The holiday season is all about bringing those close to you closer. A memorable holiday dinner shouldn’t be stressful though, especially when it comes to adding the beloved side dishes. From mashed potatoes to mac and cheese, to stuffing, and cranberry sauce, these 20+ Unique and Gourmet Holiday Side Dishes will round out your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner with ease.
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I have to admit, I LOVE this time of year! I guess I have two favorite times of the year; summer and November-December! I think it’s partially because I was born around Thanksgiving, so the traditional Thanksgiving food always has a sentimental value to me. And it’s really tasty too.
I think my favorite holiday food has to be stuffing. I get really close to saying mashed potatoes because, come on, who doesn’t love mashed potatoes?! But I guess that I feel that I can have mashed potatoes pretty much any time of year, but stuffing is a special thing!
I find that most people who move out on their own and can-do holidays their own way, quickly find that they’re overwhelmed with what they ought to make for their holiday dinner. I think this is the best time to try out new recipes of the classics and adding to your own flair of a holiday dinner.
However, I feel like a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner has a few essential side dishes for it be considered complete… you really can’t leave any one of these out!
- Stuffing
- Potatoes
- Vegetables
- Bread
- Cranberry Sauce
Yeah, cranberry sauce HAS to be in your holiday dinner, it just has to!
The Best Holiday Side Dishes
Here are some of the best and unique side dishes that I’ve rounded up for you to help you build your own new holiday dinner traditions! Plus some tips to help your holiday dinner go off without a hitch.
Thanksgiving (or Christmas) Stuffing Recipes
Ok, I feel like stuffing is a quintessential part of the holidays because it’s just so comforting in such a different way as opposed to potatoes while still being versatile in preparation and flavor.
Homemade Cornbread Dressing with Sausage
Homemade Cornbread Dressing with Sausage is a perfect side dish for the holidays. Seasoned with thyme and sage, this cornbread and sausage stuffing comes together in less than 20 minutes.
Sausage Leek Butternut Stuffing
Sausage Leek Butternut Stuffing from Garlic and Zest has the beautiful meatiness of sausage throughout while being sweetened with butternut squash. Perfect for fall!
Sourdough Sun-dried Tomato Artichoke Stuffing
Sourdough Sun-Dried Tomato Artichoke Stuffing Pinch Me I’m Eating is a perfectly unique and gourmet thanksgiving stuffing recipe that is ideal for those wanting to really expand their repertoire of holiday side dishes.
Italian Sausage and Apple Stuffing!
Italian Sausage and Apple Stuffing from The Organic Kitchen is especially delicious alongside a ham for a Christmas dinner!
Easy Potato Side Dishes
Potatoes have such a wide range of what they can do but I wanted to include recipes both for russets and sweet potatoes! Either one is just too good to omit.
Sweet Potato Bake with Fresh Cranberries and Apples
A healthy and delicious alternative to sweet potato casserole, this sweet potato bake with fresh cranberries and apples is tart and sweet. The best sweet potato side dish you need for the holidays has hints of maple and molasses and baked until soft.
Italian Mashed Potato Casserole
An Italian Mashed Potato Casserole, filled with smoked provolone and salami, is a perfect side dish for a comfort food dinner. Topped with breadcrumbs for a crunchy top, this is will be a new family favorite.
Roasted Garlic Truffle Mashed Potatoes
Roasted Garlic Truffle Mashed Potatoes from Pinch Me I’m Eating is a gourmet side dish with the addition of truffle oil! This oil can be found in a lot of specialty and gourmet markets. You can also buy it through this link (affiliate).
sweet potato casserole with brown sugar pecan topping
Who doesn’t love a sweet potato casserole?! I love it both during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sweet Potato Casserole with Sugar Pecan Topping from Blue Bowl Recipes is a fun twist on the traditional marshmallow-topped casserole.
Hedgehog Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
Hedgehog Roasted Rosemary Potatoes from Sprinkles and Sprouts are a simple recipe with a wow factor from the cross cuts on the potatoes!
Easy Herb and Brown Sugar Roasted Sweet Potatoes
A simple roasted sweet potato like these Easy Herb and Brown Sugar Roasted Sweet Potatoes from The Forked Spoon keep true to the natural flavors of sweet potatoes while being a fun presentation.
Easy Creamy Mashed Red Potatoes
Again, mashed potatoes are a hit for a holiday dinner side because everyone loves them. Easy Creamy Mashed Red Potatoes from Pinch and Swirl uses red potatoes to help make this recipe ultra-creamy!
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Another great recipe for mashed potatoes includes sage and brown butter with Garlic Sage Mashed Potatoes from Renee Nicole’s Kitchen.
Holiday Vegetable Sides
One thing that I’ve noticed over the years in my Thanksgiving eating is that green beans are a MUST for a vegetable side dish. Here are plenty of ideas for green bean recipes, as well as some other tasty vegetables!
Green Bean Almondine
A classic Green Bean Almondine from Beyond the Chicken Coop is a perfect way to keep the beans simple but classy at the same time!
Orange and Honey Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Orange and Honey Roasted BrusselSprouts are the best way to enjoy brussel sprouts, hands down. Seared in a cast-iron skillet and roasted to perfection, these caramelized brussel sprouts are beaming with flavor in orange marmalade and honey Dijon mustard sauce. A must-have for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Updated Green Bean Casserole
Making an updated green bean casserole from scratch is as easy as 1-2-3. Presenting it deconstructed elevates your Thanksgiving meal to a whole other level of gourmet.
Creamy Edamame and Corn Succotash
Creamy Edamame and Corn Succotash is the perfect side dish
for a hearty meal. This whole dish can be made in a skillet and served within 30 minutes. Top with grilled shrimp or chicken for a well-balanced dinner.
