The Great Potato Takeover: 6 Thanksgiving Sides (Or Mains) That Steal The Show!

Potatoes, mmm! Never missing from Thanksgiving, be it next to the turkey, or sprouting up on its own—it’s the great potato takeover stealing the show.

Humble is this festivity, like that one uncle who somehow remembers every name in the family tree, Thanksgiving is a gather in thanks for the hearts and hands surrounding you. Be it a large party or a low-effort pack, it’s the spirit that mustn’t be lost sight of. For this piece, onto a moment to honour the nearing season, I took to a direction stemming in spuds, and spuds only.

Potatoes are such fun, sometimes freaky-looking finds, ones that can spring up a whole script of ways to eat them. It’s as if every potato hides another potential beneath its skin. Rooted in that, potatoes are written into Thanksgiving’s signature, much like the turkey itself, thus, let’s peel back further on the six starchitects you or alongside others can enjoy.

1. Crispy Smashed Pots

Now, if you’re have a TikTok presence, you would know about this beautiful bud club. Call it viral, call it overdone, it’s crispy smashed spuds like these that disappear the quickest. Begin with boiling your preferred potatoes in a large pot dusted with salt. The trick is to bubble them just past fork-tender, which is about 15 to 20 minutes.

Next, smash. But before the cue, coat your baking sheets with extra-virgin olive oil—if you wish for the golden ending, this is the slippery start. Instead of parchment paper, this technique lets heat work its flare underneath, crispening up the bottom beautifully. So long as your smasher has a pretty sizable surface, like a measuring glass; arrange your tots, and cue the big act! But do it kindly, you don’t want a pancaked press here!

Drizzled with olive oil, seasoned to taste, and they’re off for a golden tan for 25 to 35 minutes. From here, have a share around the table or just chomp on to your heart’s content!

2. Mash Pots

Really now, if you’re not into mash, you just haven’t met a good one. Before we dig into this—trust me, the best recipes often run on faith. That said, think of this as the recipe talking, not the measuring spoons. Less than ten ingredients, yet it’s bud after bud a bite, promise. Call it three pounds for a party of eight, one and a half for half that number.

Start with the simplest stuff, peel and cut—consistent chunks, so they simmer evenly. Garlic, always a brilliant addition. Salt to taste, until the potatoes are tender through. Then, pull out your best gadget—potato masher, and set out to the final level: mash! Remember to splash some milk in-between, butter, salt, and pepper to adjust the taste as well as the thickness.

Psst, the tip for the best mash? Yukon Gold potatoes and or Russet potatoes!

3. Crispy Potato Skins

See, smaller-sized tubers are a little something fit for warming up your palate. But to wolf down your very own crisped skin, you’ll need a fleshier frame—dressed for dinner, not starter. First, tuck them in the oven—whole, coaxing out a creamy inside beneath the armour. Then, once cooled, dig out the flesh before sticking the skin back in for a tan—for about 30 minutes. Here is where a hearty harmony sings, as you can stuff any extras from the feast, alongside its starchy meat. Top with cheddar, dot with turkey bacon bits, and it’s skins for the win!

4. Potato Buns

There’s nothing better than homemade dinner rolls—or potato buns, on Thanksgiving. Don’t worry, it’s not as tough as it sounds. Begin with the routine boil-and-bray with your preferred potatoes, even leftover mash works, too. Yeast is a key ingredient that traps air, locking in an airy, light rise, leaving your dough puffed and proud. Wake the yeast in warm milk and sugar, then let it play in a flurry of flour, with one or two eggs as well as the mash. Of course, touching the mixture tenderly with butter.

Once the dough is puffy, you can divide it over flour-sprinkled surface into a dozen crowd. Roll them into a ball, and with about an inch in between—so that they don’t run into each other upon rising, before introducing them to a greased baking pan. Cover the shaped buns for their second nap, and until they’ve sprung up half a hill, you should be preheating the oven by then.

Remember to brush the butte of the rolls with egg wash, a gloss one mustn’t forget. For the sheen seals the dozen deal. The bun-derful bit is you can always throw together something hot with herbs or bacon bits or cheese as well! Your buns, your rules.

5. Hasselback Potatoes

This dish may sound hard, but it’s really hassle-free. Set chopsticks on standby to lay as a solid basis for you to slice thinly through—not completely, as your knife will hit the sides than the surface. This leaves the bottom intact. Too thick a slice may result in undercooked body. It’s wise to bake the spuds as a two-part process: dress them in a simple slick of olive oil, sage, salt, and pepper. Once on the way to tenderness, slather some garlicky, buttery warmth to seal in their inner fluff, while nudging the flavour out. Finally, roast until bronzed-edge. Dust seasonings over or paint more garlic herb butter to taste as you go.

6. Au Gratin Stacks

Fixing up some au gratin stacks is about as delicious as it sounds. Though the backbone of the recipe sits on the cream, and that’s where you get it going. Heat up some heavy cream, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper, and once it hits a lazy simmer, you’re set. Then, stacking. Super simple, stick four to five potato slices in each muffin cup—buttered and battle-ready, a creamy spoonful is on cue before your cheesy confetti steal the spot. Repeat until the stacks tower the cup.

Sweeten the deal by smattering cheese over each stack. The trick is to remove the foil after a 30 minutes bake, as you’ll stick the stacks back into the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes. This tip promises lacquered top—bubbling to meet and greet any guests. Do let it a quick rest before its entrance, those layers stay hot, and so do tongues!