Side Dish

This is the best way to get a perfect pot of red rice every time!

It's nearly effortless.

If you're cooking Thanksgiving dinner for just two, you can easily whip up mashed potatoes without making a Thanksgiving-sized pot-full.

Pickling involves little more than marinating vegetables over time. How much time depends on the method. And for new picklers, the best way to try it out is through refrigerator pickling. You don’t need a garden’s worth of vegetables or canning equipment – just pick a vegetable (or several), add spices and brine, and into the fridge it goes. Best eaten within a week or two, this method is your answer for quick and fresh pickled fare. 1.

The easiest snack that's also totally feel-good.

We looked at texture, taste, ease, and time to find the method mostly likely to lead to success.

Some of these are more common than you think.

Exactly what to eat next to your burgers, dogs, and more all grilling season long.

If you're throwing away the stems, you're doing it wrong.

They should be stick-to-your-ribs tasty, not stick-to-your-mouth gluey.

Try it after you're all done making leftover sandwiches.

It didn't take much to turn me into a convert.

Peeling is actually easier afterward: We'll show you how.

I lived off packaged stir-fry dinners from the freezer section for the better part of my 20s. As easy as it is to throw together a spur of the moment stir-fry dinner, there were many nights when all I wanted to do was open a package, dump it in a pan, and have dinner ready — and let’s be honest, there are still plenty of nights like these.

A side of roasted Brussels sprouts is one of the vegetables I look forward to the most in the cold-weather months — and its versatility is nearly endless. Sure, a simple sprinkle of salt and pepper does the job well, but there are a handful of ingredients that really pair so well with Brussels sprouts that it’s fun to play around a bit. Here are 10 we love to inspire you. The tang of a good mustard is a great match for earthy Brussels sprouts.

Cornbread is one of those versatile side dishes that can be made in pretty much any vessel you like. You can scoop the batter into muffin cups (or mini muffin cups!), spread it into a square brownie pan, dollop it into a cute cornstick pan (what we used when I was growing up), or, my personal favorite, pour it into a preheated cast iron skillet.

If we were giving out superlatives, tater tots would win Most Likely to Be in a Kitchn Editor’s Freezer. We’ve been a little obsessed lately, adding them to everything from frittatas to tacos. But for as much as we love getting creative, we also understand the appeal of eating a tot as it was intended: straight from the sheet tray as a hot and crispy finger food, with a bottle of ketchup nearby.

You are what you eat.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons you might want to skip the traditional sweet potato casserole topping of caramelized, gooey marshmallows. Maybe you’re welcoming a vegan or vegetarian to the table, or you want to eat less sugar during the holidays, or maybe you’re one of those folks who just doesn’t like marshmallows! Luckily, sweet potato casserole doesn’t hinge on a marshmallow topping.

Every year my family’s Thanksgiving spread absolutely needs to include a creamy, marshmallow-topped sweet potato casserole. It’s essential. I’ve made a lot of variations of this iconic dish, and over the years I’ve learned that what makes it so great isn’t the topping — it’s the way you treat the potatoes. This is the easy, but important trick you need to know.

Many of us are eating sweet potatoes throughout the year — baked, turned into noodles, or just boiled and mashed — but I’m declaring November the official start of roasted sweet potato season. When you roast sweet potatoes, their flesh becomes sweeter, burnished by the hot oven, and the flesh tenderizes into the most delicious bites ever.

It’s hard to beat a simple sheet pan of crispy roasted Brussels sprouts; it’s a fall and winter side dish that goes with basically everything. And while roasted Brussels sprouts are great served plain and simple — with just olive oil, salt, and pepper — sometimes it’s fun to play around. Start with a basic recipe like this one and add a little bit of this and that from your pantry to give this wholesome side dish an upgrade. Here’s how to do it.

