10 Easy Last-Minute Thanksgiving Sides You Can Make Without Breaking a Sweat

The composed green beans on a blue ceramic plate. — Serious Eats / Diana Chistruga

OK, I’ll admit to being a bit of a control freak when it comes to Thanksgiving. I’ve always ended up either cooking the whole dang dinner or contributing way too many dishes to what was supposed to be a potluck, fueled by an anxiety of not having all the “favorite” sides. If you’re in the same boat, fear not—we’ve come up with 10 of the easiest, last-minute Thanksgiving sides you can put together without breaking a sweat.

These recipes include ridiculously simple cranberry sauce (in case someone decides to crack open a can of the jellified stuff), fancy-sounding French green beans with almonds, impossibly fluffy mashed potatoes, and roasted Brussels sprouts. Trust me, you will have enough sides.

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The World's Easiest Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Unless you like to serve your cranberry sauce retro 1960s-style, in one sliceable jellified cylinder, there’s no reason not to whip up this simple cranberry sauce that starts with nothing more than cranberries, sugar, and water. Then, add whatever flavorings you like to spice things up—I'm partial to orange and cinnamon. Try swapping water for dry red wine, toss in some apples, or pump up the flavor with pear and ginger.

The World's Easiest Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce
Haricots Verts Amandine (French-Style Green Beans With Almonds)

Serious Eats / Diana Chistruga

Ever notice how giving vegetables a French moniker instantly makes it seem oh-so-sophisticated and fancy? These elegant-sounding green beans are actually dead-easy to make. Start by quickly blanching and shocking the green beans in ice water to preserve their vibrant hue, then toast slivered almonds in butter to give them a deep nuttiness. Garlic and shallots add more flavor to the brown butter emulsion that gives the green beans a glossy finish.

Haricots Verts Amandine (French-Style Green Beans With Almonds)
Glazed Carrots

Serious Eats / Fred Hardy

The key to perfectly tender and beautifully glazed carrots rests on two basic principles: uniformly cut pieces of carrot and agitation to create and hold the butter emulsion in suspension, which entails rapid boiling and swirling the skillet as the liquid reduces to a glaze. Woodsy sage, floral honey, and cider vinegar imbue the glaze with autumnal flavors.

Glazed Carrots With Brown Butter and Sage
Waldorf Salad

Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

This is not that cloyingly sweet, heavily mayonnaise-dressed retro Americana iteration with a salad identity crisis—is it a dessert or a side dish? We’ve given the classic Waldorf a refresh by dialing down the sweetness and amplifying tangy and savory notes to balanced flavors, while providing lots of texture, with crisp, pickled apples, plenty of crunchy toasted walnuts, and juicy grapes. Make it extra fancy and serve it in your best vintage glass bowl.

Waldorf Salad

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Ultra-Fluffy Mashed Potatoes

Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

No need to stress about making a leaden, lumpy mash—simply use the right potatoes. We recommend Russets because they break down easily when cooked and release very little starch—the culprit that can make mashed potatoes turn gluey. Rinsing the potatoes of starch both before and after cooking also contributes to a light and fluffy finished product.

Ultra-Fluffy Mashed Potatoes
Easy Roasted Mushrooms

Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt. Video: Serious Eats Video

I like to think of roasted mushrooms as the all-rounder of vegetarian sides. Their meaty texture and deep savoriness make them ideal as both a stand-alone and an accompaniment to other vegetables like green beans or Brussels sprouts. To achieve maximum browning in less time, drain off the exuded liquid halfway through roasting—but save the intensely flavored, umami-packed liquid to cook with, like boosting a vegan stock.

Easy Roasted Mushrooms
3-Ingredient Stovetop Mac and Cheese

Photographs: Vicky Wasik. Video: J. Kenji López-Alt

Creamy, dreamy mac and cheese in just 15 minutes? Done—and with only three ingredients! Start by cooking elbow macaroni in the least amount of water possible for maximum starchy goodness, then add a great melting cheese, like mild or medium cheddar, Fontina, Gruyère, or Jack, and evaporated milk to keep the sauce smooth and velvety.

3-Ingredient Stovetop Mac and Cheese Recipe
Easy Roasted Broccoli

Vicky Wasik

Blasting broccoli florets with super-high heat quickly caramelizes the outside, producing sweet, nutty flavors and a crispness that contrasts nicely with the tender interior. For a fast start, preheat the sheet pan in a 500°F. oven, then add broccoli florets, lightly tossed in olive oil, salt, and pepper, and roast for about 20 minutes.

Easy Roasted Broccoli Recipe

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Easy Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Photograph: J. Kenji López-Alt. Video: Serious Eats Video

If you grew up hating Brussels sprouts (like me), they were most likely poorly cooked and smelled like sulfur. Brussels sprouts done the right way, roasted under blazing high heat, are a whole other (delicious) story—charred exteriors that are crisp and nutty, while the interiors are tender and sweet, without a hint of sulfurous aroma. The former Brussels sprouts-haters at Thanksgiving will thank you.

Easy Roasted Brussels Sprouts
2-Ingredient Cream Biscuits

J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

While one could debate whether these biscuits are technically a "side," we just know that they’re dang irresistible and most certainly belong on your Thanksgiving table, especially when they’re this effortless to put together. All you need is self-rising flour and heavy cream—now, in the words of Ina Garten, how easy is that?

2-Ingredient Cream Biscuits