25 Simple & Easy Thanksgiving Vegetable Side Dishes

Take your Thanksgiving feast up a notch with this ultimate selection of simple and easy Thanksgiving vegetable side dishes. These dishes are not only packed with nutrition and taste, but they’re also easy to make, leaving you more time to enjoy your company. You’ll find unique and delicious recipes, perfect for vegetarians and meat-lovers alike, to create a meal that will be remembered for years to come.

four of the sides featured for Thanksgiving

Are you feeling uninspired when it comes to deciding which Thanksgiving vegetable side dishes to serve?

I’ve got your back with this selection of simple and easy-to-follow recipes for the best Thanksgiving vegetable side dishes that your family and friends will love.

I pulled from my recipe archives as well as a few gems from other sites to round out the choices. From roasted cabbage and cauliflower to creamy mashed potatoes, each of these delicious vegetable dishes will add a colorful and flavorful touch to your holiday.

I’ve organized the recipes by vegetable type for cooked recipes and then added a few salads that would be wonderful to round out the offerings. There are also tips for making ahead of time. Simply scroll through for inspiration or use the table of contents to go right to a recipe you’d like!

With these twenty five recipes at your fingertips, you’ll be able to please everyone around your dinner table with dishes that are sure to become favorites you’ll want to repeat!

Carrots

1. Roasted Carrots with Garlic and Spices

These delicious roasted carrots are flavored with garlic and spices that will make everyone come back for more. Healthy, nutritious, and easy, you can make this side dish in about 30 minutes while the turkey is resting and being carved.

Or make them completely ahead of time, refrigerate and warm in the oven for 5-10 minutes before serving.

spoon of cooked carrots and onions over slow cooker bowl

2. Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Carrots

These carrots are one of the best set-it-forget-it healthy side dishes for any gathering, but they really shine at Thanksgiving.

Coated with a touch of honey and seasoned with garlic, lemon juice, and onions, these carrots are cooked to perfection without taking up precious oven or stovetop space. Don’t have a crock pot? You can make these in an Instant Pot, too!

3. Lemon Garlic Baked Grated Carrots

Crazy easy to make with a food processor and so good it’s guaranteed to change the way you – and your family – think about cooked carrots forever. My kids request these carrots!

To make ahead for the holidays you can either put it together in the pan and refrigerate unbaked to bake right before the meal or bake it completely a day or two ahead, refrigerate and gently reheat 10-15 minutes, stirring once before eating.

Cabbage & Brussels Sprouts

cabbage wedges on white plate with sauce and chives

4. Roasted Cabbage Wedges with Onion Dijon Sauce

Roasting cabbage was a revelation in flavor and texture! Who knew cabbage could taste this good?

And the delicious onion-dijon sauce takes this cabbage to the next level, which is perfect for the holiday. Everyone loves this, even so-called cabbage haters, so it’s a keeper for sure.

5. Easy Fried Cabbage with Bacon & Onions

When you’d like a stove top side dish in about 25 minutes choose this southern way to make cabbage – in a skillet with bacon and onions. Definitely special enough for any holiday and quick enough for weeknights.

6. Garlic Parmesan Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I have a feeling these parmesan crusted Brussels sprouts would be wildly popular at any gathering. Thankfully, it’s simply a matter of cutting them in half, tossing with oil, seasonings and cheese and roasting them until a lovely brown crust forms on the cut halves.

To make ahead, cook completely, refrigerate, and then reheat 5-10 minutes before eating.

Corn

7. Simple Corn, Pepper and Onion Sauté

This four ingredient corn sauté is a family favorite. It’s quick to make and easy to adapt which makes it perfect as a turkey and stuffing side dish.

Super simple to make up to 3 days ahead, refrigerate, and then reheat on the stove abut 15 minutes before serving.

8. Slow Cooker Creamed Corn

When you’d like to keep the oven free, use your crock pot to slowly cook this creamy corn dish while the oven is busy.

Simply made with corn, cream cheese, butter, milk and spices you can put it together in the morning and set it to cook when you want.

Green Beans

9. Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Tomatoes

Make a fun change up from traditional Thanksgiving beans by steaming and topping them with luscious caramelized onions and cherry tomatoes.

A great recipe for gatherings because it is perfect either warm or room temperature so you can make it a few hours ahead of the meal.

cooked green beans on white plate in front of cast iron skillet

10. Amazing Garlic Green Beans

Simple and full of flavor, this recipe is truly amazing whether cooked quickly in a skillet or grilled, which is a great way to free up space during the holiday meals!

The beans reheat easily, so you can make them a day ahead and then reheat them on the stove.

cooked beans with bacon and onions in large pan

11. Long Cooked Green Beans with Bacon and Onions

Here is a great way to cook your green beans for Thanksgiving, especially because this recipe uses frozen green beans.

The “long cook” is really only a bit longer than regular, fresh beans, 15 to 20 minutes, but it creates tender, flavorful beans that has everyone asking for more.

To make ahead, put all the ingredients in the pot you will cook them in and place in the fridge. Pull out to cook on the stove while the turkey is resting and being carved.