After a (much-too-long) hiatus, I’ve reintroduced tater tots to my meal plan. And you know what? I think they taste even more amazing now than they did when I was a kid. All I had to do was change the way I cooked them. To cook a batch of irresistibly delicious tater tots, you’re going to need more time on the clock than what’s instructed on the bag.

Let’s talk about french fries at home. I haven’t ever experienced a french fry from my own kitchen that truly rivals a fast food fry. I’ve tried almost every brand of frozen fries and every oven-frying tip and trick. And as someone who is not afraid to fry in the name of good food, I’ve tried several fried recipes at home too. But only one method has delivered on a satisfying french fry time and time again in everything from my home kitchen to vacation rentals.

With Thanksgiving only a week away, you should already be prepping for the year’s biggest meal. Yes, that means picking up your broiler bird and making some side dishes ahead, but it’s also a prime time to start formulating your dinner-eating game plan. Will you opt for extra mashed potatoes and skip out on green bean casserole? Or take half servings of everything to pace yourself for the next round?

If you’re celebrating Friendsgiving this weekend and were tasked with bringing a side dish, I’ve got just the thing for you: hot honey sweet potatoes. Roasted with butter and brown sugar and then drizzled with a spicy jalapeño-infused honey, these are not your Aunt Rita’s sweet potatoes — and that’s exactly the point. Friendsgiving is a more relaxed version of Thanksgiving.

It might just steal the spotlight from your main dish.

Keep a bag of frozen tortellini tucked away in your freezer and you can rest easy knowing that a quick meal is always at the ready. This series on fast tortellini dinners will show you how to transform frozen tortellini into dinner using pantry staples and a few surprising techniques. Pasta sauce is just the beginning! Family get-together coming up this weekend and you need to bring something everyone will eat? Pasta salad. Need a fast, but fresh dinner between work and soccer practice?

For anyone cooking Thanksgiving dinner, remember that you’re allowed to take some shortcuts here and there — in fact, we encourage it! It is worth your own well-being to lean a little on store-bought saviors; the meal will still be just as delicious and memorable. Case in point? Dinner rolls. Yes, from-scratch rolls are pretty fantastic, but store-bought rolls can be too — they just need to be jazzed up a bit. Here are three ways to do just that.

Here are five tips to ensure your dish makes it to your Thanksgiving destination unharmed.

Some may say Thanksgiving isn’t complete without the turkey or mashed potatoes. I say it’s the stuffing that makes the meal complete. Whether it’s the bready classic or gluten-free, stovetop or oven-baked, these are the seven tips that will help you bring an even better batch of stuffing to the dinner table. This is the move that will have you wondering why you haven’t been making stuffing like this all along.

If you saw my family’s Thanksgiving grocery haul, you’d be within reason to guess that we were having some 15 or 20 people over to feast — but the reality? More like five. I don’t have much in the way of extended family members, so our Turkey Day is usually just my brother, my parents, myself, and my husband (who graciously agrees to ditch his large family so that my family doesn’t have to eat alone).

Stuffing out of a box, like its cohorts canned cranberry jelly and frozen pumpkin pie, has been deemed uncool. Unrefined. Passé. You might even regard it like an acquaintance from high school you’ve unfollowed on Facebook — an entity you probably wouldn’t interact with unless you were in a serious bind. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

French fries are oddly reserved for fancy steak houses and drive-thru windows, yet this beloved potato side could be homemade and stocked in the freezer for the next time a fry craving strikes. It only takes four steps to freeze, and then these fries can be baked (or fried if you’re a die-hard fry fan) and eaten in less than 30 minutes. Ketchup for dipping is optional, but highly recommended. My local grocer actually has a whole dedicated potato section of the freezer aisle.

Mild-mannered green beans are fine on their own, but just wait and taste what happens when you dress them up with a couple pantry staples. You know them as green beans, string beans, or snap beans, terms used interchangeably to refer to the long, green-hued beans that flood the markets every year in early fall. Once you’ve had your fill of plain beans, let us help you give this side dish the upgrade it deserves.

