Thanksgiving Sides
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. For me it means cooking, eating, and being around a table with friends and family. The turkey gets the spotlight, but the sides are what everybody really goes back for.
These are the recipes from my Thanksgiving sides video. A creamy green bean casserole with a homemade sausage cream, a sausage, pear and cranberry stuffing, air fryer crème brûlée sweet potatoes with a candied top, fresh cranberry sauce made with pink lemonade, and a rich creamed corn with a broiled Parmesan crust. Every one of them is easy and make-ahead friendly, so you can actually enjoy the day too.
1. Green Bean Casserole
This is the green bean casserole I make with a homemade sausage cream instead of canned soup. Fresh green beans, sweet Italian sausage, cream, and Parmesan, baked until bubbling. It is always the first side to disappear.
Get the Green Bean Casserole recipe
2. Sausage, Pear and Cranberry Stuffing
My stuffing is made with sourdough, sweet Italian sausage, juicy pear, and tart dried cranberries. It bakes up golden with crisp edges and a soft middle. Sweet, savory, and built for seconds.
Get the Sausage, Pear and Cranberry Stuffing recipe
3. Air Fryer Crème Brûlée Sweet Potato Mash
These sweet potatoes cook in the air fryer for an hour, then get mashed with cinnamon and brown sugar. The top gets a brown sugar and cinnamon layer that candies into a crackly crust, just like a crème brûlée.
Get the Air Fryer Crème Brûlée Sweet Potato Mash recipe
4. Homemade Fresh Cranberry Sauce
I make my cranberry sauce with pink lemonade instead of the usual orange juice, and it comes out bright and very tasty. It sets in a can so you still get the classic slices, only homemade.
Get the Homemade Fresh Cranberry Sauce recipe
5. Creamed Corn
This creamed corn is rich, creamy, and ready in 25 minutes. A layer of Parmesan on top gets broiled into a golden crust. It tastes like a steakhouse side.
6. Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup
This is the sausage cream I build two of the sides on. Sweet Italian sausage, butter, cream, milk, and Parmesan, made in one skillet in about 30 minutes. It replaces the canned soup completely, and it is the reason the green bean casserole and the creamed corn taste the way they do.