Our 7 Favorite Thanksgiving Sides Recipes The Whole Family Will Gobble Up

Thanksgiving is almost here, which means it’s menu planning time! I’m sure you have some family favorites in your arsenal, but why not mix it up a bit this year?

I come from a family of Southern foodies, and we have some divine Thanksgiving favorites. This yummy holiday is seriously no joke to us — last year, we had at least 20 different dishes in the kitchen! Thanksgiving probably looks a little different for all of us this year, so I thought this would be the perfect year to share some of our family favorites with everyone. Many of these recipes are classics, but trust me, they’re the best versions you’ll ever have!

Without further ado, here are my fam’s 7 favorite Thanksgiving sides!

Grandpa Ted’s Green Bean Casserole

I love this green bean casserole, and my Grandpa Ted did an amazing job at refining it. I’ve tried others and there’s always been something a bit off about them; either they’re too mushy, too flavorless, or they just don’t knock my socks off. This one, on the other hand, is the perfect combination of crispy and creamy, and I love it.

*Note: This recipe is not the same as the one referenced in the Instagram post*

Grandma Maggie’s Cranberry Orange Nut Relish

Grandma Maggie’s cranberry relish is a can’t-miss side dish that makes an appearance every Thanksgiving. It’s the perfect balance of sweet, citrus-y, and nutty — what’s not to like?! 

*Note: This recipe is not the same as the one referenced in the Instagram post*

Aunt Cheryl’s Potato Casserole

This is, without a doubt, hands down, no question about it, my favorite favorite favorite Thanksgiving side ever, and you can put it together in literally 5 minutes. It’s cheesy, potato-y, and topped with crispy crumbled up kettle chips and two sticks of melted butter. I always wake up with a pimple or two the day after I eat this, but it’s a once-a-year indulgence that is 100% worth it.

*Note: This recipe is not the same as the one referenced in the Instagram post*

Nagi’s Baked Mac and Cheese From RecipeTinEats

I have to admit, this recipe is not my own; I got it from the fabulous RecipeTinEats food blog and it’s my go-to every time I have a mac and cheese craving! I make this mac and cheese embarrassingly often, and that’s because it’s amazing. I’m convinced the only “right” way to eat mac and cheese is with a toasty, crispy breadcrumb topping; I even add breadcrumbs to my boxed mac and cheese! This recipe uses a cheesy bechamel sauce to make it extra creamy. I’ll stop raving about it now; make sure you have all the ingredients below on hand, and head over to RecipeTinEats for the full recipe!

 

Ingredients

• 250g / 8 oz macaroni (elbow pasta)

• 7 Tbsp (15g) unsalted butter 

• 2/3 cup (40g) Panko breadcrumbs 

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/3 cup (50g) flour , plain / all purpose

• 3 cups (750 ml) milk , warmed (low or full fat)

• 2 cups (200g) shredded cheese (I like cheddar)

• 1 cup (100g) shredded mozzarella cheese , or more other cheese of choice

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1/2 tsp mustard powder

FULL RECIPE HERE

Grandma Maggie’s Corn Casserole

Grandma Maggie is at it again with this corn casserole recipe! It’s another super easy one, and gets just a dash of heat from roasted red pepper pimientos. It’s so yummy, and will be a hit for any corn lovers at your Thanksgiving table! (Note: If you’re making this for a crowd, you may want to double it!)

*Note: This recipe is not the same as the one referenced in the Instagram post*

Momma’s Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet potato casserole is another Thanksgiving classic, and this recipe is one of the greats. My mom, Alice, has been making it for ages now, so she’s had plenty of time to perfect it! The topping includes coconut flakes and pecans, and it’s just to die for.

*Note: This recipe is not the same as the one referenced in the Instagram post*

Dad’s Recipe-less Stuffing

My dad is an amazing cook, but he does one thing that frustrates my family to no end: he never writes down recipes! So when I asked him for this stuffing recipe, he said he’d do his best to lay it out for us. I’ll hand it over to him to finish out this article — may this entertain you and inspire you to flex your cooking muscles!

This is an old recipe, from back in the days when everything was to taste. And everything depended on the size of the bird you were trying to stuff. I’ll try to give suggestions for quantities, although in my whole life I never measured much for this mix. I just tasted it until it tasted like my mom’s. The thing I always liked about this stuffing is that it is gloppy (how’s that for a recipe word?). Stuffings come in all shapes and sizes. They’re loose, tight, bready, wet, dry, bland, over-spiced…and then there’s one that’s just perfect for you. That was this recipe, for me. So, let’s cook!

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of giblets (generally found inside a turkey)

• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced

• 2 celery stalks, diced

• 1 tube sage sausage

• 1 box Saltine crackers

• 1 tsp sage

• 1 tsp poultry seasoning

The first thing you want to do (you can do it the day before) is to grab those giblets out of your turkey and put them in a pot with a bunch of water, about 1/2 tsp pepper and 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, and boil it for about an hour. That’s going to give you your broth for mixing the stuffing, and may be a bit of the magic in the taste. Make sure you use garlic powder, not garlic salt. At this point, DON’T SALT ANYTHING. You’ll get plenty of salt from the crackers, and you can adjust that to taste later, or let people salt their own. Make sure you save the giblets. Never ever throw away giblets!

When you’re ready to make the stuffing, crumble and sauté the sausage in a frying pan. Remove once it’s cooked through; then sauté the onion and celery in the sausage fat until they are soft. Once these are done, let them cool. I mix these 3 ingredients together with my hands, because my mom used to say that hands add love.

Take two sleeves of saltine crackers (the long sleeves from the big box, not the half sleeves), and crumble them up in the sleeve. Be careful not to burst the sleeve or you’ll get a mess; maybe do it over your mixing bowl. Then open the sleeve and put in a large bowl. Add the cooled veggies and sausage, and add some of the broth you made from the giblets. Start mixing it; you want it “loosely gloppy.” And remember, if you are putting it in the bird you’ll get more moisture from the cooking process, so don’t add too much broth! You can add the sage, poultry seasoning, and more pepper if you like that. STILL NO SALT. If you really like lots of turkey flavor, get your giblets out and mash up the liver, finely chop the gizzard, and mix those into your stuffing as well. Don’t add salt unless absolutely necessary. Salt comes on strong when it’s cooking. 

Now you’re ready to stuff your bird. Stuff it full, but don’t pack it in too tight or it won’t cook. Make sure to stuff it in the cavity and in the neck portion. Fold that flap of skin down over the neck cavity and sew it shut. 

As soon as the turkey is done and out of the oven, untie the neck, unclamp the legs, and pull as much stuffing as you can get to out into a casserole dish and save it ’til dinner. 

If you choose not to stuff the bird, use a bit more broth to make the stuffing nice and moist and bake it in a covered casserole dish at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes. Check it at about 35 minutes to make sure it’s not burning on the edges. (Most really good chefs will tell you that’s the best part, but I digress.)

Lastly, enjoy the heck out of yourself.

What are your favorite Thanksgiving classics? Are you going to try any of these recipes this Thanksgiving? Let us know in the comments!

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