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When you need a comforting addition to your Christmas dinner spread, make grandma proud with one of these flavorful main and side dish casseroles. This collection of warm and cozy casseroles ranges from cheesy scalloped potatoes to savory stuffing. Recipes like our Wild Rice Stuffing with Apple & Sausage and Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole Recipe are healthy and delicious options that will be welcome on any table.
Wild Rice Stuffing with Apple & Sausage
This amazing wild-rice stuffing recipe is bursting with fall flavors, including rye bread, sausage, apples, dried cherries, pecans and fresh herbs.
Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes with Spinach
Classic scalloped potatoes get a burst of color, heartier texture and a healthy update with the addition of chopped spinach. The greens in this side dish also create a nice contrast to the creamy, velvety potatoes.
Carrot Casserole
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Rishon Hanners, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
Carrot casserole is a great holiday side dish that’s both creamy and savory with just a touch of sweetness from the carrots. Coriander and dry mustard add lovely background flavors to the cream sauce. Microwaving the carrots gives them a jump-start in the cooking process and ensures that they’re cooked through. The carrots should all be sliced thinly so they cook evenly. If you have one, a mandoline can make quick work of the slicing, but a good sharp knife will also do the trick.
Broccoli Casserole
This lightened-up broccoli casserole is sure to be a hit. Learn how to make this classic side dish healthier.
Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
This crowd-pleasing mashed potato casserole is made for entertaining. You can prep it ahead of time and pop it in the oven when you’re ready to eat. Waxy Yukon Gold potatoes yield a creamier texture than more starchy russets. Leaving their thin skin on instead of peeling them cuts down on prep time and also offers a boost of fiber.
Baked Mac & Cheese
Mac & cheese can be a true comfort on a gloomy day, and our healthy update takes advantage of extra-sharp Cheddar balanced with creamy low-fat cottage cheese and tucks a layer of spinach into the middle, which may help picky eaters down their vegetables. Whole-wheat pasta adds robust flavor and extra fiber.
Au Gratin Potatoes
We use flour-thickened milk combined with a modest amount of tangy sharp Cheddar to make a creamy cheese sauce for our healthy spin on the classic potatoes au gratin recipe. They’re topped with additional cheese and some breadcrumbs, then baked until golden brown and bubbling. Serve the au gratin potatoes as a Thanksgiving side or with roasted chicken and vegetables for a satisfying dinner.
Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
If you’re looking for a twist on classic scalloped potatoes, this recipe using roasted sweet potatoes and melty Gruyère has all the creaminess of the original with a new flavor twist. The sweet potatoes and lightened sauce–made with flour and low-fat milk–keep it healthier than butter- and cream-laden versions. Don’t cut your sweet potatoes too thin–they’ll turn mushy under the sauce.
Butternut Squash & Spinach Lasagna
This delicious vegetarian lasagna recipe showcases seasonal vegetables. Butternut squash brings a sweet richness while spinach gives it a nutrition and flavor boost. As a bonus, this recipe makes an extra lasagna that you can freeze for an easy holiday-season meal.
Sweet Potato Soufflé
This creamy sweet potato soufflé is complemented with a crunchy pecan-oat topping for a truly scrumptious side dish. The filling can be made up to five days ahead, so you just have to top it and bake it when it’s time. Whip up this healthy sweet potato soufflé recipe for Thanksgiving or any other special occasion.
Cheesy Green Bean Casserole
If green bean casserole is a must-have in your family at Thanksgiving but you’re, well, ready for a change, give this cheesy version a whirl.
Cornbread & Oyster-Mushroom Stuffing
Mushrooms are a rich, meaty addition in this healthy cornbread stuffing recipe. Here we use oyster mushrooms, but you can use any variety you like. If you have time, bake the cornbread a day or two in advance so it has time to dry out a bit, which lets it absorb the flavors more readily.
Easy Lasagna
This classic beef lasagna recipe is easy to make and will be ready to eat in just over an hour.
Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Now everyone can enjoy classic Thanksgiving favorites, like this dairy-free green bean casserole. We make a homemade vegan cream of mushroom soup using almond milk for the creamy base that’s combined with fresh green beans. Top it off with classic french-fried onions (we have a vegan recipe for that, too!) for a side dish everyone will devour.
Cheesy Corn Casserole
This cheesy corn casserole is surprisingly light and fluffy, thanks to eggs and a whirl in the blender. The sweet corn batter and salty Cheddar cheese make this casserole pleasing to kids and adults alike.
Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole
Thanksgiving isn’t complete without a homemade sweet potato casserole. We like to sprinkle chopped pecans on top along with the marshmallows for a bit of texture.
Sage Cornbread Dressing
A cast-iron skillet gives the cornbread nutty brown edges that impart extra color and flavor to the dressing. Serve this sage cornbread dressing as a holiday side or anytime you want some Thanksgiving flavors.
Monticello’s Macaroni
This is the macaroni and cheese recipe that would have been made in the kitchens at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. Jefferson first became familiar the creamy, cheesy baked dish of macaroni from his time in Paris and it was enslaved cooks, James Hemings, Peter Hemings, Edith Hern Fossett and Frances Gillette Hern, who prepared this favorite dish over the years. The popularization of this iconic American dish can be traced to Black cooks, like Peter Fossett (the freed son of Edith Hern Fossett), Rufus Estes and Freda De Knight, who helped spread the dish throughout the United States. Learn more about Macaroni and Cheese at Monticello.
Mushroom-Cornbread Stuffing
This healthy mushroom-and-leek cornbread stuffing recipe is a lightened-up version of the must-have holiday side. Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, you can make this recipe moist or crispy. If you’re an extra-moist-stuffing type, bake it covered for the full 50 minutes; if you like some crispy bits on top, follow the recipe as written: bake covered for about 30 minutes, then uncovered for an additional 20 minutes.
Slow-Cooker Corn Casserole
With just five ingredients, you can make this healthy corn casserole with ease. The tang of the cream cheese and sour cream balances the sweetness of the corn. Frozen corn can vary in sweetness, so taste the brand you’re using to determine if the optional sugar is needed. This creamy corn casserole makes the perfect veggie side for any meal.
