If you’re celebrating Hanukkah this year, it’s a great opportunity to share a delicious meal with family and friends. We have a variety of veggie side dish recipes that pair perfectly with any main course, including some tasty variations of latkes! Whether you’re looking for time-tested traditional dishes or wanting to try a brand-new take, you’ll find plenty of flavorful choices. With options like our Crispy Potato Latkes with Ikura and Melting Beets with Feta & Pistachios, there’s a veggie-packed option that will satisfy everyone this holiday.
Crispy Potato Latkes with Ikura
Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food stylist: Holly Dreesman, Prop stylist: Gabriel Greco
These crispy latkes are garnished with ikura (salmon roe) and nori furikake along with sour cream and scallions, but they’re delicious topped however you like them. Russet potatoes are the preferred variety to use here, as they’re starchier than other types, which helps the latkes hold together.
Melting Beets with Feta & Pistachios
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Jasmine Smith, Prop Stylist: Abbie Armstrong
Roasting beets, then adding liquid, adds flavor to the outside and creates a tender, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Crumbled feta cheese and pistachios top these sweet and savory beets for a delicious and easy side dish.
Roasted Garlic Melting Sweet Potatoes
Photographer: Ali Redmond.
This sweet potato dish is deeply savory and aromatic. The secret is a whole head of garlic roasted alongside the potatoes until soft and caramelized, then whisked into broth that coats the potatoes and infuses flavor into every tender bite.
Melting Leeks with Garlic & Thyme
Photographer: Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Marianne Williams, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley.
This simple recipe transforms leeks into an elegant side dish. Slowly browned in olive oil, then gently braised with garlic, thyme and broth, the leeks turn silky and deeply flavorful, with a buttery finish. A splash of white wine adds aromatic depth.
Roasted Carrots with Sage Brown Butter
Photographer: Jake Sternquist, Food Sylist: Kelsey Moylan, Prop Stylist: Breanna Ghazali
When you need an easy vegetable side, make these carrots. A brown butter and sage sauce takes these carrots to another level, perfect for a holiday meal. They only take 15 minutes to roast, so pop them in the oven while you make the sauce. Use multi-colored carrots if you want a medley of colors.
Maple-Balsamic Roasted Shallots
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle
Shallots, with their delicate, sweet flavor, become meltingly tender in the oven and are coated in a delightfully aromatic balsamic butter glaze. This versatile recipe pairs well with just about any main course.
Creamed Spinach Casserole
This creamy spinach casserole recipe is a more sophisticated cousin to creamed spinach. It’s perfect for weekend entertaining or as a holiday side dish.
Quick & Spicy Brussels Sprouts with Lemon
Photographer: Jennifer Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
This quick side dish features a “reverse sear” for vegetables! By steaming the veggies first and then giving them a quick sear, you guarantee tenderness without the risk of burning. Plus, the convenience of using the microwave eliminates the hassle of preparing boiling water and a steamer basket. Quick and easy, all in one!
Potato Kugel
Shredded potato, a few eggs and fresh herbs bake together for just under an hour. The result? A potato kugel with a crunchy top and bottom and a soft shredded-potato center. If you love your potato kugel crispy, don’t skip the step of preheating the pan! Adding the potatoes to the hot pan will give you the crispy bottom that makes this recipe special.
Melting Beets with Maple Butter
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Ward, Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hauser, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall.
This sweet-and-savory side transforms humble beets into a showstopping dish. Roasting brings out their natural sweetness, while the maple–sherry vinegar glaze adds depth and a subtle tang, perfectly balanced with butter.
Roasted Garlic-Butter Butternut Squash
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Ward, Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hauser, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall.
This roasted butternut squash is a simple yet flavorful side dish. Roasting the garlic alongside the squash brings out its flavor, then it’s blended with butter to create a delicious coating for every piece. Each bite is creamy, savory and comforting—a perfect way to showcase seasonal produce.
Melting Garlic-Butter Cauliflower
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
Garlic butter and Parmesan cheese coat tender cauliflower florets in this melt-in-your-mouth side dish. This dish works wonderfully alongside any protein, or make it a meatless main dish tossed with white beans and served with whole-wheat pasta.
Beet Salad
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
This simple beet salad recipe uses just a handful of ingredients to create a delightful side dish. Roasted beets add a sweet, earthy and aromatic flavor that shines in this side salad.
Parsnip-Celery Root Latkes
Swap the potatoes for other root vegetables, such as parsnips and celery root, and you’ll be rewarded with a fiber-rich veggie fritter. Serve with sour cream and applesauce, if desired.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Citrus-Maple Glaze
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Lindsey Lower
These roasted sweet potatoes with citrus-maple glaze are a vibrant and flavorful addition to any meal. The natural sweetness of roasted potatoes is complemented by a tangy citrus-maple glaze, creating the ideal balance of flavors.
Roasted Beets with Mustard Vinaigrette
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Clarie Spollen
Packed with flavor, this is a delicious side dish that brings out the natural sweetness of beets with a tangy, zesty kick. For a more substantial meal, add grilled or roasted chicken, or turn it into a vibrant salad and serve it over a bed of peppery arugula.
Sautéed Spinach with Lemon, Garlic & Parmesan
Photographer: Stacy K. Allen, Props: Christina Brockman, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf
The thinly sliced lemons in this versatile side dish add a dressy element to sautéed spinach with garlic, but they are not there just for looks! Sautéing lemon slices captures flavors from both the juice and the rind for an easy side dish that works any day of the week. When cooking larger quantities of spinach, add it in batches, letting the spinach wilt a little before adding more to avoid overcrowding the pan.
Baked Potato Latkes
Making this your best Hanukkah dish starts with choosing the right ingredients, such as the potatoes (russets are tops for their high starch and low moisture content). We’ve also found that a small amount of baking powder makes them lighter and airier than using eggs alone. Finishing these baked latkes in the oven ensures they come out hot and crispy.
3-Ingredient Maple Chipotle Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Rachel Marek
This easy side is sweet and smoky, thanks to the combination of maple syrup and adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chile peppers. If you have leftover chipotles, freeze them along with the adobo sauce in an ice cube tray and then thaw out a cube as needed. If you love the flavor of chipotles and want to take the heat up a notch, you can chop a chile and toss the roasted potatoes with it right before serving.
Crispy Potato Latkes
It is a holiday tradition to fry latkes in hot oil, but here shredded potato-and-onion pancakes get a coating of matzo crumbs, then are pan-fried in a small amount of oil and finished in a hot oven for a few minutes.
Broccolini Amandine
Photographer: Jen Causey, Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
Perfectly steamed broccolini seasoned with a nutty, buttery almond topping in just 10 minutes is a side dish that can’t be beat. Broccolini is a bit milder and sweeter than broccoli and, because its stalks are thinner, broccolini requires less prep work than broccoli. Pair this quick side dish with everything from pan-seared fish to roasted chicken.
Garlic-Parmesan Melting Cabbage
Photographer: Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Stylist: Priscilla Montiel
The tender cabbage in this easy recipe melts in your mouth and picks up the flavors of garlic, Parmesan cheese and a little spice from crushed red pepper as it simmers in a creamy broth in the oven.
Zucchini Pancakes with Tatbila Sauce
Photographer: Brie Goldman, Food Stylist: Skyler Myers, Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco
These zucchini pancakes are easy to make. Here we serve them with a flavor-packed sauce made with garlic and chiles, but feel free to enjoy them with a dollop of yogurt or dipped in a creamy herb dressing instead. If you avoid cheese made with rennet, look for vegetarian Parmesan cheese, which is made without it.
