40 Side Dishes Worthy of Stealing the Show From Your Holiday Ham

updated Oct 23, 2023

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Credit: Joe Lingeman
Butter-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Ham is one of my favorite things to serve as a main dish. I’ll either cook my ham in the slow-cooker or bake it in the oven. I love that it’s easy to make and provides the perfect savory foundation to build the rest of your dinner around.

In my opinion, a large part of the pleasure of serving ham is enjoying the side dishes that play well with its rich flavor. Plus, leftover ham can be reinvented into several other meals throughout the week or frozen until further notice. We love versatility.

We’ve curated a list of 40 side dishes including potatoes, salads, vegetable sides, and, of course, rolls and biscuits. Whether you’re serving ham for a holiday and want to impress with classic scalloped potatoes, or keeping it simple with sautéed green beans for Sunday dinner with family, this list has got you covered.

In This Article

First, Make Your Ham
Potatoes
Salads
Other Vegetables Sides
Rolls and Biscuits

First, Make and Glaze Your Ham

Potatoes

Anytime I’m serving ham for dinner, a side of scalloped potatoes or a creamy potato gratin is always a must. It’s a crowd-pleaser that serves enough to feed to whole table. Alternatively, a simple batch of garlicky roasted potatoes always comes through when you need something in a hurry.

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Parmesan Potatoes Recipe

Melted Parmesan takes these roasted potatoes to a whole new level.

2 / 11

Cheesy Baked Mashed Potatoes Recipe

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

3 / 11

Scalloped Potatoes

You want starchy potatoes for this dish — it’s that starch that helps the cream thicken up into a velvety sauce during cooking. Go for Russet potatoes or Yukon Golds.

4 / 11

Cheesy Garlic Duchess Potatoes

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

5 / 11

Butter-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

We promise: This recipe won’t let you think of roasted sweet potatoes the same way ever again.

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3-Ingredient Garlicky Red Potatoes

Thick chunks of red potatoes are tossed with a generous dusting of garlic powder, then finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon before they hit the table.

7 / 11

Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes

Cream cheese upgrades classic mashed potatoes into the creamiest, dreamiest side.

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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.

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Hot Honey Butter Smashed Potatoes

Boiled potatoes are tossed in a mixture of melted butter, honey, hot sauce, and red pepper flakes, then smashed, roasted until crispy, and brushed with more butter before serving.

10 / 11

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.

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Crispy Skillet-Fried Potatoes

The secret to these impossibly crispy potatoes? Not baking or boiling. All you need is a skillet and a lid (yes, really) to pull off these perfect spuds.

Salads

Serving a big salad is an easy way to add freshness to the dinner table, whether it’s a simple green salad or a colorful grain salad.

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Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

This twist on Caesar salad features shredded Brussels sprouts and homemade croutons.

2 / 7

Sour Cream and Dill Cucumber Salad

This classic cucumber dill salad is made creamy thanks to a tangy sour cream dressing.

3 / 7

Veggie-Packed Chopped Salad

This salad is crisp, crunchy, and oh-so refreshing. It's also endlessly riffable.

4 / 7

Bacon & Spinach Orzo Salad

This orzo salad is tossed with wilted spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, chunks of Asiago, and coated with a warm bacon vinaigrette.

5 / 7

Marinated Feta-Beet Salad

These sweet roasted beets are loaded with fresh herbs and feta cheese.

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Antipasto Grain Salad

This vibrant farro salad is packed with buttery olives, peppadew peppers, fresh mozzarella, and more.

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Minty Snap Pea Salad

This refreshing snap pea salad features fresh mozzarella, radishes, and lots of fresh mint.

Other Vegetables Sides

Cooked veggies, like sautéed green beans and roasted carrots, are always welcomed next to a ham dinner.

1 / 14

Smothered Cabbage and Potatoes

This classic Southern dish is the epitome of comfort food.

2 / 14

Broccoli au Gratin Recipe

Each irresistible bite has tender broccoli in a creamy, cheesy sauce with crunchy breadcrumbs.

3 / 14

Blistered Green Beans with Pickled Shallots and Toasted Breadcrumbs

Fresh green beans are stir-fried until blistered, then tossed with tangy pickled shallots and topped with crunchy, salty breadcrumbs.

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Easy 10-Minute Garlic Broccolini

Think of Broccolini as broccoli’s lazier — and arguably tastier — cousin.

5 / 14

Honey-Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots

A simple side dish recipe for roasted carrots tossed in a honey-garlic brown butter sauce.

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Easy Lemon-Ginger Spinach

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

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Lemon-Pepper Asparagus

Slivers of fresh lemon caramelize in the oven while the asparagus cooks, lending bright sweetness.

8 / 14

Cacio e Pepe Broccoli

The beloved pasta meets roasted broccoli florets in this place, feel-good side dish.

9 / 14

Easy Skillet Kale with Lemon & Garlic

If you have yet to master sautéed kale, here's your recipe.

10 / 14

Garlicky Broccoli Rabe

This step-by-step recipe for easy sautéed broccoli rabe involves quickly blanching to reduce bitterness.

11 / 14

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

These perfect Brussels sprouts have a little bit of char and are perfectly crisp-tender: cooked all the way through with a little crunch remaining.

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Garlicky Butter Bath Broccoli and Cauliflower

An easy recipe for broccoli and cauliflower florets simmered in a garlicky buttery bath.

13 / 14

This classic side comes together in minutes.

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Creamy Spinach Bake

This spinach bake is a cross between creamed spinach and a spinach soufflé, and in our opinion it’s the best of both worlds.

Rolls and Biscuits

I’m a firm believer that no ham dinner is complete with rolls or biscuits. In fact, make a double batch so you can use the extras for post-dinner ham sandwiches.

1 / 8

Pull-Apart Challah Rolls

Individual knots of challah bread, rich with eggs and ready for a slathering of butter.

2 / 8

Soft & Tender Dinner Rolls

A step-by-step guide to making the best, most foolproof dinner rolls.

3 / 8

Buttery Cheddar Herb Rolls

These tender, rich, pillowy dinner rolls are flecked with herbs and crowned with a toasty cheddar cheese crust.

4 / 8

Pull-Apart Sweet Potato Rolls

These no-knead rolls get their color and flavor from grated sweet potato and present beautifully on the potluck table.

5 / 8

Buttery Crescent Rolls

These flaky, buttery crescent rolls ready in less than an hour.

6 / 8

2-Ingredient Yogurt Drop Biscuits

Because yogurt is the main ingredient in these biscuits, they are tangy, with a flavor similar to sourdough bread.

7 / 8

The Best Buttermilk Biscuits

Freezing the butter and then grating it into the dough is the secret to these perfectly tender biscuits.

8 / 8

Cheddar Biscuits

Classic buttermilk biscuits are nice, but this version with bacon and cheddar might be your new favorite.

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