Thanksgiving Side Dishes That Steal the Table

The turkey is the reason for the Thanksgiving table, but the sides are why people come back with a clean corner on their plate. A good diner turkey special understands the same thing: the potatoes, dressing and gravy have to carry their share. I want something crisp beside the soft dishes and something tart beside all that butter. Choose one stuffing, one potato dish and a couple of vegetables before deciding how many extra pans your oven can handle. The sweet casseroles and cranberry dishes earn their place in small spoonfuls. Active prep and cooking times are listed with each recipe; the steps call out additional dough rises, overnight chilling and resting time so those waits don’t surprise you.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows is a classic holiday side dish that tastes more like dessert than potatoes. Warm fall spices, brown sugar, pecans, and mini marshmallows highlight the natural flavor of the sweet potatoes in this beloved old-school recipe.

Angela Latimer, Bake It With Love

Get the full Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows recipe at Bake It With Love.

Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Streusel

Roast the sweet potatoes until their skins slump and the flesh gives easily under a spoon. That keeps excess water out of the filling. The pecan-and-oat topping needs to stay in rough clumps, with gaps where steam can escape. Orange zest gives the potatoes a little sharpness under the brown sugar. Let the baked casserole settle before you break through that nutty crust.

Green Bean Casserole

Fresh beans need a short head start before they meet the mushroom sauce. Skip that blanch and the casserole can come out with a soft topping over squeaky beans. Brown the mushrooms until their water disappears, too. A thick sauce clings to the vegetables instead of collecting in a gray puddle, while fried onions added near the end keep their crunch.

Classic Bread Stuffing

For a plate with plenty of gravy, I want white-bread stuffing with a soft middle and a toasted top, which means giving the pan both covered and uncovered oven time. Dry the bread first so it drinks up the seasoned broth without collapsing, and rub the sage between your fingers so nobody bites into a big dusty flake.

Cornbread Dressing

Cornbread dressing should scoop softly rather than fall into dry crumbs. Use plain, unsweetened cornbread that’s had a day to firm up; a very sweet corn muffin changes the whole dish. The small amount of white bread helps it hold together. This is the dressing for the part of the plate where turkey gravy is going to land.

Buttery Mashed Potatoes

Drain the potatoes well. Then give them a minute in the warm pot to lose surface water before adding anything else. That pause keeps the butter and milk from becoming a thin sauce around wet chunks. A hand masher leaves a few small lumps, which I like. A food processor can turn the same potatoes gluey before you’ve had time to notice.

Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Cream cheese helps these potatoes stay smooth through a night in the refrigerator and a second heating. Make shallow ridges across the top so the final butter has somewhere to settle. Cover the dish while it heats; an uncovered pan can develop a dry crust before the middle is hot. These free up a burner when the gravy needs your attention.

Stovetop Mac and Cheese

When every oven rack is occupied, a pot of stovetop macaroni is an easy decision, especially with a smooth cheddar-and-Jack sauce that needs no browned crust. Grate the cheese yourself, stir it in off the heat and leave the sauce slightly loose before adding the noodles, because they’ll keep taking up liquid on the way to the table.

Scalloped Potatoes

Thin, even slices matter more than a fancy baking dish. A thick potato slice can stay stubbornly firm under a browned top, so check the middle with a knife before deciding the casserole is done. This version uses a milk-and-cream sauce with onion and no cheese. Let it settle after baking so you can lift tender layers instead of chasing hot liquid around the plate.

Whole-Berry Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce thickens as it cools, so don’t boil it down to the consistency you want in the serving bowl. Leave a few berries intact for texture. Orange juice softens the sharp edge without turning this into a citrus dessert. I like this cold against hot stuffing, especially when the rest of the plate is covered in gravy.

Parker House Dinner Rolls

The fold gives these rolls a soft pocket and a buttery edge you can pull apart. Don’t rush the rise in a cold kitchen. Wait for dough that looks puffy and nearly doubled, even if the clock says it should be ready. Bake the rolls close together so their sides stay tender. A light brushing of butter on the warm tops is enough.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

For browned sprouts instead of a pan of steamed vegetables, put the dry cut faces against the metal and leave them alone through the first stretch of roasting. Toss with the vinegar only after the edges have crisped, when it can brighten the browned leaves without making the roasting tray wet.

Corn Casserole

This is the soft, spoonable cornbread side, with cornmeal in the batter and two forms of corn. It should have a browned rim and a moist center that holds together when scooped. Don’t confuse a tender crumb with raw batter. Give the pan a short rest after baking, especially if the first spoonful needs to sit neatly beside mashed potatoes.

Honey Glazed Carrots

A wide skillet lets the cooking water disappear before the carrots go soft. Once they’re tender, the honey and butter turn the last spoonfuls of liquid into a glossy coating. Keep the pieces the same thickness. Thick chunks and paper-thin rounds won’t reach that stage together, and nobody wants half the serving bowl crunchy while the other half falls apart.

Sausage and Fennel Stuffing

Sourdough and browned sausage give this stuffing a stronger flavor than the plain bread version. Fennel softens into sweet little pieces without adding fruit. Keep the sausage in small crumbles rather than breaking it down until it disappears. Brown it properly first. Pale steamed sausage wastes the chance to put a good savory base under all that toasted bread.

Skillet Creamed Corn

Crush a small portion of the corn before cooking it. Those broken kernels help thicken the cream while most of the corn stays whole, giving you a side that still has something to bite. A little flour keeps the sauce steady, but it shouldn’t make a paste. This one can wait on a low burner for a few minutes while the carving finishes.

