Christmas Side Dish Recipes

This warming potato gratin, a great addition to the holiday table, is so simple that you'll want to make it all year long.

This stuffing is brimming with traditional holiday flavors, including leeks, herbs, and pecans. We used our Honey Cornbread recipe but left off the honey topping. Store-bought cornbread also works well.

With a salty, umami edge from the miso, brightness from the Meyer lemons, and a touch of sweetness from the honey, this is a next-level carrot recipe.

You can make the bechamel sauce three days ahead (let it cool completely before refrigerating). The onions can be cooked, peeled, and refrigerated overnight. Heat the onions and sauce together over low heat before serving.

Your family will love this no-fuss gravy for Thanksgiving. For a turkey how-to, see Turkey 101.

For this modern take on green-bean casserole, we quickly steam-sauté the beans and finish them with lemon juice and zest. The steamed beans keep their toothsome bite and still get a sprinkle of that classic fried onion topping. 

Skip the canned variety and whip up this naturally delicious chunky cranberry sauce instead. Pears and dried cherries give it an extra touch of natural sweetness, allowing you to cut down on added sugar.

Using a ricer yields mashed potatoes with an especially light, fluffy texture. Garlic and chives give them a resonant flavor.

For a less spicy dish, omit the chili pepper.

Spaetzle -- a German dish of tiny noodles -- is often made by forcing dough through thelarge holes of a colander into boiling water;we like to use a potato ricer.

This recipe for carrot spoon bread from reader Claire Russo in Rye, New Hampshire, can work as a holiday side dish or a dessert.

This chutney is a departure from the usual cranberry sauce, thanks to a touch of spice.

Braising maximizes the potatoes' flavor and ensures that they're perfectly tender. Serve this alongside our Crisp Mustard-Glazed Chicken Breasts.

Reserved drippings from the rib-roast fat add richness to this Yorkshire pudding.

This cheesy leek side dish goes well with our Brandied Ham.

Buttered carrots are an excellent side for Roast Poussin with Prunes and Thyme.

This gratin combines two comforting ingredients to their mutual advantage --and ours. Sliced potatoes encircle a casserole dish, with assorted wild mushrooms, such as chanterelle and oyster, taking spots alongside more potatoes. Fresh thyme gives the pie herbal undertones; Gruyere and Parmesan, melting in and around the layers during baking, make it soul-satisfying.

A handful of fresh mint brightens peas and pearl onions, making this dish an ideal side for a rich meal.

In place of heavy cream, a small amount of butter and reduced-fat sour cream -- so much tastier than fat-free! -- enrich this comforting accompaniment.

Use this "Cooking School" stuffing recipe when making Stuffed Turkey Breast.

In this take on the green-bean casserole, cheese ravioli replaces the heavy mushroom soup, while sauteed shallots and crunchy toasted almonds stand in for the fried onions.

Follow the recipe for Roast Turkey to cook the stuffing in the turkey cavity, or bake it separately as directed below. If you prefer to avoid peeling the chestnuts yourself, buy ones that have been cooked and peeled and are sold in jars or cans. You will need 1 1/4 cups.

Tangy orange-butter sauce gives Brussels sprouts a wake-up call in this recipe from "Fast, Fresh & Green," by Susie Middleton.Also try:Vanilla and Cardamom-Glazed Acorn Squash Rings, Roasted Turnips and Pears with Rosemary-Honey Drizzle

Any combination of hearty autumn greens will work well in this recipe; try Swiss chard, Tuscan kale, and mustard greens.