90 Classic Thanksgiving Side Dishes

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Green Bean Casserole

By sautéing mushrooms with thinly sliced onion in butter, you're building a base with some serious depth of flavor. Cook the mushrooms enough that they get a little caramelized, and you'll really be good to go.

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Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Quick: Name one thing better than creamy, buttery, steamy, perfect mashed potatoes!  See?  You can't!  So put down the instant potatoes, grab your favorite spuds, a large pot, a masher, and let's get ready for comfort in a bowl.

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Classic Stuffing

When it comes to the big Thanksgiving feast, we consider the roast turkey and the sweet potato casserole as sides to the STUFFING.

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Cranberry Sauce

This sweet-tart sauce is almost as easy as opening up the canned stuff, and you know your Thanksgiving spread deserves better. This is one of the Thanksgiving dishes you can make up to a week in advance.  (Bonus: The flavors will meld and deepen while it hangs out in the fridge.)

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Sweet Potato Casserole With Marshmallows

Most sweet potato casseroles have only marshmallows or pecans. Don't even think about making this mistake. Topping with a pecan streusel and then marshmallows helps this Thanksgiving casserole stand out above all the rest.

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Perfect Gravy

Gravy is luscious and full of umami, one of our favorite food enhancers. What other sauce could be drizzled over all the different types of meats, veggies, and sides of your holiday meal? And we think that your Thanksgiving only deserves the best, which is why perfecting gravy is worth it—and so easy!

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Creamy Stovetop Mac & Cheese

This is the creamiest, dreamiest stovetop mac & cheese. It's uncomplicated, comforting, and will bring back childhood memories (especially when paired with your family's classic Thanksgiving recipes).

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts

One of the best ways to prepare Brussels sprouts is to roast them. The oven’s high dry heat will bring out all those delicious nutty flavors, rendering the sprouts soft and tender in the middle and leaving the outer leaves super crispy and delicious.

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Homemade Biscuits

Like most baked goods, these biscuits are best fresh out of the oven, but they will keep in an airtight container for a couple of days. Re-toast them in the oven for a few minutes right before Thanksgiving dinner to help make them warm and soft again!

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Air Fryer Crispy Potatoes

The air fryer works some kind of magic on potatoes—they get extra crispy all over and stay perfectly soft on the inside. Toss them in just a little bit of oil so all of the seasonings stick to make these the most delicious potatoes ever.

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Kale Salad with Apples and Toasted Almondss

Need something else to do with your apple orchard haul? Kale yeah you do! Pair apples and kale with dried cherries, toasty almonds, and feta for a salad everyone will love this Thanksgiving.

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Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

You know what’s great? Mashed potatoes. You know what’s even better? Roasted garlic mashed potatoes! That extra-savory flavor from melty, roasted garlic adds the perfect kick to classic mashed spuds. (We also add a splash of tangy balsamic vinegar to kick them up a notch.)

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Sweet Potato Salad

This sweet potato salad is the perfect way to lighten up any autumnal dinner, and especially your Thanksgiving spread. Feta, dried cranberries, and red onions pair really nicely with the earthy sweetness of the orange super food. 

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Corn Casserole

This classic Southern side is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. If you prefer, drained and rinsed canned corn can be used instead of frozen, and you could substitute more milk in for the heavy cream. The finished casserole won't be quite as decadent, but it will still be delicious.

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Harvest Chicken Casserole

This satisfying casserole has ALL of your fall favorites—Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, cranberries. Make it for a big crowd for Thanksgiving, then make it all fall long—it's a prep-ahead DREAM.

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Cheesy Bacon Butternut Squash

No matter what the centerpiece of your meal is, this cheesy butternut squash skillet is sure to steal the show. The balance of sweet, salty, and creamy is EXTREMELY delicious.

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Holiday Roasted Vegetables

The dried cranberries and balsamic vinegar add some sweetness and tartness while the pecans add an extra crunch to these holiday-worthy vegetables. We use Brussels sprouts and carrots, but feel free to add extra vegetables or swap in some of your favorites.

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Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

Creamy, sweet, and conveniently orange, butternut squash adds extra body, richness, and color to mac & cheese. A little thyme does some heavy lifting, making the homey comfort classic a little fancy, and bringing some fall flavors to the table that are *chef’s kiss*.

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Fresh Cranberry Relish

Unlike traditional cranberry sauce, this easy relish doesn't require any cooking and can be made entirely in the food processor—which means one more free burner and one less dirty saucepan to clean. Win-win!

