40 Side Dishes You Can Serve with Christmas Ham

Dana Velden

updated Nov 28, 2022

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Credit: Olive & Mango
Fondant Potatoes

Planning on making a classic glazed ham for your Christmas dinner this year? Great choice — it’s one of our top picks for a holiday meal, too. And even if your holiday celebration happens to be smaller this year, those leftover ham recipes are a dream. This large, savory cut of meat is easy to make, whether you opt for the oven or your slow cooker (just don’t forget the glaze!).

With ham in hand, it’s time for the side dishes, and each of these will work beautifully with your main course. Whether you prefer bright vegetables, potatoes, or something with whole grains, here are 40 side dishes for Christmas ham to round out your holiday dinner.

Essential Ham Recipes

A good honey-roasted ham is such an easy main dish for a holiday dinner, as it’s big, generous, and requires almost no cooking from you. Here are our favorite methods for making one.

Delicious Vegetable Sides

Dinner isn’t complete with out a vegetable or two. These choices range from tried and true, like glazed carrots and sautéed green beans, to newfangled.

1 / 17

Green Beans Almondine

Crisp-tender beans are combined with sliced almonds and buttery shallots for an easy and delicious side.

2 / 17

Cacio e Pepe Brussels Sprouts

This vegetable side is a mash-up of cacio e pepe and crispy roasted Brussels sprouts.

3 / 17

Shaved Brussels Sprouts

It's a 10-minute side dish that easy to serve alongside absolutely anything

4 / 17

The Easiest Roasted Vegetables

Remember that when in doubt, you can never go wrong with roasted veggies.

5 / 17

Creamy Mashed Cauliflower

Mashed cauliflower isn't just a replacement for mashed potatoes — try this hearty side with merits all its own.

6 / 17

Honey-Mustard Brussels Sprouts

Honey-mustard is a tried-and-true combination and complements the earthiness of the roasted Brussels sprouts.

7 / 17

Easy Stovetop Green Beans

For perfectly cooked green beans that are flavorful, crisp, and tender, you have to employ a quick two-step technique. Here's how to do it.

8 / 17

Garlicky Roasted Broccoli

This broccoli takes just a few minutes to throw into the oven and emerges toasty around the edges and garlicky and a little spicy.

9 / 17

Whether you reserve this side dish for Christmas or eat it all year long, glazed carrots are a classic that will never go out of style

10 / 17

Creamy Spinach with Dill

Less creamy than creamed spinach but just as luxurious, this is the simple side you need.

11 / 17

10-Minute Garlic Broccolini

This easy recipe for sautéed Broccolini with garlic and red pepper flakes is the perfect side dish.

12 / 17

Perfect Roasted Delicata Squash

This basic recipe results in the very best roasted delicata squash that's perfectly tender and caramelized.

13 / 17

Skillet Kale with Lemon & Garlic

This quick recipe for sautéed kale is flavored with lots of lemon and garlic.

14 / 17

Broccoli and Cheese Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Tender strands of spaghetti squash are tossed with crisp-tender broccoli and enveloped in a fluffy, cheesy custard, giving you all the best parts of the classic side wrapped up into a feel-good, veggie-packed casserole.

15 / 17

Easy Lemon-Ginger Spinach

Not only is this easy side packed with light, refreshing flavors from lemon and ginger, but it also goes perfectly with ham.

16 / 17

Maple-Mustard Butter Bath Brussels Sprouts

Simmering Brussels sprouts in a luxe combination of milk, butter, maple syrup, and Dijon mustard makes the vegetable absolutely irresistible.

17 / 17

Fennel, Carrot, and Leek Gratin Recipe

Fennel, carrots, and leek are mixed with an aromatic Parmesan cream sauce and topped with pecan breadcrumbs for the ultimate veggie gratin.

Comforting Potato Sides

Potatoes have a way of stealing some of the attention away from the main attraction, especially when it’s a recipe like sour cream smashed potatoes or butter bath sweet potatoes.

1 / 15

Grandma's Potatoes

These roasted potatoes are crispy on the outside, but are tender and buttery on the inside.

