16 Standout Side Dishes for Christmas Dinner

Make Brussels Sprouts twice as nice with the addition of fresh, in-season chestnuts and crispy bacon.

Recipe: Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts and Bacon

Tender potatoes and carrots need very little fussing over. Simply roast them and toss with thyme and butter for an easy side dish.

Recipe: Oven-Roasted Potatoes and Carrots with Thyme

This brilliant side dish (or vegetarian main, if made with vegetable broth) is a colorful version of scalloped potatoes. For richest flavor and color, look for deep-orange-fleshed sweet potatoes with skin that’s burnt orange to dark red. A food processor’s shredding disc and 2-mm. slicing blade make quick work of the cheese, sweet potatoes, and shallot.

Recipe: Sweet Potato and Gouda Gratin

Dukkah, olive oil mixed with toasted spices and nuts, elevates roasted veggies to a standout side dish.

Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower and Shallots with Chard and Dukkah

Chanterelles accent the vibrant, knee-high chard in this recipe.

Recipe: Rainbow Chard with Chanterelles and Walnuts

This recipe loads up garden potatoes with crisp sage leaves—but feel free to use less if you prefer a milder flavor. Either way, don’t pass up chicken pan juices poured on top.

Recipe: Potatoes with Sage Brown Butter

Beets are ridiculously tasty with bacon. There’s lots of garlic in this dish, but it candies and mellows in the bacon fat.

Recipe: Roasted Beets with Bacon, Garlic, and Chestnuts

This herb-flecked bean dish is great with our festive Garlic-Rubbed Tri-Tip with Mint Caper Salsa.

Recipe: White Bean Gratin

Chanterelle mushrooms and cipollini onions are worth the splurge, but you can substitute halved cremini mushrooms and frozen pearl onions and the results will still be very tasty.

Recipe: Green Beans with Chanterelles and Cipollini

The bacon cream melts to give the potatoes a rich, salty glaze.

Recipe: Makah Ozette Potatoes with Bacon Cream

Though mildly sweet like their carrot cousins, parsnips are starchy, like potatoes. Subbing them for spuds, as in this recipe, is a good way to expand your winter repertoire.

Recipe: Roasted Parsnips

Tender carrots and crunchy pecans get tossed in a sweet brown sugar and ginger glaze for a quick side dish that's easy and delicious.

Recipe: Glazed Carrots with Pecans

We love the clever use of parsnip and potato peels as a crispy topping for this creamy mash. There's also a delicious hit of coconut that makes these extra special.

Recipe: Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips with Crisp Root Vegetable Strips

It takes just a few minutes to prep the ingredients for this flavorful pot of beans, then they simmer to tenderness in a slow-cooker.

Recipe: Flageolet Beans with Rosemary and Thyme

Light and flaky phyllo dough offers a nice contrast to the soft and creamy green filling of these turnovers. They make perfect hors d’oeuvres or a side dish served with meat and a glass of wine.

Recipe: Winter Green Turnovers

Use popover pans for higher, airier popovers. (Muffin pans work too, but leave every other cup unfilled so heat circulates.)

Recipe: White Cheddar–Sage Popovers