Roasted Butternut Squash

Butternut needs room on the pan more than it needs sugar. Crowded cubes release enough steam to keep their edges pale, even in a hot oven. Cut them evenly and use two pans if your squash fills one too tightly. A small amount of sage stirred into the oil seasons the actual food instead of leaving a decorative leaf on top.

Hashbrown Casserole

Thaw the hashbrowns and squeeze out excess moisture before folding them into the cheddar sauce, or you’ll risk a cold, watery middle under an already-browned topping. Sour cream gives the filling a little tang, and a thin cornflake crust supplies crunch without burying the recognizable potato shreds in every spoonful.

Broccoli Cheddar Casserole

Broccoli should keep its shape under the cheese sauce. A quick blanch is enough before baking, and thorough draining matters more than another handful of crackers on top. The stems belong in the dish too if you peel and slice them thinly. This makes a vegetable side with a crisp lid, not a bowl of sauce with a few green specks.

Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy

Good stock lets you make gravy before there’s a turkey pan to scrape. Brown the roux to a light hazelnut color for a deeper flavor. Add warm stock gradually so the flour doesn’t clump. The finished gravy should coat a spoon but still pour, and it will tighten in the refrigerator. Save some stock for reheating instead of judging it by the cold texture.

Stovetop Candied Yams

The supermarket yams used here are orange sweet potatoes, sliced into thick rounds that hold their shape. A covered simmer cooks them through before the lid comes off to reduce the syrup. Don’t stir them like a pot of soup. Shake the pan and turn the slices gently so the finished side has tender rounds under a shiny brown-sugar coating.

Roasted Root Vegetables

Carrots, parsnips and turnips don’t start with the same sweetness, which is why I like them roasted together rather than hidden under a heavy glaze. Cut the dense pieces small enough to finish together, spread them across two pans and let the mustard-seasoned oil cling to their rough edges. They should come out tender inside with real browning on the corners.

Cheddar Drop Biscuits

Drop biscuits are useful when there’s no clean patch of counter left for rolling dough. Keep the butter cold. Stop mixing while the batter still looks rough, before the urge to smooth out every lump takes over. The cheddar forms little browned spots along the edges, and the uneven tops give you plenty of crisp bits to pull off. Serve them while their centers still release a little steam.

Cranberry Apple Gelatin Salad

This cold, tart spoonful cuts through a plate of hot gravy and potatoes, with fresh cranberries to keep it from tasting only of sweet gelatin. Let the gelatin thicken slightly before folding in the fruit and celery so the pieces stay suspended instead of sinking. I set it in a plain dish and scoop it rather than wrestling with a decorative mold.

Sweet Corn Custard Pudding

Corn pudding sits softly on the spoon, with whole kernels held in a barely set custard. There’s no cornmeal or flour here to turn it into cornbread. Watch the center toward the end of baking. A gentle tremble is fine, but a liquid wave means it needs more time. Baking until the whole pan is rigid squeezes moisture out of the eggs.

What to make the day before and what can’t be

Cranberry sauce and cranberry gelatin salad are easy wins the day before because both need time to chill. Make the gravy too, cool it in a shallow container and refrigerate it promptly. The cream-cheese mashed potatoes are designed for an overnight stay in the refrigerator, while plain buttery mashed potatoes are better made close to the meal. Don’t treat every potato recipe as equally happy with a second heating.

Cut vegetables, grate cheese, cube bread and measure the dry ingredients for biscuits ahead. Keep prepared vegetables covered and chilled, and keep dry bread in a separate container. For stuffing, cook and refrigerate the vegetables or sausage separately from the bread; combine with broth and eggs before baking. That leaves less chopping on Thursday without asking a wet tray of bread to hold its texture overnight.

Roasted sprouts and root vegetables lose their crisp edges under a tight lid, so give them the final stretch of oven time. Save biscuit mixing for near serving, and add fried onions or marshmallows only when their casseroles are almost ready. If you fully cook a dish ahead, refrigerate it within two hours and reheat its center to 165°F. Use a metal pan for a casserole going from refrigerator to oven, and follow the pan maker’s directions; cold glass and sudden heat are a poor combination.

Oven space: the order to bake everything

Start with the pans, not just the recipes. Set the empty dishes on your oven racks and check what actually fits with room for air to circulate. Two wide casseroles that each fit alone may block the oven when stacked tightly together. Choose a workable menu before filling every dish in the cupboard, and note which sides can use burners instead: gravy, glazed carrots, creamed corn and stovetop macaroni can all help.

Bake long, forgiving casseroles earlier in the schedule and plan the last hot window around roasted vegetables and biscuits. Once the turkey is out, the oven can move to 425°F for sprouts, squash or roots while the bird rests before carving. Don’t assume a cold casserole will warm through during a short turkey rest. The make-ahead potatoes need their own reheating slot, and dense pans deserve a thermometer check rather than a guess from bubbling edges.

Keep a short written order with each dish’s temperature, expected time and finishing step. A 350°F corn casserole and 375°F scalloped potatoes shouldn’t share an invented compromise temperature without allowing for changed cooking times. Rotate pans when the oven is crowded and check the centers. Put rolls or biscuits in near the end, then use the cooling oven only briefly for dishes that are already hot; a barely warm oven is not a reliable place to heat a refrigerator-cold pan.

Keep reading

• Sweet Potato Casserole 12 Ways for Thanksgiving and After
• 20 Potato Side Dishes Starting With the Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole
• Cheesy Casseroles That Taste Like Grandma Made Them