Who does not like to eat turkey meat? I don’t. Despite my lack of interest in the turkey meat, Thanksgiving dinner has always been one of my favorite meals of the year for the gorgeous side dishes. Side dishes add texture, taste, and color on the plate. This article will provide some ideas of side dishes for the Thanksgiving meal.

Cornbread is something that Dear Son waits for very fondly. Well … he waits for it in the morning for breakfast. Dear Son requests for a piece in his school lunchbox. He even makes please-please-cutie-awww eyes to get cornbread as the main item of his dinner. There is no way we will forget cornbread as a side for the Thanksgiving dinner. Readily available mixes are good (and easy) for cornbread but making it from scratch is always fun.

Melissa from Bless This Mess provides this great cornbread recipe that makes cornbread sweet and fluffy every time.

Green bean casserole is probably the most popular Thanksgiving side dish. It goes very well with the high-protein turkey. Although green bean casserole is Veggie-lovers’ favorite during the holiday season, I am not quite sure if it remains healthy after the overuse of butter, cream, and cheese. Anyway, we can always control the number of juicy ingredients that make a dish delicious. We can balance between health consciousness and savoriness. Moreover, it is Thanksgiving — who cares how healthy the food is. I do … but no one listens to me.

A great recipe for a French onion green bean casserole is available in the following Youtube video with wonderful commentary.

Biscuits are always great as an alternative of regular bread or toast. It is a fulfilling item with warm and sweet smell that speaks holiday. The Foolproof Flaky Biscuit recipe from Dessert Now Dinner Later looks great. The recipe results in flaky biscuits with crisp exterior, soft layers, and buttery tenderness. All great properties of biscuits are in one recipe.

There are two great options of stuffings — bread stuffing and cornbread stuffing. I think, one is sufficient for a Thanksgiving meal but if you have a large party you might prefer to make both.

While bread stuffing mixes are available to purchase, it is not hard to make bread stuffing from scratch. Pieces of bread mixed with herbs, onion, and celery can make an excellent filling dish. If you make cornbread, you can use some to make cornbread stuffing instead of a regular bread stuffing. The recipe remains the same — just replace bread with cornbread.

Here is a Youtube video-recipe for bread stuffing.

I will not underestimate the effort of a cook by saying that making cranberry sauce is easy. Every time I say this about a dish, I jinx my attempt to cook it. Therefore, I am going to say that making fresh cranberry sauce might not be as simple as it may seem. Whatever recipe you use, make sure to adjust sugar and salt based on the amount and type of juice you use — orange, apple, or pomegranate.

I generally use frozen cranberry for the sauce because it is a little harder to get the fresh ones around Thanksgiving. The video below provides an excellent cranberry sauce recipe.

Baked regular and sweet potatoes with some seasoning, or even with a little hint of salt and pepper are easy choices (no jinx) as a filler side dish. Corn is filling too. Eating directly from the cob is a lot of fun. Add a little bit of butter and keep some options of seasoning including cayenne pepper. Some people, including me, like the heat with the sweetness of the corn.

Please share with us, in the Comments section below, what side dishes you like in a Thanksgiving dinner.

We wish you a fantastic holiday season!

Settle in El Paso team