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 is the one I bring out when I want dessert to sneak onto the sides table.
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 dessert, and everyone will be coming back for seconds.
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Southern Style Collard Greens
This is the greens recipe I make every single Thanksgiving, no exceptions.
Southern Style Collard Greens
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.
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Southern Broccoli Casserole
This is the casserole I reach for when cheesy and comforting is exactly what the table needs.
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.
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Classic Green Bean Casserole
This is the dish I make knowing there will be a fight over the last spoonful.
Classic Green Bean Casserole
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, 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.
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Southern Cornbread Dressing
This is the dressing that always ends up on my Thanksgiving plate twice.
Southern Cornbread Dressing
Cornbread Dressing is a Southern staple, and 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.
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Butter Roasted Carrots
This is the side I toss in the oven when I need one less thing to think about.
Butter Roasted Carrots
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.
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Buttery Yellow Squash with Onions
This is the squash dish I learned from a New Orleans kitchen and never stopped making.
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.
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Pepperidge Farm Stuffing with Sausage
This is the stuffing that shows up on my table every single year without fail.
Pepperidge Farm Stuffing with Sausage
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.
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Jiffy Corn Pudding
This is the side that tastes like a little bit of Southern sweetness snuck onto the dinner table.
Jiffy Corn Pudding
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!
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Instant Pot Collard Greens
This is the greens recipe I turn to when the stove is already full.
Instant Pot Collard Greens
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.
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Instant Pot Glazed Carrots
This is the carrot side I make when I need something sweet without any real effort.
Instant Pot Glazed Carrots
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.
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Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
This is the mashed potato recipe I will defend as the best one on this list.
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.
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Zucchini Cornbread
This is the cornbread I make when I want to sneak a vegetable onto the bread basket.
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.
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Baked Mashed Potatoes
This is the mashed potato recipe I picked up from a friend and never looked back.
Baked Mashed Potatoes
These Baked Mashed Potatoes are the best mashed potatoes ever. Creamy, cheesy, and buttery, once you try them, they will become your favorite mashed potato recipe.
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Crockpot Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole Recipe
This is the side I let the slow cooker handle while I deal with everything else.
Crockpot Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
Crockpot Hash Brown Casserole cooks in creamy chicken soup, sour cream, and a shredded cheese mixture and is slow-cooked to perfection. These Slow Cooker Cheesy Hash Brown Potatoes are the perfect side for any Thanksgiving feast.
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Crockpot Candied Sweet Potatoes (Yams)
This is the sweet potato side I make when I want dessert and dinner at the same time.
Crockpot Candied Sweet Potatoes (Yams)
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.
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Southern Cornbread
This is the cornbread recipe I make in a cast iron skillet, no exceptions.
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.
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Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes
This is the mashed potato recipe I make when garlic needs to be the star of the show.
Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes
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.
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Sautéed Yellow Squash
This is the squash side I throw together in ten minutes flat.
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.
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Instant Pot Creamed Corn
This is the corn side I make when I want a little sweetness with a touch of spice.
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.
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Fried Corn on the Cob
This is the corn recipe I make when I want to do something a little unexpected with the cob.
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.
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Cajun Corn Maque Choux
This is the corn dish I make when I want a little Cajun heat on the table.
Cajun Corn Maque Choux
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.
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Sautéed Zucchini
This is the zucchini side I make when squash needs a green cousin on the table.
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.
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Crockpot Southern Green Beans
This is the green bean side I set and forget while everything else is cooking.
Crockpot Southern Green Beans
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.
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Sour Cream Biscuits
This is the biscuit recipe I make when regular biscuits just won’t cut it.
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.
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Sweet Cornbread
This is the cornbread I make when I want a little sweetness next to the savory sides.
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, and it’s the perfect side for a Thanksgiving feast.
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Instant Pot Southern Green Beans
This is the green bean side I make when I want that all-day flavor in under an hour.
Instant Pot Southern-Style Green Beans
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!
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Slow Cooker Glazed Carrots
This is the carrot side that convinces even the pickiest eaters at the table.
Slow Cooker Glazed Carrots
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!
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