--- title: 10 Healthy Side Dishes to Make Over the Holidays description: Side dishes shine during the holiday season, so don't settle for sub-par accompaniments. canonical: https://time.com/4580351/healthy-side-dishes/ author: Cooking Light article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-23T14:00:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:03:56.938Z og:title: 10 Amazing Healthy Sides for Your Thanksgiving Table og:description: Dig in to these lightened-up classics og:url: https://time.com/4580351/healthy-side-dishes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt381979dda55a6507/6988af7a2dce01898f9eb84a/mashed-potatoes-thanksgiving-sides.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2123 og:image:height: 1194 og:image:alt: Close up of mashed potatoes and rosemary og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 10 Amazing Healthy Sides for Your Thanksgiving Table twitter:description: Dig in to these lightened-up classics twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt381979dda55a6507/6988af7a2dce01898f9eb84a/mashed-potatoes-thanksgiving-sides.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 10 Amazing Healthy Sides for Your Thanksgiving Table > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published Tuesdays and Saturdays to 40,000 subscribers as of August 2026. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. by [Cooking Light](https://time.com/author/cooking-light/) ## Cooking Light Nov 23, 2016 2:00 PM UTC  Close up of mashed potatoes and rosemary Close up of mashed potatoes and rosemary Getty Images by [Cooking Light](https://time.com/author/cooking-light/) ## Cooking Light Nov 23, 2016 2:00 PM UTC From stuffing to mashed potatoes, holiday accompaniments are just as important as the main dish. Here are some healthy options to add to your Thanksgiving menu: ### Farro Stuffing with Butternut Squash, Red Onion, and Almonds [View Recipe: Farro Stuffing with Butternut Squash, Red Onion, and Almonds](http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/farro-stuffing-butternut-squash) Side dishes shine during the holiday season, so don’t settle for sub-par accompaniments. From bright, flavorful veggies to creamy mashed potatoes, we’ve got everything you need to make a great plate. First up is this nontraditional stuffing, in which earthy flavors and starchy comfort come from whole-grain farro, not bread. You can assemble up to 2 days ahead. Take out of the fridge, let stand at room temperature 45 minutes, then bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated. ### Sausage and Chestnut Dressing [View Recipe: Sausage and Chestnut Dressing](http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sausage-chestnut-dressing) Chestnuts bring rich, nutty flavor without adding much fat or many calories, as would pecans or walnuts. You can find whole roasted chestnuts in the baking aisle. **_Read more:_** [_5 Things We Want to Eat This Month That Aren’t Turkey_](http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/five-recipes-we-want-to-eat-november) ### Baked Mac and Cheese [View Recipe: Baked Mac and Cheese](http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/baked-mac-cheese-0) We added a surprise ingredient, canola mayonnaise, to make things extra creamy. ### Cauliflower Salad [View Recipe: Cauliflower Salad](http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cauliflower-salad) A fresh, crisp salad balances the lineup of heavier, rich side dishes. You can follow a recipe or just compose one with pretty cuts of your favorite vegetables and herbs tossed with a light vinaigrette. Make this salad a day ahead if you want the flavors to absorb into the cauliflower a little more. Just hold off on adding the cheese until right before serving. ### Green Beans with Dried Cranberries and Hazelnuts [View Recipe: Green Beans with Dried Cranberries and Hazelnuts](http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/green-beans-dried-cranberries-hazelnuts) Every plate needs a little green on it. Blanch the beans ahead, and store in the refrigerator to eliminate a task from the Thanksgiving Day prep list. ### Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Maple Gastrique [View Recipe: Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Maple Gastrique](http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/glazed-sweet-potatoes-maple-gastrique) The gastrique, a tangy-sweet glaze, is Thanksgiving worthy but also simple enough to pull off on a weekday. **_Read more:_** [_Fall Baking Favorites_](http://www.cookinglight.com/food/recipe-finder/fall-baking-favorites) ### Classic Corn Bread Dressing [View Recipe: Classic Corn Bread Dressing](http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/classic-corn-bread-dressing) This is the quintessential Thanksgiving side dish in the South. It is made from crumbled corn bread, with no added French or sourdough bread to cut it, so the texture is unique. Loads of aromatics give this dressing its flavor; don’t be tempted to use less. ### Cheesy Potato Casserole [View Recipe: Cheesy Potato Casserole](http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cheesy-potato-casserole) Rather than using sodium-loaded canned soup, we made our own creamy sauce to update this dish. ### Supersavory Wild Rice Pilaf [View Recipe: Supersavory Wild Rice Pilaf](http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/supersavory-wild-rice-pilaf) The fluffy pilaf will soak in all the delicious juices from your plate making it the perfect side dish. **_Read more:_** [_The Best Techniques for Perfect Mashed Potatoes_](http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking-101/techniques/ricing-mashed-potatoes) ### Sweet Potato Casserole [View Recipe: Sweet Potato Casserole](http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-potato-casserole-10) No Thanksgiving table is complete without this sweetened vegetable. Our modern twist on the classic sweet potato casserole is a fragrant vanilla bean streusel. [_Read about the rest of the healthy holiday side dishes at CookingLight.com_](http://www.cookinglight.com/entertaining/holidays-occasions/holiday-cookbook-sides/view-all) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4580351/healthy-side-dishes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4580351/healthy-side-dishes/"},"headline":"10 Amazing Healthy Sides for Your Thanksgiving Table","datePublished":"2016-11-23T14:00:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:56.938Z","description":"Dig in to these lightened-up classics","url":"https://time.com/4580351/healthy-side-dishes/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt381979dda55a6507/6988af7a2dce01898f9eb84a/mashed-potatoes-thanksgiving-sides.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cooking Light","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cooking-light/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt381979dda55a6507/6988af7a2dce01898f9eb84a/mashed-potatoes-thanksgiving-sides.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Close up of mashed potatoes and rosemary","caption":"Close up of mashed potatoes and rosemary","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4580351/healthy-side-dishes/","name":"10 Amazing Healthy Sides for Your Thanksgiving Table"}}]}] ```