Slice up a peak-season tomato, eat it plain, and it will be a glorious thing. But tomatoes play extra well with others. Toss two more ingredients in the ring and you’ve got the kind of salad that only summer can bring. Take, for example, the caprese: Pair fresh mozzarella and basil with those tomatoes and everyone is happy. Here are 11 ways to mix up your tomato salad routine.

If you’re a fan of all things sweet and spicy, hot honey is the condiment that belongs in your pantry. And right now, there’s no better way to put it to work than drizzled over an ear of corn. Drizzle hot honey over the kernels, but give it a minute or two before digging in so the honey has time to seep down and work its way between the kernels. This one-ingredient upgrade makes for an unforgettable way to enjoy your corn on the cob.

The methods are super simple!

If you’ve never tried furikake, you’ve been missing out. The Japanese seasoning is crunchy, salty, sweet, and savory all at the same time, thanks to a mix of seaweed, sesame seeds, sugar, dried fish, and salt. Your corn on the cob won’t know what hit it. Furikake can be found at Asian grocery stores. It’s such a unique topping for corn — it’s rich in umami, but also salty, sweet, and crunchy.

Arguably the best part of cooking in the summer is that you can toss just about anything on the grill and call it dinner. Grilled meat, fish, and veggies don’t need much to make them taste great, thanks to the smoky flavor the grill imparts. But a ridiculously quick and easy sauce that works with just about anything — from eggplant to chicken thighs — wouldn’t hurt to have in your back pocket. Luckily, you came to the right place.

Traditionally used as a topping for grilled meats and fish, this zesty, herbaceous sauce is just the thing to give your corn on the cob an extra punch of flavor. Loaded with parsley, cilantro, jalapeño pepper, and lemon juice, chimichurri is bright and fresh, and livens up everything it touches — including that ear of corn. If there was ever a way to make your corn taste more like summer, this herb-filled sauce takes the prize.

You’re probably most familiar with hot pepper jelly as that sweet and spicy flavor booster that’s so often paired with cream cheese and crackers, but it does some of its best work when spread over a hot ear of corn on the cob. Leave the butter in the fridge — all you need is a little hot pepper jelly. Hot pepper jelly is one of those condiments we have a habit of buying, then tucking away in the pantry, and promptly forgetting about it. But not this summer.

If spicy is your thing, grab that jar of chili-garlic sauce from the fridge — you know, the stuff you use to give your favorite Asian recipes a kick. The best way to use it this summer is spread over corn on the cob for a fiery tang. A cousin of Sriracha, this flavorful condiment has a thicker consistency, filled with rough-chopped chilis and a big dose of garlic.

Stuck in a green bean rut? This versatile vegetable can do so much more than the classic green bean casserole. When fresh green beans are in season, you can find them on my plate almost every day of the week. Their quick cooking time and mild flavor make them the perfect blank canvas for all types of cuisines. While I could eat them every day sautéed with garlic and finished with a squeeze of lemon juice, here are five other ways to mix up your routine.

For weeknight dinners I’m all about super-simple sides. That usually translates to roasted veggies, with broccoli leading the pack. On its own, even the crowd-pleaser roasted broccoli can get a little boring and repetitive, but it certainly doesn’t have to be that way. The easiest way to switch things up? Change the seasoning. When I say seasoning, I’m not just talking about salt and pepper — this is deeper and way more flavorful.

I’ve long had a love-hate relationship with steamed artichokes. I love the taste, but given the tedious preparation they require, I really hate cooking them at home … or at least I did, until I learned this speedy method. To be fair, there’s nothing particularly difficult or fussy about steaming artichokes on the stovetop. Although, if it’s your first time tackling these green globes, it might feel that way. Really, it just takes time and patience.

The other day my mom asked me where I learned to cook (because we both know it certainly wasn’t from her). I didn’t have to think too long for an answer: “From PBS and cookbooks,” I said. One of my favorite PBS shows, which I later had the chance to work on, was Ming Tsai’s Simply Ming. That’s where I learned how to tea-smoke fish, braise short ribs, and make Ming’s house 50-50 rice.

