Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes

Originally written 11/91/17. Updated October 2018 and again July 2019.

It’s been too long since I’ve shared any recipes or anything food related. If you know me, you know how much I love food.

Quite odd that I’ve been out of the food loop lately. Let’s get back to it!

Wahoo! I can’t believe Thanksgiving is almost here! It is my favorite eating holiday. Yes, I just said eating holiday, lol. (Insert fat joke here). If your family is anything like mine, big holidays mean big amounts of food.

But each holiday has a different type of meal plan with our family. Easter is a ham eating day in our house (for everyone but me – not a fan).

Christmas is usually Ham, but recently, my aunt has been adding something else in (wahoo! I think she has a similar feeling about ham as I do).

But, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is TURKEY! My favorite. Along with the turkey we have awesome sides. I swear, I need like two or three plates just to hold the amount of food I wish I could eat that day.

It is also well known that I am more than willing to take any and ALL leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner- haha.

Every family does side dishes and desserts a little differently. This is something that I have learned as I got older.

Even my husband’s family does Thanksgiving way differently than we do. They have different sides that, some that I haven’t even heard of.

We grew up in the same state- but, we grew up on different sides of the bridge. For those of you who are familiar with Maryland, (and for those who are not) Maryland is divided by the Chesapeake Bay.

We have the 5 mile long Bay Bridge that connects the two shores, but we still refer to them as the Eastern Shore (where home is) and the Western Shore (where I grew up).

Having lived on both shores, it’s like living in two different states. The Eastern Shore is where I belong- for sure.

Anyway, back to the sides of food for this upcoming feast. So I’ll share the classics for our family feast on my side and then I’ll share my husbands family.

My Side of the Family’s Thanksgiving Recipe Inspiration:

Of course we have a turkey. We have Green Beans, mashed potatoes, corn, chicken and dumplings, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls and turkey gravy.

My Hub’s Side of the Family’s Thanksgiving Recipe Inspiration:

My husbands family has a turkey, chunky potatoes, Lima beans, fresh snapped green beans and a healthy salad.

As you can see, our families do things similar yet different. I have rounded up some unique turkey day sides from fellow bloggers that I’ve found on Pinterest!

New Ideas for Thanksgiving Side Dishes:

If you’re looking for a fun appetizer idea, check out this Turkey Shaped Cheese Tray. Super cute and festive Thanksgiving appetizer idea from Melanie at Melanie Cooks.

I love this, it’s simple and perfect for a simple munchy to keep anyone from getting HANGRY waiting on the big feast. (Image from Melanie Cooks website- she gets all the credit)

If you’re looking for a healthy side, go for this awesome Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad. It looks amazing and tastes just the same.

I found this recipe from Tiffany at Creme De La Crumb. I mean if that blog name isn’t enough to go check out her stuff, trust me, you want to head over there!

This salad would be fantastic to have any time of the year as well. It almost reminds me of a salad we get at Panera for lunch. (Image from Creme De La Crumb- Tiffany gets all the credit). This salad makes the perfect Thanksgiving side dish recipe idea.

If you’re looking for a veggie side for your Thanksgiving spread this year, you have to try this Parmesan Roasted Carrots dish that I found over at Your Homebased Mom by Leigh Ann Wilkes.

These smell amazing as you are cooking them and they taste pretty darn good as well. I want to add them to our Thanksgiving side dish recipe list. (Leigh Ann gets all the photo credit for this image)

If you’re looking for more of a homey comfy food feel, check out my family favorite Macaroni and Cheese recipe. It’s so popular at our family parties that we have to make two batches of it so everyone can get a huge serving (or two, maybe even three).

This homemade macaroni and cheese is the perfect side dish addition for you Thanksgiving meal plan.

Yeah, it’s that creamy deliciousness that you just can’t get enough of. I’ve shared it before around Easter time and it was a huge hit. So, make sure to head over to the macaroni and cheese recipe post and grab your copy of this delicious Thanksgiving side idea.

Yellowbliss Road has shared a fantastic Spicy Cranberry Barbecue Meatballs. I haven’t made these yet, but, they’re on my to make list.

I can’t wait to try them out and I think they would make a perfect Thanksgiving side dish recipe to add to your Thanksgiving meal prep list this year. Meatballs are simple and the cranberry helps to make it a festive and timely side that everyone will like to have on their plate.

(Image credit goes to Yellowbliss Road- they get all the credit)

Bonus- Thanksgiving Dessert Ideas:

We love Desserts in our house. Over the last couple months I have shared one of our all time favorite desserts.

Check out this fun and easy Dairy Free cake idea .

Get my favorite brownie recipe ever from MSPI Mama (bonus they’re Dairy and Soy Free!) If you have any family or friends coming to your Thanksgiving feast, this is the perfect Thanksgiving dessert idea to add to your Thanksgiving meal prep idea list.

Final Thoughts on Thanksgiving Recipe Suggestions

I hope these side dish recipes help make your Thanksgiving feast even more interesting and delicious.

I’d like to say thanks to the awesome bloggers that I have linked to for sharing such awesome recipes. I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday and gets to spend the time with your family and friends that you’d like to.

Please be safe in your travels. Have a wonderful start to the beginning of the holiday season.

Please feel free to share your favorite Thanksgiving or other holiday seasonal side dish recipes in the comments below. I’d love to feature them in another round up!