Easy Holiday Side Dishes for a Crowd (Make-Ahead Favorites)

Holiday hosting gets much easier when the side dishes are handled before the first guest rings the doorbell. Whether you’re planning Thanksgiving, a Christmas potluck, or a ham dinner that needs a little something extra, these 12 easy holiday side dishes for a crowd have you covered. Many are make-ahead, nearly all use simple ingredients, and every one is a family favorite from my own kitchen.

I’ve grouped them to make menu planning a snap: cozy potato and vegetable dishes first, then fresh and festive salads, then chilled crowd pleasers, and finally the breads. Pick a few, prep them early, and enjoy a relaxed, stress-free holiday meal.

Make Ahead Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes

Let’s start with the dish everyone looks for first. These make ahead mashed potatoes are blended with cream cheese, sour cream, garlic powder and egg whites, then refrigerated for up to a week. On the big day, they reheat on low in the crock pot for about three hours, with a stir or two along the way.

That frees up your oven and ends the last-minute mashing frenzy for good. Red potatoes mean no peeling, and the recipe serves 12. If you want a twist, try the parmesan, garlic rosemary, or cheddar bacon variations. Get the full recipe.

Brown Sugar Sweet Potato Casserole

This is the dish that turned a sweet potato skeptic into a fan. Mashed sweet potatoes are mixed with sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla, then topped with a buttery brown sugar and flour crust and baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. It’s rich enough to feel like dessert, and it serves 10. Slide it into the oven while the turkey or ham rests, right alongside the green bean casserole, since both bake at the same temperature. Leave a little room at the top of the dish because the topping bubbles, and add pecans if you love a little crunch. Get the full recipe.

Roasted Red Skin Potatoes with Rosemary

If mashed potatoes feel too fussy, roasted red skin potatoes are the easy answer. Toss two pounds of unpeeled potatoes with olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary, then roast on a rimmed metal baking sheet at 400 degrees for about an hour, turning them twice. Patting the potatoes dry first helps them turn out crisp. They need no gravy and pair beautifully with baked ham, roasted chicken, or salmon. This simple side dish serves 8 and is best served straight from the oven, so time it for the end of the meal prep. Get the full recipe.

Broccoli Cheese Sauce for Baked Potatoes

Looking for an easy holiday vegetable side dish? Homemade broccoli cheese sauce starts with a simple white sauce of butter, flour and milk, with cheddar stirred in and tender microwaved broccoli folded through. Ladle it over baked potatoes at a holiday baked potato bar, or spoon it over steamed vegetables like cauliflower or carrots.

It takes about 20 minutes, makes eight half-cup servings, and stays nice and warm in a small crock pot, which is a lifesaver when every burner on the stove is already busy. Get the full recipe.

Berry Tossed Salad with Mandarin Oranges

Now let’s add some color to the table. This berry tossed salad combines mixed greens, fresh strawberries, mandarin oranges, sweet onion, toasted almonds and crumbled bacon, all drizzled with a honey and cider vinegar dressing that you warm in the microwave. There’s no mayonnaise, which makes it a smart choice for potlucks, and the recipe serves 12 to 14. It came from my late sister-in-law, and its sweet, tangy crunch cuts through rich holiday food beautifully. Toss it with the dressing just before serving. Get the full recipe.

Walnut Pear Blue Cheese Salad

This salad brings in the flavors of fall. Toasted walnuts, sliced pears, crumbled blue cheese and fresh raspberries top a bed of mixed greens, finished with a lemon, honey and Dijon dressing that you shake up in a small jar. It comes together in just 15 minutes. As written, the recipe includes chicken and serves four as a main dish, so leave out the chicken and increase the quantities when you want a side for a crowd. You can also swap in pecans, grapes, or feta and blueberries for a fresh variation. Get the full recipe.

