Thanksgiving sides are honestly the whole reason I show up to the table. The turkey is fine. The turkey is always fine. But the sides? That is where the magic actually happens. Over the past couple of years I have been slowly building out a collection of recipes that work for our family, meaning they are genuinely delicious, not just technically edible, and they hold up even when you are feeding a crowd of people with different preferences and dietary needs.
This year I am pulling together the three sides that have made it onto our permanent Thanksgiving rotation. One is a classic that I finally cracked dairy free. One is a crowd-pleasing appetizer dip that I bring to every holiday gathering now and always comes home as an empty dish. And one is a recipe that came straight from a green bean can. All three are easy enough to make on a busy cooking day, and all three can be made ahead, which is basically a requirement in this house.
Jump to a Recipe
1. Dairy Free Green Bean Casserole
This is the one that took me the longest to get right, and I am so glad I kept trying. Traditional green bean casserole is made with condensed cream of mushroom soup, which is full of dairy, so for years Camden just watched the rest of us eat it while he had a plain scoop of green beans on his plate. That bothered me way more than it bothered him, honestly. Last year I started testing with Mom’s Place Dairy Free Cream of Mushroom Soup Mix and it completely solved the problem. This version is creamy, savory, topped with crispy fried onions, and nobody at the table would ever guess it was dairy free.
The recipe makes a full 9×13 casserole that serves 10 to 12 people, so it is built for holiday cooking. It comes together in about 10 minutes of hands-on time and then the oven does the rest. The whole family eats it now, which is the real win here.
How to Make It
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix the sauce. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dairy-free cream of mushroom soup packet, dairy-free milk, and water until smooth. This usually takes about a minute of solid whisking to get rid of any lumps from the packet.
- Add the green beans. Drain your canned green beans well and add them to the bowl. Stir everything together until the beans are coated in the sauce.
- Season it. Stir in the salt and black pepper until combined.
- Top the green beans with the fried onions. Make sure to spread them across evenly.
- Pour into the baking dish and spread the mixture evenly.
- Bake uncovered for 25 minutes. You want the sauce to be bubbling around the edges before you pull it out.
- Top with remaining crispy onions. Sprinkle the remaining two-thirds cup of crispy onions over the top and bake for another 5 minutes until the onions are golden and crispy.
- Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving. The sauce thickens up a little as it cools and it slices more cleanly if you give it just a few minutes/
Get the full dairy free green bean casserole recipe and ingredient list here.
2. Dairy Free Jalapeรฑo Cranberry Dip
I started bringing this dip to Thanksgiving a couple of years ago and it has basically become required at this point. People who say they do not like cranberries eat this by the spoonful. It is that balance of sweet, spicy, and tangy that is genuinely hard to stop eating, and it sits on top of dairy free cream cheese so it looks impressive without requiring any real effort. This is also a great make-ahead option because it actually tastes better after it has had a few hours in the fridge for the flavors to come together.
Serve it with crackers, pita chips, or sliced baguette. It disappears fast at every gathering I have brought it to, which is the highest compliment I can give a recipe.
How to Make It
- Pulse the jalapeรฑo, cilantro, and dried cranberries. Add the dried cranberries, fresh cilantro, and chopped jalapeรฑos to a food processor. Squeeze the juice of your orange in there too. Pulse everything together until it forms a finely minced, almost relish-like consistency. You want it chopped fine but not completely smooth. A little texture is a good thing here.
- Combine with the cranberry sauce. Transfer the minced jalapeรฑo and cranberry mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the full can of cranberry sauce and stir everything together until well combined. If the mixture feels too thick, add a little more fresh orange juice to thin it out. The consistency should be scoopable but not watery.
- Add the cinnamon. Sprinkle in the cinnamon and give it a good stir. Start with one-quarter teaspoon and taste from there. The cinnamon is subtle but it adds a warmth that ties the whole dip together. Do not skip it.
- Assemble the dip. Spoon your dairy free cream cheese into a wide, shallow bowl or onto a plate with a slight rim. Spread it out so there is a nice flat surface. Pour the cranberry jalapeรฑo mixture right over the top. Serve immediately or refrigerate until you are ready to eat.
- Serve cold. This dip is absolutely best served cold. The cream cheese firms up a little in the fridge and the flavors deepen the longer it sits. If you have time to make it a few hours ahead, do it. It only gets better.
Get the full jalapeรฑo cranberry dip recipe with exact ingredient amounts here.
