Here’s a controversial opinion: the turkey is not the best part of Thanksgiving dinner. It’s the sides. The turkey is the excuse — the sides are the meal. Crispy-edged stuffing, silky mashed potatoes drowning in gravy, sweet-tart cranberry sauce cutting through all that richness. If you’re planning the menu and wondering what the best side dishes for a Thanksgiving dinner are, I’ve got you covered with the classics done right, plus a few upgrades that’ll make people ask for recipes.

A great Thanksgiving spread balances richness with brightness, soft with crunchy, and familiar with just enough surprise. Here’s how to build it.

What Are the Best Side Dishes for a Thanksgiving Dinner? The Essentials

1. Stuffing (or dressing, depending on where you’re from)

The undisputed heavyweight champion. The keys: use sturdy, day-old bread (fresh bread turns to mush), sauté your aromatics in plenty of butter, and don’t skimp on the herbs — sage, thyme, and rosemary are the holy trinity. Moisten with stock until it’s damp but not soggy, and bake it in a dish (not inside the bird — it cooks more evenly and gets those crispy top edges everyone fights over). Add-ins that work: sausage, mushrooms, chestnuts, dried cranberries, or diced apple for a sweet-savory twist.

2. Mashed potatoes that aren’t gluey

Use Yukon Golds or russets, start them in cold salted water (even cooking), and — this is the big one — rice them or mash gently rather than whipping them in a food processor, which ruptures starch cells and creates paste. Warm your butter and cream before adding; cold dairy seizes the starch. Roasted garlic mashed potatoes are my personal upgrade, and they’re barely more work.

3. Gravy worth the effort

Gravy is just a sauce, but it’s the sauce that ties the whole plate together. Use the turkey drippings if you have them (that fond is liquid gold), make a proper roux with flour, whisk in warm stock gradually to avoid lumps, and season boldly — under-salted gravy is the saddest thing on the table. A splash of soy sauce or Worcestershire adds depth nobody can identify but everybody loves.

4. Cranberry sauce (homemade, please)

The canned stuff has its nostalgic defenders, but homemade cranberry sauce takes literally 15 minutes: cranberries, sugar, water, orange zest. It gels naturally thanks to the berries’ pectin. The bright acidity cuts through the richness of everything else on the plate — it’s not a garnish, it’s a structural element of the meal.

5. Green bean casserole, upgraded

The classic with canned soup is fine, but fresh green beans blanched crisp-tender, a homemade mushroom cream sauce, and crispy fried shallots on top will convert the skeptics. It’s maybe 20 extra minutes for a dish that’s ten times better.

6. Sweet potato casserole

The great debate: marshmallows or pecan streusel? I’m team streusel (brown sugar, butter, pecans, a little flour) — it adds crunch and doesn’t tip into candy territory. Either way, the sweet potatoes themselves should be simply roasted and mashed with butter, a touch of brown sugar, and a pinch of cayenne for warmth.

7. Roasted Brussels sprouts

The modern classic that earned its place. Halve them, toss with olive oil and salt, roast at 425°F cut-side down until deeply caramelized, then finish with balsamic glaze and bacon or pancetta. People who “hate” Brussels sprouts have usually only had them boiled into sulfurous submission. Roasting transforms them completely.

8. Dinner rolls

Soft, buttery, pull-apart rolls for sopping up gravy and making little leftover sandwiches. Make them ahead and freeze — one less thing on the day. Brush with melted butter and flaky salt right out of the oven.

The Bright, Fresh Counterpoints

All that richness needs contrast, or the meal becomes a delicious blur. Add at least one of these:

  • A big green salad with apples, candied pecans, and a sharp vinaigrette — the palate cleanser the table needs.
  • Roasted carrots with honey and thyme — sweet, caramelized, gorgeous color.
  • Butternut squash soup as a starter — warm, silky, and it buys you time while the turkey rests. My guide to making homemade soup taste richer applies perfectly here.

Planning and Timing: The Real Challenge

The food is the easy part; the logistics are what break people. My system: make cranberry sauce and pie dough up to 3 days ahead. Prep all vegetables (chop, blanch) the day before. Assemble casseroles the night before and refrigerate — add 15 minutes to the bake time. On the day, the turkey rests for 30–45 minutes after roasting, and that window is when everything else goes in the oven. Write out a timeline working backward from serving time. It feels obsessive; it prevents the 7 PM meltdown.

For feeding the vegetarian relatives (every family has them now), make sure at least a few sides are meat-free — and check out hearty vegetarian meals for a main that won’t feel like an afterthought.

Don’t Forget the Leftovers Plan

Thanksgiving leftovers are practically a second holiday. The day after, the only correct move is the ultimate leftover sandwich: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a smear of mayo on a roll. Freeze what you can’t eat in 3–4 days — turkey, mashed potatoes, and even gravy freeze well. My guide to freezing leftovers safely will keep your post-Thanksgiving bounty in great shape.

The Practical Takeaway

The best Thanksgiving side dishes balance the classics done properly (stuffing with crispy edges, real gravy, homemade cranberry sauce) with one or two fresh counterpoints (a bright salad, caramelized roasted vegetables). Prep ahead aggressively, use the turkey’s resting time as your oven window, and don’t forget the rolls.

Nail the sides and nobody will remember whether the turkey was perfect. They’ll remember the meal.

Don’t Forget the Drinks

A great spread deserves decent drinks, and they don’t have to be complicated. A big-batch apple cider sangria (white wine, apple cider, sliced apples, cinnamon sticks) can be made the night before and serves a crowd for little money. For non-drinkers, sparkling apple cider with cranberry and rosemary looks festive in a pitcher and tastes like the holidays. Coffee with dessert is non-negotiable in my family — and if you want to learn café-quality iced coffee at home, that’s a skill that pays off year-round. Keep it simple, keep it plentiful, and keep water on the table — a salty, rich meal demands hydration.

For turkey timing, temperatures, and troubleshooting to go with these sides, Butterball’s turkey experts (including their famous hotline) have guided holiday cooks for decades.