Easy Shrimp and Crab Seafood Salad

Here is my most special side dish, and the first of the chilled make ahead salads. This seafood salad layers buttered bread cubes, chopped hard-boiled eggs, onion, shrimp, crabmeat and celery in a mayonnaise dressing. The bread sounds strange, but it soaks up all the flavors and ties everything together. Most of the work happens the night before, and the salad chills for a few hours before serving, so there is nothing left to do at the last minute. It serves 12 and is perfect for a candlelit Christmas dinner. Be sure to use real mayonnaise rather than salad dressing. Get the full recipe.

Easy Ham and Pea Salad with Cheddar Cheese

Frozen peas, cubed cheddar, chopped ham, red onion and a creamy mayonnaise and sour cream dressing make this cool, refreshing salad. It takes just 15 minutes to put together, then chills for 4 to 24 hours while the flavors blend. It’s a clever way to use up leftover holiday ham, and it works as a side dish for six or a light lunch for four. Keep the peas frozen when you mix everything, because canned peas turn out too soft. Add a little dill for extra flavor. Get the full recipe.

Best Red Skin Potato Salad

No holiday potluck is complete without potato salad. This version skips the peeling and the extra chopping by using unpeeled red potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, sweet pickle relish, onion and mayonnaise, with a splash of dill pickle juice for tang. It serves 10 and tastes even better after a night in the refrigerator, so it’s a great make ahead choice. Stir in crumbled bacon for a smoky twist, and set the bowl on ice if it’s going on a buffet table. Get the full recipe.

Old Fashioned Watergate Salad

Fluffy, pale green and delightfully retro, Watergate salad is a five-ingredient, no-bake favorite from my mother-in-law. Stir instant pistachio pudding with a little pineapple juice, then fold in drained pineapple, whipped topping and mini marshmallows. Chill for an hour and it’s ready to serve 8. It’s a natural partner for baked ham, and it can even double as a dessert salad. Add chopped nuts, shredded coconut or mandarin oranges if you want to dress it up for the holidays. Get the full recipe.

Cornbread Recipe Without Buttermilk

Every holiday table needs a little bread, and this sweet cornbread couldn’t be easier. It uses regular milk instead of buttermilk, and almost every ingredient is a number one: 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon each of baking powder and baking soda, 1 cup of milk, and 1 egg, plus a half cup of cornmeal and a pinch of salt. Stir it together, pour it into a greased square pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. It makes 16 small squares that are wonderful with butter and honey. Get the full recipe.

Foolproof Bread Machine Rolls

Finish the meal with warm homemade dinner rolls. Your bread machine does the mixing, kneading and first rise on the dough setting, which takes about an hour and a half.

Then you cut the dough into 24 pieces, flatten each into an oval, fold it in half, and let the rolls rise for 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until golden brown. The folded shape makes it easy to open each roll and tuck in some butter. They go with just about any holiday main dish. Get the full recipe.

Build Your Holiday Menu

The best holiday side dishes make the cook’s life easier, so mix and match with that in mind. For Thanksgiving, pair the make ahead mashed potatoes with the sweet potato casserole, cornbread and the berry tossed salad. For a Christmas ham dinner, try roasted red skin potatoes, Watergate salad and warm rolls. Bringing a dish to a potluck? Potato salad, ham and pea salad, or the seafood salad travel well and chill ahead of time. Whatever you choose, I hope these easy recipes leave you more time to enjoy the people around your table. 

More Food Inspiration

Whether you are making a holiday feast or a simple meal, it’s always nice to have a plan. If you’re looking for a way to get more organized with your food planning efforts, I’ve got something for you. Free, editable meal planners! The templates can be used over and over, as often as you need them. You can make as many duplicates as you like, and you’ll be able to save old meal plans for future reference. I hope it simplifies things for you.

Get my digital, editable, printable templates!

If you would like even more recipe ideas, consider following my Easy Recipes board on Pinterest. Have a fabulous day, and may all of your make-ahead side dish endeavors meet with success!

Lisa Mitchell is a wife, mom, teacher, and former school librarian who likes to create and share recipes, often using fresh ingredients from her family’s small Pacific Northwest farm. To learn more about what this website has to offer, click on over to the Food page.

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