Christmas dinner may revolve around the main course, but ask anyone what they actually look forward to and it’s the sides. The creamy mashed potatoes. The caramelized roasted vegetables. The warm bread for mopping up every last bit of gravy. Sides are where a holiday table goes from good to genuinely memorable.
If you’re keeping Christmas vegetarian this year, sides are also the easiest win on the entire menu. They’re naturally meatless, endlessly varied, simple to scale for a crowd, and — best of all — most of them can be made ahead. These 7 vegetarian-friendly side dish collections from the Leafline archive cover everything from cozy make-ahead casseroles and hands-off air fryer sides to fresh salads and warm breads. Between them, every corner of your Christmas table is covered.
1. 10 Vegetarian Holiday Potluck Dishes That Travel Well — the reliable crowd-pleasers
This collection was built for potlucks — dishes that survive the car ride, hold up at room temperature, and reheat like a dream — which makes it quietly perfect for Christmas. Half of most holiday meals seems to arrive in someone else’s casserole dish, and these recipes are designed for exactly that.
Inside you’ll find hearty vegetarian casseroles and lighter lasagnas that arrive bubbly and perfect, vibrant sautéed vegetable sides that taste just as good warm as hot, creamy hummus variations for the snack table, crunchy chickpea snacks, and colorful rainbow dishes that brighten a heavy spread. Everything here is vegetarian, and the travel-friendly angle means less stress on the day itself.
Browse all 10 vegetarian holiday potluck dishes
2. 33 Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes — don’t let the name fool you
Don’t skip this one because of the title. These are classic holiday sides — creamy mashed potatoes, cheesy scalloped gratins, roasted sweet potatoes, savory stuffings — and nearly every one of them belongs on a Christmas table just as much as a Thanksgiving one. Holiday cooking has a shared vocabulary, and this collection speaks it fluently.
Use it as your starting point and work outward: pick one potato dish, one roasted vegetable, one stuffing-style bake, and one green vegetable, and the backbone of your Christmas spread is done. With 33 options, there’s something here for traditionalists and adventurers alike.
Browse all 33 Thanksgiving side dishes
3. 15 Sautéed Vegetable Recipes to Power Up Your Plate — the fresh counterpoint
When the rest of the table leans rich — gratins, casseroles, buttery carbs — a bright sautéed vegetable side keeps the whole meal in balance. This collection is full of them: garlicky broccoli with lemon, balsamic Brussels sprouts, buttery sautéed mushrooms, green beans with apple cider, Mediterranean vegetables, and more. Most are ready in under 30 minutes, and every recipe is vegetarian or vegan.
The real Christmas advantage here is logistics. These are skillet sides, which means they don’t compete for oven space on the busiest cooking day of the year. While the main bakes, you can have a gorgeous vegetable side done in one big pan.
Browse all 15 sautéed vegetable recipes
4. 25 Incredible Air Fryer Side Dishes You Have to Try — the oven-space saver
Oven real estate is the scarcest resource in any kitchen on Christmas Day, and this collection is the workaround. Crispy carrot fries, zucchini fries, rosemary sweet potato fries, parmesan Brussels sprouts, cauliflower bites, seasoned potato wedges, roasted baby potatoes — all with that crunchy-roasted texture, all with barely any oil, all without touching the oven.
One honest note: a few recipes tucked into this collection use bacon or crab, so vegetarian cooks should stick to the many meatless options — which are the large majority. For everyone else at the table, nobody will miss the deep fryer.
Browse all 25 air fryer side dishes
5. 15 Delicious and Healthy Cauliflower Recipes — the lighter option
Every Christmas table needs one dish that the health-conscious guests gravitate toward, and cauliflower is the hardest-working vegetable for the job. This collection takes it in every direction: roasted until caramelized, mashed as a lighter stand-in for potatoes, riced for grain-free guests, and crisped into bites for snacking.
It’s the side that lets you offer something genuinely lighter without making it feel like an afterthought. Set a roasted cauliflower next to the richer casseroles and watch it go fast — roasted cauliflower rarely makes it to leftovers.
Browse all 15 cauliflower recipes
6. 15 Tasty Fall Bread Recipes — for mopping up the gravy
No Christmas table is complete without bread, and this collection delivers it warm and plentiful: pumpkin loaves, herbed dinner rolls, pumpkin cheesecake bread, apple cinnamon bread, maple banana nut bread, and more. Bread is the supporting actor that makes every other side better — torn over salads, swiped through gravy, buttered alongside soup.
Bake a day ahead and rewarm wrapped in foil for ten minutes before serving, and no one will know it wasn’t fresh from the oven. A loaf wrapped in parchment and twine also doubles as the easiest hostess gift of the season.
Browse all 15 fall bread recipes
7. 15 Amazing Fall Salads — the colorful contrast
A Christmas spread can easily become a sea of beige — potatoes, stuffing, bread, gravy. A big, colorful salad fixes that instantly, and this collection is built for the job: crisp apples, roasted squash, and maple dressings that taste like the season in a bowl.
Beyond the color, a salad adds the fresh, acidic crunch that cuts through rich holiday food and keeps the meal from feeling heavy. Prep the components a day ahead, keep the dressing separate, and toss everything together just before serving.
Tips for Christmas sides that actually work
Plan the oven like a schedule. Write down what needs the oven, at what temperature, and for how long — then fill the gaps with skillet sides, air fryer sides, and room-temperature dishes. The collections above were chosen so you can mix oven, stovetop, and no-cook options.
Make ahead where it counts. Potato casseroles, gratins, and stuffing-style bakes can be fully assembled the night before and refrigerated; bake them fresh on Christmas Day. Breads can be baked a day ahead and rewarmed. Chop all vegetables the night before so day-of cooking is pure assembly.
Balance rich with fresh. For every creamy, cheesy, or buttery side, add one green or fresh one. The contrast is what makes a holiday plate feel abundant rather than heavy.
Dress salads at the last minute. Washed greens, prepped toppings, and a jar of dressing can all wait in the fridge — but toss them together only when you’re ready to serve, so everything stays crisp.
Christmas side dish FAQs
How many side dishes should I make for Christmas dinner?
For a classic Christmas dinner, three to five sides is the sweet spot: one potato dish, one or two vegetables, a bread, and optionally a salad. That fills the plate generously without overwhelming the cook — or the oven.
Which Christmas sides can I make ahead?
Casseroles, gratins, and stuffing-style bakes can be fully assembled a day or two ahead and baked fresh on Christmas Day. Breads bake well a day early and rewarm beautifully. Chop all vegetables the night before. Salads should be tossed at the last minute, but every component can wait prepped in the fridge.
What vegetarian sides pair best with a vegetarian Christmas main?
Rich mains like a nut roast or a Wellington-style bake pair best with contrast: something fresh and green (a sautéed vegetable or a crisp salad), something starchy and comforting (mashed potatoes or warm bread), and one caramelized roasted vegetable for color and sweetness. Pick one from each lane and the plate balances itself.
More Christmas recipe inspiration
Once your sides are sorted, round out the holiday menu:
- 5 Vegetarian Christmas Dinner Mains That Aren’t Nut Roast — the centerpiece to build around
- 14 Vegetarian Thanksgiving Sides Worth Making — the sister collection, full of crossover holiday sides
- 10 Make-Ahead Vegetarian Christmas Appetizers — for while guests arrive
- 12 Vegetarian Christmas Cookie Recipes — the sweet finish
Happy cooking — and happy holidays!
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