Flavorful, Quick & Easy Thanksgiving Sides

Thanksgiving side dishes can easily steal the show and it’s no wonder: the side dishes are often prepared by a number of cooks with different culinary backgrounds and interests, each of whom is eager to present a dish that’s unique, satisfying, and — most of all — flavorful. Enter the spices.

Spices and the Humble Potato

Simple, unassuming, and ever-present, the potato is a blank slate for an inventive cook’s imagination. Whether you steam them, mash them, fry them, or turn them into pancakes or pillowy gnocchi, potatoes hold up to all sorts of cooking techniques and interventions. But perhaps the simplest technique is also the one that showcases the terrific versatility of this ingredient: oven roasting. 

Our recipe has just three ingredients: potatoes, olive oil, and Back of the Yards Garlic Pepper. A chewy exterior, caramelized from the oil’s contact with the roasting pan, gives way to a creamy interior. Back of the Yards Garlic Pepper is hand-mixed from Tellicherry black pepper, garlic, Kosher flake salt, sugar, red bell peppers, shallots, parsley. This spice blend proves to be the perfect complement to the mighty roasted potato.

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Parker House Rolls with a Spicy Twist

These classic American dinner rolls delighted guests at the 19th century Boston hotel whose name they bear and they will delight the friends and family who gather around your table this Thanksgiving. But we’ve added a spicy twist. The addition of charnushka seeds contributes a gentle earthiness that lies somewhere between cumin and thyme. White sesame seeds add a nutty crunch and the rolls are finished with a sprinkle of coarse Mediterranean sea salt.

Don’t be afraid to do some baking in advance of the big meal. These can be baked the night before and warmed on Thanksgiving day.

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Green Beans Reimagined

Green Beans’ fate has them linked to a mushroom soup-based casserole for a sizable number of America’s Thanksgiving tables. We’re here to liberate the beans and give you a few other ideas.

Use fresh green beans if you have access to them, otherwise, frozen beans will do.

This recipe is simple and direct: green beans, bacon, and Gateway to the North Maple Garlic Seasoning, our hand-mixed blend of pure maple sugar, granulated brown sugar, Kosher salt, Tellicherry black pepper, garlic, onion, and green onion flakes.

Or, how about sautéed Green Beans with Berbere, the star of Ethiopian cuisine?

Or try Green Beans and granulated garlic and ginger.

View Green Bean Recipe

Enjoy Thanksgiving Cooking

For most families, the Thanksgiving meal is the largest one they’ll prepare all year and for most households, it’s all-hands-on-deck when it comes to the cooking. Someone is given charge of the bird, someone is outside at the smoker, there are salads and casseroles and dinner rolls. Kitchens are crowded with lovely people. We hope you enjoy that time together. You’re creating a great meal and you’re creating memories.

And since cooks get thirsty, here’s our recipe for a Bloody Mary — the perfect cocktail to accompany morning prep work. It relies on our Bloody Mary Mate (celery seed, flake salt, toasted onion, arrowroot, and ground green peppercorns) and Cayenne. 

Happy and Spicy Thanksgiving!

View Bloody Mary Recipe