2 / 15

Au Gratin Potatoes

Au gratin potatoes are one of the greatest casseroles of all time. Tender, fluffy potatoes are bathed in a rich and creamy cheese sauce, then baked in a hot oven until bubbly and crisp.

3 / 15

French Celery Root Mashed Potatoes

These celery root mashed potatoes, with their slightly sweet and earthy flavor, strike a sophisticated note that's perfect for a holiday dinner.

4 / 15

Cheesy Baked Mashed Potatoes

These creamy baked mashed potatoes are loaded with two kinds of cheese and are make-ahead-friendly.

5 / 15

Roasted Garlic Butter Fingerling Potatoes

To really make these potatoes shine, you'll use a mixture of olive oil and butter to give them a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth quality.

6 / 15

Cinnamon Butter Bath Sweet Potatoes

Here's the easiest way to make sweet potatoes even better - cook them in a bath of milk, butter, and sweet fragrant cinnamon.

7 / 15

The Best Hasselback Potatoes

Hasselback potatoes are sliced into thin wedges but left joined at the bottom, then baked until the layers fan out into crispy rounds.

8 / 15

Greek Lemon Potatoes

These potatoes boast browned crispy edges and insides so moist they'll melt in your mouth. One surprising ingredient makes them the best you'll ever have.

9 / 15

Cheesy Garlic Duchess Potatoes

Duchess potatoes are everything you love about mashed potatoes, piped into picture-perfect mounds and baked until crisp.

10 / 15

Fondant Potatoes

Fondant potatoes sound sorta fancy, but they’re nothing more than large rounds of russet potatoes that are browned in butter and roasted in the oven with stock and butter.

11 / 15

Dauphinoise Potatoes

This classic French side dish is made with slices potatoes, heavy cream, and Gruyère cheese.

12 / 15

Garlicky Parmesan Sweet Potatoes

Thick chunks of sweet potato are roasted, then dusted with a snowy layer of nutty Parmesan cheese that crisps up under the broiler.

13 / 15

Sour Cream Smashed Potatoes with Fried Shallots

Inspired by potato stuffed pierogi, these sour cream and onion mashed potatoes deserve a spot at your Christmas table.

14 / 15

Smashed Garlicky Potatoes Recipe

Potatoes are boiled then roasted to get a mixture of browned, super-crunchy bits and creamy spuds in every bite.

15 / 15

Butter-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Once you've tried these meltingly tender roasted sweet potatoes, you may not prepare the vegetable any other way.

Grain & Pilaf Sides

What’s great about a grain side dish is it often can be made ahead, saving you time when your focus is on the ham.

1 / 8

Simple Rice Pilaf

Think of rice pilaf as an upgrade to your everyday rice. It’s like rice that puts on a nice dress and some earrings — not much extra work, but the payoff is a side dish that feels just a little bit fancy.

2 / 8

Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole

Broccoli and long grain and wild rice enrobed in delicious cheese sauce and covered in crispy breadcrumbs. Yes, please!

3 / 8

One-Pot Rich Lemon Rice

This dish is part risotto, part carbonara. Rich and creamy thanks to eggs and Parmesan, its burst of brightness comes from a squeeze of lemon.

4 / 8

Mushroom Rice Pilaf

This creamy mushroom and herb-flecked skillet makes the perfect side to your Christmas ham.

5 / 8

One-Pot Smoked Almond and Herb Couscous

This simple couscous is spiced with smoked paprika and flecked with almonds and parsley.

6 / 8

Wild Rice Pilaf with Squash, Pecans, and Cranberries

This wild rice studded with butternut squash, pecans, and dried cranberries can be enjoyed warm or cold.

7 / 8

Cheesy Lentil, Mushroom & Rice Bake

This side is hearty enough to also act as a main dish if you have any vegetarians at your table.

8 / 8

Sweet and Crunchy Quinoa Salad

Roasted sweet potatoes, dried cranberries, cinnamon, cumin, and pine nuts add intrigue to this colorful quinoa.

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