11 Must-Have Hanukkah Side Dishes to Round Out Your Meal
We've captured all the sights, smells, and tastes of the season in this roundup of gorgeous sides to fill up your Hanukkah table.
So you've carefully picked out your Hanukkah main dish and have your appetizer recipes lined up ... but what else will grace your table over the eight days of this Jewish holiday? If you're not sure, then this roundup of side dish recipes was made for you!
Honey Orange Glazed Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash
This recipe captures all the flavors of the season in one dish: brussels sprouts, squash, cranberry, cinnamon, cider, oranges ... the only thing missing is a jelly doughnut on top! While we wouldn't really suggest putting doughnuts on top of your side dishes, this one doesn't need it anyway; with a touch of honey and sweet orange juice, there's just the right amount of sweetness to balance out the pleasantly bitter flavor of the sprouts.
Sweet Potato Kugel
Take a break from heavy noodle kugels with this warming sweet potato and apple kugel. Cinnamon, ginger, maple syrup, and pecans meld with late fall produce for an ultimate comfort food delight. Halfway between a dessert and a side, this is one casserole dish that is both healthy and decadent all at once.
Gluten-Free Beet Tart with Dill and Caraway
This stunning beet tart is impressive enough to double as a vegetarian main course if you're trying to accommodate several different diets at your holiday dinner. But what about your celiac friend? No worries, this tart is gluten free as well! Rich with cream cheese and heavy cream, this beet and caraway tart tastes like borscht in a flaky shell.
Roasted Shawarma Cauliflower Steaks with Harissa Tahini
Ten spices come together to make the complex flavors of shawarma seasoning for these oven-roasted cauliflower steaks. The spicy harissa tahini sauce can be whisked together in under a minute, and is so tasty you'll want to drizzle it over your potato latkes as well.
Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Lemon Parmesan Dressing
A light salad that's still rooted in the season is a great way to offset all the oil in your typical Hanukkah recipes. The acidic lemon and zippy chili flakes cut through the heaviness of fried food and unctuous beef brisket, while the dark green kale and yellow and orange squashes brighten up your table.
Grape Leaf Pilaf
This grape leaf pilaf creates a lovely combination of flavors and textures that are sure to compliment any Greek or Middle-Eastern-inspired menu. With creamy feta, salty brined grape leaves, sweet, crunchy snap peas, savory dill, and earthy brown rice, this rice dish is anything but boring.
Applesauce
Potato pancakes with a side of applesauce are the very essence of Hanukkah food. Treat your guests right by serving a homemade applesauce, lightly flavored with cinnamon sugar and lemon. You can make applesauce ahead of time and store it in the freezer — it's just as easy as opening a jar, but tastes so much better!
Jewish Fried Artichokes
Give the heavy starches and doughs a break from frying and put these fried artichokes on your table instead! This recipe is super simple — the artichokes are steamed, then fried in olive oil with nothing but a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Simple to make, dramatic to look at, and decadent to eat, this is a side dish that will make sure both you and your guests have a happy Hanukkah.
Mini Challah Rolls
This Hanukkah, make your meal even more memorable with these adorable mini challah rolls. The soft dough is perfect for sopping up juices from your beef brisket ... or making leftover brisket sliders the next day. For more twists on this classic braid, see our recipe roundup, Challah! For Hanukkah!.
Confetti Latkes with Harissa Sour Cream
Some food traditions shouldn't be messed with — latkes, thankfully, are not one of them. One look at these gorgeous confetti latkes, and you'll be saying "Potato, who?" A decidedly unconventional mixture of beets, carrots, kohlrabi, and beet greens are fried into pancakes and topped with a spicy harissa sour cream in this unusual new Hanukkah recipe from New York blogger Busy In Brooklyn. If you're inspired to try something different this year, be sure to check out more latke recipes in our article 10 Creative Takes On Latkes For Hanukkah.
Baked Sweet Potatoes with Spinach Tahini and Lemon Herb Chickpeas
Healthy eating can be both delicious and beautiful, as we see in this visual feast. Simple roasted sweet potatoes are dressed up with a sprinkling of crunchy lemon-herb chickpeas, a hearty drizzle of bright green spinach tahini, and a smattering of greek yogurt and cilantro. This is one side dish you'll want to make again and again.
