Tasty Thanksgiving Side Dishes You Can Make In Your Slow Cooker

By Southern Living Editors
Updated October 19, 2020
Credit: Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas / Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford / Food Styling: Vanessa McNeil Rocchio

Forget about juggling bake times and wedging casseroles around a 20-pound turkey in a tiny oven—using your slow cooker is the secret to an easy Thanksgiving dinner. For many Southerners, Thanksgiving dinner is all about the side dishes: cornbread dressing, casseroles, cranberry sauce, and everything else just waiting to be piled high on your plate before going back for seconds.

We've rounded up our easiest slow-cooker side dishes that help make planning Thanksgiving day a total breeze. Expect new twists on classic side dish recipes, including cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, and even homemade cranberry sauce. This year, settle in with your family for a proper feast and plan your Thanksgiving around these standout slow-cooker side dishes.

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Slow-Cooker Green Beans

Credit: Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Green Beans

Free up stove-top space with this shortcut green beans recipe made extra delicious with bacon and thyme.

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Cornbread Dressing

Credit: Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipe: Cornbread Dressing

Enjoying authentic cornbread dressing doesn’t have to mean checking your oven to see if your dish is ready. If you want to walk into your kitchen and enjoy the aroma of freshly made cornbread dressing without the fuss, you will love our slow-cooker countertop recipe. For a finishing touch, spoon this deliciously warm dressing into pretty bowls, and you can delight in every mouthwatering bite.

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Slow-Cooker Sweet Potatoes with Bacon

Credit: Alison Miksch

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Sweet Potatoes with Bacon

Sweet potatoes are an important part of any Thanksgiving meal, and this recipe gives you a new take on that classic flavor. Orange juice gives this dish a little sweetness, while pieces of crumbled bacon will give you something to savor. The best part? It's made in the slow cooker, so you're saving valuable cook space. 

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Slow-Cooker Collard Greens with Ham Hocks

Credit: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Collard Greens with Ham Hocks

Using prewashed and chopped greens help to make this dish convenient and ideal for cooking during the holidays.

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Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce

Credit: Iain Bagwell

Recipe: Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce

If you're skipping out on the canned stuff this year, try this easy recipe flavored with fresh orange and ginger. 

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Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole

Credit: Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas / Prop Styling: Missie Neville Crawford / Food Styling: Vanessa McNeil Rocchio

Recipe: Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole

It'd be hard to find a more beloved Thanksgiving casserole than green bean, and this one's a snap to make in the slow cooker.

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Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole

Credit: Southern Living

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato Casserole

Everyone's favorite sweet casserole got a crockpot makeover that lets you save precious oven space. 

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Uncle Jack's Mac-and-Cheese

Credit: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Uncle Jack's Mac-and-Cheese

Your Thanksgiving meal won't be complete without a warm pot of homemade mac-and-cheese.

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Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Our new favorite addition to any fall meal? Homemade apple butter that pairs wonderfully with biscuits, cornbread, and even Thanksgiving turkey. 

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Vegetarian Slow-Cooker Collard Greens

Credit: Victor Protasio

Recipe: Vegetarian Slow-Cooker Collard Greens

Collards can be just as good minus any ham—turkey is the star today, anyway! This recipe adds plenty of seasoning and tomatoes to make up for it. 

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Squash and Green Chile Casserole

Credit: Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Recipe: Squash and Green Chile Casserole

Green chiles and tomatillos give this classic Southern casserole a Southwestern twist everyone will love at Thanksgiving. And it's made totally in the slow cooker.  

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Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

Recipe: Cranberry Upside-Down Cake 

Instead of cranberry sauce, serve this cake side dish that's both sweet and tart. Hey, anything goes on Thanksgiving!

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Good Luck Greens and Peas with Ham

Credit: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck

Recipe: Good Luck Greens and Peas with Ham

Any family that includes ham in addition to turkey on Thanksgiving needs this delicious peas-and-greens dish to round out the meal. 

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Slow-Cooker Cranberry-Pear Butter

Credit: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Recipe: Slow-Cooker Cranberry-Pear Butter

Yet another show-stopping butter we're keep on the Thanksgiving table to accompany biscuits, cornbread, or turkey? This cranberry-pear concoction. 

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Slow Cooker Candied Yams

Credit: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipe: Slow Cooker Candied Yams

We updated this Southern staple—candied yams—so that it can be cooked in a crockpot. It's an extra-easy choice to heat and take to your next family gathering or potluck dinner.

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Apple Butter-Glazed Turkey

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez

Recipe: Apple Butter-Glazed Turkey

Is the best Thanksgiving side dish actually more turkey? If you're worried about not having enough of the main dish, make this supplemental turkey in the slow cooker to give the bigger bird its due space. (Folks might even prefer it.) 

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By Southern Living Editors