86 Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes That Will Impress Everyone at the Table

In our humble opinion, you should Hasselback everything. Just halve and slice a squash horizontally and you’ve created an easy-yet-impressive side.

All you need is a spiralizer (or, you know, a container of pre-spiralized veggies from the grocery store) to make this fancy holiday side. Mix the seasonal spirals with the creamy sauce and get ready to be served compliments.

Honey and harissa are both major crowd-pleasers, and the sweet and spicy flavors come together wonderfully.

If you’ve never had persimmons on your Thanksgiving table, try them this year. Brighten up a typically heavy green dish with this autumnal fruit and kale salad.

The Nothing Fancy author knows a thing or two about easy side dishes. Roman’s squash recipe takes less than five minutes to prep, and it’s almost too good.

No one’s expecting fries at Thanksgiving, and that’s kind of the whole point. Swap out your typical mashed sweet potatoes for an easy-to-eat finger food.

A little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, a lot delicious. Serve this cornbread as a warm side straight out of the hot skillet.

Here’s a trick to crispier sweet potatoes: Don’t line the sheet tray when you bake them. Parchment and foil just trap steam, and that’s the opposite of what you want.

It’s Thanksgiving. Why not go all out?

These biscuits have a secret: They’re made with lemon-lime soda, which makes them extra fluffy (and no, they don’t taste sweet—or citrusy).

Add some heat to the Thanksgiving table (just warn your Aunt Sally ahead of time).

This cornbread recipe is sweetened with maple syrup and contains brown butter, because what could be bad about that?

Pick and choose your favorite in-season veggies, then tuck them into a parchment pouch to steam away. Look ma, no cleanup.

With mostly warm and roasted dishes, it’s nice to have a bright and refreshing salad to balance everything out.

Voilà, you have your vegetables and your carbs all in one dish.

It’s creamy, cheesy and ready to eat in 20 minutes.

Give us a crispy Brussels sprout and we’ll have eyes for no other veggie. Bonus: The aromatic topping does double-duty, bringing that extra crunch we crave.

It’s rich, creamy and cozy, and bound to become a new Thanksgiving staple for your fam.

We should mention that this dish contains a third of a bottle of wine. What you do with the rest is your call, chef.

You don’t even have to boil water to make them.

The simple combo of black pepper and cheese instantly elevates any ingredient.

We opted for nutty Gruyère to balance out the creaminess of this classic French dish, but you can—and should—experiment with different cheeses (like cheddar or Fontina).

Fill those crispy crevices with all the cheese and bacon your heart desires.

It’s way more sophisticated than the usual sweet potato and marshmallow casserole.

This is the mac-and-cheese equivalent of veggies. Need we say more?

It’s not a Thanksgiving celebration without a green bean casserole. This one turns up the volume just a touch (and there’s no canned soup in sight).

Ranch on Thanksgiving? No one is stopping you.

Cook the taters ahead of time so you can worry about important things day-of, like your guests and sipping wine.

Honestly, this 25-minute side dish is as delicious as any main course.

Forget everything you know about cooking carrots, because this is the only recipe you’ll ever need.

It maybe frigid outside…but your heart and belly will be warm thanks to this absolute stunner.

The dressing comes together easily in a blender, and its bright, complex flavor pairs fabulously with the bitter salad greens.

Hello, ultimate comfort food. Can we eat this every holiday?

Leave off the crunchy sugar topping for a more savory-tasting bread. Just don’t skimp on the butter.

Top it with a drizzle (or dousing) of tahini-honey dressing and save a bite for us.

A potato side dish is always a beautiful thing, but these French-style potatoes are particularly easy on the eyes (and surprisingly simple to make).

No more standing over a smoking-hot pan. These cuties are cooked entirely in the oven.

It’s not plain, it’s elegant.

The garlic chile oil can be made up to a month ahead but be warned: You’ll want to put it on everything.

