Side Dishes to Make While the Turkey's Cooking

From fresh, zingy cranberry sauce to creamy mustard greens, these Thanksgiving side dishes will bring color and flavor to your holiday table.

Start Slideshow

1 of 9

Grill-Roasted Vegetables with Pine Nut Pesto

Go to Recipe

Quintessential fall vegetables—brussels sprouts, parsnips, butternut squash and carrots—get cooked on the grill, then tossed in a cheesy pine nut pesto.

Thanksgiving Brussels Sprouts Recipes

2 of 9

Green Salad with Nutty Vinaigrette

Go to Recipe

This simple salad has a nicely nutty dressing made with both walnut and hazelnut oils.

Thanksgiving Green Salads

3 of 9

Smoky Seafood Cocktails

Go to Recipe

Here, Grace Parisi revamps the classic shrimp-cocktail recipe by including scallops and stone-crab claws, then tweaks the cocktail sauce by replacing the ketchup with bottled chile sauce and seasoning it with hot pimentón de la Vera and prepared horseradish.

Seafood Pairings

4 of 9

Port-Cranberry Sauce

Go to Recipe

This citrusy fresh cranberry sauce gets a deep undertone with the addition of port.

Thanksgiving Cranberries

5 of 9

Whipped Yukon Gold Potatoes

Go to Recipe

These potatoes from Thomas Keller have a wonderfully fluffy texture because they're passed through a ricer or food mill to make them especially airy. But they're also nicely rich, thanks to generous amounts of butter and heavy cream.

Thanksgiving Potato Recipes

6 of 9

Creamy Mustard Greens with Fried Shallots

Go to Recipe

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

Thanksgiving Greens Recipes

7 of 9

Sautéed Carrots with Lemon and Marjoram

Go to Recipe

Lemon juice and garlic balance sweet sautéed carrots flavored with fresh marjoram. A simple yet exceptional side dish, it goes equally well alongside meat, fish, or poultry.

Thanksgiving Carrot Recipes

8 of 9

Arugula-Fennel Salad

Go to Recipe

Eugenia Bone, author and prolific home cook, serves this simple green salad with a cheese plate and plenty of rustic bread. She always includes Taleggio and aged Parmigiano-Reggiano, as well as fresh imported sheep's-milk ricotta whenever she can find it at the market.

Fennel Recipes

9 of 9

Braised Kale

Go to Recipe

This easy kale recipe—a simple braise of olive oil, garlic and chicken stock—is a terrific counterpoint to all of the rich Southern-style dishes at chef John Besh's table.

Thanksgiving Kale Recipes

Replay gallery

Side Dishes to Make While the Turkey's Cooking

1 of 9

Grill-Roasted Vegetables with Pine Nut Pesto

1 of 9