27 Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Complete Your Holiday Menu

As the days grow shorter and the air turns crisp, our hearts naturally turn toward Thanksgiving—a time for gratitude, family gatherings, and, of course, a feast that brings everyone together. While the turkey often gets the spotlight, it’s the side dishes that truly make the Thanksgiving table shine.

Whether you’re hosting for the first time or you’re a seasoned pro, finding the perfect sides can be a delightful yet daunting task. Here’s a list of 27 Thanksgiving side dishes that will not only complement your holiday menu but might just steal the show.

Sweet Potato Casserole

This Sweet Potato Crunch Casserole is a classic side dish made with creamy sweet potatoes and a crunchy brown sugar pecan praline topping. It tastes just like desserts, and everyone will be coming back for seconds.
Get the Recipe: Sweet Potato Casserole

Southern Style Collard Greens

Collard Greens. Photo Credit: Southern Bytes.

If you’re looking for the Best Collard Greens Recipe, look no further. This classic southern side dish features tender collard greens, cooked to perfection, southern style, with savory bacon, onions, a ham hock, and garlic. Trust me – once you try these greens, you’ll never need another recipe again.
Get the Recipe: Southern Style Collard Greens

Southern Broccoli Casserole

Southern Broccoli Casserole is cheesy, creamy, and perfectly delicious. The buttery cracker topping is perfectly crunchy and balances out the soft broccoli and creamy sauce. It’s the perfect Southern side dish.
Get the Recipe: Southern Broccoli Casserole

Classic Green Bean Casserole

Close-up of a green bean casserole topped with crispy fried onions in a baking dish. — Classic Green Bean Casserole. Photo Credit: Southern Bytes.

In my opinion, this is the BEST Green Bean Casserole Recipe – to me, it tastes like being home for the holidays and time with family – if you could bottle up that taste.
Green Bean Casserole is a Thanksgiving staple at our house. It is creamy, crunchy, delicious, and so easy to make. It is absolutely the ultimate comfort food and I can never get enough of it. Made with tender green beans, creamy mushroom soup, and crispy onions, it’s a must-have side dish.
Get the Recipe: Classic Green Bean Casserole

Southern Cornbread Dressing

Cornbread Dressing. Photo Credit: Southern Bytes.

Cornbread Dressing is a Southern staple – the combination of sweet cornbread and savory sausage is so delicious. The celery and onions add such a wonderful crunch and the creamy soup brings it all together.
Get the Recipe: Southern Cornbread Dressing

Butter Roasted Carrots

A close-up view of sliced carrots in a floral ceramic dish, prepared and ready for cooking. — Butter Roasted Carrots. Photo Credit: Southern Bytes.

This simple roasted carrot recipe features carrots in a delicious buttery sauce. These Butter Roasted Carrots are the easiest side dish to add to any meal. You can easily toss them in the oven while you make the rest of your meal.
Get the Recipe: Butter Roasted Carrots

Buttery Yellow Squash with Onions

This Buttery Yellow Squash with Onions is a side dish recipe that is a quick and delicious way to cook yellow squash – with lots of butter. It is inspired by a recipe from a New Orleans restaurant called Tujague’s and it is so delicious.
Get the Recipe: Buttery Yellow Squash with Onions

Pepperidge Farm Stuffing with Sausage

A close-up image of a casserole dish showing layers of ground meat, diced onions, and toasted bread cubes. — Pepperidge Farm Stuffing with Sausage. Photo Credit: Southern Bytes.

Celery, onions, and Italian sausage are tossed with dried bread cubes and butter and then topped with broth and baked to perfection. This Quick & Easy Stuffing Recipe can complete just about any meal, and it’s absolutely perfect for Thanksgiving dinner.
Get the Recipe: Pepperidge Farm Stuffing with Sausage

Jiffy Corn Pudding

Corn Pudding. Photo Credit: Southern Bytes.

Creamed corn, corn niblets, and sour cream baked into sweet, moist cornbread, this Corn Pudding Recipe is delicious enough for any holiday dinner. Not only does it bring you back to your southern roots, but it’s so quick and easy to whip up!
Get the Recipe: Jiffy Corn Pudding

Instant Pot Collard Greens

A pot of cooked greens with bits of meat on a wooden surface, next to a bowl of seasoned dough balls. — Instant Pot Collard Greens. Photo Credit: Southern Bytes.

Instant Pot Collard Greens are a shortcut to the most delicious Southern side dish. What normally takes hours on the stove is ready in less than an hour. Made with bacon, onions, ham, and garlic – these Southern greens couldn’t be more delicious.
Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Collard Greens

Instant Pot Glazed Carrots

A heap of whole carrots inside a stainless steel pressure cooker. — Instant Pot Glazed Carrots. Photo Credit: Southern Bytes.

Instant Pot Glazed Carrots are such an easy side dish to whip up. They are buttery, sweet, soft, and delicious and are coated in an incredible yummy glaze. Using an Instant Pot, carrots are ready in minutes and require no planning or prep time.
Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Glazed Carrots

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes are my absolute favorite way to make mashed potatoes. The potatoes are smooth and creamy, and the tangy buttermilk adds so much flavor to the potatoes. Get the Recipe: Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes

Zucchini Cornbread

Zucchini Cornbread is a delightful twist on a classic cornbread recipe. Made with cornmeal and shredded zucchini, it is moist, fluffy, and slightly sweet.
Get the Recipe: Zucchini Cornbread Recipe

Baked Mashed Potatoes

A bowl of homemade mashed potatoes garnished with chopped chives and a sprinkle of paprika, with a serving spoon on the side. — Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes. Photo Credit: Jeannie’s Tried and True Recipes.

