Christmas dinner has a funny way of being remembered by its side dishes.
The ham or roast may be the centerpiece, but people tend to talk about the potatoes with the crispy top, the carrots coated in maple butter, or the green beans they somehow took seconds of even though their plate was already full.
For a holiday meal, I like sides that do different jobs. One creamy, one roasted, one green, one slightly sweet, and one dish that can be prepared ahead gives the table plenty of variety without making dinner unnecessarily complicated.
Here are five Christmas side dishes I’d happily put together on the same holiday table.
The Potatoes I’d Make Instead of Regular Mashed Potatoes
Garlic Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are wonderful, but scalloped potatoes have one major Christmas advantage: you can assemble them ahead and let the oven handle most of the work.
For about 8 servings, you’ll need:
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 cup shredded Gruyère or sharp white cheddar
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- Salt and black pepper
Heat the oven to 375°F.
Slice the potatoes into thin, even rounds. A mandoline makes this quick, but a sharp knife works perfectly well.
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Whisk in the flour and cook for another minute.
Gradually whisk in the milk and cream.
Simmer gently until the sauce begins to thicken, then stir in half the Parmesan, thyme, black pepper, and a little salt.
Layer half the potatoes in a greased baking dish.
Pour over half the sauce.
Repeat with the remaining potatoes and sauce, then finish with Gruyère and the remaining Parmesan.
Cover with foil and bake for about 45 minutes.
Remove the foil and continue baking for another 25 to 35 minutes, until the potatoes are completely tender and the top is beautifully browned.
Let the dish rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
That resting time matters. Cut into scalloped potatoes immediately and the creamy sauce will attempt to relocate itself across the entire Christmas table.
Something Green: Lemon Garlic Green Beans
When dinner includes potatoes, gravy, bread, and a rich main dish, I don’t think every vegetable needs cream sauce.
These green beans bring crunch and acidity instead.
You’ll need:
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
- Salt and black pepper
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Add the green beans and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until bright green and crisp-tender.
Drain and immediately transfer them to cold water.
Meanwhile, toast the almonds in a dry skillet until lightly golden. Remove them and set aside.
Add butter and olive oil to the skillet.
Stir in the garlic and cook briefly.
Add the drained green beans and toss over medium-high heat until hot.
Finish with lemon zest, lemon juice, black pepper, and enough salt to taste.
Scatter the toasted almonds over the top immediately before serving.
This entire side can be finished in minutes.
That’s useful because somewhere around this point on Christmas Day, every oven rack tends to have already been promised to somebody else.
The Carrots That Look More Complicated Than They Are
Maple Thyme Roasted Carrots
Roasted carrots are one of my favorite Christmas sides because they’re inexpensive, colorful, and very difficult to make look boring.
You’ll need:
- 2 pounds carrots
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Heat the oven to 425°F.
Peel the carrots and cut thick ones lengthwise so they’re roughly similar in size.
Toss with olive oil, maple syrup, melted butter, thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Spread them across a large sheet pan in a single layer.
Roast for 25 to 35 minutes, turning once, until browned around the edges and tender in the center.
Transfer them to a serving dish and finish with parsley.
If your carrots are especially thick, give them a little longer.
If they’re very thin, start checking early.
And resist pouring in additional maple syrup because it’s Christmas.
These are roasted carrots with a little sweetness, not carrot-shaped candy.
The Side Dish You Can Make Before Guests Arrive
Cranberry Pecan Wild Rice
This one is particularly useful if you’re serving roast beef, pork, ham, or turkey and want something besides potatoes.
It also brings beautiful Christmas colors to the table naturally.
You’ll need:
- 1 1/2 cups wild rice blend
- Broth or water according to package directions
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup toasted pecans
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- Salt and black pepper
Cook the wild rice blend according to the package directions.
While it cooks, melt butter in a skillet.
Add onion and celery and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until softened.
Stir in thyme.
Combine the cooked rice with the vegetables, cranberries, orange juice, and orange zest.
Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Add the toasted pecans and parsley close to serving so they keep their texture.
This side is equally comfortable beside turkey or Christmas ham.
It can also be prepared ahead and reheated, although I recommend saving the pecans until the end.
A pecan can survive many things.
Spending 24 hours steaming inside leftover rice shouldn’t have to be one of them.
And Finally, the Vegetable Casserole
Christmas feels like the right occasion for at least one side dish with a golden, crunchy top.
Cheesy Broccoli Casserole with Crispy Breadcrumbs
For 8 servings:
- 2 pounds broccoli florets
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Salt and black pepper
For the topping:
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/4 cup Parmesan
Heat the oven to 375°F.
Blanch or steam the broccoli briefly. You want it slightly tender but still firm because it will continue cooking in the oven.
Drain it very well.
For the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan.
Whisk in flour and cook for about a minute.
Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until slightly thickened.
Reduce the heat and stir in cheddar, Parmesan, garlic powder, Dijon, and black pepper.
Taste before adding much salt.
Combine the broccoli with the cheese sauce and transfer everything to a greased baking dish.
Mix panko with melted butter and Parmesan.
