An Expert Shares How Many Sides You Need For Thanksgiving

Turkey may be the main attraction of Thanksgiving, but everyone knows the sides always steal the show. Perhaps it's the sheer variety, ensuring that everyone gets a taste of their old favorite, or maybe it's the possibility of finding that unexpected side dish like sweet potato latkes that leaves you begging for more. With so many delicious things to choose from, it can be hard to know when to say when. We spoke with recipe developer and lifestyle expert Peter Som for some insight on how many side dishes we should really be serving for this year's feast.

In an exclusive interview with Mashed, Som explains that serving between three and five side dishes is typically considered appropriate, giving you enough room to have a variety of starches and vegetables. "I personally would err closer to five sides because it's Thanksgiving!" Som states. For some folks, gravy and cranberry sauce are also essential to the meal, so take that into consideration as well. 

Once you have your Thanksgiving side dishes lineup, you must also decide how much of each you should make. Using the general rule of serving between 1 and 1.5 pounds of turkey per person on Thanksgiving, it isn't terribly hard to figure out what size bird you should buy. However, determining how many potatoes to mash or how much green bean casserole to prepare isn't as straightforward. 

Peter Som tells us that for starchy foods (like stuffing, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes), you can count on needing 8 cups for eight people. As far as vegetables are concerned, 4 cups per eight people is sufficient. If you have a house full of dippers and sauce lovers, plan on making between 2 and 3 cups of gravy and cranberry sauce for your party of eight.

One more thing to consider — leftovers! If you're the type to send everyone home with a doggie bag so your fridge bears no evidence of the merry meal you've just hosted, stick to the plan above. But maybe you'd like to make sure you have enough food to enjoy over the post-holiday weekend. "If you do want leftovers (and I know I do) — feel free to bump up the quantities a bit," Som says. Obviously, if you want to make Martha Stewart's favorite hot or cold sandwich with leftover turkey, you're also going to need cranberry sauce, stuffing, and gravy galore.