Chatelaine

From a simple one-hour turkey breast dinner for four to a honey-and-herb-coated traditional bird, here are 13 delicious ways to take on the main dish this year.

Hot take: while we love turkey, for us a holiday dinner is all about the sides.

The classic French-Canadian meat pie was reimagined in 1981 as a Thanksgiving side, and we’re all for it. This stuffing is cooked mostly on the stovetop, freeing up your oven for other baked dishes. Simplify your prep by toasting the bread the day before and storing in a covered container at room temperature until ready to use.

It’s time to bring casseroles back to the Thanksgiving table. This 1990 recipe strays from the ’50s method of using canned cream soup, instead turning sour cream and swiss cheese into a quick cream sauce to blanket blanched green beans. Don’t forget the cracker topping to give each bite some crispy texture.

Inspired by the fancified grilled cheese of the early 2010s, this creamy mac and cheese is coated with three types of cheese and sweet roasted squash for a seasonal take on our favourite pasta dish. Roast the squash a day or two in advance, then refrigerate until needed. Gently stirring in the cheese without melting it will give you a deliciously gooey effect when serving.

We retrieved this jiggly gem from 1977, and (spoiler alert) it’s still a favourite. Our moulded version makes a stunning centrepiece.

We’ve spruced up our sprouts with this sheet pan recipe from 2019. Brussels sprouts and shallots are roasted with savoury pork belly as its fat is rendered. When everything is nice and tender, it gets tossed with a sweet and tangy vinaigrette for a spectacular meat-and-veg side dish.

Mashed potatoes are a must-have at any Thanksgiving feast, and this 2004 version is extra dreamy. Chives add a fresh burst of flavour, and creamy Boursin lends richness and a slight tang.

Hailing from Puglia, in the south of Italy, stracciatella is what makes up the creamy insides of a ball of burrata cheese. It also makes a perfect side when paired with braised leeks.

Busiate is a fun intro to fresh pasta that doesn’t require special tools. Don’t fret if your first tries are floppy—the shape is a quickly acquired skill.

Think of migliaccio as an Italian cheesecake, but lighter than most North American varieties. Originally from the Campania region of Italy, it was traditionally made with millet but the recipe evolved over time to use semolina. While the cake can be made with semola, the finer variety of semolina, we prefer to use the coarse variety here. Don’t skimp on the orange, as it provides a ton of flavour.

This two-step onion stock, when used in place of water or vegetable stock, can deepen both the colour and flavour of any recipe.