7 of My Absolute Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Food & Entertainment

Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes | Wit & Delight

It’s Thanksgiving week here in the U.S. I’ll be hosting family at our home and have been working on planning our menu for Thanksgiving day. Whenever I plan a menu before hosting, I love looking back through favorite recipes I’ve made in the past and want to make again.

Today I’m sharing some of my absolute favorite Thanksgiving side dishes.

If you’re planning to celebrate the holiday, I hope you use the list of Thanksgiving side dishes below as inspiration while planning your menu. If not, I hope you decide to try one (or more) of these recipes in the weeks and months ahead!


1. Classic Celery Stuffing by Alison Roman

Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes | Wit & Delight
Photo by Eva Zar for Alison Roman

I’ve made this stuffing for the past two years and it’s SO GOOD. Alison usually has some good video content for her Thanksgiving recipes that I love to watch before cooking too.


2. Cheesy Potatoes from Fresh Midwest

Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes | Wit & Delight
Photo via TheCookieRookie at Food.com

This is a classic Midwest dish. This Thanksgiving, I’m going to use a cheesy potatoes recipe from the new Fresh Midwest cookbook. You can also find a similar version online here.


3. Baked Leeks With Mustard and Parmesan from A Table for Friends

Photo by Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

I made this recipe many times in the past year and it’s the first side dish that comes to mind when I want to make something that’s easy and also impressive. I highly recommend buying the A Table for Friends cookbook for access to this recipe (and so many other great ones); otherwise, this braised leeks recipe from The New York Times looks great too.


4. Cranberry Chutney

Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes | Wit & Delight
Photo via @cabinfoodlove on Instagram

My sister-in-law makes the most amazing cranberry chutney. It’s her mom’s recipe and Thanksgiving is not the same without it. We’re with my family this year and I am going to try to do it myself!


5. Bitter Greens With Crispy Shallots and Parmesan by Travis Lett of Gjelina

Photo by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott for Bon Appétit

I’ve shared this recipe before and have made it multiple times over the years—it’s that good. At first glance, this is a really simple radicchio and greens salad. However, the flavors are deliciously complex. In particular, there’s something about the smokiness of the oil (which is what the shallots are cooked in) that makes all of the flavors pop. 


6. Overnight Mac & Cheese by Ina Garten

Photo by Quentin Bacon for Ina Garten’s Go-To Dinners cookbook

I love having mac & cheese at Thanksgiving. I want to try this overnight mac & cheese from Ina Garten. It looks delicious and gets a lot of the prep work out of the way the day before!


7. Pumpkin Bread by My Mom

Recipe card from my mom

My mom’s pumpkin bread is the best, hands down. I asked her to bring four loaves up when she comes to our house this week! 


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BY Kate Arends - November 21, 2022

2 Comments
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Ted
November 21, 2022 10:44 pm

That’s dressing, not stuffing!

November 23, 2022 6:29 am

Even though I lived in NYC for a year, I never had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but I’d imagine to be all over the side dishes since I am not big on turkey. That cranberry chutney and bitter greens look like I need to try them asap!

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