Broccoli & Cauliflower

sauce covered broccoli and cauliflower in white bowl

12. Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Parmesan

This delicious and quick side dish is ready in about 20 minutes. It’s easy and nice enough for a great Thanksgiving option. You can make it with both vegetables like I do or choose just one.

To make ahead, you can steam the vegetables and make the sauce the day before. Right before serving, warm the vegetables and sauce, place in a bowl or platter, and pour sauce over vegetables. Sprinkle with paprika and then broil.

13. Roasted Broccoli with Bacon and Feta

This is titled as a “salad” on the website, but you’re roasting the veggies and it’s served warm, so it counts as a roasted broccoli recipe. I love the flavor combo of bacon, lemon, and feta with the broccoli – it would be refreshing at Thanksgiving (though I’d leave out the croutons since there’s a lot of bread usually with stuffing, rolls, etc. already).

To make ahead, cook everything, add to a bowl, and then reheat just until warmed a bit before serving.

14. Spiced Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower

If you’re looking for a healthy side dish option (that no one will think about being healthy…) this turmeric roasted cauliflower is for you. The flavors come from cayenne as well as garlic, onion, cumin and a hint of cinnamon- all the good stuff.

To make ahead, cook completely, refrigerate for 1-2 days and then reheat stove top or in the oven until warmed through before serving.

15. Easy Roasted Cauliflower

Ready in about 30 minutes, you can add a pan of seasoned cauliflower to the oven while the turkey is resting and being carved.

Prepped ahead, keep the seasoned cauliflower in a bowl in the fridge so you can easily spread it on a baking sheet before roasting.

Potatoes

16. Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

Adding garlic and sour cream to your mashed potatoes elevates plain potatoes to a truly amazing status. Extra creamy and decadent which is perfect for Thanksgiving.

You can make the complete recipe up to two days ahead and refrigerate. Then on the day you want to serve them you can reheat either in the oven or in a slow cooker – you can find details for both on the recipe page.

baking pan full of baked potato fans with cheese

17. Baked Potato Fans (Hasselback Potatoes)

Instead of plain old baked potatoes, serve these creamy, crispy, cheesy baked potato fans (aka, Hasselback potatoes) for the holiday. In just about the same amount of time needed for baked potatoes, the recipe calls for just 3 ingredients!

You can bake these completely ahead of time, store in the fridge for a day or two, and then reheat in the oven about 30 minutes before serving.

scoop of scalloped potatoes over bowl of crock pot

18. Slow Cooker Cheesy Garlic Scalloped Potatoes

A crock pot may be the ultimate way to make food ahead of time for holidays and potlucks – this recipe for all real food scalloped potatoes can be made hours ahead, frees up oven space, and most importantly, it tastes amazing!

19. Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Does your family enjoy comforting cheesy potato casseroles? This recipe is made from shredded baked potatoes, onion, seasonings, sour cream, and cheese – simple ingredients that add up to all the things we love on our potatoes.

This casserole can be assembled ahead of time, refrigerated, and then baked before the meal.

Salads

serving salad from large white bowl to smaller white bowl

20. Celery Salad with Onions & Parmesan

Here’s a salad to get you out of the “celery with dip” rut at Thanksgiving – a surprisingly delicious celery salad with onions and parmesan that’s tossed with nuts and a light vinaigrette dressing.

This salad keeps very well, so you can make it the day before and just pull it out of the fridge when you’re ready to eat!

finished salad in white bowl with serving spoon and fork

21. Kale Cranberry Salad with Feta and Pecans

You can put this salad together in about five minutes, stash it in the fridge, and pull out to serve right before the meal – so easy! The bonus is that it’s full of healthy ingredients that help to balance all the traditional holiday foods.

white plate with greens, onions, and oranges

22. Orange Almond Salad with Orange Balsamic Dressing

With sweet onions, oranges, and crunchy almonds on a base of lettuce drizzled with orange-balsamic vinaigrette this quick salad is a perfect compliment to a turkey dinner.

You can prepare the salad and dressing separately a day ahead of the holiday, then dress the salad right before serving.

finished broccoli slaw on pink glass plate

23. Cranberry Walnut & Feta Broccoli Slaw

Looking for a healthy and delicious side dish to spice up your Thanksgiving menu! This cranberry, walnut and feta broccoli slaw will impress your guests with its beautiful presentation and unique and irresistible flavors – and you can feel good about how nutritious it is.

Like most slaws, this can be made a day ahead of time and then refrigerated until you need it.

24. Thanksgiving Honey Mustard Brussels Sprouts Salad

Instead of cooking Brussels sprouts, use them in a simple salad of cranberries and pecans with a yummy honey mustard dressing.

Make this in about 20 minutes in the morning and then stash in the fridge until the big meal.

grated carrot salad with olives on green flowered plate

25. Carrot Salad with Feta and Olives

Refreshing Mediterranean flavored carrot salad with feta and kalamata olives comes together quickly and stores well, making it a great make-ahead option for any holiday meal, really. This is such a terrific way to use inexpensive carrots in a way everyone will love!