Thanksgiving side dishes: 35 classic, make-ahead and budget ideas

The short answer: the best Thanksgiving side dishes mix classics like mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole and cranberry sauce with a few make-ahead and budget picks. Plan how many sides you need and an oven schedule that gets them on the table hot.

• 4 to 6 guests: 4 to 5 sides
• 8 to 10 guests: 5 to 6 sides, adding a casserole and a salad
• 20+ guests: 8 to 10, and make it a potluck for the sides
• 35 ideas, including vegetarian sides
• Next step: Plan it with the Meal Planner & Grocery List ($3.99).

Most families agree the Thanksgiving side dishes are the best part of the meal. This guide has 35 side dish ideas, from the classics to make-ahead, budget and vegetarian options, plus how many sides to make for your crowd and an oven schedule that gets them all on the table hot.

Planning the whole meal? Start with how to plan Thanksgiving dinner and our Thanksgiving menu template.

Classic Thanksgiving side dishes

Every side tastes better with good gravy. Our guide on how to make gravy covers the roux, the ratios and lump-free fixes.

For the most popular side of all, our guide to mashed potatoes covers the best potatoes, make-ahead and slow-cooker methods.

1. Mashed potatoes. Yukon Golds or russets with butter and warm milk.
2. Stuffing or dressing. Day-old bread, celery, onion, herbs and broth.
3. Gravy. Made from turkey drippings, or a make-ahead version with broth.
4. Green bean casserole. The canned soup and crispy onion classic, or a from-scratch version.
5. Sweet potato casserole with pecans or marshmallows.
6. Cranberry sauce. Fresh berries, sugar and orange zest simmered for about 10 minutes.
7. Dinner rolls.
8. Baked mac and cheese.
9. Corn casserole or buttered corn.
10. Deviled eggs.

Vegetable sides

11. Roasted Brussels sprouts with balsamic glaze.
12. Honey-glazed carrots.
13. Green beans with almonds and lemon.
14. Roasted butternut squash with sage. Or blend it into butternut squash soup for a first course.
15. Creamed spinach.
16. Roasted root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, beets).
17. Braised red cabbage with apples.
18. Cauliflower gratin.

Salads and fresh sides

19. Fall green salad with apples, cranberries and pecans.
20. Kale salad with parmesan and lemon.
21. Wild rice salad with dried cherries.
22. Waldorf salad.
23. Shaved Brussels sprout slaw.

Make-ahead Thanksgiving sides

Start with cranberry sauce. Our recipe takes 15 minutes, has 8 variations and can be made up to a week early.

24. Cranberry sauce: up to a week ahead.
25. Casseroles: assemble green bean or sweet potato casserole one to two days ahead, bake on the day. A hash brown casserole can be assembled the day before, too.
26. Slow-cooker mashed potatoes: make in the morning and keep warm.
27. Stuffing: cube and dry the bread two days ahead, mix the day before.
28. Rolls: bake weeks ahead, freeze, and warm before dinner.

Our holiday freezer meal prep plan has more do-ahead timing.

Budget Thanksgiving side dishes

29. Cornbread from scratch.
30. Garlic roasted potatoes.
31. Buttered cabbage or cabbage with bacon.
32. Homemade stuffing from bread ends saved in the freezer.
33. Glazed carrots.

Potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage and bread are among the cheapest things in the store in November. For a full plan, see Thanksgiving on a budget, which feeds eight for under $100.

Vegetarian mains that double as sides

34. Stuffed acorn squash with rice, cranberries and nuts.
35. Mushroom and wild rice casserole.

Use vegetable broth in stuffing and gravy so vegetarian guests can enjoy the classics too.

How many side dishes for Thanksgiving?

As a rough guide, plan about half a pound of potatoes per person and one to two rolls each. Write quantities into your Thanksgiving grocery list so nothing is forgotten.

An oven schedule for Thanksgiving sides

Oven space is the real limit. A simple timeline for a 3 p.m. dinner:

• Day before: make cranberry sauce, assemble casseroles, prep stuffing, wash and cut vegetables.
• Morning: turkey in the oven; mashed potatoes made and kept warm in a slow cooker.
• About 1:30 p.m.: turkey out to rest (it needs 30 to 45 minutes). Turn the oven to 375°F.
• 1:45 p.m.: casseroles and stuffing in.
• 2:15 p.m.: roasted vegetables in on a higher rack; gravy on the stovetop.
• 2:45 p.m.: rolls in for the last 10 minutes; salads dressed.

Follow USDA guidance and keep perishable dishes out of the fridge for no more than two hours.

Let guests bring sides

Side dishes are the easiest part to share. Ask each guest to bring one dish, ready to serve or ready to bake. A Thanksgiving potluck sign-up sheet avoids duplicates, and our Friendsgiving planner has more tips for group meals. A make-ahead dish like potato salad travels well, as long as it stays cold until serving.

Hosting friends instead of family? Our Friendsgiving food ideas include sides that travel well and a budget menu.

Keep the side dishes safe on a long day

Thanksgiving sides often sit out for hours while people graze, so a few food safety rules help the leftovers last.

1. Two hours is the limit. Put sides back in the fridge within two hours of serving. Set a phone timer when dinner starts.
2. Cook stuffing to 165°F. If you stuff the bird, check the center of the stuffing with a thermometer, not just the turkey. The USDA's turkey roasting guide explains why many cooks bake stuffing in a separate dish.
3. Use shallow containers. Leftover mashed potatoes and casseroles cool faster in shallow dishes than in one deep pot.
4. Eat leftovers within 3 to 4 days. The USDA's leftovers and food safety page lists storage times. Freeze anything you won't eat by then.
5. Reheat to 165°F. Stir halfway through so the middle gets hot, too.

Plan the oven schedule

Most kitchens have one oven, and the turkey takes it for hours. Write out a simple schedule the day before:

Slow cookers keep mashed potatoes warm, and a cooler without ice holds hot dishes for an hour or more. That frees the oven for the dishes that need it. Our guide to keeping food warm for a party has more options.

Plan the menu and the shopping on paper

The Meal Planner & Grocery List ($3.99) includes a dinner plan and prep page, grocery list and recipe cards, which make a simple Thanksgiving planning kit. It's also part of the Holiday Season Bundle ($15.99) with the Christmas Budget & Gift Planner, Sinking Funds Tracker, 100 Envelope Savings Challenge, Bill Tracker Printable and Cleaning Schedule. Once you nail the family's favorite sides, write them into a family recipe binder for next year, and use our Thanksgiving leftovers meal plan for the days after.

To see how the sides fit with the rest of the meal, browse the full Thanksgiving food list.

Free up a burner on the big day by making Instant Pot mashed potatoes in about 30 minutes.

Want a fall vegetable side? Our butternut squash recipes include make-ahead holiday sides like brown butter mash and squash with cranberries and pecans.

For more ways to serve the holiday's favorite orange side, see our sweet potato side dishes. Year-round, our easy side dishes list covers weeknight vegetables and starches.

Need a no-bake side? Our Watergate salad is a 5-ingredient pistachio fluff you can make the day before. Pricing the whole plate? See the average cost of Thanksgiving dinner for 10 guests.