Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas: Side Dishes Made Easy

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It’s been almost a decade since I’ve had to plan a Thanksgiving dinner but this year I’m on the hook. After spending a few hours on recipe creation and planning, I remember why it’s such a huge pain. Putting together a big collection of recipes that all work together not only from a flavor-perspective but from a sheer doability perspective is a challenge. And of course, that pesky turkey is taking up the oven for most of the day, which adds a whole new layer of fun to the complexity.

As I started thinking about tactics for making the day more manageable, I found myself focusing on the sides. Short of choosing a different cooking vessel for your turkey (grill, smoker, fryer, etc), side dishes offer the most opportunity to mix up your preparation techniques to make the day more manageable. Along the way, I came up with five tactics to find side dishes that won’t be competing with the turkey for oven space during day. As I was thinking of sharing my tactics here, I realized examples would be useful, so I hunted down a collection of recipes that represent these tactics, which you can of course use as is, or use as a guide for your own menu planning. Of course, if you have two ovens, you have a little more leeway, but even so, unless every dish cooks at the same temperature, I think you’ll find that these tactics will be helpful even if you have the luxury of extra oven space.

Do you have a favorite tactic or recipe to make Thanksgiving menu planning and cooking easier? Please share in the comments.

Remember the Turkey Has to Rest for 30 Minutes

When I was putting my Turkey Buying 101 post together, the expert I interviewed stressed several times that letting a turkey rest for at least 30 minutes after cooking and before eating is critical to serving a tasty turkey. While it does mean your whole kitchen has to smell like turkey for an extra 30 minutes before you can east, it also means that you have 30 minutes of oven time to use to finish, reheat, or even wholesale cook a side. While many vegetables and stuffing recipes call for up to 60 minutes of oven time, if you look for recipes that cook in 30 minutes or so or that are of the make-ahead and re-heat variety, you can make the most of this precious time.

• Baked Brussels Sprouts with Parmesan Cheese – Change your guests’ minds about Brussels sprouts with some good cheese.
• Wild-Mushroom Bundles – Make the bundles the day before and heat them in the already hot oven for 20 minutes.
• Herb Stuffing Muffins – Individual stuffings cook more quickly than a big batch. Toss these in the oven as soon as the turkey comes out and they’ll be ready to serve at the same time.
• Roasted Potatoes with Bacon, Cheese, and Parsley – Do most of the work on these cheesy potatoes ahead of time and finish them in 15 minutes.
• Yukon Gold and Fennel Puree with Rosemary Butter – A quick turn in the microwave reheats these make-ahead potatoes.

Make the Most of Your Stovetop

Your stovetop has several burners, use them! You can do a lot more on the top of the stove than mash potatoes or steam vegetables so look for recipes that spend all or most of their cooking time on the stove top to take advantage of every heat source you have to work with in your kitchen.

• Steamed Carrots with Garlic-Ginger Butter – This healthy side comes together quickly and isn’t too heavy.
• Corn and Parsnip Cakes – An unexpected side that combines the flavors of fall with a new take on a cornbread.
• Sautéed Green Beans and Pears – A new twist on a savory-sweet combination you usually find in peas and carrots.
• Glazed Red Pearl Onions – Make these the day before and quickly reheat them on the stove top.
• Savory Couscous – Not your typical Thanksgiving side but a fun one that cooks quickly and has infinite variations.
• Wild Rice and Mushroom Stuffing – Move stuffing from the oven to the stovetop to free-up precious oven space.
• German-Style Fried Potatoes – Do most of the work on your potatoes the day before Thanksgiving and finish them quickly on the stove just before dinner.
• Squashed Rosemary Potatoes – A quick and easy stove-top take on potatoes.

Use Your Slow Cooker

Many favorite Thanksgiving sides are long cooking, making them perfect candidates for your slow cooker. The recipes I’ve found are really templates for your own versions of them, so start with these as a base and customize them to fit your personal taste. To find other slow cooker versions of your favorite sides, simply Google “slow cooker side” and you’ll find more options than you can shake a stick at.

• Slow Cooked Au Gratin Potatoes – A possible replacement for the standard mashed potato. Change up the cheese to compliment your meal or use your favorite.
• Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese – A kid-friendly side that adults love too. Take it up a notch with more sophisticated cheese or a bit of truffle oil.
• Slow Cooker Candied Yams – A traditional favorite becomes fix-it and forget-it.
• Stuffing from the Slow Cooker – Skip the bird and the oven and cook your stuffing in the crock pot.

Consider a Salad

While a plain tossed salad doesn’t seem appropriate for a Thanksgiving table, an interesting and next-level salad absolutely does. Many salads can be made ahead or require no cooking at all, and they can bring a lighter option to what is a traditionally heavy meal. Look for salads that feature fall ingredients and more substantial dressings.

• Pear Lettuce Salad with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette – The maple vinaigrette gives this a fall feel and the pears compliment other Thanksgiving flavors.’
• Celery Root Salad – A new take on celery that’s also make-ahead.
• Spiced Pumpkin, Lentil, and Goat Cheese Salad – Replace your favorite yam or squash recipe with this salad for a lighter take on a side.

Find More Sides

Finally, as you are recipe hunting for sides that fit these tactics, you’ll find these sites most helpful.

• Epicurious Thanksgiving recipe collection
• My Recipes Thanksgiving section
• Simply Recipes Thanksgiving recipes
• Rachel Ray Thanksgiving Central
• Fine Cooking Mostly Make Ahead Thanksgiving
• Food Network Thanksgiving