30 Days of Splendid Sides

Here’s a crowd-pleasing side that’s easy on the pocketbook: just 67 cents per serving! If money is no object, consider finishing with a flourish of white truffle oil.

View Recipe: Rosemary Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Shallots Recipes  

Chopped shallots and fresh thyme and parsley come together with quick-cooking couscous for a versatile, no-fuss side dish.

This side is ridiculously easy and goes into the oven in only 10 minutes, thanks to sweet canned yams. To boost flavor and add richness, we counter the canned spuds with luscious crème fraiche; chunks of almonds bring big crunch.

Here's a deliciously updated version of the classic, with fresh green beans and wine-infused mushrooms. We just had to keep the fried onion topping, which is arguably the best part.

View Recipe: Carrot Soufflé

View Recipe: Creamy Pumpkin-Red Pepper Soup

Be sure to purchase a crumbly wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano for this super quick potato side dish. The salty flavor will give just the right bite to these melt-in-your-mouth mashed potatoes.

Bring some bold Italian flavor to your holiday table with this speedy stovetop side. The recipe, which serves six, doubles easily if serving a larger crowd.

These potatoes are perfect for a holiday meal: quick and convenient, but still plenty dressy. They cook in about the same time it takes for a large roast to rest before carving. Bake the potatoes in their jackets so the outsides get nice and browned while the buttery interiors gently cook through.

Haricots verts are tiny, fresh French green beans. If you can’t find them, substitute regular fresh beans, which you’ll need to cook a few minutes longer. You can also use white wine vinegar instead of Champagne, if necessary.

View Recipe: Winter Jeweled Fruit Salad

Sweet Italian sausage, chopped fresh fennel, and apple combine with tangy sourdough for a classic Thanksgiving stuffing.

This speedy, simple stovetop dish saves you oven space and can be prepared at the very last minute and then brought to the holiday table. Roma or plum tomatoes are the best choice this time of year.

On the corn bread side, our version veers away from Dixie toward the Southwest, with chorizo sausage and a little kick from a jalapeño pepper.

If your audience favors a creamier approach, serve Swiss chard enriched with crème fraîche—a dish that's ready in about 15 minutes.

View Recipe: Sherried Green Beans and Mushrooms

This bright, fresh salad of winter greens and sweet-tangy citrus is studded with red pomegranate arils: It’s a dramatic, holiday-worthy plate and a welcome course for vegetarians.

Use store-bought refrigerated bread dough to make pretty ­knotted rolls that you can gussy up with your favorite toppings.

Simple roasted Brussels sprouts get a big flavor boost from one simple addition: salty pecorino Romano cheese, which punctuates the traditional fall veggie dish with meaty umami notes. You can also use subtler Asiago or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, if you prefer. Quarter the larger sprouts so they are about the same size as halved smaller ones, and spread them in a single layer in two different roasting pans so they brown nicely and evenly.

Go traditional with a twist: Sourdough bread, sausage, and apple is a classic combo, but our bread stuffing also has licorice notes from fresh fennel.

Instead of the traditional buttery, heavy sauce present in most mac and cheese recipes, we turned to an unlikely hero for a boost: butternut squash. Combined with nonfat milk and Greek yogurt, the squash adds a rich, nutty flavor, sneaks in some vegetable, and brilliantly mimics the color and creaminess of cheddar sauce. Over fifty 5-star reviews agree: butternut squash is a delicious addition.

Twice-baked sweet potatoes get mixed with a spicy-smoky chipotle butter that balances the sugar. Look for similar-sized sweet potatoes so they'll cook at an even rate. To make ahead, stuff the potato halves, cover, and refrigerate up to one day. Set out at room temperature as the oven preheats to take the chill off.

Pre-chopped veggies and pre-cooked bacon and eggs help you pull this charmingly retro dish together in a flash. Typical layer dips and salads are loaded with cheese, sour cream, and refried beans, making the saturated fat and calorie numbers quite high. However, this salad is packed with protein and nutrient-dense veggies that deliver just as much flavor as your favorite bean dip. You can assemble the salad, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Eat it straight out of the bowl, or scoop it out with chips or lettuce cups.

Sweet potatoes laced with bourbon, butter, and cream—what could be better?

Hooray for the food processor, which makes this crisp, refreshing salad a snap to make. Honeycrisp apples have peel that ranges in color from bright red to golden--pick the redder ones, as they tend to be sweeter. Don't make this dish too far ahead, as it might discolor; aim for no more than 30 minutes before you plan to serve it.

Celebrating the miracle of oil that burned for 8 nights often means a menu of heavily fried foods—not exactly a healthy Hanukkah. Instead, a hot pan and a little olive oil produce golden, crispy pancakes that aren’t greasy.

Here is a great shortcut to this favorite Thanksgiving side dish. It just may convince you to make stuffing more than once a year.

Cauliflower is roasted with olive oil until deep golden (it’s a tradition to eat foods cooked in oil on Hanukkah), then served with tahini and pomegranate seeds—familiar foods in Jewish cuisine.

This ultimate starter salad celebrates the produce of the winter season and makes a knockout-gorgeous addition to your table. Use fresh orange juice, multicolored beets, and creamy goat cheese for this exquisite appetizer.