Thanksgiving Recipes- Side dishes for your holiday table

It's easy to make delicious side dishes for Thanksgiving or any time of the year.  You'll love these easy to make recipes that will have your guests asking for seconds!

Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

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Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays…..well except for the ones I’ve worked. It’s a day to see family and friends, a time to come together and give thanks for all the blessings you have in your life. And I’m very happy to share some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes with you today.

When preparing our Thanksgiving Day Feast, I’m pretty traditional in the fare that I serve Lisa and our guests. Although I can be pretty creative, Thanksgiving is not the time I try to come up with new dishes. For us, it’s the basics. Turkey & Gravy, Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes, Cole Slaw, Green Beans and Cranberry  Sauce. We don’t usually eat Sweet Potatoes, but this year I will be trying out one of the recipes I’ve shared today my Roasted Sweet Potato-Apple creation.

Of course, they’ll be a few pies for dessert, a traditional Pumpkin Pie with fresh whipped cream, pecan pie and my favorite Apple-Cranberry with a streusel topping.

Below you’ll find two of my Sweet Potato recipes, Roasted Beet Compote, Cole Slaw, and Cranberry Sauce to help you with your Holiday table. The first is really delicious and healthy, my  Roasted Sweet Potato-Apple with onions……it’s yummy!

Of course, you can really jazz up your sweet potatoes and make them more family-friendly by mashing them! And adding a few of your own touches will really liven up the flavors. In this version, I added apple butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.

One our family favorite vegetables are beets and making them in this delicious compote with apples and walnuts will get even the finicky eaters to try this flavorful combination!

It can’t be Thanksgiving without Cranberry Sauce, and in our house, you’ll always find Cole Slaw on our holiday menu.

Have a Great Holiday, no matter what you serve and remember to count your blessing and be thankful for all you have in your life.

If you’ve tried my Thanksgiving recipe or any other recipe on askchefdennis.com please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know where you found it in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME  on Instagram @chefdenniseats and @chefdennistravels,  Twitter and Facebook.

5 from 2 votes

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Thanksgiving Recipes

It's easy to make delicious side dishes for Thanksgiving or any time of the year.  You'll love these easy to make recipes that will have your guests asking for seconds!

Author: Chef Dennis Littley

Nutrition Facts

Thanksgiving Recipes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 280 Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 6g 9%

Saturated Fat 3g 15%

Cholesterol 13mg 4%

Sodium 262mg 11%

Potassium 638mg 18%

Total Carbohydrates 55g 18%

Dietary Fiber 7g 28%

Sugars 34g

Protein 3g 6%

Vitamin A 236.2%

Vitamin C 38.3%

Calcium 7.6%

Iron 7.5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Course: side dishes

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 1 hr

Cook Time: 50 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins

Servings: 16

Calories: 280 kcal

Ingredients

Cranberry Sauce

• 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp orange zest

Cole Slaw

• 1 head of cabbage - cored and sliced very thinly
• ½ small carrot grated
• ½ cups mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt or to taste
• ½ teaspoon black pepper or to taste

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

• 4 large sweet potatoes - peeled and sliced
• 3 large apples - peeled and sliced
• 1 small onion - large chop
• Sea Salt to taste
• Black Pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• olive oil

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Apple Butter

• 6 large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup apple butter
• 4 tbsp butter
• sea salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon optional

Apple Beet Compote

• 3 red beets
• 3 golden beets
• 1 fennel bulb
• 2 large apples
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Cranberry Sauce

1. place all ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil, allow to continue a slow boil for 5 minutes
2. reduce heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, sauce will thicken
3. allow to cool for about 20 minutes, then refrigerate over night.
4. Cranberry sauce will become jellied when fully chilled.

Cole Slaw

1. Mix mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, sea salt and black pepper in a small bowl, blending the ingredients completely. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes so sugar fully dissolves, then remix the ingredients
2. Mix together cabbage and grated carrot, then add in cole slaw dressing and mix well to make sure the mixture is thoroughly coated.
3. Refrigerate until ready to use.
4. Cole slaw needs to sit at least 4 hours before eating, and its best to make it the day before.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Apples

1. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into medium sized chunks, coat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper add onion chunks and place on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes before adding apples.
2. Peel and cut apples into medium sized chunks, coat with brown sugar and cinnamon and place on cookie sheet with sweet potatoes after they have cooked 15 minutes and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

3. remove from oven and mix both together, place on a serving platter and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Apple Butter

1. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into medium sized chunks.
2. Place sweet potatoes in boiling salted water and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender
3. drain potatoes well and in a mixing bowl add the potatoes and butter and whip until butter is melted.
4. Add in apple butter, salt, and cinnamon and whip until fully incorporated
5. place in serving bowl and serve immediately or keep warm in 200 degree oven until ready to serve

Apple Beet Compote

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. clean and peel beets, then cut into small chunks

3. mix each color separately with olive oil, sea salt and pepper and place into roasting pan.

   
   

4. cut fennel bulb into the same size pieces and coat with olive oil, salt and pepper, then place in roasting pan with beets.

5. Place the roasting pan into the preheated oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until beets are soft*

   
   

6. While beets are roasting, peel and cut the apples into bite-size pieces and place them in a saute pan with 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of brown sugar, and cinnamon.

   
   

7. Saute apples for 5 minutes just to soften them up some, set aside.

8. In another saute pan add one tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of brown sugar and mix well.

   
   

9. Add the walnuts and over a medium heat.  coat the walnuts with the brown sugar mixture* tossing to get them completely coated.

   
   

10. remove the walnuts from the pan and place on parchment or a plate to allow the sugar to set.

    
    

11. When the beets are done, gently mix your compote together and serve warm.