It’s hard to believe the creamy dressing is dairy-free. It’s the ultimate foil to the bitter radicchio, lentils and apples.

All those flavors and textures are bound to please your guests.

They’re crispy like French fries on the outside but creamy and soft on the inside.

If you make this one in eye-catching cookware, you can serve the gooey, cheesy pasta straight out of the only pot it was cooked in.

Do you really need a reason to serve up a big plate of cheese?

Include any hearty vegetable you like, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli or fennel. The sauces take two seconds to make in your blender.

You can mix the whole thing up the day before, refrigerate it and then bring it to room temperature before serving. Genius.

This is how you convert those die-hard mashed potato people to team crispy.

Make a double batch; they’ll disappear in no time.

It has all the fun of monkey bread…but it’s a little more elegant.

Delicata squash is ideal for salads, since it has a sweet, nutty flavor and you can eat the delicate skin.

Is it traditional for Thanksgiving? Not really. Is it positively delicious? You bet.

These wedges get their je ne sais quoi from Za'atar, a Middle Eastern spice blend of dried herbs, sesame seeds and sumac.

Two veggies brought together in harmony with a blanket of cheese. That’s what Thanksgiving is all about, right?

Serve it warm so the cheese melts ever so slightly when it’s dotted on top.

Regular lettuce has a hard time standing up to the rest of the spread. Brussels sprouts, on the other hand, will steal the show.

They won’t believe it’s vegan.

Make it the day before Thanksgiving. It’ll save you time in the kitchen, and it tastes better on the second day.

It’s sweet, sour and caramelized, and we can’t stop ourselves from going back for seconds.

This has all the familiar flavors of Thanksgiving stuffing, without any of the bread. Gluten-free folks, we see you.

Who needs spuds when you have cauliflower?

Hot tip: Squeeze as much of the water from the shredded potatoes as possible. You thank us once you taste those crispy edges.

This stuffing gets baked on a sheet pan so the crispy-to-soft ratio is basically one to one, just the way we like it.

Alternatively, you can bake your stuffing in muffin cups for individually portioned bites.

Why didn’t we think of this sooner?

It’s Thanksgiving, so naturally you want to indulge. But you can also sneak in a few greens while you enjoy a heaping plate of mac and cheese (if you’re into that sort of thing).

Toss your Brussels sprouts in honey and hot sauce, and never look back.

Instead of onions, celery and stale white bread, use shallots, mushrooms and sourdough. It’s called modernizing a classic.

It’s all about those crispy croutons. Make extra.

Figs are in season in the fall, but if you can’t find them, try this dish with apples or pears instead.

Who doesn’t want a slice of pie as a side?

When roasting with olive oil, salt and pepper just isn’t enough, add breadcrumbs, olives and lots of fresh herbs.

Who needs a centerpiece when you have this gorgeous bread bouquet?

It’s like a beautiful cheese board in bread form.

Skip the store-bought rolls in favor of these easy homemade ones. We promise they’re worth the effort.

Fancier than your usual cornbread, but just as mouthwatering.

If you’re not going all out with squash bowls of pasta, you might want to reconsider your strategy.

These are impressive enough to serve as a vegetarian main, but we also love them as a hearty side dish.

Get your guests to ooh and ahh twice: Once for the turkey, and once for these artfully arranged veggies.

The bright, nutty dressing complements the earthy flavor of the beets and greens just so.

Is it an appetizer or a side dish? We don’t really care, because it’s too darn delish either way.

Roasted, pickled and raw shaved Brussels (with plenty of shaved Parmesan, of course) is a combo made in Thanksgiving heaven.

Turmeric, cumin, coriander and cilantro are staples of Indian cuisine. We propose adding them to your spread to mix up the usual parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.

Nothing brings people together like a warm, oozy baked Brie straight from the oven.

They’re low-carb, so you can have two (or three).

Who said potatoes get to have all the holiday fun?

Gorgeous? Check. Easy to make? Check, check. Tasty beyond compare? You better believe it.