30 Thanksgiving Casseroles Just Like Grandma Used to Make

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Updated on November 9, 2023

Easy Corn Pudding

If you're looking for one more cozy dish to add to your Thanksgiving menu, make one of these healthy takes on classic Thanksgiving sides. From creamy green bean casserole to nutty sweet potato soufflé, this mix of sweet and savory fall casseroles put a twist on grandma's traditional recipe. Dishes like our Slow-Cooker Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions and Easy Corn Pudding are so delicious, your guests will be clamoring for the recipe.

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Caramelized Onion & Apple Stuffing

Caramelized Onion & Apple Stuffing

Caramelized onions are a sweet and savory addition to this healthy stuffing recipe. Choose an apple that becomes tender yet holds its shape when cooked—try Jonagold or Cortland.

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Old-Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole

a recipe photo of the Traditional Sweet Potato Casserole — Diana Chistruga

Thanksgiving isn't complete without a homemade sweet potato casserole. We like to sprinkle chopped pecans on top along with the marshmallows for a bit of texture.

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Slow-Cooker Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions

Thanks to fresh green beans, an easy homemade cream sauce and crispy onion topping, this green bean casserole recipe is healthier and more delicious than traditional recipes that use canned soup, beans and onions. Plus, the slow cooker saves you time cooking at the stove. Make sure to use fresh green beans, as frozen green beans will become mushy.

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Loaded Scalloped Potatoes with Bacon, Cheddar & Chives

Imagine a loaded baked potato topped with bacon, Cheddar and chives combined with the creamy goodness of scalloped potatoes, and you have the ultimate comfort food casserole. This scalloped potato recipe is made healthier than original versions by using low-fat milk in place of heavy cream, but it still tastes just as rich and creamy.

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Acorn Squash Casserole

Acorn Squash Casserole — Antonis Achilleos

This acorn squash casserole is smooth and creamy. The Parmesan cheese gives it the perfect amount of savoriness, while the breadcrumbs add an herby crunch. This easy casserole would be great with any fall meal, and is sure to become a new Thanksgiving favorite.

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Easy Corn Pudding

Easy Corn Pudding

This easy Southern-style corn pudding is a great way to use up fresh corn if you've got it! But to speed up the prep time, frozen corn kernels work just as well. This simple casserole is light and savory-sweet. It's the perfect companion for grilled or roasted chicken, pork or steak or can stand on its own as a vegetarian main dish.

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Mable's Mac 'n' Cheese

mac and cheese in a casserole dish — Johnny Autry

Mable Clarke, the creator of this baked mac and cheese recipe, is a cook and activist from South Carolina who serves this dish at a monthly fish fry she started to save her church. "One thing I dislike is dry macaroni," says Clarke, so she makes plenty of custard for her version of this classic. "When people taste it, they say, 'Oooh, this macaroni!'"

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Roasted Fennel & Italian Sausage Stuffing

This homemade stuffing recipe is special because it comes complete with a sausage-making lesson from the Sausage King himself, author and famed business owner Bruce Aidells.

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Easy Scalloped Potatoes

a baking dish with potatoes and cheese

In this easy scalloped potatoes recipe, sliced potatoes are roasted in the oven before being mixed with a simple, creamy stovetop sauce and sprinkled with Cheddar cheese. A few minutes under the broiler turns the dish golden and crispy.

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Sweet Potato Soufflé

This creamy sweet potato soufflé is complemented with a crunchy pecan-oat topping for a truly scrumptious side dish. The filling can be made up to five days ahead, so you just have to top it and bake it when it's time. Whip up this healthy sweet potato soufflé recipe for Thanksgiving or any other special occasion.

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Apple-Cranberry Stuffing

Apple-Cranberry Stuffing

Make this stuffing with an apple variety that holds its shape rather than turns to sauce during the cooking process, so there will be tender bites of fruit throughout. Honeycrisp, Granny Smith or Pink Lady are all easy-to-find options.

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Monticello's Macaroni

A dish of baked macaroni and cheese — Jerrelle Guy

This is the macaroni and cheese recipe that would have been made in the kitchens at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Jefferson first became familiar the creamy, cheesy baked dish of macaroni from his time in Paris and it was enslaved cooks, James Hemings, Peter Hemings, Edith Hern Fossett and Frances Gillette Hern, who prepared this favorite dish over the years. The popularization of this iconic American dish can be traced to Black cooks, like Peter Fossett (the freed son of Edith Hern Fossett), Rufus Estes and Freda De Knight, who helped spread the dish throughout the United States. Learn more about Macaroni and Cheese at Monticello.

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Corn Pudding with Bacon & Rosemary

Corn Pudding with Bacon & Rosemary

Corn pudding is a Southern favorite, often made with canned creamed corn. We prefer the texture of frozen corn, which we pair with crème fraîche for its creaminess and tang.

