22 Fantastic Fall Side Dishes

Owamni Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Chile Crisp
Photo:

Heami Lee / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

Cozy flavors of fall beckon us to the table for creamy butternut squash and sweet potatoes, earthy mushrooms, warm spices like cinnamon, and rich maple syrup. From decadent casseroles such as a Manchego-cauliflower gratin to crisp, tender roasted vegetables like a brussels sprouts-broccoli combo studded with cranberries, this collection of seasonal sides is sure to deliver a new favorite autumn dish or two.

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Owamni Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Chile Crisp

Owamni Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Chile Crisp

Heami Lee / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christine Keely

Maple sugar lends complex sweetness to chef Sean Sherman's mouthwatering chile crisp, which he drizzles over roasted sweet potatoes. Seek out the freshest sweet potatoes you can find; roasting time varies with variety and size.

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Garlicky Haricots Verts with Hazelnuts

Garlicky Haricots Verts with Hazelnuts Recipe
Victor Protasio

Fresh haricots verts are quickly cooked in beef fat just until they’re crisp-tender, giving them deeply savory flavor without overcooking them. The acidic lemon juice and licoricey tarragon add just enough bright, light flavor to this rich side dish.

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Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli with Cranberry Agrodolce

Brussels and Broccoli Agrodolce
Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee

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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Chipotle-Roasted Baby Carrots

Chipotle-Roasted Baby Carrots
© Christina Holmes

These carrots are roasted simply with smoky canned chipotles in adobo, then served with peppery watercress and cooling yogurt. 

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Curry-Roasted Butternut Squash and Chickpeas

Curry-Roasted Butternut Squash and Chickpeas
© John Kernick

This Indian-inspired dish with roasted butternut squash is super easy: After tossing the squash and chickpeas with curry and cayenne, we roast them, then drizzle the dish with a cooling cilantro-spiked yogurt sauce.

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Cauliflower Gratin with Manchego and Almond Sauce

Cauliflower Gratin with Manchego and Almond Sauce
© LISA LINDER

This outrageously rich sauce, flavored with salty, nutty Manchego, gets poured on sautéed cauliflower and baked until it's golden and bubbling.

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Butternut Squash with Homemade Harissa

Butternut Squash with Homemade Harissa
© Karen Mordechai

Harissa, a garlicky North African chile sauce, is usually served with couscous and stews. The homemade harissa featured here is super simple to prepare and any extra will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week; jarred versions available at specialty markets make a fine substitute.

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Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta
© Petrina Tinslay

The only thing better than a full plate of caramelized brussels sprouts is chef Scott Conant's plate of brussels sprouts with pancetta.

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Roasted Beets and Celery Root with Goat Butter

Roasted Beets and Celery Root with Goat Butter
© Quentin Bacon

Goat butter (sold at specialty food stores; use regular butter if unavailable) is white, smooth, and creamy. Chef Tyler Brown likes using it in this riff on the classic pairing of roasted beets and goat cheese.

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Warm Mushroom Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette

Warm Mushroom Salad with Bacon Vinaigrette
© Anna Williams

Oyster mushrooms are ideal for this salad from 2011 F&W Best New Chef Kevin Willmann. To roast them, he mixes the mushrooms with a delicious homemade garlic oil. The recipe yields more oil than you'll use here, so you'll have leftover for other dishes.

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Swiss Chard and Leek Gratin

Swiss Chard and Leek Gratin
© Con Poulos

Chef Michael Symon's impressive fall side combines blanched chard and sautéed leeks, cooked until just tender in a creamy two-cheese sauce made with Gruyère and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

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Turnip Casserole with Porcini Crumb Topping

Turnip Casserole with Porcini Crumb Topping
© ALEXANDRA ROWLEY

We love the earthy porcini topping on this rich and creamy turnip gratin, but it would also be fantastic on mac and cheese or another root vegetable gratin.

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Beet and Apple Salad

Beet-and-Apple Salad
David Malosh

For his salad, chef George Mendes uses fresh horseradish and Gegenbauer cider vinegar, a rare Austrian import. This version calls for jarred horseradish and supermarket apple cider vinegar.

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Squash Gratin with Poblanos and Cream

Squash Gratin with Poblanos & Cream
© Con Poulos

At Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne's Tavern in Los Angeles (now a second outpost of their restaurant A.O.C.), chef Julie Robles used to make this vegetarian gratin in individual dishes with a topping of candied pepitas. Our version is for one big gratin garnished with plain toasted pumpkin seeds.

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Pearled Barley Salad with Apples, Pomegranate Seeds, and Pine Nuts

Pearled Barley Salad with Apples, Pomegranate Seeds and Pine Nuts
© Tina Rupp

Pearled barley cooked with onion and thyme is the base of this grain salad full of wonderful flavor and texture. Toasted pine nuts, tart apple, and deep red pomegranate seeds add crunch and color. Enjoy in the late fall/early winter when pomegranates are in season.

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Creamy Mustard Greens with Fried Shallots

Creamy Mustard Greens with Fried Shallots

© John Kernick

Crisp fried shallots are a terrific contrast to creamy greens, especially when they're both stirred in and sprinkled on top.

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Quinoa Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Apples

Quinoa Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Apples
© Christina Holmes

This delicious quinoa salad is a great meal-in-one. It makes an ideal vegetarian option at the Thanksgiving table and the leftovers make a hearty lunch.

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Roasted Beets with Pistachios, Herbs, and Orange

Roasted Beets with Pistachios, Herbs and Orange
© Fredrika Stjärne

Beets taste great even when they're simply roasted with a little oil. Chef Naomi Pomeroy goes beyond that, topping red and golden beet slices with a lively mixed herb dressing, pistachios, and celery leaves.

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Sweet Potato and Mushroom Salad

Sweet Potato and Mushroom Salad
© Chris Court

Combining savory miso with mustard and oil creates a delicious dressing that's especially good with these roasted sweet potatoes.

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Roasted Kabocha with Maple Syrup and Ginger

Roasted Kabocha with Maple Syrup and Ginger
John Kernick

Cookbook author Melissa Clark likes giving slices of winter squash a little wake-up, so she roasts them with maple syrup, olive oil, fresh ginger, and thyme. It's a simple idea, but the combination of flavors highlights the squash in the best possible way. Another bonus: The recipe can easily be made ahead and served at room temperature. 

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Brussels Sprout Slaw with Ginger Gold Apple

Brussels Sprout Slaw with Ginger Gold Apple
Con Poulos

During her tenure at Graft Wine + Cider Bar in the Finger Lakes, chef Christina McKeough used local apples in everything from salads to pie to the tangy mostarda slathered on her smoked Gouda grilled cheese sandwiches. She loves to use a tart-sweet Ginger Gold in this brussels sprout slaw for its crisp texture. We love it, too. 

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Smoky Sweet Potatoes with Chorizo Butter

Smoky Sweet Potatoes with Chorizo Butter
Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Prissy Lee

Smoky and spicy, cured Spanish chorizo infuses melted butter with its rich color and flavor, balancing the natural sweetness of these tender roasted sweet potatoes. Scoring baked sweet potatoes and then broiling them gives them a hint of smoke and lets the chorizo butter soak into every bite.

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