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Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes for an Almost Effortless Holiday

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October 21, 2020 by Kristi Stone Leave a Comment

mashed potatoes, green bean casserole and sweet potato dish

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that takes a ton of preparation, especially if you are making the whole thing on your own! Most people don’t take on the whole meal, but rather, divide the cooking duties between many family members for a potluck style meal. These easy Thanksgiving side dishes are a perfect addition to any Thanksgiving table!

Four Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes, Not a Lot of Time

These four dishes are sides that our family has frequently enjoyed. None of them take very long, and because our family tends to “like easy”, these dishes can be made with canned foods for a dump and bake experience.

If you need a super easy roasted turkey recipe, try mine!

Green Bean Casserole

This is by far the recipe that gets requested at Thanksgiving the most — and why not? It’s a classic! It comes from the back of the French’s French Fried Onions container, and comes out perfect every single time.

Classic Green Bean Casserole

Campbell’s
This recipe can be made with canned, raw, or frozen green beans. For the cooked green beans: Use 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) green beans, drained, about 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans or 16 to 20 ounces frozen green beans, thawed, for this recipe.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup 10 1/2 ounces Campbell’s® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup or 98% Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 dash black pepper
  • 4 cups cooked cut green beans see summary for other options
  • 1 1/3 cups French’s® French Fried Onions

Instructions
 

  • Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 2/3 cup onions in a 1 1/2-quart casserole.
  • Bake at 350°F. for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining onions.
  • Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.
Keyword casserole, green beans, thanksgiving, vegetables

Sweet Potato Casserole

This recipe is one that my mother-in-law, Jody, has made for years. This side dish is a hit for those who love a sweet side dish at Thanksgiving.

I asked Mom if she would share the recipe with you all for this post, and this is what she said:

I have used canned and fresh sweet potatoes, make it different every time. Just mix butter and brown sugar , pour on top of potatoes, sometimes put a bit of crushed pineapple and pecans, then top with tiny marshmallows. Mostly just go by taste.”

~Mom (Jody)

It comes out perfect every time, despite the fact that she doesn’t use measurements. Moms and grandmas have a knack for that style of cooking. If you don’t feel that you have that same knack, no worries! You can still make it using the recipe below!

Sweet Potato Marshmallow Casserole

This recipe is pretty forgiving, and you can use fresh sweet potato if you'd like. If using fresh: bring peeled and cubed sweet potatoes to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until very tender. Proceed with recipe as usual.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 29 oz cans sweet potatoes drained
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup crushed pineapple optional
  • 1/4 cup butter softened
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans divide
  • Cooking spray
  • 2 cups miniature marshmallows

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 375°.
  • Place potatoes in a large bowl. Add sugar and next 3 ingredients (through vanilla).
  • Mash sweet potato mixture with a potato masher. Fold in 1/4 cup pecans.
  • Scrape potato mixture into an even layer in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup pecans; top with marshmallows.
  • Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until golden.
Keyword casserole, sweet potato, thanksgiving

Cheese Carrots

This recipe is one that when first introduced to our family, was made with Cheez-Wiz. I’m sure my face didn’t reflect any kind of interest at the time, but once it was made, it was actually a hit.

Because I’m not a huge fan of Cheez-Wiz, and because I am a huge fan of my own cheese sauce that I make using my homemade white sauce mix, I’ve changed it up a little. This recipe, even Cheez-Wiz-free, gets the “husband’s stamp of approval” from Todd.

Cheese Carrots

This recipe can be made with fresh or canned carrots. For fresh, use 2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped into pennies. Boil carrots 10 minutes. Drain. Use the same way you would use your canned carrots.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 55 mins
Total Time 1 hr 5 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 3 cans sliced carrots drained
  • 1 cup white sauce mix + 2 cups water
  • 2 tsp Better Than Bouillon chicken flavor
  • 1 cups shredded cheddar cheese or to taste
  • 4 Tbsp butter
  • 30 crackers crushed into crumbs

Instructions
 

  • Make your white sauce (see recipe linked above) according to instructions. Add Better Than Bouillon and whisk until well mixed, then simmer until thick.
  • Add shredded cheese. Stir to blend.
  • Fold your drained carrots into the mixture and transfer all ingredients to a casserole dish.
  • Bake 350 degrees F for 35-45 minutes or until carrots are tender.
  • Melt butter and stir in crushed cracker crumbs to coat lightly. Top carrot casserole and bake 5-10 minutes longer.
Keyword carrots, casserole, thanksgiving

Perfect Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes and gravy are an absolute favorite around here. Fresh potatoes boiled and mashed with milk and butter mixed in is a comfort food that is hard to pass up!

Don’t forget to make my foolproof gravy! Make it perfect every time.

Basic Mashed Potatoes

This recipe is best made with fresh potatoes. Canned potatoes can be a little gummy and don't work as well, so fresh is best.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 45 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 1 hr 15 mins
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 10 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 5 lb russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1" cubes
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 cup milk or to desired consistency
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 25 minutes; drain.
  • Put a stick of butter into your stand mixer bowl (or a large bowl if you aren’t using a stand mixer), then dump the potatoes on top of it, covering the whole stick of butter. Wait 5 minutes for the butter to melt.
  • Using the paddle attachment (or a hand mixer), mix your potatoes with the butter, allowing the paddle (or beaters) to break down the cooked potatoes while it mixes in the butter, about 1-2 minutes. Do not over-mix.
  • Add milk to the desired consistency.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Keyword mashed, potatoes, thanksgiving

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Hi, I’m Kristi!

A little about me….For the past 6 years, we have lived on a scant acre in Southern California. I am the wife of the greatest guy ever….also a veteran ex-homeschooling mom of 3, grandma of 1, and fur mom of many!

Besides writing, my hobbies are gardening, herbs, crafting, scratch cooking, food preservation, goat breeding, and teaching all of these things here, to you, on Stone Family Farmstead’s website.


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