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Roasted Parsnips

Looking for a simple side dish to make this Thanksgiving? Parsnips are your answer. They don't get nearly the attention they deserve, but that ends now. Roasting them makes them slightly sweet and perfectly tender for a quick side dish you might just love more than the turkey.

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Cheesy Brussels Sprout Bake

This is one side dish that will make everyone freak out (and run for seconds). If you have vegetarian guests, feel free to skip the bacon. We're usually all about the smoky flavor, but for this dish, it's all about the CHEESE.

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Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

What dish is the most indicative of leaves falling and the chilly autumn breeze? Some might say it's pumpkin pie, others might say warm apple cider, but to us, nothing fits better with Thanksgiving's sweater weather than a delicious bowl of butternut squash soup.

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Perfect Pan Fried Potatoes

The secret to a perfectly crispy, fried potato? It's all about the oils. Our best combo: mixing EVOO with vegetable oil (or another neutral oil with a high smoking point). Trust us, it makes a huge difference.

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Stuffed Acorn Squash

All our favorite fall flavors come together in this surprisingly easy and super-flavorful stuffed acorn squash. The kale adds a heartiness that only a good cruciferous green can provide, and it pairs perfectly with the tender, sweet flesh of the squash. Yum!

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Parmesan Brussels Sprouts Salad

Making this salad might seem intimidating, but it doesn't actually require much prep. Tossed with a combo of toasted almonds, shaved Parmesan, and pomegranate seeds, Brussels make a great side for any variety of Thanksgiving dinner.

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Lyonnaise Potatoes

This French variety of pan-fried potatoes elevates them even FURTHER with the addition of caramelized onions and lots of butter. What's not to love?

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Candied Yams

Though candied yams might be super sweet on their own, they're the perfect complement to a plateful of savory dishes (like mashed potatoes and green bean casserole). Our version gets an added kick from bourbon—we think once you try them you might never want yams without it.

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Air Fryer Moroccan-Spiced Carrots

A combo of spices adds a riot of flavor to those carrots that may or may not have been sitting in the crisper for too long. Serve alongside our air fryer tandoori turkey breast for a completely air-fried Thanksgiving meal.

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Shredded Brussels Sprouts

We love classic sautéed Brussels sprouts paired with our turkey, but sometimes we crave something with a bit more kick. These slightly spicy salty-sweet sprouts make for a unique and easy fall salad that can be served warm or cold (so you can prep them ahead of time!).

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Stuffing Stuffed Pumpkins

Why bake your stuffing in a boring ol' baking dish, when you could bake it in a pumpkin?! This autumnal recipe utilizes the sweetness of pumpkin and butternut squash for a super-flavorful stuffing that tastes just as good as it looks.

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Roasted Beet Goat Cheese Salad

Beet lovers rejoice! This is the ideal fall salad: creamy goat cheese (sub feta if you prefer it), roasted beets, avocado, and arugula. The secret is that instead of buying precooked beets, you simply wrap them in foil and bake them like a baked potato. It takes about an hour, but the resulting beets will be tender, earthy, and slightly sweet in a way that no store-bought beet can.

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Pimiento Cheese Corn Muffins

The flavor squad is here to provide standard corn muffins with a mega boost. The result is pimiento cheese corn muffins, which take their cues from the classic Southern cheese dip. Packed with shredded cheddar, diced pimiento peppers, garlic powder, and a generous amount of cayenne, the result is a savory delight.

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Air Fryer Sweet Potato Hash

Smoked paprika and dill make these supercharged potatoes a savory breakfast-lover’s dream (but it's perfect for dinners too!). Change up the spices depending on what’s in the pantry (chili powder would be nice).

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Gravy Without Drippings

Drippings are obviously ideal, but they aren't totally necessary to make a really good gravy. Quick and easy, this is the perfect way to make gravy if you aren't cooking a whole roast turkey or chicken. What you do need: butter, onion, garlic, and all the favorite Thanksgiving herbs.

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Mashed Butternut Squash

Butternut squash has an advantage on potatoes when it comes to being pureed. Instead of the added milk or cream, like in mashed potatoes, the squash gets blended with just a little butter for a velvety smooth side dish. It's one of our favorite ways to serve the vegetable, and it takes very little effort!

