Thanksgiving Sides: How To Make Them

Everyone has their favorite part of the Thanksgiving feast, but some swear that the side dishes are what make the meal. What can't be argued is the time that goes into making these holiday side dishes — there's definitely more prep work required for the many accompaniments than for the turkey. We've come up with five classic Thanksgiving side dishes that are easy to prepare, and still deliver a punch to your taste buds.

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For a healthy component to your holiday dinner, choose this medley of simply roasted fall vegetables. All you need are carrots, butternut squash, purple onions, garnet yams, and Brussels sprouts. Creating this dish is as simple as drizzling the vegetables with a dash of olive oil and roasting them until they're brown. Even better, you can peel and chop all of the vegetables up to two days in advance and store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container to cut down on work the day of Thanksgiving.

A less healthy but more traditional vegetable dish served on Thanksgiving is the classic green bean casserole. We take ours one step further by using real onions — not canned — fresh green beans, and a homemade cream and broth mixture in lieu of a canned soup. Though this dish requires a little more prep work than others, the result is spectacular.

And it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without some potatoes to keep the turkey company. Some people are fans of the traditional mashed potato, while others go for sweet potatoes. Whichever camp you're in, we've got you covered. We are sharing our recipe for the best mashed potatoes and our sweet and savory recipe for roasted sweet potatoes and cinnamon. For the mash, just boil the potatoes, smash them, add butter, goat cheese, and milk and mix. The roasted sweet potatoes have that holiday feel to them with the addition of cinnamon, and are a cinch to prepare. Simply drizzle oil, honey, cinnamon, salt, and pepper over the potatoes, and roast for 25 to 30 minutes.

We also wanted to throw something a little unexpected into the mix, with a spinach and Gruyère soufflé. These soufflés are individually sized, which makes for a fun presentation. These also take a little more preparation than some other Thanksgiving sides, but it's worth the end result, and they look beautiful. Take a look at the recipes for our favorite Thanksgiving sides.