Scatter it over the casserole.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbling around the edges and golden on top.
Don’t overcook the broccoli before it reaches the oven.
The goal is tender broccoli inside creamy cheese sauce—not green vegetables that surrender completely when approached with a serving spoon.
If Your Oven Is Full, Choose Your Sides Carefully
This is where Christmas menu planning can save you a lot of frustration.
If your main dish needs the oven, don’t choose four sides that also require it at four different temperatures.
For this menu, I’d organize things like this:
Oven: Scalloped potatoes and carrots.
Stovetop: Green beans.
Make ahead and reheat: Wild rice.
Bake while the main dish rests: Broccoli casserole.
Most large roasts and holiday meats need at least a short resting period anyway. That’s valuable oven time.
Use it.
You can also roast the carrots earlier and reheat them briefly if necessary. They’re forgiving enough to handle it.
A Christmas Side-Dish Formula That Actually Works
When planning sides, don’t just choose five recipes you like individually.
Look at the whole plate.
If you’re serving Christmas ham, I’d choose scalloped potatoes, green beans, and carrots. The salty ham works particularly well with creamy potatoes and slightly sweet vegetables.
For roast beef, I’d lean toward potatoes, green beans, and wild rice.
With turkey, wild rice, broccoli casserole, carrots, and potatoes all work.
If you’re serving a very rich main dish, make sure at least one vegetable is simple and bright.
That’s why the lemon green beans are here.
Otherwise Christmas dinner can become a collection of foods that are all creamy, cheesy, brown, and extremely committed to butter.
Delicious?
Absolutely.
But the green beans are doing important work.
What Can Be Made Ahead?
Quite a lot.
The scalloped potatoes can be assembled ahead, covered, and refrigerated before baking. If you’re putting a cold dish directly into the oven, allow extra baking time and make sure the center becomes thoroughly hot.
The broccoli can be prepared and the cheese sauce made earlier. Assemble the casserole ahead, but consider adding the breadcrumb topping closer to baking for the best texture.
Wild rice is particularly good for advance preparation. Cook it, cool it promptly, refrigerate it, and reheat before serving. Add toasted pecans afterward.
Carrots can be peeled and cut a day ahead.
Green beans can be trimmed and even blanched earlier in the day. Refrigerate them, then finish them quickly in the skillet before dinner.
Do these jobs early and suddenly the final hour before Christmas dinner looks considerably less dramatic.
Easy Ways to Change the Recipes
The potatoes don’t have to use Gruyère. Sharp cheddar, white cheddar, or another good melting cheese works.
For the carrots, honey can replace maple syrup.
Swap almonds for toasted pecans on the green beans.
The wild rice is flexible too. Try chopped dried cherries instead of cranberries or walnuts instead of pecans.
For the broccoli casserole, cauliflower can replace part or all of the broccoli.
You can also add crispy bacon to the casserole if your Christmas menu needs something extra savory.
If you’re cooking for guests with allergies, check packaged ingredients carefully and keep allergen-containing toppings such as nuts separate where practical.
How Much Should You Make?
When you’re serving several Christmas sides, portions can be smaller than they would be for an ordinary dinner.
As a rough starting point, plan around:
- 1/2 pound of potatoes per person
- 3 to 4 ounces of vegetables per person per vegetable side
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup cooked rice per person
Adjust according to how many sides you’re serving and whether you want leftovers.
For eight guests, you don’t necessarily need eight enormous servings of five different sides.
People will sample.
Christmas plates have limited geography.
Keeping and Reheating Leftovers
Perishable cooked foods should generally be refrigerated within 2 hours, or 1 hour when temperatures are above 90°F.
Store leftovers in shallow covered containers at 40°F or below.
Most cooked holiday leftovers are best used within 3 to 4 days.
Reheat leftovers thoroughly to 165°F.
Scalloped potatoes and broccoli casserole reheat nicely in the oven, particularly if you cover them for part of the reheating time to prevent excessive drying.
Wild rice can be reheated with a splash of broth or water.
Green beans are best reheated briefly so they don’t become overly soft.
Carrots can go back into a hot oven for a few minutes.
And if the breadcrumb topping on the casserole isn’t quite as crispy on December 26?
That’s what the broiler is for.
Watch it closely.
Christmas leftovers can go from “beautifully browned” to “smoke alarm” with remarkable efficiency.
What I’d Put on My Christmas Table
If I were making a large Christmas dinner, I’d choose four sides rather than trying to make everything.
I’d start with the Garlic Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes because Christmas deserves at least one unapologetically creamy side.
Then the Lemon Garlic Green Beans for something fresh.
I’d add Maple Thyme Carrots for color and a little sweetness.
Finally, I’d choose either the Cranberry Pecan Wild Rice or Cheesy Broccoli Casserole, depending on the main dish and how much oven space I had.
That’s enough variety to make the table feel abundant without turning the kitchen into a restaurant.
The goal isn’t to see how many casserole dishes you own.
It’s to make a Christmas dinner everyone wants seconds of—and still have enough time to actually sit down and eat it.