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Best-Ever Oyster Stuffing

Homemade stuffing is a must on the Thanksgiving table. If you're new to the oyster stuffing game, let us tell you, you're in for a treat. Oysters lend a briny, super savory flavor to your stuffing that will keep your guests coming back for second and third helpings.

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Southern Baked Mac & Cheese

This isn't your average mac & cheese. Chef Millie Peartree puts an entire layer of pure cheese in between two layers of (already cheesy) macaroni. Game. Changer. Your Thanksgiving guests will flip.

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Roasted Red Potatoes

The trick to roasting these potatoes red potatoes are cooking at a high temp and making sure they're cut side down. ALSO! Be sure to not overcrowd your pan and roast in batches if necessary.

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Air Fryer Pumpkin Biscuits

A combo of pumpkin and buttermilk keeps these air fryer biscuits extremely tender. Go sweet with butter and honey, or more savory with gravy and cranberry sauce.

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Kabocha Squash

Sure people love apples, pumpkin and butternut squash, but kabocha has a more complex flavor than its gourd cousins. This makes it a perfect match for the caramelized umami-sweet flavor of this maple-soy brown butter. And, despite how fancy it sounds, it's incredibly easy to make, perfect for Thanksgiving.

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Sheet Pan Stuffing

Can we all agree that the best part of stuffing is that delectable top layer that gets extra buttery and crunchy? This sheet pan version is one big serving of that. Bonus: it takes less time to cook too!

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Air Fryer Roasted Butternut Squash & Kale Salad with Balsamic-Maple Dressing

This butternut squash and kale-packed salad makes a beautiful side dish. Best part? Because kale is so sturdy, this is great even made ahead (we've eaten it on day 3 and it was still divine).

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Sausage Stuffing

We love that this stuffing gets super toasty on the outside and remains nice and soft in the middle. But if everyone in the fam is into verging-on-soggy stuffing (seriously, it's a thing!), we recommend covering the casserole dish with aluminum foil while baking.

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Butternut Squash Casserole

It's time for butternut squash to claim its rightful place on your Thanksgiving table. This savory casserole is packed with bacon and two types of cheese (mozzarella and cheddar) and just enough kale to lend the dish a healthy-ish twist. Equally versatile as a side dish or a main.

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Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy

Vegans and meat-eaters alike will be piling this flavor-packed gravy on top of all the Thanksgiving sides. This gravy comes together in minutes—and you won't miss roasting a whole turkey or chicken to make it.

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Sweet Potato Biscuits

When it comes to biscuits and other bread products, sweet potatoes are magical. Adding them to dough results yields softer and fluffier results. This recipe benefit from minimal handling and is just as easy as preparing traditional buttermilk biscuits.

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Cornbread Dressing

You might be wondering, as we did, what the real difference is between stuffing and dressing.

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Mashed Sweet Potatoes

We all love classic sweet potato casserole, but sometimes it feels like the marshmallows steal the spotlight. So this year, why not mix it up—literally—and try mashing them instead? Steamed till beautifully tender and then blended with plenty of butter and half-and-half, these easy mashed sweet potatoes are creamy and just sweet enough. You won’t even miss the marshmallows.

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Honey Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts

The hardest part of making these Brussels sprouts is leaving them alone. They're cooked until perfectly tender and golden brown, then glazed with a balsamic glaze that will change your life. If you're anything like us, you're going to be popping these in your mouth like they're popcorn.

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Sweet Potato Casserole

This recipe is for everyone who hates marshmallows atop their sweet potato casserole—in their place is a buttery, brown sugar pecan topping that is still perfectly sweet and Thanksgiving-worthy.

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Sweet Potato Hash

This easy bacon and sweet potato hash can upgrade any meal and comes together in one. single. pan. Yes, even the bacon! Make this for any occasion; casual weeknight dinner, Thanksgiving side, potluck... you get the idea.

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Cauliflower Stuffing

This low-carb cauliflower stuffing proves that you don’t always need bread to make an amazing stuffing. Cauliflower is basically a sponge: it’ll soak up the flavor of whatever you cook it with, so we recommend going heavy on the herbs.

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Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Cream cheese makes these mashed potatoes extra rich and creamy. These are already some of the easiest mashed potatoes to make but if you need the extra stove space, our crock-pot garlicky mashed potatoes are here to save the day.

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Classic Cornbread

Forget Jiffy! This cornbread comes together super fast, and it's wayyy better than the boxed stuff and almost as easy. The debate over cornbread is lively and long, with camps that prefer sweet over sugarless or a drier cornbread to cake-like cornbread. This version falls somewhere in the middle so everyone can enjoy.

