16 Standout Side Dishes to Complete Your Christmas Dinner
These side dishes perfectly complement your Christmas roast, ham, or vegetarian dinner.
Photo by Yunhee Kim
So you’ve decided on the main course for your Christmas dinner. Great! The hardest decision may be done. But you still have to come up with accompaniments, and that process can be daunting in the absence of mandates like the mashed potatoes and stuffing that are de rigueur at Thanksgiving.
Any of the recipes below would make a great sidekick to the roast or casserole you’re serving for your holiday feast. We’ve got nice healthy vegetables, like roasted cauliflower and Middle-Eastern spices. (And we’ve got some not-so-healthy vegetables, like Brussels sprouts with bacon.) We’ve got potatoes, we’ve got beans, and we’ve got bread. Many dishes are vegetarian, so you can serve them no matter who’s coming to your holiday. Best of all, you can prepare many of these recipes ahead of time, lessening your workload on Christmas Day.
Cheers to a stress-free Christmas dinner!
Favorite Christmas Dinner Side Dishes
Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts and Bacon
Make Brussels Sprouts twice as nice with the addition of fresh, in-season chestnuts and crispy bacon.
Oven-Roasted Potatoes and Carrots with Thyme
Tender potatoes and carrots need very little fussing over. Simply roast them and toss with thyme and butter for an easy side dish.
Sweet Potato and Gouda Gratin
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
Roasted Cauliflower and Shallots with Chard and Dukkah
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
Rainbow Chard with Chanterelles and Walnuts
Chanterelles accent the vibrant, knee-high chard in this recipe.
Potatoes with Sage Brown Butter
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
Roasted Beets with Bacon, Garlic, and Chestnuts
Beets are ridiculously tasty with bacon. There’s lots of garlic in this dish, but it candies and mellows in the bacon fat.
White Bean Gratin
This herb-flecked bean dish is great with our festive Garlic-Rubbed Tri-Tip with Mint Caper Salsa.
Recipe: White Bean Gratin
Green Beans with Chanterelles and Cipollini
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.
Makah Ozette Potatoes with Bacon Cream
The bacon cream melts to give the potatoes a rich, salty glaze.
Roasted Parsnips
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
Glazed Carrots and Pecans
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
Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips with Crisp Root Vegetable Strips
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
Flageolet Beans with Rosemary and Thyme
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.
Winter Green Turnovers
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
White Cheddar–Sage Popovers
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
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