The Best Thanksgiving Sides Recipes To Try

Thanksgiving is a great holiday. It's a time to celebrate what we are thankful for, to gather with friends and family and—most importantly—to enjoy incredible food.

We know cooking a Thanksgiving meal can be stressful, so we've gathered some delicious recipes of for traditional Thanksgiving sides to help you along the way. Impress your guests and yourself with these five must-try dishes!

See also: 6 Inspiring Cocktail Recipe Books to Step Up Your Home Bar

Classic Stuffing

This recipe comes courtesy of Sara Lynn Cauchon, aka The Domestic Geek on YouTube. With 1.97 million subscribers, Cauchon releases new cooking videos every Monday and Thursday and released her own cookbook in 2019. Her stuffing is sure to wow your whole family, and it'll make your leftovers extra delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1 crusty French loaf, cut into ½” cubes
• ½ cup butter
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced
• 3 celery ribs, finely diced
• 2 to 3 cups chicken broth
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves
• 1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped
• 2 eggs, beaten
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Allow bread cubes to dry out overnight or bake at 200°F for an hour, tossing it every 15 minutes.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat.
3. Add onion and celery and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes or until they begin to soften.
4. Add chicken broth, parsley, thyme and sage. Simmer for 3 minutes.
5. Turn off heat and stir in bread cubes until they are well coated.
6. Add beaten eggs and stir well.
7. Pour stuffing into a well-greased baking dish and cover with aluminum foil.
8. Bake at 375°F for about 30.

Red Skinned Mashed Potatoes

The chef behind this recipe is Laura Vitale, known as Laura in the Kitchen to more than 3 million YouTube subscribers. Vitale has created her own website with many recipes and published a cookbook in 2015. Don't miss her rustic take on this Thanksgiving classic.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs of red skinned potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks
• ½ cup of unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• ½ cup of cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• ½ cup of freshly grated parmigiano
• about ¾ of a cup of whole milk
• ¼ cup of chopped chives
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Fill a large pot with water and sprinkle in a good pinch of salt, add the potatoes and bring to a boil. Cook the potatoes for about 20 minutes or until soft and tender.
2. Drain the potatoes making sure they are drained really well.
3. Place the potatoes back in the large pot, place the pot over low heat and mash them with a potato masher until desired consistency.
4. Add the butter and stir it in until fully melted, then add the cream cheese and parmigiano along with the salt and pepper.
5. Drizzle in the milk a little at a time and continue to mix until you have creamy yet chunky delicious mashed potatoes.
6. Stir in the chives, turn the heat off and serve right away!

French Onion Green Bean Casserole

Chef John Mitzewich of Food Wishes is a fun source of inspiration to his 4.05 million subscribers. He posts recipe videos every Tuesday and Friday, but this delightful dish is worth revisiting every holiday season.

Ingredients:

For the onions:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 or 3 yellow onions, sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar (stirred into the onions after they are caramelized)

For the white sauce:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 ½ tbsp flour
• 2 ½ cups milk
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Cayenne to taste
• ¼ tsp dried thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the topping:

• ⅔ cup panko or other style bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp melted butter

For the rest:

• 2 lbs green beans, trimmed, blanched
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 oz grated Gruyere cheese, divided
• ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir the onions into the pan; cook and stir until very soft and golden brown, about 15 minutes. Stir in sherry vinegar. Transfer to a small bowl, and reserve.
3. In the same skillet, melt 2 more tablespoons butter. Whisk in 2 tablespoons flour. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until the flour smells like baked pie crust, about 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk, about 1/2 cup at a time, then whisk in nutmeg, cayenne pepper and thyme. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened, whisking constantly, about 3 more minutes. Transfer to a bowl and reserve.
4. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a clean skillet; stir in panko until all crumbs are coated; reserve.
5. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over medium heat, and boil beans until bright green and crisp but not raw tasting, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain very well.
6. Spoon half of the caramelized onions into the prepared casserole dish; top with green beans. Season with salt and black pepper. Spread reserved white sauce over the green beans; sprinkle with half of the Gruyere cheese. Top with the rest of the onions, and use the back of a spoon to push onions down into sauce and cheese. Top with the buttered panko crumbs, the remaining Gruyere, and Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until hot throughout and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Cranberry Sauce

Chef Gordon Ramsey hardly needs an introduction. The multi-Michelin star chef runs restaurants across the world and hosts television shows Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, MasterChef and MasterChef Junior. His recipes are divine, and this is your chance to bring his world-famous flavor to your holiday spread.

Ingredients:

• 150g or ⅔ cup of caster sugar
• About two to three star anise
• Four cardamom pods
• Small bowl of fresh cranberries
• Two apples
• Pinch of salt and pepper (about 1 teaspoon)
• Port wine
• Orange zest/fresh orange juice

Directions:

1. Add the sugar and star anise into a pan on heat. Crush four cardamom pods and add. Wait for the sugar to melt to create a caramel.
2. Add the cranberries into the melted sugar. You want the cranberries to blister.
3. Peel, core and thinly slice the apples, then add them into the mix. Add the salt and pepper and mix. Deglaze the pan with a splash of port wine.
4. Add the orange zest and squeeze in the orange juice.
5. Cook on a low heat for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken. The mix will be thicker once it’s cooled down. This sauce can be made 3 to 4 days in advance and kept in the fridge.

Biscuits

Baker Bettie knows a thing or two about flaky bites, and she shares her expertise with 142,000 subscribers. She also has an online baking school, a website with her own recipes available, and a baking book coming out soon.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (240 gr) all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1¼ tsp kosher salt
• 6 tbsp (85 gr) cold unsalted butter (cut into small pieces), or lard, or shortening
• 1 cup (237 ml) buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 F (230 C) and measure out all of your ingredients.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well combined.
3. Add the cold butter pieces (or cold lard or shortening) into the dry ingredients and cut it into the flour, using a pastry cutter or a fork, until it resembles a coarse meal.
4. Add the cold buttermilk into the bowl and stir with a spoon or a rubber spatula just until combined. This should only take a few turns. The dough will be pretty wet and sticky.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter. With floured hands, gently pat out (do not roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it's about 1" thick. Fold the dough in half and turn it 90 degrees. Pat it out again and fold it again. Do this about 6 times. This process is creating layers which will create flaky biscuits (you can watch the video to see this process).
6. Press the dough out to about 1" thick and use a round cutter to cut into rounds about 2½" wide. Gently pat the scraps together to cut out the rest of your biscuits.
7. Place the biscuits in a pan with high sides (or you can use a parchment lined baking sheet). Bake at 450 F (230 C) for 13 to 15 minutes until golden brown. Do not open the oven door for at least the first half of baking time. You want the steam to stay trapped in the oven to help with the rise.

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