Favorite Side Dishes for a Crowd  

Plan ahead for your large holiday get-togethers by choosing easy side dishes that will feed a crowd of hungry guests.

Take Brussels sprouts, for instance. Excluding salt and cooking spray, this recipe calls for just seven ingredients. Often simplicity is the key to making vegetables taste great, and this dish is no exception.

Yield: 12 servings

Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Ham and Garlic

This simple side is a classic crowd-pleaser. Toss cooked green beans with shallots, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and top with crumbled bacon.

Yield: 12 servings

Recipe: Green Beans with Bacon

Combine mashed potatoes and sweet caramelized onions in this hearty make-ahead casserole. It’s great side dish to serve with beef tenderloin or pork roast.

Yield: 10-12 servings

Recipe: Potato Casserole with Caramelized Onions 

 

Honey amplifies the natural sugars of the caramelized vegetables in this hearty side dish.

Yield: 8 servings

Recipe: Honey-Roasted Root Vegetables 

Instead of serving plain steamed rice with your holiday meal, impress your guests with tasty skilled-cooked rice cakes flavored with bacon, onion and almonds. They are a nice way to add an easy touch of sophistication to your holiday meal.

Yield: 12 servings

Recipe: Wild Rice Cakes with Bacon 

This hearty stuffing is chock full of vegetables, pecans, and dried cherries and apricots. The sweet-and-savory combination is a sure crowd-pleaser, and stuffing is an easy side to make for large groups.

Yield: 12 servings

Recipe: Wild Rice Stuffing

This casserole is so delicious, even the kids are sure to gobble it up. Plus, it's incredibly easy and requires just seven ingredients, making it an excellent option for last-minute fare.

Yield: 8 servings

Recipe: Broccoli, Cheese, and Rice Casserole

Mashed (or whipped) white potatoes and sweet potato casserole are both classic holiday sides, but what about whipped sweet potatoes? This side features the traditional sweet potato casserole flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and brown sugar, yet it calls for whipping the potatoes with an electric mixer and topping with a hazelnut streusel. It's the best of both worlds!

Yield: 12 servings

Recipe: Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Hazelnut Topping

Macaroni and cheese may be humble, but it sure is loved by all. This creamy version gets its incredible texture and flavor from four different types of cheese: Emmenthaler (or Swiss), Parmesan, Gorgonzola, and cheddar.

Yield: 8 servings

Recipe: Macaroni and Four Cheeses

Break out of the green bean casserole rut with this fresh-tasting combination of carrots, parsnips, turnips, Brussels sprouts, shallots, and onion. A homemade pesto really pulls all of the flavors together and takes this dish from ordinary to extraordinary.

Yield: 10 servings

Recipe: Roasted Root Vegetables with Walnut Pesto

Dress up classic roasted potatoes with an easy, make-ahead yogurt sauce. This side goes well with just about anything and is perfect for casual weeknight meals and fancy holiday dinners alike.

Yield: 8 servings

Recipe: Roasted Potatoes with Tangy Watercress Sauce

While wine is a common addition to pan sauces and beer finds its way into everything from fondue to quick breads, it's not often that Champagne gets a chance to shine in a recipe. Here, it brightens up plain risotto and complements the radicchio well. Chicken broth, yellow onion, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg add complexity and flavorful depth to the dish.

Yield: 12 servings

Recipe: Risotto with Champagne and Radicchio

The combination of buttery Yukon gold and fluffy baking potatoes offers richness and a nice contrast both in flavor and texture for this lightened potato casserole.

Dress up a package of long-grain and wild rice mix with the addition of fresh mushrooms and Marsala. It will be a guaranteed hit on your holiday table.