Sure, the turkey gets all the attention. But Thanksgiving dinner would be nothing without the sides—some of our favorites including: marshmallow-topped Southern sweet potato casserole, mac and cheese with crispy parmesan-phyllo crust and broccoli and cauliflower gratin, which all come together in a single baking dish. That's why we’ve rounded up the 42 best Thanksgiving casserole recipes to have in your back pocket this holiday, both classic and unconventional. Bonus? Many of them can be assembled and frozen ahead or cooked and reheated, so you have one less thing to think about on the big day.
42 Thanksgiving Casserole Recipes to Get Your Guests in the Spirit (and Make Hosting a Breeze)
Bring on the veggie gratin
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Published Sep 15, 2023
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
1. Spicy Turkey Enchiladas with Pumpkin Seeds
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, high protein, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 6
Skip the whole bird (or hefty turkey breast) in favor of these festive enchiladas, which are complete with cheese and seasonal trimmings. (Shredded rotisserie chicken works, too.)
Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell
2. Mac and Cheese with Crispy Parmesan-Phyllo Crust
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 10
We don’t know about you, but we’ll take a bouquet of savory, shatteringly crisp phyllo rosettes over real flowers any day. If you don’t want to fuss with them though, just lay the strips of phyllo over the top.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
3. Broccoli and Cauliflower Gratin
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, vegetarian, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 6
Wondering how to get the kids’ table to eat some veggies? Smothering them in heavy cream, Gruyère and Parmesan should do the trick.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, gluten free
- Serves: 6
For those families that always serve baked ziti at the holidays…but want to spice up the menu. Swap noodles out in favor of hearty, creamy polenta slabs, then wow your guests with beefy, homemade tomato sauce.
Quentin Bacon/Cook Like a Pro
5. Ina Garten’s Baked Spinach and Zucchini
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 6
Whether you serve this veggie-cheese-and-rice side in individual cast iron skillets or one big baking pan, your guests will ooh and ahh as if the Barefoot Contessa made it herself.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
6. Spiralized Winter Vegetable Gratin
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, vegetarian
- Serves: 6
Parsnips, sweet potatoes and butternut squash unite under a blanket of bubbly Parm and Gruyère cheeses and a trio of cold-weather herbs. Look for pre-spiralized veggies at the supermarket to save time.
Katherine Gillen
7. Hasselback Honey-Glazed Squash with Pistachios and Chiles
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 8
It’s not a casserole in the traditional sense, but the squash is tightly packed into a single casserole dish to bake *and* they couldn’t be more appropriate for Thanksgiving if they tried. We used butternut, but feel free to try delicata or honeynut instead.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
- Time Commitment: 2 hours
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 6
Red sauce? You won’t miss it one bit, thanks to ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, garlicky spinach, nutmeg and a generous dose of fresh sage.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
9. The Best Potatoes au Gratin Ever
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 8
The secret to our extra flavorful take on this iconic side? Grainy mustard. Go the extra mile by adding a flourish of breadcrumbs to the top before it’s baked for extra crunch.
Nisha Vora
10. Creamy Vegan Lentil and Roasted Vegetable Bake
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, vegan, dairy free
- Serves: 8
Vegan food and comfort food are not mutually exclusive. Case in point: This stick-to-your-ribs lentil bake, which stars a beyond-rich cashew cream sauce.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
11. Ravioli Lasagna
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, high protein
- Serves: 8
Because there’s always at least one picky kid who won’t eat *anything* on the menu. We have a feeling they’ll be fine with layers of store-bought ravioli, jarred marinara sauce and lots of cheese.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
12. Roasted Cauliflower Macaroni and Cheese
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, vegetarian
- Serves: 6
Speaking of picky kids, this white cheddar mac is so darn tasty that they won’t mind our favorite cruciferous veggie making a cameo. Oh, and did we mention the buttery panko-Parm topping?
