These are the best side dishes and desserts to serve at your dinner table this holiday season.
When Thanksgiving and Christmas get close, I always start to think about what I’ll make for the big meals.
What I serve depends on whether I’m having people over or we’re going to visit family.
Since we all live in the same town, we each bring a different tasty side dish to our Thanksgiving meal.
Most Americans serve mashed potatoes with turkey gravy, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. Those are my favorite recipes.
I also have my own favorite recipes for easy side dishes that aren’t traditional. You can find them below.
Most people choose a roasted whole turkey or turkey breast, but I’ve never turned down a honey-baked ham with that sweet, crunchy glaze.
A beautifully glazed Honey Baked Ham is already packed with signature flavor. But served with the right side dishes, it becomes the star of an incredible meal. The possibilities for tasty pairings are endless! Here are some of the best sides to complement Honey Baked Ham’s unique sweet and salty taste.
Classic Pairings
Some traditional sides are popular with Honey Baked Ham for good reason:
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Mashed Potatoes – Fluffy, buttery potatoes are the perfect foundation for rich ham. Garlic or cheese mashed potatoes also pair well.
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Dinner Rolls – Fresh baked rolls are ideal for sopping up any glaze or juices. Parker House or sweet Hawaiian rolls work great.
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Green Bean Casserole – This Thanksgiving favorite adds comfort with its creamy mushroom sauce
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Baked Macaroni & Cheese – Ooey, cheesy baked mac is a satisfying ham sidekick.
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Cornbread Stuffing – Savory, herb-packed stuffing soaks up the ham glaze beautifully.
You really can’t go wrong with these classic sides that accentuate ham’s best qualities.
Southern-Style Sides
For some true Southern flavor, try these sides:
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Creamed Collard Greens – Earthy, rich creamed greens balance the ham’s sweetness.
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Black-Eyed Peas – A lucky New Year’s tradition, meaty black-eyed peas pair perfectly.
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Skillet Cornbread – Moist cornbread with honey butter is ham’s dream partner.
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Baked Grits – Creamy cheddar grits are comfort food at its finest.
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Pecan Sweet Potato Soufflé – A sweet potato casserole with pecans adds more richness.
Let these down-home Southern sides round out your Honey Baked Ham meal.
Fresh & Light Dishes
For healthier pairings, go for fresh flavors:
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Garden Salad – A fresh salad with vinaigrette balances the heavy ham.
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Broccoli Salad – Crunchy raw broccoli, raisins, and nuts give a lighter side.
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Roasted Brussels Sprouts – Brussels sprouts caramelize beautifully next to ham.
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Roasted Asparagus – Fresh asparagus tossed in olive oil and garlic is amazing with ham.
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Waldorf Salad – Apple, celery, and walnuts make a crisp, bright salad.
Lighten up your meal with these fresh options.
Fun Creative Pairings
Or get adventurous with these unique combinations:
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Pineapple Casserole – Sweet, tropical pineapple bake complements the glaze.
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Loaded Baked Potatoes – Baked potatoes piled with all the fixings pair perfectly.
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Fried Pickles – Crispy fried pickles cut through the ham’s richness.
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Peach Cobbler – Warm peach cobbler with ice cream is a great dessert side.
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Caprese Salad – Fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil make an Italian-inspired salad.
Have fun playing with new flavors to find your perfect match with ham.
Easy Leftover Options
Leftover Honey Baked Ham also pairs well with simple leftovers like:
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Day-old Biscuits – Split biscuits piled with ham, mustard, and cheese.
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Extra Rice – Fried rice with ham, peas, and eggs makes a fast meal.
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Leftover Pasta – Toss ham with macaroni and cheese or pasta salad.
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additional Vegetables – Work ham into a veggie omelet or frittata for breakfast.
Get creative working leftover ham into quick meals throughout the week.
Savory Sauces & Condiments
Don’t forget sauces and condiments to really make that ham shine:
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Cranberry Sauce – Tart, fruity cranberry sauce cuts through the richness.
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Maple Glaze – Brush more sweet maple glaze over leftovers.
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Mustard – Spicy stone-ground mustard perfectly complements ham.
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Pickles – Sour pickle chips or relish balance salty ham.
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Horseradish Sauce – Zesty horseradish kicks up the flavor a notch.
Drizzle on one of these sauces to take your ham and sides over the top.
Honey Baked Ham is so versatile – it truly pairs well with almost anything. Try some classic combinations or get creative with new flavors. With an incredible ham as the centerpiece, you can’t go wrong!
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Best side dishes for your dinner table
Choose from one of these amazing honey baked ham Thanksgiving sides the whole family will love.
You can make these simple mashed potatoes ahead of time, which will give you more time to make other side dishes.
You can make these mashed potatoes ahead of time and then heat them up. They will be everyone’s favorite thing at dinner.
This baked potato salad has all the classic fixings of a loaded baked potato. Serve it cold on your holiday table or any summer barbecue.
These shredded potatoes are baked in a muffin tin with gruyere cheese and salty bacon. Each person at the table can have their own perfect serving.
Add a dollop of sour cream on top and enjoy!
These potatoes are sliced into thin rounds yet connect on the bottoms.
After they’ve been cooking for a while the wedges begin to fan out.
