Great side dishes are an essential part of making a special Thanksgiving meal. Yes, sometimes you want to roll out the old standbys, but it’s nice to add some variety, too! With that in mind, we have pulled together this roundup of Creative Thanksgiving Sides from our fellow bloggers along with a few of our favorites from here on Cooking Chat. Originally published in 2014, updated with new recipes for 2019. Check them out and let us know what you try!
While we are on the Thanksgiving topic, you might also want to check out our collection of leftover turkey recipes.
Well, Thanksgiving day is almost here! Do you have your menu 100% locked in? Check out our Thanksgiving Menu Ideas if you still need inspiration for your full plan!
Or do you plan like me…you think about your menu for a big dinner for weeks, have it basically set but are tweaking right up until the company arrives. If you’re looking for one more idea (or maybe a few more!) to put on the table Thursday, today we bring you these delicious Creative Thanksgiving Sides.
I feature more entrees than side dishes here on Cooking Chat, so I thought I’d tap some of my fellow bloggers to share with you. The result is a great lineup of creative Thanksgiving sides that can add some tasty variety to your table.
Cranberry Apple Relish Let’s start off this post with a classic Thanksgiving side, cranberry. But with the addition of apples, Mary Ellen from Recipes, Food & Cooking puts a creative twist on this one, and the colors just pop right out of the picture.
Chestnut Stuffing How about some chestnuts to get you in the holiday mood? Thanks to Cindy’s Recipes and Writings for the tasty contribution to our Creative Thanksgiving Sides roundup.
Sweet Potatoes with Cumin Sage Butter
Sweet Potatoes with Cumin Sage Butter Probably a good time to add one of my favorites from here at Cooking Chat! This flavorful sweet potato dish was originally created to go with pork tenderloin, but I recently found it goes well with turkey, too, as shown in the photo at the top of the post. By the way, if you’re still looking for a turkey recipe, my Roasted Turkey with Garlic Herb Butter is quite tasty!
Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprout Salad with Cranberry Sauce from Simple Roots Wellness. Sure, three ingredients in this dish are often found on the Thanksgiving Table. But combining it all in a salad with cranberry sauce definitely qualifies as creative!
Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Keeping on the brussels sprouts theme, they get roasted here along with some butternut squash and super-healthy pomegranate for another creative Thanksgiving side. This one from Foodie Tots.
Moroccan Roasted Potatoes are so easy to make, reports the author of Peter’s Food Adventures. A perfect side dish of crispy roasted potatoes, jam packed with spices like cumin, paprika, turmeric and optional spicy Harissa! No par-boiling, just crispy roasted on a baking sheet, perfect with your Thanksgiving Holiday meal.
Cheesy Jalapeno Corn Casserole
Cheesy Jalapeno Corn Casserole I’d sure want to dig into this spicy and savory casserole if it were on our Thanksgiving table! Definitely earns a spot in this Creative Thanksgiving Sides roundup. From Stacy at Food Lust People Love.
Creamy Garlic Roasted Parsnip Puree
Parsnips are always on our Thanksgiving table. I’m thinking this year we need to upgrade to this Creamy Garlic Roasted Parsnip Puree from Whole Food Bellies!
Pan Roasted Carrots with Apple Molasses 
Pan Roasted Carrots with Apple Molasses Sue from a Palatable Pastime roasts multicolored carrots for a great presentation, along with a buttery apple glaze. Yum!
I don’t think of cabbage as being a Thanksgiving dish, but this Braised Red Cabbage from Krumpli would be a healthy and eye catching addition to the table!
Cauliflower Rice and Sausage Stuffing
This low carb Cauliflower Rice and Sausage Stuffing from Low Carb Africa, garnished with your favorite fall herbs, is sure to please your palate and your guests at your holiday table!
Bacon Balsamic-Roasted Brussels Sprouts I had a chance to try this creative Thanksgiving side from Erica at the Crumby Cupcake the other day, and it is delicious! Can’t go wrong with bacon, right?
Butternut Squash Wild Rice Pilaf I saw this post title first from Curious Cuisiniere, and thought, “Hmm…this is something different–and tasty looking!”. Then I saw Jennifer from Peanut Butter & Peppers had also put these ingredients in her Butternut Squash Wild Rice (shown above). I don’t think of rice on Thanksgiving, but it looks great in the recipes these two bloggers have shared!
Rosemary Cauliflower Puree from Mom’s Dinner is a savory and silky side dish that is full of flavor. It is a perfect stand in for any starchy side dish. It comes together in 20 minutes and is made with 5 simple ingredients: cauliflower, garlic, butter, cream, and rosemary.
Cornbread Stuffing from Noshing with the Nolands looks tasty and easy–great features in a dish as the big day approaches!
Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream from Platings & Pairings is a great looking dish of potatoes! Mashed potatoes is probably my favorite Thanksgiving sides, but haven’t tried it with sour cream, might need to.
2-Ingredient Slow Cooker Rustic Mashed Potatoes with Garlic and Herbs from Shockingly Delicious. Putting the slow cooker to use sounds like a great way to manage all the Thanksgiving prep work, and you can’t go wrong with mashing potatoes with garlic and herbs!
Apple Sage Stuffin Muffins are as fun to say as they are to eat! This recipe from Swirls of Flavor looks like it would be good snacking throughout the fall, as well as a fun addition to the Thanksgiving table.
Paleo Cornbread This Cornbread from Emma Eats and Explores is grain gluten and refined sugar free but every bit as delicious as the normal version. Your guests won’t know the difference!
Simple Cranberry Sauce from Amee’s Savory Dish gets “cleaned up” with wholesome ingredients. So it’s good for you, and doesn’t take much more effort than opening that canned cranberry sauce.
Butternut Squash Quinoa Casserole
Butternut Squash Quinoa Casserole is a healthy recipe from our kitchen! Typically one thinks that a casserole is likely to be on the heavy side, but this side dish is light and packed with nutrition.
Scalloped Sweet Potatoes and Apples get cooked with gorgonzola and spiced butter and topped with an oat-pepita crumble. Yum! From the Wimpy Vegetarian.
Tara
Thanks for including our Cornbread Casserole in your roundup!! Everything looks great!!
Cooking Chat
That cornbread looks so tasty, Tara!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
nice collection of sides! Thanks for including my slow cooker spuds!
Sarah Ozimek
Great roundup! Thanks for including us!
Jennifer Drummond
Wow! Everything sounds delish! Thank you for including my Butternut Squash with Wild Rice.
Cooking Chat
Sure, love that idea of combining squash and wild rice, Jennifer. Looks great!
susan // the wimpy vegetarian
I’m just now catching up from Thanksgiving! Thanks so much for including my sweet potato dish in your roundup. I’m not waiting until next Thanksgiving to try these other dishes! Great selection!
Cooking Chat
Thanks Susan, hope you had a great holiday!