Kelly Marshall/Sunday Best
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 4 to 6
A far cry from the boiled kind you have on St. Patrick’s Day. If your baking dishes are all spoken for (hi, apple crisp and sweet potato casserole), make this golden-brown beauty in an oven-safe skillet instead.
Quentin Bacon/Cook Like a Pro
14. Ina Garten’s Baked Pasta with Tomatoes and Eggplant
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, vegetarian
- Serves: 3
The Queen of Chambray is nothing if not resourceful. Instead of using humdrum tomato sauce, the base for this recipe is her homemade tomato-eggplant soup. It’s worth the extra effort for that richer, more complex flavor.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
15. Shepherd’s Pie
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 40 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, high protein, kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 6
In case you want to do away with turkey this year, this cozy dish is packed with traditional Thanksgiving veggies and mashed potatoes, along with Guinness-infused beef stew.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
16. Leek, Kale and Goat Cheese Strata
- Time Commitment: 8 hours and 35 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, vegetarian
- Serves: 6
Never had the pleasure of tasting strata? It’s basically a baked dish of bread, cheese and egg custard. Assemble it on Thanksgiving Eve so it has time to soak in the fridge overnight.
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, vegetarian, kid-friendly
- Serves: 6
Save the cauliflower rice for another holiday—this versatile veggie is dying to be transformed into a decadent side dish for once. We’ll be dousing ours in hot sauce, TYVM.
Half Baked Harvest
Damn Delicious
19. Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Fried Shallots
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 8
A timeless classic with a modern update. Frying your own shallots instantly gives the casserole an elegant vibe, or at least more elegant than store-bought crispy onions.
Grandbaby Cakes
20. Southern Sweet Potato Casserole
- Time Commitment: 55 minutes
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser
- Serves: 8
You know how those teeny-tiny mini marshmallows are the tastiest part of sweet potato casserole? This recipe calls for full-sized ones, so you can get toasty, gooey goodness in every bite (and brown sugar-cinnamon oat crumble to boot).
Grandbaby Cakes
21. Lemon Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: high protein, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
- Serves: 4
Nothing beats knocking your main and side dish out in one felt swoop. Here, the rice cooks in chicken stock and cream of chicken soup, right alongside the thighs.
Gimme Some Oven
22. 5-Ingredient Italian Sausage and Kale Baked Ziti
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
- Serves: 6 to 8
Italian sausage has a ton of built-in flavor, so this dish doesn’t require much more than the absolute essentials to be delicious. Feel free to zhuzh things up with jarred pesto, ricotta cheese or crushed red pepper flakes.
Well Plated by Erin
23. Crockpot Scalloped Potatoes
- Time Commitment: 3 hours and 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: slow cooker recipe, vegetarian, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser
- Serves: 8
We consider using a Crockpot on Thanksgiving to be a total hostess hack. If you have the potatoes going in the slow cooker, all your stove’s burners will be free to prepare the rest of the sides.
Spend with Pennies
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 12
Stuffing, dressing, casserole—whatever you call it, we want it on our plate. Cook it ahead of Thanksgiving, pop it in the freezer and reheat it before dinner at 350°F for about 20 minutes with a bit of broth on top to keep it from drying out.
Foodie Crush
25. Green Bean Casserole with Onion Rings
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 8
If you think the crispy onions on top are what green bean casserole is all about, you’ll never stray from this recipe once you try it. And at this rate, we wouldn’t blame you for throwing some French fries in the mix too.
Spoon Fork Bacon
26. Creamy Baked Carbonara Mac and Cheese
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients
- Serves: 7
Something about bacon’s savory, salty, comforting flavor just screams fall to us. So, we’re making it a focal point of this year’s mac and cheese, which also has eggs, peas and lots of Parm and white cheddar.
Averie Cooks
27. Pumpkin and Cheesy Baked Potato Casserole
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 12
Because pumpkin pie is only the tip of the gourd-loving iceberg. Think baked pumpkin purée topped with paper-thin potato slices and cheese of your choice.
