Be honest. Nobody goes back for seconds of turkey. They go back for the stuffing, the potatoes, and that one dish your aunt will not share the recipe for.
The numbers agree. In Campbell’s 2026 survey of more than 5,000 Americans, 39% said they would be fine with no turkey at all.
So here are 17 sides that get scraped clean, all vegetarian: the five America loves most, then the ones home cooks swear never make it to leftovers.
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The big five, made meat-free
1. Stuffing
The most-loved side in 39 states and number one nationally for the third year running, per Campbell’s. Make it vegetarian with vegetable broth and plenty of butter, celery, onion and sage. Bake it in a dish so the top goes crisp.
2. Mashed potatoes
Second on the list every year. Butter, warm milk or cream, salt, and a sturdy potato masher. Nothing to change.
3. Sweet potato casserole
Third in the survey. If you top yours with marshmallows, check the bag: most contain gelatin. A pecan and brown sugar crumble gets around it and tastes better anyway.
4. Mac and cheese
It moved up to fourth in last year’s report and is the top side for Gen Z. Campbell’s 2026 survey found 44% of people want creamier dishes and 41% want cheesier ones, so this is not the year to cut back on the sauce.
5. Green bean casserole
44% of people in the 2025 survey called it the most iconic side. Cream of mushroom soup is vegetarian, so the classic works as is.
The ones food bloggers say go first
Emmeline Kemperyd, who writes the blog Always Use Butter, published a list of the vegetable sides that finish first at her house. Four of them made our list:
6. Honey balsamic Brussels sprouts
Roasted hard until the edges char, then tossed in honey and balsamic. Kemperyd notes that her Brussels sprouts win over people who say they do not like them. (Her other version has bacon. Skip that one.)
7. Garlic roasted broccoli
The easiest thing on the table and often the first empty dish.
8. Roasted beet and fennel salad
Something sharp and colorful next to all the beige.
9. Arugula salad with honey lemon vinaigrette
Takes five minutes and makes the rest of the plate taste lighter.
The family recipes readers will not give up
Katie Couric Media asked readers for the sides their families insist on. These were the vegetarian standouts:
10. Turnip casserole
Reader Jo Ann Kropf-Hedley’s dish: mashed turnips baked with applesauce and butter under a buttered breadcrumb top.
11. Sweet potato and apple casserole
Ellen Gillis shared her late mother’s recipe, with sliced sweet potatoes and apples stood on edge and baked in a cinnamon, maple and cider glaze.
12. Cranberry wild rice
Susan Drake’s wild rice with cranberries, golden raisins, almonds and orange zest. It is also gluten-free.
13. Parmesan potatoes with roasted broccolini
From Paige Thomason of the blog Studio Delicious: Parmesan-crusted potato slices roasted with broccolini and finished with a Dijon sauce.
14. Cranberry chutney
Mandy Katz’s version adds raisins, cardamom and a little cayenne. Cranberry sauce did not make Campbell’s top five this year, which might be a sign it needs the upgrade.
Three more we would add
15. Lemon and oregano hasselback potatoes
Thin-sliced so every edge crisps, basted with garlic butter, lemon and oregano. They look like more work than they are.
16. Skillet cornbread
Baked in a hot buttered cast iron pan and served with honey butter.
17. Maple glazed carrots
Roasted whole with maple syrup, butter and thyme. Sweet enough that kids eat them without a fight.
Where meat hides in classic sides
- Stuffing and gravy: chicken or turkey broth. Use vegetable broth.
- Brussels sprouts and green beans: bacon or ham.
- Marshmallows: gelatin.
- Parmesan: traditional Parmesan is made with animal rennet. Look for one labeled vegetarian if that matters at your table.
How to get it all on the table
Bianca Borges, a contributing food editor at Milk Street, says in a video guide to prepping sides that you can get nearly the whole meal ready ahead of time, vegetable by vegetable, so the only job left on the day is managing oven space. Chop, trim and par-cook in the days before, and Thursday becomes a reheating schedule.
Which matters, because Campbell’s 2025 report found 85% of us think the leftovers are one of the best parts. With this list, there may not be any.
Lead photo: Alesia Kozik / Pexels