Green Bean Salad with Dill Dressing
A cold green bean salad with a Greek yogurt herb dressing and pickled red onions is a refreshing and clean side dish to have for a summer dinner or over the holidays. Perfect for potlucks, this simple green bean salad recipe can feed a crowd or be sized down for an elegant dinner. Learn when green beans are in season, as well as how to cook and clean them in order to enjoy this green bean side dish.
Screaming Skillet Green Beans
Screamin Skillet Green Beans from Renee Nicole’s Kitchen is perfect having been tossed in garlic!
Cinnamon and Thyme Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots
Cinnamon and Thyme Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots from Sprinkles and Sprouts are absolutely ideal for a gourmet Thanksgiving vegetable side!
Worcestershire Green Beans
Worcestershire Green Beans from Renee Nicole’s Kitchen is tangy yet satisfying.
Unique Holiday Side Dishes
Are you looking for a side dish that is just a bit more unique than mashed potatoes and stuffing? Here are a few recipe ideas that are sure to impress!
Creamy Roasted Mushroom Fennel Polenta
Creamy Roasted Mushroom and Fennel Polenta from Joyfully Mad is a super comforting holiday side dish that will be unexpected but most certainly welcome!
Wine and Thyme Macaroni and Cheese · Erica's Recipes
Do you happen to be a lover of mac and cheese? Well, you are in good company and Ericas Recipes has a Wine and Thyme Macaroni and Cheese recipe that your holiday guests would love!
Cranberry Sauce Recipes
You can’t have the holidays without cranberry sauce, you just can’t! But you can make it a bit more adventurous than just the stuff from the can.
Cranberry And Dried Cherry Sauce
Try adding dried cranberries for a fun tart twist like Taste and See did with their Cranberry and Dried Cherry Sauce.
Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice
Homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange Juice is simple and classic. With hints of cinnamon and orange, this whole cranberry sauce is perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Easy Cranberry Orange Sage Sauce
I love the addition of sage to cranberries! Away from the Box did a fantastic job with this Easy Cranberry Orange Sage Sauce.
Simple Dinner Bread
Now dinner can’t be complete unless you have a delicious bread to sop up the delicious gravy and other sauces left on your plate!
Classic Orange Rolls
Homemade yeast rolls are the highlight of dinner! This soft and fluffy roll recipe, with just a touch of honey, is no fail and perfect for a crowd!
Easy Yeast Dinner Rolls
Homemade yeast dinner rolls are the highlight of dinner! This soft and fluffy roll recipe, with just a touch of honey, is no fail and perfect for a crowd!
Some Tips for Your Holiday Sides
When I was researching what questions, you might have as it came to plan your own holiday dinner, I saw questions like “what side goes best with Christmas ham,” “what vegetable should I serve at Thanksgiving,” and I feel like I need to say this. Sometimes I feel like we can be bound to food traditions just for tradition’s sake. I’ve heard families say, “we need a sweet potato dish!” even if they don’t like sweet potatoes.
Make food that you like and that you want to eat, regardless of what “tradition” may say.With that in mind, your side dishes should be the support for the main dish you make for the holidays! I would try to keep them as simple but as flavorful as possible.
- PLAN AHEAD!!!! I would honestly solidify what I was making about a week and a half before a major holiday dinner so that I would have enough time to read through all of my recipes. I would then make a shopping list, as well as a prep list of what all I would need to do. Then I would schedule out down to the last minute what I would be cooking.
- Choose recipes that have similar ingredients, so you can buy in bulk
- Prep your holiday side dish recipes out days in advance; that means to measure, cut, and precook what you can. (sometimes I store ingredients together in giant Ziploc baggies so they all stay together)
- Consider making mashed potatoes ahead of time and reheating in warm water on the stove (or with a sous vide circulator {affiliate}) to cut down on cooking the day of the dinner.
- Cranberry sauce can keep for a week and is easy to make. Make that days ahead and then pull out to serve the day of.
- Make your bread roll dough days before and store the dough balls in the freezer. Thaw the day of and bake!
- If need be, use frozen veggies for some of the sides (like green beans and corn). Those usually won’t affect the outcome of a recipe if there is just no time to prep them.
Essential Tools You’ll Need for Holiday Sides
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This kind of goes hand in hand with my tips up above but I figure I can go in more depth here.
You need a killer cutting board (or a few {affiliate}). I really like bamboo because they’re sturdy without being super expensive and they’re easy to clean.
A great knife! You’ll probably need a chef’s knife, as well as a utility knife (affiliate) for most of these recipes. I have a fantastic post on picking out the right knife for you that you need to check out. Make sure that your knives are sharp and ready to go. Also, be sure that you are used to your knives so that you don’t cut yourself endlessly.
Lots of Ziploc bags and a sharpie! Label and date everything, keep all of your ingredients in the same recipe together!
Fantastic dishes and bowls (affiliate) to show off your amazing holiday sides. Not everything is going to look great on a platter but not everything ought to be presented in a bowl either. Play around with what you have but make sure you have enough serving ware for each side dish.
You got this! The holiday season will be a breeze if you give yourself plenty of time to plan out your side dishes. Have fun and explore these fun recipes I’ve shared with you and have a happy holiday season.
Happy eating.
For a full holiday dinner, be sure to check out these posts:
You have so many delicious and creative side dishes here! I love the idea of a deconstructed green bean casserole!
Thank you! I loved creating it. Happy Holidays!
What a stunning collection! I don’t know where to start!
I say start at the top and work your way down 😉 happy holidays!