Whether you serve a traditional meal with crispy skinned roast turkey or a juicy holiday ham or a tender slow cooked pork roast, these Christmas side dishes will pair perfectly with your meal.

Sometimes the best par of your holiday meal isn’t the main dish in the spotlight – it’s the sides! Christmas makes me think of more elegant, pretty side dishes, while the Thanksgiving sides are more about stick to your ribs comfort food. It’s fun to celebrate the holidays with some classier dishes but still trying to keep it simple can be a challenge. The side dishes you’ll find in this collection are easy enough for the home cook, yet pretty enough to be the star of your Christmas dinner.

We always had a simple meal on Christmas Eve with just the immediate family, that included fish and German Potato Salad. That’s a 50 year old tradition that we haven’t broken yet! Our meal on Christmas Day though, that’s the elegant, classy meal that you see in the movies where the star is a giant prime rib roast. It always includes Twice Baked Potatoes (because they’re fancier than regular baked potatoes!) and some delicious homemade cranberry sauce, both of which you’ll find below!

35+ Side Dishes for Christmas Dinner

Christmas Side Dishes – Potatoes

You can’t have a holiday meal without potatoes. Crispy or creamy, buttered or fried, potatoes are the perfect side because they go with pretty much everything.

1. Garlic & Herb Buttered Baby Potatoes
2. Deep Fried Loaded Mashed Potato Bites
3. Crispy Herbed Potatoes
4. Easy German Potato Salad
5. French Onion Mashed Potatoes
6. Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
7. Balsamic Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Cauliflower
8. Twice Baked Potatoes
9. Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
10. Sour Cream & Chive Mashed Potatoes
11. Rosemary Onion Skillet Potatoes
12. Asiago Potato Stacks

Christmas Side Dishes – Vegetables

You can’t have a meal without some hearty, healthy vegetables, right? Right! But there’s nothing that says they have to be bland or boiled, and these vegetable side dishes are anything but!

1. Maple Sage Yams with Marshmallow Butter
2. Cream Cheese Asparagus Bundles
3. Cranberry Pecan Roasted Vegetables
4. Cranberry Fluff Salad
5. Pomegranate Quinoa Salad
6. Pan Seared Brussel Sprouts with Cranberries and Pecans
7. Pear, Pomegranate and Spinach Salad
8. Cranberry Orange Sauce
9. Bacon Wrapped Veggie Bundles
10. Creamed Corn
11. Roasted Honey Butter Carrots
12. Creamy Cornbread Casserole

Christmas Side Dishes – Bread, Stuffing and Rice

I don’t know about you, but there has got to be bread at my holiday table. Now I realize that rice isn’t bread, but it falls into the starch family so we’re just gonna roll with it.

1. One Hour Dinner Rolls
2. Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
3. Parmesan Garlic Herb Quick Bread
4. Amish Dinner Rolls
5. Garlic & Rosemary Skillet Bread
6. Parmesan Rosemary Dinner Rolls
7. Classic Sausage Stuffing
8. Chicken Sausage & Herb Stuffing
9. Slow Cooker Stuffing
10. Wild Rice Stuffing
11. Cranberry Apple Pecan Wild Rice Pilaf
12. Saffron Rice with Raisins and Pinenuts

For even more appetizers that are perfect for the holidays, check out these other Christmas dinner round ups:

Festive Christmas Appetizers and Sides

50+ Festive Christmas Cookies

How to Host the Holidays Like a Pro