For a Thanksgiving side dish to bring, start with Half Baked Harvest's Honeycrisp apple and feta salad: its one oven step can be done at home the day before, and the rest is assembly in a large bowl. The other two sides compared here, Daniel Bui's garlic-chili green beans and the Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen's olive oil mashed potatoes, are both cooked on the stove. The beans are fried or blanched first, then finished in a large pan on one burner and served warm. The potatoes need a large pot and a small saucepan, and the recipe says to serve them immediately.
As of October 2026, none of the three recipes gives instructions for transporting or reheating the finished dish. Talk through the kitchen space and the finishing steps with the host before you choose one.
3 Thanksgiving sides at a glance
| Recipe and creator | Kitchen space and equipment | Recipe yield and timing | Make-ahead information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn harvest Honeycrisp apple and feta salad, Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest | Counter space and a large bowl. An oven at the host's only if the toppings are baked there. | Serves 6. 30 minutes in total. | The prosciutto, nuts and pumpkin seeds can be baked 1 day ahead, per Tieghan Gerard's November 2025 reply to a reader. |
| Green beans with garlic, chili and crispy shallots, Daniel Bui | A burner and a large pan. Before that, oil for frying or a pot of boiling water for blanching. | No serving count or total time given. Uses 600 g of beans. | The recipe gives no make-ahead instructions. |
| Olive oil-whipped garlicky mashed potatoes, Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen | Stove space for a large pot and a small saucepan. A ricer and a large bowl, or a masher or large whisk. | Serves 8. 20 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking. | The recipe gives no make-ahead instructions and says to serve immediately. |
Honeycrisp apple and feta salad for Thanksgiving
Tieghan Gerard's autumn harvest Honeycrisp apple and feta salad at Half Baked Harvest starts in the oven. Pecans and pumpkin seeds are tossed with maple syrup, cayenne and cinnamon on a parchment-lined baking sheet, thinly sliced prosciutto is laid around them, and the sheet bakes at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes.
The salad is arugula or shredded kale, 2 sliced Honeycrisp apples, a diced avocado and pomegranate arils, combined in a large bowl. It is tossed with a cider vinaigrette that is shaken in a jar, then topped with the nuts, the prosciutto and crumbled feta. The recipe serves 6 and lists 30 minutes in total.
The oven step is the only part that needs heat, and the recipe card has no make-ahead note. In a November 2025 reply to a reader on the recipe page, Tieghan Gerard said that baking the prosciutto, nuts and pumpkin seeds a day ahead and keeping them in an airtight container would be fine. Carrying the vinaigrette in its jar and assembling at the host's is our suggestion; the recipe does not describe it.
As written, the salad includes prosciutto, pecans and feta, so tell the host in case a guest avoids meat, nuts or dairy.
Garlic-chili green beans with crispy shallots
Daniel Bui wrote green beans with garlic, chili and crispy shallots as the vegetable side for the Vietnamese Thanksgiving menu he shared on Instagram as @dumpedlingss. It uses 600 g of trimmed green beans, minced garlic, Chin Su hot sauce and crispy shallots. His recipe page links the rest of the menu.
The beans are cooked first, either fried in 350°F oil for 3 minutes or blanched in a pot of salted boiling water for 2 minutes and rinsed under cold water. The garlic is then fried in oil in a large pan over medium heat until lightly golden. The beans and hot sauce go in and are tossed for 2 to 3 minutes. Crispy shallots go on top, and the recipe says to serve the beans warm.
The recipe gives no make-ahead instructions, no serving count and no overall prep or cooking time. Its introduction mentions a touch of sugar that the ingredient list and the steps leave out.
Olive oil mashed potatoes without butter or milk
The Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen recipe for olive oil-whipped garlicky mashed potatoes simmers 6 pounds of peeled russet potatoes with 12 garlic cloves in salted water for 20 to 25 minutes and warms 2 cups of extra-virgin olive oil in a small saucepan over low heat for about 2 minutes. The potatoes and garlic go through a potato ricer in batches into a large bowl, or are mashed in the pot with a potato masher or a large whisk, and the warm oil is whisked in. In Williams Sonoma's Instagram video, Devon Francis makes them with the ricer.
The recipe serves 8 and uses no butter, milk or cream.
The recipe says to serve immediately and gives no holding or reheating instructions. The 20 to 25 minutes covers the simmer only. The pot of water has to come up to heat before the potatoes go in and again after. If you cook the potatoes at the host's, bring the ricer or masher and a whisk, and ask when the stove will be free.
Holding food at Thanksgiving dinner
FDA buffet guidance says to keep hot food at 140°F or warmer and cold food at 40°F or colder, and to discard perishable food left at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F. The same page says leftovers, including any sent home with guests, should be refrigerated as soon as guests arrive home or within 2 hours.
Common questions
Which Thanksgiving side can I bring without using the host's oven?
Tieghan Gerard's Honeycrisp apple and feta salad at Half Baked Harvest has one oven step, baking the toppings, and that can be done at home. The rest is assembled in a large bowl. The green beans and the mashed potatoes in this comparison are cooked on the stove and have no oven step.
Can I make the apple and feta salad a day ahead?
You can bake the toppings a day ahead. In a November 2025 reply on the Half Baked Harvest recipe page, Tieghan Gerard said baking the prosciutto, nuts and pumpkin seeds a day ahead and keeping them in an airtight container would be fine. The recipe card has no make-ahead note, and the reply does not cover the assembled salad.
Can I make mashed potatoes without butter or milk?
Yes. The Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen's olive oil-whipped mashed potatoes use 2 cups of extra-virgin olive oil with 6 pounds of russet potatoes and 12 garlic cloves, and no butter, milk or cream. The recipe serves 8 and says to serve immediately.
Creators and sources
- Apple and feta salad: Half Baked Harvest on Instagram; full recipe by Tieghan Gerard at Half Baked Harvest
- Garlic-chili green beans: Daniel Bui (@dumpedlingss) on Instagram; full recipe at Daniel's Substack
- Olive oil mashed potatoes: Devon Francis in Williams Sonoma's Instagram video; full recipe from the Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen
- Holding temperatures and time limits: FDA, Serving Up Safe Buffets
- Cover photos: mashed potatoes from Williams Sonoma's Instagram video; green beans from Daniel Bui's recipe page; apple salad from Half Baked Harvest's Instagram video
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