My 5 Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Thanksgiving is this week! If you are in charge of making a side dish, no sweat, girl. I got you. I am sharing not one, not two, but FIVE Mamaw-style side dishes that are easy to make and that everyone will love. I’m talking about home cooked, made-with-love recipes with ingredients you can find anywhere, easy cooking directions, and just plain GOOD FOOD that makes great leftovers. 

These are my PERSONAL recipes that I am making for my own Thanksgiving dinner. They’re also great for pot lucks, and Sunday dinner. Two more great additions would be some Perfect Boxed Cornbread or a Brown Sugar Apple Pie. I’ll share each one of these recipes individually over the next two weeks to give you the step by step instructions and a little background into each one. For now, let’s just get down to it!

Are you ready? Grab some mixing bowls, a few 9 x 13 baking dishes and let’s go to work!

 

Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole

INGREDIENTS

1 package (26 oz.) frozen shredded potatoes
1 stick butter, melted
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 container (16 oz) sour cream
1/2 c. coarsely chopped onions
2 c. shredded mild cheddar cheese
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Saute onions in butter over medium heat for 5 minutes until translucent.

3. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

4. Spread hashbrown mixture on to a lightly greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

5. Mix 2 Tbsp. melted butter together with crushed Corn Flakes, and spread on top of the hashbrown mixture.

6. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

 

Layered Marshmallow Sweet Potato Casserole

INGREDIENTS

2-29 oz. cans, or 1 1/2 40 oz. cans of sweet potatoes (yams), drained
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 bag mini marshmallows
Optional: 2/3 c. pecans or walnuts, chopped

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, hand mash sweet potatoes, leaving slightly chunky.
  3. Add all other ingredients to the bowl, except the marshmallows, and hand mix for 2-3 minutes.
  4. In a greased 9 x 13 baking dish, pour half of the sweet potato mixture in the baking dish.
  5. Layer half of the marshmallows on top of the sweet potato mixture.
  6. Top with remainder of the sweet potato mixture.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes.
  8. Remove and top with remaining marshmallows, bake for 10 more minutes, and the broil for 2 minutes so that the marshmallows are slightly browned.

 

Ultimate Green Bean Casserole

 

INGREDIENTS

6 cans of cut green beans, drained
6 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. milk
6 Tbsp. butter
1 med. onion, diced
3 c. swiss cheese, shredded
1 can, French fried onions

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Drain green beans and set aside.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together flour salt, sugar and pepper and set aside.
  4. Saute onions in butter over low heat for 2 minutes. Stir in milk and flour mixture.
  5. Stir until thick and bubbly.
  6. In a large bowl, stir together flour mixture, sour cream and green beans.
  7. Layer green bean mixture and swiss cheese in a 9 x 13 baking dish.
  8. Top with French fried onions.
  9. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

 

Crock Pot Baked Apples

INGREDIENTS

3 lbs. Granny Smith apples
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. butter, cut into cubes

DIRECTIONS

  1. Peel, core and slice apples. Place in the Crock Pot.
  2. In a mixing bowl, mix together sugars, spices, cornstarch and salt. Pour over apples and stir until apples are coated.
  3. Dot with butter.
  4. Cook on low for 6 hours, leaving the lid slightly cracked to let steam escape.

Spicy Collard Greens

INGREDIENTS

2 bunches fresh collard greens, rinsed and de-stemmed
5 strips Wright’s thick cut bacon, fried and chopped
1 Tbsp bacon grease
1 medium onion, chopped
3 tsp. minced garlic
3 c. chicken broth
1 tsp. Cayenne red pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. butter

DIRECTIONS

  1. Rinse and de-stem greens.
  2. Lay the leaves on top of each other, roll them up, and then cut them into strips.
  3. Place greens in a bowl and set aside.
  4. Fry bacon, drain and reserve grease and chop.
  5. In a stock pot, saute onion and garlic in butter over med/low heat until translucent.
  6. Add chicken broth, red pepper, salt, pepper, onion powder, bacon and bacon grease. Bring to boil and then simmer for 25 minutes, uncovered.
  7. Add greens, cover and cook on low for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

For more side dish ideas, check out the  Recipe Box page!

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