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Garlic Smashed Potatoes

Parm, butter and garlic take these 'taters to a whole new level. But these crispy potatoes are totally versatile; you can top them with bacon and cheddar, ranch seasoning, or even brie!

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Easy Cranberry Stuffing

You don't need meat to make a stuffing everyone will love. This vegetarian option is filled with everyone's favorite Thanksgiving flavors—apples! cranberries! sage! thyme!—if anyone complains about meatless stuffing, just send them home without dessert.

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Balsamic Roasted Baby Carrots

Sweet baby carrots are the perfect match for this tangy balsamic glaze. Fancy enough for a holiday meal, but easy enough for a weeknight, this recipe is endlessly riffable and guaranteed to deliver crisp-tender carrots every time.

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Bang Bang Brussels Sprouts

First there was bang bang shrimp, then bang bang cauliflower, and now these: Get ready for some bangin' Brussels.

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Loaded Smashed Potatoes

We love how crispy smashed potatoes get, but we especially love when they're covered in lots of cheese and crispy bacon. They're like bite-sized loaded baked potatoes!

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Cheesy Baked Green Beans

Don't have time for a whole green bean casserole? Keep the beans, but skip the hassle with this super simple, cheesy side.

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Creamed Brussels Sprouts

These are a holiday party MUST—even Brussels haters will love it. Not a fan of Fontina? Gruyère or white cheddar would also be delicious here!

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Cornbread Stuffing

Also known as cornbread dressing, this dish is a classic in the South, where you’ll often find it mixed with sausage, bacon, jalapeños, nuts, even chopped oysters. We kept ours simple with flavors you’d find in classic stuffing, but don't let us stop you from jazzing up your own version with extras.

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Easy Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Plant-based eaters don't have to miss out on classic green bean casserole, thanks to this simple recipe. We're super into the onion topping on this casserole—it's SO much better than the fried ones that come in a can. Because this casserole is less heavy, you can also enjoy it all season long (and not just on Thanksgiving!).

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Pumpkin Soup

Pumpkin soup is something that never gets old. It's healthy, super creamy, and will have everyone coming back for more. You can use various winter squashes to make this soup, but our top two favorite types are sugar pumpkins and kabocha squash, with calabaza and butternut squashes as runner-ups.

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Spinach Salad

We took our favorite things to pair with spinach: crisp apple, sliced red onion, briney feta, and toasted almonds, and tossed everything together for the perfectly balanced bowl. The sharp mustard vinaigrette is the perfect accompaniment to rich Thanksgiving flavors, but you might find yourself making it all year round too.

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Mashed Cauliflower

This cauliflower mash recipe is the perfect low-carb substitute to mashed potatoes. The secret to making steamed cauliflower smooth and creamy? CREAM CHEESE! (We're big fans, if you hadn't noticed.)

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Beer Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Love beer cheese (otherwise known as pub cheese)? Us too. Take our advice, and don't just relegate it to an appetizer. Instead mix it with mashed potatoes for a Thanksgiving side you'll have trouble sharing.

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Vegan Stuffing

Listen, we all know that stuffing is the best part of a staple Thanksgiving menu. But, because of the butter, eggs and chicken broth that usually goes into classic stuffing, it's a dish that vegans can't always enjoy—until now! We created a stuffing that's so delicious, you might even be convinced to turn a few of your other holiday classics into vegan Thanksgiving versions.

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Maple Bacon Carrots

Sweet, savory, rich, and tender—your whole Thanksgiving table will approve! We used full-sized orange carrots here, but these would be so cute with mini rainbow carrots too.

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Vegan Mashed Potatoes

Amazing, creamy mashed potatoes are still possible while being completely dairy-free, and these are here to prove it! Top these with our vegan mushroom gravy and you won't even miss the turkey.

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Pumpkin Cornbread

Cornbread is a crumbly, savory side we love anytime of the year, but this pumpkin version is a fall dream. Classic cornbread gets an autumn upgrade with the addition of pumpkin puree and warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, making it an ideal side for Thanksgiving (or a base for cornbread stuffing!).

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Loaded Green Bean Casserole

Wave goodbye to that can of cream of mushroom soup and meet your new favorite green bean casserole! It's got bacon, chives, and SO much cheese. If you've got vegetarian company, feel free to leave the bacon out—it's got plenty of cheese to make up for it.