Q: We are a family living abroad, and want to invite local friends to celebrate Thanksgiving with a traditional dinner. I can find most ingredients, but there are no fresh cranberries for the relish. Any ideas on what I can substitute for the cranberries or another relish? Sent by Elizabeth Editor: That’s too bad that you can’t find fresh cranberries where you live.

Piled high, topped with a pat of butter or savory gravy, mashed potatoes are hard to resist. But this Thanksgiving essential has the power to go way beyond just a comforting side dish — we’ve got five ways to prove it. The key to making any of these dishes shine, of course, is making a really great batch of mashed potatoes.

Hasselback potatoes are the new baked potato. They are no mere side dish! I say we load these babies up with everything from melty cheese to crispy bacon to creamy avocado sauce. And then put an egg on top, because why not? Those accordion slices are just begging for a slice of cheese. Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it. Cheddar, mozzarella, smoked gouda — if it melts, it’s in.

Stuffing is both easy to make and easy to mess up.

No matter what your favorite potato salad style is, be sure to avoid these five common mistakes when making your next batch.

Q: I’m going to make fresh tortellini for a dinner party. Can I prepare it in the morning and cook later that evening? If so, what is the best way to do it? I’ve had a trial run and it came out very chewy — what did I do wrong? And finally, what would you serve on the side of spinach-and-ricotta tortellini Alfredo with prosciutto and peas? Many thanks and kind regards.

When it comes to eating my vegetables, I have a habit of repeating myself. Roasted Brussels sprouts? Check. Salad? Check. Sautéed greens? Check. Now repeat. Can you relate? But there are a few vegetables that, once remembered, lift the boredom and remind me how vibrant, exciting, and delicious they can be. My favorite? Radishes — specifically, roasted radishes. If you are missing something fresh in your vegetable routine, let this be your habit-breaker.

While I don’t know anyone who considers leftover sweet potatoes a problem, I want to share a tip for giving them a spectacular second life. Three words: whipped sweet potatoes. Here’s what to do: Peel and puree any leftover cooked sweet potatoes and whisk them in a pan over medium heat with a generous amount of butter and a splash of heavy cream. Sprinkle in a couple pinches of salt and you’ve got whipped sweet potatoes.

When eating at a steakhouse, I never have to think about which cut of beef I’m going to order (always a ribeye), but I always agonize over the side dishes. Do I go healthy with steamed vegetables, load up a baked potato, or maybe throw caution to the wind and indulge in a pile of onion rings? But there is one thing I will always choose if it’s on the menu, and that is creamed spinach. It has nothing to do with the fact that it is spinach, though.

Mashed potatoes should be so good they don’t even need a drizzle of gravy. That means they need to be light and fluffy, creamy and rich, and decadently buttery. For so many of us, Thanksgiving just isn’t Thanksgiving without them. So how do you master the mash? Here’s everything you need to know to achieve mashed potato greatness. The best mashed potatoes start from the source: the potatoes themselves.

Most recipes use flour or cornstarch to thicken gravy, but a number of years ago there was an interview on NPR with cooking guru Shirley Corriher who mentioned that her mother used to thicken their Thanksgiving gravy with uncooked stuffing. And not only that, it was also the best gravy she remembered eating. Is it really possible to use stuffing to thicken gravy? And, does it taste good? We decided to test it and find out!

The turkey, the mashed potatoes, and the stuffing often get starring roles on the Thanksgiving table, leaving cranberries off to the side as a obligatory “relish.” But the enduring place of the cranberry at Thanksgiving is anything but happenstance — and canned cranberry jelly, that ever-polarizing ridged and wiggly Thanksgiving dish we know today, has a very specific story born out American agriculture. Do you know why we eat canned cranberry jelly? Let me explain.

Did I miss the turkey? Nope! Here's why.