8 Side Dishes For Your Christmas Casserole

It’s not easy coming up with the perfect Christmas dinner menu. Even after selecting the main dish, you still need an assortment of side dishes to complement the meal.

In all honesty, the best part of your holiday meal isn’t always the main dish—sometimes, it’s the side dishes! It’s Christmas that has people thinking of more elegant, pretty side dishes at this time of year.

Christmas is when classier dishes like a chicken and rice casserole recipe are popular, but maintaining simplicity can also be challenging. The side dishes you’ll find in this collection are easy but still impressive enough for the holidays:

Christmas Pasta Salad

With its vibrant colors and fresh vegetables of the season, this Christmas pasta salad doesn’t just look good; it tastes lovely both in the dining room and on the go.

Ingredients:

• wagon wheel pasta
• tri-color pasta
• grape tomatoes
• zucchini
• red pepper
• Italian dressing

Christmas pasta salad is made by cooking the pasta according to the package instructions in boiling water. Drain it then set it aside. Slice your vegetables, then put them on your pasta. Stir in your dressing, combine well, and refrigerate.

Hasselback Potatoes

Serve up these Easy Cheesy Hasselback Potatoes topped with fresh chives loaded with cheese.Ingredients:

• 4 Russet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 12 slices of thinly sliced cheddar cheese/potato
• ⅓ cup of Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon of fresh chives

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Put the potato between two spoons and cut without going all the way.

Brush the potatoes with butter and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Place them on the baking sheet. Approximately 60 minutes before they’re fully cooked, remove them and insert the cheddar cheese into the cuts in each potato. Sprinkle the potatoes with cheese and return to the oven until the cheese has melted about three minutes.

Easy Parmesan Orzo

One of the tastiest pasta sides is a simple Parmesan Orzo. It’s so creamy, so simple, and so delicious.Ingredients:

• 4 ounces of orzo
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) of butter
• 2 tablespoons of cream or milk to make this recipe
• salt and pepper to taste; parsley optional.
  

Cook orzo according to the package directions in a medium pot of lightly salted water. Pour milk and cream over the pasta and stir until the cream is melted. Stir in the cheese and parsley to taste. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Yorkshire Pudding

Include the following ingredients in a 12 serving recipe:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup of flour
• 1 cup of milk
• 2 tablespoons butter 

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Beat eggs with milk in a medium bowl and stir in flour.

Divide the batter into the cups of the muffin tin. Place the tin in the oven. Then, distribute the batter evenly among the cups.

Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F, and bake until golden.

Mashed potatoes with butter and sage, side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner overhead shot

Stove Top Green Beans

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces trimmed green beans
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon salt

To prepare green beans, place them in a large skillet and pour ¼ cup water over them. Bring water to a boil, cover the pan, and cook for three minutes. Stir in butter, and cook for another minute or until water evaporates and beans are crisp-tender.

Mashed Cauliflower

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head cauliflower (about 6 cups)
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon ground peppercorns
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ teaspoon salt
  

Cover cauliflower with water in a large saucepan, then boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Drain and return to pan. Meanwhile, combine the remaining ingredients in a small saucepan. Simmer and strain over low heat. Discard garlic and bay leaf when done. Add cream mixture to the cauliflower. Mash until desired consistency is reached.

Rice Pilaf

There’s nothing better than rice pilaf, a delicious one-pot side dish recipe with rice and veggies cooked in broth. A perfect choice for rice pilaf is basmati rice, which is practically foolproof, fragrant, and flavorful.

The easiest way to make rice pilaf is to sauté onion, garlic, and butter in a pot until melted. Then add the drained and washed rice and stir until a thin golden color layer appears. Next, add liquid and veggies and give everything a quick stir. Cover and simmer until liquid is fully absorbed.

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup onion finely diced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 clove garlic minced
• ¾ cup basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons carrot shredded
• 2 tablespoons red pepper minced
• 14 ½ ounces chicken broth
• ¼ cup white wine or water
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds toasted
• 1 tablespoon green onion or parsley

Rinse rice with cold water and drain thoroughly. Combine butter, garlic, and onion in a medium saucepan. Place on the stove for about 3 minutes over medium heat to soften. Add rice and cook until it smells toasted and turn slightly golden, about 7-10 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients except for green onions and almonds. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a low simmer for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

Move from the stove and allow to sit covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and garnish with almonds and parsley.

Easy Garlic Bread

Simple to prepare and incredibly delectable, this Easy Parmesan-Herb Garlic Bread incorporates herbs, fresh garlic, and parmesan into compound butter, along with the Italian bread that are baked until golden.

Measure and mix the following:

• 1 stick softened unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated garlic
• ⅓ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt in a small mixing bowl

Slice the loaf into eight thick pieces. Spread generously with the butterscotch sauce, then bake at 475°F for 10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway.

Conclusion

Side dishes are fantastic, the best of which will require little prep and provide profound health benefits. In addition, these side dishes offer endless options as illustrated in this article.

Your menu will please every person at your table, vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, with standout recipes like cauliflower mash and rice pilaf. These terrific side dishes go so well with anything you serve as a main dish that your family will crave them year after year.