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  4. 38 Satisfying Christmas Dinner Side Dishes

38 Satisfying Christmas Dinner Side Dishes

By Food & Wine Editors Updated November 29, 2021
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Sweet Potato Pave Recipe
Credit: Gregory DuPree

Main courses like ham or roast beef may be the star of your holiday menu, but you're going to want some tasty side dishes to accompany them, too. Think Potatoes au Gratin, Raclette-Gruyère Mac and Cheese with Pickled Shallots, and Sautéed Collard Greens with Pepperoni—yes, pepperoni—as a twist on the classic. With almost 40 to choose from, you'll have plenty to fill your table. Read on for even more of our favorite Christmas dinner side dishes.

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Roasted Winter Squash with Vanilla Butter

Roasted Winter Squash with Vanilla Butter
Credit: Con Poulos
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Fragrant vanilla-bean butter does double duty here—it both flavors the squash and softens the skin during roasting. The greater the variety of winter squash you use, the more interesting the dish will be. Top it all off with fried sage leaves for a simple and easy side dish.

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Roasted Beets with Beet Green Salsa Verde

Roasted Beets with Beet Green Salsa Verde
Credit: © John Kernick
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Chef Tyler Florence uses beets and their greens to make this fresh and vibrant side dish. If you can't find beets with beautiful greens, Swiss chard or curly spinach leaves can be used instead.

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Speck-Wrapped Haricots Verts with Date Molasses

Speck-Wrapped Haricots Verts with Date Molasses Recipe
Credit: Caitlin Bensel
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Wrapped in salty speck and glazed with date molasses, these bundles of crisp, tender haricots verts are the perfect pairing for beef or duck. Date molasses is thinner than standard molasses, so it needs to be cooked down to reach a glaze consistency; if it sets up too much, gently reheat it.

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British Roast Vegetable Salad with Stilton

British Roast Vegetable Salad with Stilton
Credit: © Anne Faber
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This salad celebrates the often-underrated vegetable sides that accompany a traditional British Sunday roast.

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Little Gem Lettuce with White Anchovies

Little Gem Lettuce with White Anchovies
Credit: © John Kernick
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Chef Geoffrey Zakarian's herb-packed salad dressing is brightly flavored, sweet and tangy; it's like green goddess dressing but without the mayonnaise or sour cream.

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Roasted Mushrooms with Red Wine Butter

Roasted Mushrooms with Red Wine Butter
Credit: © John Kernick
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Instead of cooking mushrooms in a skillet, Geoffrey Zakarian roasts them in the oven until tender before tossing them in a buttery red wine sauce with garlic and fresh herbs.

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Creamed Spinach with Fried Cheese Curds

Creamed Spinach with Fried Cheese Curds
Credit: © Eliesa Johnson
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Chef Gavin Kaysen of Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis has a version of this rich creamed spinach on his menu. Just how much do Minnesotans love cheese curds? The restaurant sold 8,459 orders of the dish in its first 10 months.

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Sweet Potato Pavé

Sweet Potato Pave Recipe
Credit: Gregory DuPree
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Super-thin slices of sweet potato are key to the finished texture and shape of these crispy bites. Use a mandoline for the best results, stabbing the last bit of potato with a fork to keep fingers safe.

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Fried Wild Rice with Mustard Greens and Mushrooms

Fried Wild Rice with Mustard Greens and Mushrooms Recipe
Credit: Caitlin Bensel
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Properly cooked wild rice retains a pleasant crunch that adds satisfying texture to this fried rice. Paired with lightly spicy mustard greens, sweet celery, and tender, meaty mushrooms, it's an earthy, savory side dish that could be a meal on its own.

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Sautéed Collard Greens with Pepperoni

Sautéed Collard Greens with Pepperoni
Credit: © Con Poulos
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Collards are often paired with bacon, but one of our favorite twists is to flavor the greens with spicy pepperoni.

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Creamed Spinach and Parsnips

Creamed Spinach and Parsnips
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This luscious side dish can be prepared up to three days ahead. The duo of sweet parsnip and creamy spinach is unbeatable.

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Asiago and Sage Scalloped Potatoes

Asiago and Sage Scalloped Potatoes
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Holiday Make-Ahead Tip: These potatoes can be baked up to five hours ahead; let them stand at room temperature. Rewarm them in the oven before serving.

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Flash-Roasted Broccoli with Spicy Crumbs

Flash-Roasted Broccoli with Spicy Crumbs
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The genius idea here is pulsing sliced pepperoni with bread crumbs to add a ton of extra flavor and a great crunch to broccoli.

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Pull-Apart Cheesy Onion Bread

Pull-Apart Cheesy Onion Bread
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This recipe is as fun to eat as monkey bread, but a lot less time-consuming to make. Grace Parisi spreads her buttery biscuit dough with a savory onion-Gruyère mixture, stacks layers of it sideways in a loaf pan, then bakes it until golden and fluffy.