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Cheese Stuffed Cornbread

This isn't your ordinary cheesy cornbread. It's cornbread STUFFED with an entire layer of cheese. Your family and friends are going to love it this Thanksgiving.

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Loaded Mashed Potato Bake

This bake is basically a loaded baked potato in casserole form ... do we even need to say anything else? Top this cheesy bacon goodness with hot sauce or pickled jalapeños if you and your family prefer a spicy kick.

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Smashed Brussels Sprouts

In order to smash the Brussels sprouts, you need to boil them first. (Just like smashed potatoes!) Make sure to pat them realllll dry, even after you smashed them, so that they crisp up in the oven. And don't skimp on the cheese!

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Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

In order to smash the Brussels sprouts, you need to boil them first. (Just like smashed potatoes!) Make sure to pat them realllll dry, even after you smashed them, so that they crisp up in the oven. And don't skimp on the cheese!

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Gluten-Free Stuffing

Many would argue that the table just isn’t complete without a big dish of classic Thanksgiving stuffing. But what about your friends and family with allergies that prevent them from eating wheat? This gluten-free stuffing will save the day—and spoiler alert, it tastes exactly the same as the real thing.

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Slow-Cooker Stuffing

Oven real estate is a big deal on Thanksgiving day. Utilizing your slow cooker is one of the best ways to keep your oven free for the major players like turkey and pie. Follow our tips for making this stuffing in yours, and you'll be cool as a cucumber on the big day.

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Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

These baby potatoes are the perfect side to any main dish. With the fresh herbs and flavorful rosemary, we love to serve these alongside your Thanksgiving turkey, ham, or even vegetarian centerpieces.

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Melting Sweet Potatoes

Forget sweet potato casserole or sweet potato pie! This reduced-sugar side is going to be your new go-to sweet potato dish. It is crazy-simple to make—just a sprinkle of low calorie brown sugar and chopped pecans transform roasted sweet potatoes into a sweetly decadent side dish.

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Stir-Fried Green Beans

Stir-fries are fast, easy, and simple, and this classic green bean offering is no different. We go the extra mile here and use 2 slices of bacon for some extra smoky flavor, but you can simply substitute in extra-virgin olive oil if you prefer to go the vegetarian route. 

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Chili Oil Smashed Potatoes

This recipe is a spicy take on our favorite crispy potato method—smashed potatoes. Some chili oils have more solids in them than others, so for best results, just make sure you are getting a good ratio of oil to crisp when measuring it out to brush on your potatoes.

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Garlic Butter Potatoes

We're big fans of this flavor combo. The powerful, almost spicy flavor of garlic goes so well with the mouth-watering richness of butter. There is maybe no better vessel for this almighty food duo, than a hasselback potato. These crispy potatoes are the perfect canvas on which we can paint garlic butter.

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Instant Pot Mac & Cheese

Homemade mac & cheese is usually a lengthy process. You need to shred a ton of cheese, make a roux, make a cheese sauce, cook the pasta, then bake it with bread crumbs.  But this recipe seriously cuts down on the process. Everything—pasta and sauce—cooks together in the pot.

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Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes

It ain't easy bein' cheesy...unless we're talking about these scalloped potatoes. Here, we’ve switched up potatoes au gratin to be cooked in a Crockpot, so you can just set 'em and forget 'em.

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Stuffin' Muffins

These are the cutest way to serve stuffing, on Thanksgiving and year-round.  Bonus: Crispy edges for all!

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Cauliflower Au Gratin

Potatoes au gratin is a creamy, decadent dish that no matter how hard we try, we can never give it up. This version made with cauliflower lets us have the decadence, and leave more room for all the Thanksgiving pies.

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Crock-Pot Sweet Potato Casserole

We take any chance we can get to free up oven space on Thanksgiving. Like crock-pot stuffing and crock-pot mashed potatoes, this crock-pot sweet potato casserole is every bit as delicious as the one you make in the oven.

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Crock-Pot Garlicky Mashed Potatoes

The most stress-free way to cook mashed potatoes? In the crock-pot! Simply toss everything in your slow-cooker and let it do the work, then get ready to come back to the creamiest, garlicky mashed potatoes ever.

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Smashed Sweet Potatoes

If you're familiar with smashed potatoes, you know it's all about the technique. We swapped in sweet potatoes for the regular spuds and topped them with garlic, Parm, and herbs, but really, you can top them with whatever you like!

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