Thanksgiving Traditional Side Dish Twist
November 15, 2018 | by ashlynn reynolds-dyk
Whether you are hosting Thanksgiving dinner or attending as a guest, you likely need to make a side dish. The traditional Thanksgiving dinner in my mind includes a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, dinner rolls, green bean casserole, cranberries, sweet potatoes, and of course pumpkin pie. I’ve tried to deviate from these a few times and found that some people are seriously committed to their traditional feast. With that said, if you want to up your side dish game but keep your head in tact, try one or more of these side dish recipes—they retain that traditional Thanksgiving ethos while adding that extra spice to the classics.
The Stuffing
You can tailor this recipe to suit your preferences (for example, get rid of mushrooms if you do not like them or have already used them in your green bean casserole and find that mushrooms in one dish is plenty). I love how it incorporates cranberries and pecans—two traditional Thanksgiving staples—into one of the ultimate Thanksgiving dishes: stuffing. The variety of flavors and textures come together to create a fantastic side dish.
The Potato
There are many possibilities with the potato—funeral potatoes, twice or triple baked, potato truffle, etc. Personally, I’m a fan of the twice baked potato because it is nearly impossible to mess up and can be tailored to your preferences (my brother likes to add bacon, for example).
The Dinner Roll
The dinner roll is a classic, but you can really impress people with a couple extra ingredients. Just be sure to make extras because at our house, if the rolls are ready early, they are half eaten by the time dinner actually rolls (pun intended) around.
The Green Bean Casserole
Okay, don’t get me wrong—I like my traditional Campbell’s mushroom soup green bean casserole as much as the next person, but it’s time to step it up to a mean green bean game. It’s like moving from the family station wagon to a Mustang where the station wagon will always be good and comforting but the ‘Stang puts the “class” in “classic.”
The Sweet Potatoes
Anytime I think about sweet potatoes, I need to know that marshmallows will be involved because, obviously. For this recipe, think about Seva Kitchen’s poutine (OMG, yum!) but as a delicious marshmallow-y sweet potato version. Adults and kids alike will love this.