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Spice Roasted Butternut Squash

Spice Roasted Butternut Squash
Credit: © <a data-cke-saved-href="http://mattbites.com/" href="http://mattbites.com/" class"="external">Matt Armendariz
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This quick side comes together in under an hour, and is flavored with ground cumin, ground coriander, and cayenne pepper for a kick.

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Lemony Beet and Beet Green Salad

Lemony Beet and Beet Green Salad
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Buying beets with the beet greens still attached is like getting two ingredients in one. To turn them into this fabulous salad, roast the beets until they're sweet, blanch the greens until they're tender, then toss both with olive oil, lemon and anchovies.

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Spinach Bread Pudding with Lemon and Feta

Spinach Bread Pudding with Lemon and Feta. Photo &copy; Antonis Achilleos
Credit: © Antonis Achilleos
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Cookbook author Heidi Swanson shares this bread pudding in Super Natural Every Day.

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Green Bean-and-Blood Orange Salad

Green Bean–-and–-Blood Orange Salad
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"Blood oranges are part of my Sicily fascination," Renato Poliafito says. He uses the segments to add color and tang to green beans and reduces the juice with balsamic vinegar to make the dressing.

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Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

HD-201109-r-scalloped-potatoes-ham.jpg
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The combination of pecorino and Parmesan cheeses gives these potatoes a great cheesy depth.

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Broccoli and Cheddar Casserole with Leeks

Broccoli and Cheddar Casserole with Leeks
Credit: © Alexandra Rowley
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This classic is updated with deeply flavored cheddar and a crunchy topping of crumbled crackers and toasted almonds.

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Butternut Squash Basmati Rice

Butternut Squash Basmati Rice
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Adding butternut squash and whole spices is a lovely way to jazz up rice.

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Pearl Onions au Gratin

Pearl Onions au Gratin
Credit: © Maura McEvoy
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Inspired by the pickled pearl onions that became a family tradition ("Mom just served them straight out of the jar and threw a toothpick at them"), Barbara Lynch bakes fresh pearl onions in a mixture of cream, garlic, shallots and bacon, then tops it all with a crispy panko crust.

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Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta
Credit: © Petrina Tinslay
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The only thing better than a full plate of caramelized brussels sprouts is a plate of brussels sprouts with pancetta.

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Coriander-Roasted Broccoli


Coriander-Roasted Broccoli
Credit: © Abby Hocking
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Chef JJ Johnson spices up roasted broccoli by tossing the vegetables in a coriander-cumin-garlic oil.

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Wheat Berry and Squash Salad


Wheat Berry and Squash Salad
Credit: Abby Hocking
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Made with sweet squash, hearty kale, juicy pomegranate seeds, and creamy feta, Hedley & Bennett founder Ellen Bennett's wheat berry salad is the ultimate winter side dish.

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Potato Rösti with Pastrami


Potato Rosti with Pastrami
Credit: Victor Protasio
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Top Chef judge Gail Simmons' extra-large potato pancake can be topped with anything from meat to cheese to eggs, but it's also delicious served on its own.

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Winter Chicory Salad with Kumquats and Date Dressing

Winter Chicory Salad with Kumquats and Date Dressing
Credit: Greg DuPree
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Chef Traci Des Jardins' chicory salad has just the right amount of sweetness from kumquats and dates, and it makes for a fantastic addition to any Christmas dinner.

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Raclette-Gruyère Mac and Cheese with Pickled Shallots

Raclette gruyere macaroni and cheese with pickled shallots
Credit: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
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Inspired by älplermagronen, Alpine farmers' macaroni, this macaroni and cheese gets rich flavor from Gruyère and a lush creaminess from Raclette. Traditional versions of this dish are served with applesauce; as a nod to that flavor play, we've added some shallots that are quickly pickled in apple cider vinegar to balance the cheesy richness.

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Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli with Cranberry Agrodolce

Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli
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A quick, high-temperature oven roast on a baking sheet yields crispy, golden brown brussels sprouts and almost-charred, smoky broccoli. Tossed in a sweet and tangy sauce studded with tart cranberries, Fresno chiles, and shallots, the vegetables become an easy, elegant side dish.

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Brown Butter Parsnip Puree

Creamy Parsnips with Brown Butter Gravy and Green Apples
Credit: Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell
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At the Brooklyn brasserie Francie, John Winterman and Christopher Cipollone offer this cozy side dish of pureed parsnips. To make it, naturally sweet parsnips are simmered in bay leaf–infused cream until very tender, then pureed in a blender until they take on a silky, mashed potato–like texture. A garnish of diced green apples adds tart, mouthwatering acidity and refreshing crunch, while a generous drizzle of brown butter lends a pleasant richness.

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Smashed Sage-Butter Potatoes

Smashed Sage Butter Potatoes
Credit: Erin Kunkel
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Smashing steamed potatoes creates craggy edges that soak up plenty of the aromatic sage-infused browned butter. Pick out similar-sized potatoes to ensure even cooking.

