These Are the Best Last-Minute Thanksgiving Potato Side Dishes

Thanksgiving week has begun. I get it, the turkey is the star, but if I’m coming clean to you all, I’m here for the potatoes. For some of us, planning started weeks ago—you know exactly which potato recipe you’re using, you bought the exact amount of Yukon Golds, and you’ve committed your entire timeline to memory. For others, Thanksgiving planning has an “I’ll figure it out” air to it. Whether you’re looking for a scrumptious new spin on a classic, or you just never actually figured it out, here are our favorite Thanksgiving potato recipes, from three-ingredient classics to weirdo hot takes, all of which are sure to steal the show.

Scalloped sweet potatoes

There’s a magical quality to how this simple dish blends together sweet, salty, and pure decadence. These scalloped sweet potatoes only require three ingredients, which makes them an absolute lifesaver if you need to throw a side dish together in the last hour before guests arrive. The biggest take-away to this almost no-fail dish: Don’t skimp on the salt.

Alfredo potatoes au gratin

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Scalloped potatoes, potato gratin—we’ve got all your sliced and layered potatoes here. This Alfredo potatoes au gratin is another dish that can swoop in to save the day. Instead of making a thick, cheesy sauce from scratch, call upon your favorite jarred Alfredo sauce. These store-bought jars of creamy seduction are fully flavored, already include parmesan, and any brand will work. Simply layer the sauce in with the sliced potatoes as if you made it from scratch. 

Mashed potatoes with onion dip

You’ve tried to make creamy mashed potatoes year after year, but somehow they always end up dry. Here’s your answer: Add onion dip. This recipe for onion dip mashed potatoes is packed with umami and results in velvety mashed potatoes. Store-bought, jarred dip has emulsifiers and thickeners that marry the textures of liquids and fats in your mash to give you a smooth result. And don’t worry, it won’t taste like straight-up onion dip.

Three-ingredient potatoes au gratin

Potatoes au gratin, strangely, doesn’t require any cheese. There are only three ingredients required to make this simple, luxurious potato dish. You’ll get the distinct feeling that it’s too simple, but resist the urge to complicate things. It’s perfect.

Loaded sweet potato casserole

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

There’s a time for simplicity, and a time for excess. Sweet potato casserole is one of those side dishes that can handle even more embellishment than you ever thought—as long as the flavors are balanced. Make this loaded sweet potato casserole to finally have a sweet potato dish you can’t resist. Sweet and spicy pecans alongside chopped, candied ginger and crispy bacon make a tantalizing combination of textures and sweet, spicy, salty, and bitter flavors.

Vegan mashed potatoes

You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy a creamy, dairy-free mash, but if you are vegan, you should certainly try this recipe. You don’t need cream to make your simple mashed potatoes creamy; you just need the right type of potato. With a couple easily available ingredient switches and this recipe, you’ll get a flavorful mound of mashed potatoes that never needed a cow’s help. 

Twice-baked potatoes

Credit: Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock

Shrug-off convention with these twice-baked potatoes. It’s a clever way to get the flavorful texture of a baked potato’s crispy skin without having to give up mashed potatoes at all. As if that weren’t enough, you can make them ahead of time and just heat them up before serving. Follow this recipe to make Thanksgiving tastier, if not a tad bit easier too. 

Egg yolk mashed potatoes

While adding onion dip or mayonnaise is an emulsification hack for creamy mashed potatoes, adding an egg yolk exaggerates that velvety effect. For a velvety golden egg yolk mash, you can simply add one egg yolk to any mashed potato recipe and reap the benefits of its emulsification abilities and rich, creamy texture. For a big batch, add about one yolk per pound of potatoes. 

I’ll never turn a potato side dish away, even a boring one. Luckily, with these options in your Thanksgiving toolkit, you won’t even have to worry about anything close to boring.