Once staples at holiday tables, these Thanksgiving sides have quietly slipped into obscurity. Think molded salads, creamed vegetables, and casseroles with a flair for drama—each one a nostalgic bite of Americana.
They may not show up on modern menus, but their bold flavors and retro charm deserve a second look. These forgotten dishes just might steal the spotlight all over again.
1. Ambrosia Salad
Holy fruit cocktail in a cloud! This retro delight combines canned fruit, mini marshmallows, coconut, and sour cream into a sweet-tangy explosion that somehow ended up on the dinner table instead of the dessert spread.
Grandmas nationwide defended this dish to the death, insisting those technicolor cherries counted as a vegetable. The beauty of ambrosia? Zero cooking required – just dump, stir, and refrigerate until that marshmallow magic happens.
2. Lime Jell-O Mold
Behold the wiggly lime masterpiece that terrorized children and fascinated adults! Nothing screamed mid-century sophistication like suspending random vegetables and fruits in a quivering emerald tower.
Carrots, celery, pineapple chunks – anything could find itself trapped in this gelatinous prison. The lime flavor wasn’t chosen for its complementary taste but rather for that shocking green color that looked so “festive” against the good china.
3. Waldorf Salad
Apples, celery, walnuts, and mayonnaise – a combination that shouldn’t work but somehow does! This crunchy medley originated at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in the 1890s and quickly became the sophisticated side dish for holiday gatherings.
Grandma’s version probably included those mysterious red grapes and perhaps a controversial raisin or two. The magic lies in the textural contrast: crisp apples, crunchy celery, and toasty walnuts all swimming in creamy mayonnaise.
4. Candied Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes that somehow became dessert! These orange tubers got transformed into candy through the aggressive application of brown sugar, butter, and marshmallows – because vegetables weren’t appealing enough on their own.
The technique involves cooking already-sweet potatoes in what amounts to liquid caramel until they surrender all pretense of nutritional value. The marshmallow topping creates that signature scorched sugar ceiling that children fought over while adults pretended to enjoy the vegetables underneath.
5. Creamed Pearl Onions
Tiny white orbs swimming in thick cream sauce – the side dish that sparked dinnertime negotiations! Children would count exactly how many they had to eat before freedom from the plate could be achieved.
These little flavor bombs required tedious peeling, which is why they appeared only on special occasions. The sauce – a velvety blend of butter, flour, cream, and nutmeg – transformed humble onions into a luxurious dish worthy of holiday status.
6. Perfection Salad
Despite its name, perfection was not achieved! This bizarre concoction – cabbage, celery, and bell peppers suspended in lemon gelatin – won a cooking contest in 1904 and haunted potlucks for decades afterward.
The “salad” part is misleading since no actual greens were harmed in its making. Instead, finely chopped vegetables were imprisoned in wobbly gelatin, creating a stained-glass window effect that looked better than it tasted.
7. Oyster Stuffing
Seafood in stuffing? Absolutely! This divisive dish split families into passionate camps – devotees who couldn’t imagine Thanksgiving without it and horrified opponents who questioned why perfectly good bread should be ruined with ocean creatures.
Dating back to colonial America when oysters were abundant along the coast, this stuffing combines briny oysters with sage, thyme, and celery for a flavor explosion. The oysters practically melt during cooking, leaving behind their distinctive maritime essence.
8. Corn Pudding
Somewhere between cornbread and custard lies this golden comfort food! Neither solid nor liquid, corn pudding achieved that mysterious third state of matter that only appears at holiday gatherings.
Sweet corn kernels suspended in a savory egg mixture created the perfect compromise between vegetable and dessert. Grandma’s secret? A pinch of nutmeg and that one dented baking dish she refused to replace because “it cooks it just right.”
9. Scalloped Potatoes
Potato slices swimming in bubbling dairy heaven! This labor-intensive masterpiece required precision slicing long before mandolines made it easy – Grandma’s slightly uneven knife work was part of the charm.
Layer upon layer of potatoes interspersed with flour, butter, and milk created a stratified archaeological dig of deliciousness. The top layer achieved that perfect brown crust while the bottom remained creamy and rich.
10. Mashed Turnips
The vegetable that launched a thousand childhood complaints! These pale, slightly bitter mashed roots were the nutritional obligation on many New England Thanksgiving tables.
Older generations insisted turnips were delicious while younger ones wondered why anyone would choose them over potatoes. The secret to palatability? Massive amounts of butter, cream, and enough black pepper to make your eyes water.
11. Green Bean And Mushroom Casserole
The dish that launched a thousand cans! This 1955 Campbell’s creation combined condensed soup, green beans, and those mysteriously addictive crispy onions into the ultimate convenience food masquerading as homemade.
Despite food snobs turning up their noses, this humble casserole earned its place through sheer democratic popularity. The genius lies in its simplicity – dump, stir, bake, and watch people fight over those crunchy onion bits.
12. Harvard Beets
Beets dressed for success! These ruby gems got their fancy name from their crimson color matching Harvard’s school shade – though no actual connection to the university exists.
The sweet-and-sour sauce transformed humble root vegetables into something special enough for holiday tables. Sliced beets bathed in a tangy mixture of sugar, vinegar, and cornstarch created a glossy side dish that stained everything it touched.