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Warm Barley and Caramelized Mushroom Salad

Warm Barley and Caramelized Mushroom Salad
Credit: © Christina Holmes
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Browned mushrooms, fresh sage, and lemon juice dress up this version of a classic mushroom-barley salad

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Braised Red Cabbage with Apples and Bacon

Braised Red Cabbage with Apples and Bacon
Credit: Photo by Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee
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F&W editor Melanie Hansche really disliked sauerkraut growing up, but sweeter, milder "rotkohl" she could get on board with. This sweet-and-sour, traditional Bavarian braised red cabbage is always served with goose, duck, or pork.

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Puntarelle-Citrus Salad with Roasted Beets

Puntarelle Citrus Salad with Roasted Beets
Credit: Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christine Keely
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Puntarelle stays bright and crisp in this salad, while beets bring a tender, earthy sweetness. Puntarelle is a specialty buy—check your local farmers market, or substitute another bitter chicory.

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Potatoes au Gratin

Potatoes au Gratin
Credit: Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Kay Clarke
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In this rich, beautiful gratin, potatoes and onions are arranged in concentric circles, coated in a creamy cheese sauce, and topped off with a few more handfuls of shredded cheese. A quick run under the broiler at the end browns the top of the gratin for a little extra flavor and texture.

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Rustic Bread Stuffing with Swiss Chard and Chestnuts

Bread stuffing with Swiss chard and chestnuts
Credit: David Malosh
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Swiss chard lends a pleasant earthiness to this hearty stuffing; meaty chestnuts add texture and richness. Choose high-quality crusty bread for this recipe to ensure a fluffy texture and crisp top.

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Gamja Jorim (Soy Sauce–Lacquered Potatoes)

Gamja Jorim
Credit: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell
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For this riff on Korean soy sauce–braised potatoes, 2021 F&W Best New Chef Angel Barreto of Anju in Washington, D.C., simmers tiny peewee potatoes in a sweet-and-savory syrup infused with soy sauce, garlic, and ginger, resulting in potatoes with a creamy, tender interior and a gorgeously lacquered skin.

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Caramelized Coconut Green Beans

Caramelized Coconut Green Beans
Credit: Jennifer Causey
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Instead of dried flaked or shredded coconut, chef Biju Thomas uses meaty fresh coconut in this vegetable dish. You can find the fresh chunks in some well-stocked produce sections, or buy the frozen unsweetened variety at Trader Joe's or a natural food store. Fried mustard seeds, coriander, and chiles light up the dish with color and texture.

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    Everything in This Slideshow

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    1 of 38 Roasted Winter Squash with Vanilla Butter
    2 of 38 Roasted Beets with Beet Green Salsa Verde
    3 of 38 Speck-Wrapped Haricots Verts with Date Molasses
    4 of 38 British Roast Vegetable Salad with Stilton
    5 of 38 Little Gem Lettuce with White Anchovies
    6 of 38 Roasted Mushrooms with Red Wine Butter
    7 of 38 Creamed Spinach with Fried Cheese Curds
    8 of 38 Sweet Potato Pavé
    9 of 38 Fried Wild Rice with Mustard Greens and Mushrooms
    10 of 38 Sautéed Collard Greens with Pepperoni
    11 of 38 Creamed Spinach and Parsnips
    12 of 38 Asiago and Sage Scalloped Potatoes
    13 of 38 Flash-Roasted Broccoli with Spicy Crumbs
    14 of 38 Pull-Apart Cheesy Onion Bread
    15 of 38 Spice Roasted Butternut Squash
    16 of 38 Lemony Beet and Beet Green Salad
    17 of 38 Spinach Bread Pudding with Lemon and Feta
    18 of 38 Green Bean-and-Blood Orange Salad
    19 of 38 Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
    20 of 38 Broccoli and Cheddar Casserole with Leeks
    21 of 38 Butternut Squash Basmati Rice
    22 of 38 Pearl Onions au Gratin
    23 of 38 Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta
    24 of 38 Coriander-Roasted Broccoli

    25 of 38 Wheat Berry and Squash Salad

    26 of 38 Potato Rösti with Pastrami

    27 of 38 Winter Chicory Salad with Kumquats and Date Dressing
    28 of 38 Raclette-Gruyère Mac and Cheese with Pickled Shallots
    29 of 38 Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli with Cranberry Agrodolce
    30 of 38 Brown Butter Parsnip Puree
    31 of 38 Smashed Sage-Butter Potatoes
    32 of 38 Warm Barley and Caramelized Mushroom Salad
    33 of 38 Braised Red Cabbage with Apples and Bacon
    34 of 38 Puntarelle-Citrus Salad with Roasted Beets
    35 of 38 Potatoes au Gratin
    36 of 38 Rustic Bread Stuffing with Swiss Chard and Chestnuts
    37 of 38 Gamja Jorim (Soy Sauce–Lacquered Potatoes)
    38 of 38 Caramelized Coconut Green Beans

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    38 Satisfying Christmas Dinner Side Dishes
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