi Gina – Soup link is fixed now. Click away!
Hi Kate – Yes! Omit the cream, and the Caramelized Butternut Squash Soup will freeze perfectly well. (Add cream to reheated soup.)
Lori says
Good Morning Kevin!
Checked the new link and loved how detailed it is. Recipe is saved for printing, but I get to cheat, lol. I make sauce with my squash so I get to omit this step. And I learned how to quarter them bc I always bake them halved in the oven and throw in the food processor. Now I can make my sisters yummy squash bites. When she said peel, I took it as peeling with a scraper, lol. Not once thinking about peeling with a knife. Your way is a lot easier than the way I was thinking, lmho.
I’m curious tho. Why is the spoon set on the left side? If that’s the only dish, why wouldn’t it be placed on the right side?
Idea! You could do a proper way to set the table. I could do this at home dragging out my moms China set that has all the dishes I’d need for fine dining and treating my kids to a night of dress up.
Mary says
Thanks for compiling the sides all in one post. They look marvelous… What time are you serving dinner? Oh how I’d liked to be a guest at your table. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Mary DD says
Thanks for compiling the sides all in one post. They look marvelous… What time are you serving dinner? Oh how I’d liked to be a guest at your table. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Betsy Williams says
They sound delicious! Many thanks. I’m going to try the corn souffle in a day or two. It looks delicious.
Antoinette says
Kevin, what a veritable treasure trove of side dish recipes. We don’t celebrate your Thanksgiving here in Australia, but we mostly make our Christmas Dinner in the cold weather European style with hot food, even if the temperature is well over 30C. Having said that, seafood is becoming more and more popular, both as starters and indeed the whole meal. Although we are having our Christmas meal as guests this year, I will be printing off all these recipes to have at hand for any old day….might start baking today…
Best wishes!
Leslie says
What would be an acceptable substitute for the sherry in the butternut squash soup? I’m not sure my friend, undergoing chemo, could tolerate the sherry.
Also, can acorn squash be substituted for the butternut? I hate cutting butternut-like trying to slice a brick.
Thanks for your help
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Leslie – If your friend can’t have sherry, just omit it. Most supermarkets offer butternut squash already peeled and cubed. Enjoy!