Star Chef Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Michael Symon's four-ingredient potatoes get plenty of flavor from browned butter and crème fraîche. Reserve a little browned butter to drizzle on the potatoes just before serving.

“I don't think a cuisine should ever stop growing,” says Hugh Acheson. In this updated version of creamed spinach, the classic Southern side, he substitutes firm collard greens for the spinach and adds chopped kimchi to the cream sauce for a racy kick.

Chewy flat breads with roasted garlic are a perfect accompaniment for this thick and velvety soup.

This gratin combines blanched chard and sautéed leeks, cooked until just tender in a creamy two-cheese sauce made with both Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

These mashed sweet potatoes are topped with Gruyère then baked so that the cheese forms a nutty-flavored crust.

Chef: Lee Hefter

The sweet-and-salty vinaigrette on these sprouts, bolstered by fresh herbs and chiles, is a staple at David Chang’s Manhattan restaurant Momofuku Ssäm Bar. The key to the dish is to almost burn the brussels sprouts; the charred flavor is irresistible.

Chef: Jean-Georges Vongerichten

Jose Garces learned how to make a classic potato gratin while studying at Kendall College’s cooking school in Chicago. It’s still one of his favorite side dishes. This version combines lots of sharp, nutty Manchego cheese and smoky San Simón cheese (Gouda is a fine substitute) for rich, complex flavor.

Scott Conant makes his crisp-tender beans with ground ginger, since freshly grated ginger invariably creates unappealing little chunks.

“It’s so easy to make your own cranberry sauce, why wouldn’t you?” Boston chef Barbara Lynch says of this bitter-tart conserve, which she also jars and gives as a gift. She suggests adjusting the recipe to taste by varying the amount of cranberries, grapefruit and sugar.

“This is where I like to use Thanksgiving cranberries,” says chef Dean Fearing, who mixes them into the maple-butter sauce topping his brussels sprouts. He roasts the sprouts to bring out their nutty sweetness. “This dish turns a non-brussels sprouts lover over to the other side,” he says.

Marcus Samuelsson drew on African staples like yams and okra to create this completely original recipe of roasted sweet potatoes tossed with red potatoes, wilted spinach and sautéed okra. Toasted mustard seeds and a caper vinaigrette give this delicious salad a nutty, tangy flavor.

Parboiling the sweet potatoes shortens the cooking time and keeps them moist.

When Suzanne Goin was a child, making stuffing for the holidays was one of her first forays into cooking. “My mom always used store-bought crumbs, and it became my job to doctor them up,” says Goin. “I’d just raid the spice cabinet and the first batches were a little crazy. But I figured out what I liked best.” This chestnut-laced stuffing with pancetta and fennel is adapted from Sunday Suppers at Lucques. The crispy olive oil-soaked bread cubes on top are especially delectable.