Adding a little butter and oil between the slices about halfway through the cooking time makes the potatoes creamy and tasty.
There are rounds of potatoes, garlic cloves, grated cheeses, and a mix of cream and milk in this ready-made potato gratin.
The result is a rich flavor, the best texture and the very definition of comfort food.
This potato dish bakes up in about an hour and is absolute cheesy goodness.
This dish has celery, onions, and lots of herbs. It is made with cornbread, which is a kind of southern stuffing.
Find plenty of brands at your local grocery for easy fixing or make a recipe from scratch.
This easy cornbread pudding recipe features super sweet corn and cornbread mixed together in a creamy casserole
It’s as easy as putting everything in a big bowl, mixing it up, and baking it on medium heat.
In under an hour and once the crispy edges start to show it’s ready to serve.
Stuffing made from scratch with sweet apples and salty bacon is a traditional side dish that should be on every holiday table.
The tart taste of cranberries and the sweetness of Honeycrisp apples come together in this easy-to-make cranberry sauce.
Put baby greens in a bowl. Add sliced pears, toasted almonds, and crumbled goat cheese. Drizzle with orange and honey vinaigrette that you made yourself.
The orange and lemon flavors in the dressing mix beautifully with the pears and goat cheese.
It’s the right combination of sweet and tangy.
When you put Anjou pears, blackberries, and almonds on a bed of greens and drizzle them with warm bacon vinaigrette, you have a sweet treat.
This salad is a great way to start of the holiday meal.
Pear and butternut squash salad with a maple balsamic vinaigrette
Squash and pears, both sweet and juicy, are served on top of spring greens, red onions, and bacon bits.
Adding cinnamon and cayenne pepper to the butternut squash makes it sweet and spicy, and the maple syrup in the vinaigrette ties the whole thing together. It’s the perfect holiday salad.
This is the right recipe for you if you don’t like green bean casserole the main way.
It is roasted until the green beans are soft. On top are slices of salty pancetta, fresh garlic, and a mix of Italian cheeses.
In fact, they’re kid and parent approved.
Some sweet corn kernels are mixed with salty pancetta in this Boursin cheese corn recipe. The corn is then dipped in a creamy Boursin cheese sauce. One bite and you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven.
My maple roasted brussel sprouts are the ideal side dish for any holiday dinner.
They are caramelized with sweet onions, crunchy pecans and drizzled with a maple mustard dressing.
When roasted butternut squash cubes are mixed with maple syrup and served with crunchy toasted pecans and salty pancetta, it tastes great.
This side dish pairs perfectly with honey baked ham.
Just like what you order at Lawry’s steakhouse!
This creamy side dish features fresh spinach, onions and bacon.
This delicious side dish is made in under 30 minutes simply with olive oil, salt and pepper.
This cauliflower casserole is creamy, cheesy with a touch of curry. This is perfect for the holiday table.
This citrus farro salad with arugula, walnuts, and dried cranberries is quick and easy to make. It looks beautiful at a holiday dinner.
You can make this wild rice salad with sweet cranberries, toasted pecans, and crunchy pepitas in 20 minutes.
This easy baked risotto dish is made easy since there is no stove top stirring required. Add in pencil thin asparagus and peas for flavor and texture.
This vegetarian side dish is full of flavor and good for you. It has roasted vegetables, mild sorghum, protein-packed quinoa, and whole grain brown rice tossed with goat cheese.
A sweet potato casserole topped with brown sugar and marshmallows is a classic on any holiday table.
Find your favorite recipe and make your own from scratch.
What is honey baked ham?
Everyone in my family loves the Honey Baked Ham Company, especially during the holiday season.
I consider it the world’s best ham!
There are places all over the country where you can buy honey-baked turkey, tender bone-in hams, and hams without bones. You can also get a lot of tasty side dishes.
You can even stop by for lunch or to buy a pound of ham slices, just like at your local deli, but they are better and taste better.
It wasn’t cheap, but I saved money last year by getting two $50 Honey Baked Ham store gift cards at Costco for $80. I used them at any of their restaurants.
I used their helpful online app to plan ahead and order my ham. I then walked to the front of the store to pick up my order for my family’s dinner.
They extend their available ordering hours over the holiday season as well as offer carry out service.
If you always eat turkey for Thanksgiving, a honey-baked ham is a nice change for Christmas dinner, New Year’s Eve, Easter dinner, and other special occasions.
While we always have plenty of ham dinner sides, it’s the ham that gets picked over. It’s a crowd favorite. My family is always heading back into the kitchen for a second helping.
And I never let one piece go to waste.
After dinner, we go to the family room to watch football. While we’re there, I clean up the kitchen slowly before setting out desserts and coffee.
I transfer the leftover ham slices to a container for hungry appetites tomorrow.
And I always save the hambone to make my Honey baked ham and vegetable soup.
I make my own broth from the ham bone, which gives my soup a great flavor, so nothing goes to waste.
Sandwiches are always a hit as are the leftover side dishes. Some reheat easily and others are delicious cold or at room temperature.
The best part about serving ham is that it’s easy to find the perfect side dish.
Honey Baked Ham Serving Instructions
FAQ
How should I serve my Honey Baked Ham?
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