5-Star Holiday Sides

Holiday cooking is all about your family's favorite dishes. From classic to unique, these top-rated sides take advantage of the season's produce.

If traditional sweet potato casseroles are too, well, sweet for your tastes, try this savory gratin featuring parmesan cheese and black and cayenne pepper.

Recipe: Sweet-Potato Gratin

The nutty, almost smoky flavor of wild rice pairs beautifully with game birds and other poultry.

“Rich and creamy” does not begin to describe this decadent baked pasta dish featuring three types of cheese, Alfredo sauce, and sour cream. This is one side dish that just might steal the spotlight from the entrée.

If you’re not a fan of sweet potato casseroles that taste more like dessert, this recipe is for you. The mashed sweet potatoes are subtly sweetened with a little bit of brown sugar and mellow bourbon, and accented with dried apricots.

This easy side dish will win raves at your holiday meal. Simply sauté steamed Brussels sprouts in a skillet with butter and lemon juice, then stir in chopped prosciutto to achieve a perfect flavor balance.

Dress up basic roasted red potatoes with a yogurt-based sauce featuring watercress, green onions, and fresh herbs. To save time, you can even made the sauce up to 2 days ahead.

Recipe: Roasted Potatoes with Tangy Watercress Sauce

This recipe makes just two servings as written, but can easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled for holiday gatherings. Since these carrots are topped with fresh sage, this dish is also a great way to use up any sage left over from stuffing your turkey.

Recipe: Sautéed Carrots with Sage

Go beyond basic green beans and add flavor with fresh garlic and toasted pine nuts. The recipe is simple but the flavor is not.

This elegant and popular dish calls for just nine ingredients—and three of them are butter, salt, and pepper! The rich blend of pine nuts, shallots, butter, and thyme is sure to win over even the staunchest Brussels sprouts skeptics.

Recipe: Brussels Sprouts with Currants and Pine Nuts