Half Baked Harvest
28. White Pesto Spinach Lasagna
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 8
What sets this creamy, dreamy side apart from the rest? We’re so glad you asked. It stars a from-scratch Raclette cheese sauce that will blow your guests’ minds. (Provolone or fontina can be used in its place if need be.)
Well Plated by Erin
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
- Serves: 10
We love mashed potatoes just as much as the next girl, but there’s one crucial thing they lack: crunch. Here, you’ll get spuds and all the crunch you crave, thanks to frozen shredded hash browns.
Dude That Cookz
30. Broccoli and Cheese Casserole
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: vegetarian, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 8
Broccoli cheddar soup in casserole form—swoon. Jasmine rice soaks up all the butter, cream of broccoli soup and cream of celery soup, while sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses hold the casserole together.
Yellow Bliss Road
31. Creamy Turkey and Stuffing Casserole
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: high protein, crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
- Serves: 8
Psst: Bookmark this to make with your leftovers on Black Friday. We’ll take our slice with a dollop of cranberry sauce, please.
Spoon Fork Bacon
32. Cheesy Root Vegetable Gratin
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 8
Sweet potatoes, parsnips and beets turn soft and tender after a swim in Parm-spiked heavy cream and a stint in the oven. Even your veggie-hating kids will be willing to take a bite (well, probably).
Gimme Some Oven
33. Better-for-You Green Bean Casserole
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
- Serves: 8 to 10
This lightened-up version of green bean casserole will still satisfy your relatives, promise. It calls for making homemade mushroom Alfredo sauce instead of using canned soup.
Damn Delicious
34. French Onion Chicken Noodle Casserole
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 5 minutes
- Why We Love It: kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser
- Serves: 6
Any casserole topped with salt-and-pepper kettle chips is one we want on our holiday table. The recipe calls for shredding store-bought rotisserie chicken, so you won’t have to worry about cooking a second bird.
Grandbaby Cakes
35. Biscuits and Gravy Casserole
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients
- Serves: 10
You were planning on serving both anyway, right? Lean on easy canned biscuit dough and packet gravy if you must; it’ll taste so damn good that your guests won’t mind that you didn’t make them from scratch.
How Sweet Eats
36. Savory Sweet Potato Casserole
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 6
If you pick the mallows off your sweet spuds year after year, try this savory recipe on for size. The potatoes are crowned with bacon, breadcrumbs and crispy fried jalapeños instead.
Gimme Some Oven
37. All-in-One Thanksgiving Casserole
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, high protein
- Serves: 8 to 10
Behold: We saved the ultimate Thanksgiving casserole recipe for last. This drool-worthy creation has it all, from sweet potatoes and green beans to cranberry-herb stuffing to turkey and mushroom gravy.
The Mom 100
38. Hashbrown Chicken Vegetable Pot Pie Casserole
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, high protein, kid-friendly
- Serves: 10
Chicken and potatoes just got so much better.
Well Plated
39. Spaghetti Squash Casserole
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 25 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, gluten free, paleo,
- Serves: 6
Lo and behold: a light Thanksgiving casserole option for those looking to save room for dessert.
Minimalist Baker
- Time Commitment: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, vegan
- Serves: 8
Vegan or not, your Thanksgiving guests will most definitely be returning for seconds.
I Am a Food Blog
41. Roasted Acorn Squash Breakfast Pudding
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly
- Serves: 6
Even though this was technically meant as a brunch recipe... we won't tell.
Katherine Gillen
42. 3-Cheese Pumpkin Pasta Casserole with Spinach
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why We Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly
- Serves: 6
Totally adding this Thanksgiving casserole to our list of Thanksgiving traditions.
For even more great recipes, check out our first cookbook, Only the Good Stuff.
Taryn Pire is PureWow’s associate food editor. A former bartender and barista, she’s been writing about all things delicious since 2016, developing recipes, reviewing restaurants and investigating food trends at Food52, New Jersey Family Magazine and Taste Talks. When she isn’t testing TikTok’s latest viral recipe, she’s having popcorn for dinner and posting about it on Instagram @cookingwithpire.