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Au Gratin Potatoes

Au Gratin Potatoes

We use flour-thickened milk combined with a modest amount of tangy sharp Cheddar to make a creamy cheese sauce for our healthy spin on the classic potatoes au gratin recipe. They're topped with additional cheese and some breadcrumbs, then baked until golden brown and bubbling. Serve the au gratin potatoes as a Thanksgiving side or with roasted chicken and vegetables for a satisfying dinner.

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Simple Herb Stuffing

simple herb stuffing recipe in a baking dish on a white tablecloth

This easy Thanksgiving favorite comes together in a snap. Poultry seasoning, which includes sage and other classic holiday herbs, adds plenty of flavor to this stuffing but if you'd like even more herb flavor you can add 1 teaspoon of dried sage and 1 teaspoon of minced fresh rosemary.

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Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

Cheesy Green Bean Casserole

If green bean casserole is a must-have in your family at Thanksgiving but you're, well, ready for a change, give this cheesy version a whirl.

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Cornbread & Oyster-Mushroom Stuffing

Mushrooms are a rich, meaty addition in this healthy cornbread stuffing recipe. Here we use oyster mushrooms, but you can use any variety you like. If you have time, bake the cornbread a day or two in advance so it has time to dry out a bit, which lets it absorb the flavors more readily.

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Broccoli Casserole

The lightened-up luscious sauce elevates this easy casserole recipe over standard broccoli and cheese side dishes.

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Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows

The genius hack in this recipe: topping sweet potatoes with marshmallows while they're still piping hot from the slow cooker yields a baked marshmallow topping that's typical with baked sweet potato casseroles.

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Creamy Turkey and Rice Bake

This family-pleasing casserole features lean turkey tenderloin pieces, brown rice, zucchini, and mushrooms, all baked in a creamy sauce and topped with crunchy crumbs and cheese.

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Mashed Potato & Roots Casserole

Mashed Potato & Roots Casserole

Rutabaga and/or celeriac give this casserole a more nuanced flavor, but you could also use turnips or kohlrabi—or make it with all potatoes instead.

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Cheesy Spinach & Mushroom Casserole

Cheesy Spinach & Mushroom Casserole — Photographer / Brie Passano, Food Stylist / Annie Probst, Prop Stylist / Holly Raibikis

Both homey and healthful, this cheesy dream of a casserole is loaded with nutrients from spinach, and super savory and lip-smack-y from all the sautéed mushrooms. Any 'shroom will do, so pick your fave.

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Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole

Bourbon Sweet Potato Casserole

This version of the holiday staple uses a little bourbon to boost the flavor of the sweet potatoes, but you can also use orange juice. Baking the potatoes in their skins allows their natural sugars to caramelize for enhanced sweetness.

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Parmesan Mushroom Casserole

Parmesan Mushroom Casserole — Photography / Brie Passano, Styling / Sammy Mila / Holly Raibikis

Mushrooms are sprinkled with a crunchy, cheesy panko topping to create a delicious casserole that all will love. We use baby bella, but portabello mushrooms would be a good alternative.

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Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese

Fiber-rich sweet potato is used as the base for the cheese sauce in this healthy, homemade macaroni and cheese recipe. The bright orange color tricks your eyes into thinking this healthy macaroni and cheese recipe is loaded with cheese, but there's actually only about half as much cheese as compared to a traditional recipe.

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Mushroom-Cornbread Stuffing

This healthy mushroom-and-leek cornbread stuffing recipe is a lightened-up version of the must-have holiday side. Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, you can make this recipe moist or crispy. If you're an extra-moist-stuffing type, bake it covered for the full 50 minutes; if you like some crispy bits on top, follow the recipe as written: bake covered for about 30 minutes, then uncovered for an additional 20 minutes.

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Loaded Cauliflower Casserole

You'll never want to eat roasted cauliflower any other way once you try this tasty recipe. Bacon, sour cream and sharp Cheddar cheese coat good-for-you cauliflower in deliciousness for an easy side that will make everyone actually want to eat their vegetables.

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Brussels Sprouts Casserole with Bacon

Brussels Sprout Casserole with Bacon — Brie Passano

Brussels sprouts and bacon are a natural pairing in this easy low-carb dish. Extra-sharp Cheddar cheese adds a punch of flavor to the creamy base of this stove-to-oven casserole.

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Honeynut Squash Casserole with Sage Marshmallow Topping

Honeynut Squash Casserole with Sage Marshmallow Topping

This honeynut squash recipe is bound to satisfy anyone at your Thanksgiving table. Once only available to chefs, honeynut squash (think: super-sweet butternuts) are now sold at farmers' markets and some grocery stores in the fall.

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Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes with Spinach

Classic scalloped potatoes get a burst of color, heartier texture and a healthy update with the addition of chopped spinach. The greens in this side dish also create a nice contrast to the creamy, velvety potatoes.

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