These Baked Mashed Potatoes are the best mashed potatoes ever. Creamy, cheesy, & buttery – once you try them, they will become your favorite mashed potato recipe.
Get the Recipe: Baked Mashed Potatoes

Crockpot Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole Recipe

Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole. Image Credit: Southern Bytes.

Crockpot Hash Browns cooked in creamy chicken soup, sour cream, and a shredded cheese mixture are slow-cooked to perfection. These Slow Cooker Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes are the perfect side to any dish!
Get the Recipe: Crockpot Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole

Crockpot Candied Sweet Potatoes (Yams)

A close-up of glazed candied sweet potatoes in a white dish. — Crockpot Candied Sweet Potatoes. Image Credit: Southern Bytes.

Crockpot Candied Sweet Potatoes (Yams) are tender, buttery, and sweetened with brown sugar and honey. They are perfect for Thanksgiving dinner and using a slow cooker is the easiest way to make them.
Get the Recipe: Crockpot Candied Sweet Potatoes

Southern Cornbread

This Classic Southern Cornbread Recipe combines simple yellow cornmeal and buttermilk, bringing out the naturally sweet flavor of corn – without adding sugar. Cooked in a cast iron skillet with bacon drippings or butter – it will be the perfect addition to the Thanksgiving table.
Get the Recipe: Southern Cornbread Recipe

Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes

A close-up of homemade mashed potatoes garnished with herbs on a white plate. — Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Image Credit: Southern Bytes.

Mashed Potatoes will be the most popular dish on your table with this perfectly garlicky and buttery Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes Recipe. Mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food, and pressure cooking cuts the cooking time needed to make this easy side dish in half.
Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Sautéed Yellow Squash

This simple Sautéed Squash Recipe is so easy to make and allows the flavors of this delicious summer vegetable to shine. The delicious squash is tender, buttery, sweet, and so flavorful.
Get the Recipe: Sautéed Yellow Squash

Instant Pot Creamed Corn

Instant Pot Creamed Corn is so creamy, delicious, and comforting. This easy-to-make creamed corn is just a little sweet, with a touch of spice to round it out. You just dump a bunch of things in an Instant Pot, mix it up, and cook. It’s the perfect side for a Thanksgiving dinner.
Get the Full Recipe: Instant Pot Creamed Corn

Fried Corn on the Cob

Deep-Fried Corn on the Cob is a delicious twist on a classic summer favorite. This Southern-style dish is made by coating fresh corn on the cob in a Cajun-seasoned batter and then deep-frying it to golden perfection.
Get the Recipe: Fried Corn on the Cob

Cajun Corn Maque Choux

Corn Maque Choux. Photo Credit: Southern Bytes.

Corn Maque Choux is a classic Cajun side dish that is creamy, flavorful, and has just a little bit of heat. The smoky bacon grease softens the corn as it mixes with the Cajun spices, and the end result is a delicious Southern side dish.
Get the Recipe: Cajun Corn Maque Choux

Sautéed Zucchini

This simple Sautéed Zucchini Recipe is so easy to make and allows the flavors of this delicious summer vegetable to shine. The delicious squash is tender, buttery, sweet, and so flavorful.
Get the Recipe: Sautéed Zucchini

Crockpot Southern Green Beans

Southern Green Beans. Photo Credit: Southern Bytes.

These Crock Pot Southern Green Beans have so much flavor – they are a family favorite. They are the perfect easy side dish for any holiday menu, and they cook hands-free in a slow cooker.
Get the Recipe: Southern Green Beans

Sour Cream Biscuits

These Homemade Sour Cream Biscuits are perfectly soft and flaky with a delicious buttery flavor everyone will love. They will quickly become your new favorite biscuit recipe.
Get the Recipe: Homemade Sour Cream Biscuits

Sweet Cornbread

Sweet Cornbread made in a cast iron skillet is the perfect accompaniment to any summer meal. This cornbread is sweet, crumbly, buttery, and has a perfect crisp to the edges – it’s the perfect side for a Thanksgiving feast.
Get the Recipe: Sweet Cornbread

Instant Pot Southern Green Beans

Instant Pot Southern-Style Green Beans. Photo Credit: Southern Bytes.

It’s hard to beat that cooked all day with smoky meat flavor of Southern-Style Green Beans. With this recipe, they are melt-in-your-mouth delicious and are ready in less than an hour in an Instant Pot!
Get the Recipe: Instant Pot Southern-Style Green Beans

Slow Cooker Glazed Carrots

A close-up view of shiny glazed baby carrots in a black cooking pot with a black spatula. — Slow Cooker Glazed Carrots. Photo Credit: Southern Bytes.

These candied carrots are coated in brown sugar, butter, honey, and cinnamon, and cooked to perfection. The result is tender, sweet carrots that just melt in your mouth. Your whole family will love these slow cooker carrots!

Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Glazed Carrots

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