3. Grandpa Mike’s Holiday Hot Corn
My Grandpa Mike, has been making this corn dish at every holiday gathering for as long as I can remember, and the first time I tried it I completely understood why. It is creamy, a little spicy, buttery, and goes with absolutely everything else on the Thanksgiving table.
You can serve it cold, straight from the fridge for a thick and creamy version, or warm it in the oven for a hot, melty, buttery version. Both are legitimately great and I genuinely cannot pick a favorite. The cold version is easier for parties since it requires zero oven space on a day when oven space is precious.
How to Make It
- Drain the corn. Open all four cans and strain out the liquid completely. Pour the corn into a large mixing bowl or a casserole dish.
- Add the dairy-free cream cheese. Drop the entire container right on top of the corn.
- Add a pad of dairy-free butter. You want it to be able to melt down into everything and get into every corner of the dish.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Start with a little, mix, and adjust from there.
- Dice and add the peppers. Dice your jalapeรฑos and serrano pepper and add them to the bowl. If you or anyone at your table has a lower heat tolerance, remove the seeds and membranes from the jalapeรฑos before dicing. That cuts the heat without losing the flavor.
- Mix everything together. Stir until the cream cheese and butter are evenly distributed throughout the corn and peppers.
- Decide: cold or warm. Serve it cold straight from the fridge for a thick and creamy spicy corn side. Or warm it in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 to 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through, for a hot, melty, buttery version.
Get the full holiday hot corn recipe with exact ingredient amounts here.
Frequently Asked Questions About Thanksgiving Sides
What Thanksgiving sides can be made ahead of time?
All three of these sides work well as make-ahead dishes. The jalapeรฑo cranberry dip is best made a few hours in advance so the flavors have time to deepen in the fridge. The green bean casserole can be assembled up to 24 hours ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator, with the crispy onion topping added right before it goes into the oven. Grandpa Mike’s Hot Corn can be mixed and refrigerated a day in advance and served cold or warmed up right before the meal.
What are the easiest Thanksgiving side dishes to bring to someone else’s house?
The jalapeรฑo cranberry dip and the hot corn are both excellent choices for potluck-style Thanksgiving gatherings because they require minimal equipment and no last-minute oven time. The cranberry dip travels well in a container and you can assemble it on a plate when you arrive. The hot corn can be brought cold in a serving dish or transferred to the host’s oven for the last 20 minutes if you want to serve it warm.
Can Thanksgiving sides be dairy free without sacrificing flavor?
Absolutely, and these three recipes are proof of that. The green bean casserole uses Mom’s Place Dairy Free Cream of Mushroom Soup Mix and a neutral plant-based milk to recreate that rich, creamy texture without any dairy. The cranberry jalapeรฑo dip is built on dairy free cream cheese and tastes just as indulgent as any traditional version. Grandpa Mike’s Hot Corn uses dairy free cream cheese and dairy free butter, and nobody has ever noticed the difference.
How many Thanksgiving sides should I make for a group of 10 to 12 people?
For a group that size, three to four sides is usually a solid spread when you also have a main dish like turkey. The green bean casserole in this roundup is sized specifically for 10 to 12 servings, so that one covers the crowd on its own. Adding the hot corn and the cranberry dip gives you good variety across flavors and textures without overwhelming your prep schedule. Having one cold side that requires no oven time also helps on a day when the oven is already doing a lot of work.
What Thanksgiving sides go well with turkey?
All three of these pair well with turkey in different ways. The green bean casserole is a classic pairing that has been on holiday tables forever for good reason. The hot corn adds a creamy, spicy contrast that cuts through the richness of a heavy holiday meal. The jalapeรฑo cranberry dip works beautifully as a starter while everything else is still cooking, or it can be served alongside turkey slices as a kind of punchy cranberry condiment. Together, they cover sweet, savory, creamy, and spicy, which is a well-rounded holiday table.
A Few Final Notes Before You Start Cooking
These three recipes have genuinely made our Thanksgiving better, and I say that as someone who used to find the holiday cooking pretty stressful. Having dishes that I know work, that I can prep ahead, and that the whole family will actually eat makes the day feel a lot more manageable.
If you make any of these this Thanksgiving, I would love to hear how they go. Leave a comment below, or tag me on Instagram so I can see your table. And if you are still working out the rest of your holiday menu, poke around the blog. There is plenty more where these came from.
Happy cooking, and happy Thanksgiving to your family from ours.
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