Three incredibly easy sheet pan thanksgiving sides of roasted herb carrots, maple Dijon Broccoli and Spiced Acorn Squash, all with little prep required, all ready in under one hour!
Let me show you how to make the simplest and fastest three Thanksgiving sides ever with SHEET PANS! Yes… I’m making it a thing!
Does it sound hard to make three dishes at once? Let me assure you – it’s NOT!
Each recipe is super simple – and can be made together or one at a time. I promise that once you’ve tried your hand at this simple SHEET PAN METHOD, you’ll definitely want to do it again…and again.
Here’s the three tasty sides we made in just under an hour:
- Roasted Herb Carrots – naturally sweet and full of earthy flavor from a sprinkling of thyme and parsley.
- Maple Mustard Broccoli with Cranberries – crispy browned broccoli made tangy with a splash of maple syrup and Dijon mustard dressing. It’s amazing!
- Roasted Acorn Squash with Walnuts – cinnamon spiced and buttery with roasted textural walnuts. Even my little grandson gobbles these up!
Full disclosure – I doubled the recipe amounts in these photos. Each recipe can easily be doubled, tripled or multiplied for whatever servings you need.
There are SO many reasons to love these scrumptious side dishes for a small Thanksgiving gathering:
- SAVES TIME
- SAVES MONEY
- Easy cleanup….just the sheet pans to wash – or make life even better by lining the sheet pans with parchment paper for NO mess at all! Love it, love it, love it!
- VERSATILITY – switch up the veggies for your favorite. Try green beans or butternut squash instead of carrots, brussel sprouts for the broccoli, and sweet potato slices for the acorn squash. You get the idea!
Ingredients need for these Thanksgiving Side Dishes
Roasted Herb Carrots
Baby Carrots – a bag of packaged baby carrots is our choice for this recipe. Alternately, wash and peel a bunch of raw carrots , then cut into 2-inch pieces.
Thyme Flakes – dried thyme right from the spice cabinet, or fresh thyme leaves if you prefer.
Parsley Flakes – dried parsley flakes or snipped fresh parsley.
Olive Oil – vegetable oil is a great substitute.
Maple Mustard Broccoli with Cranberries
Broccoli Florets – fresh or frozen are both fine. If using frozen, rinse under cold water to remove any ice crystals. Be sure to dry them on a kitchen or paper towel before roasting.
Dried Cranberries – we used the unsweetened variety.
Maple Syrup – pure maple syrup for this recipe.
Dijon Mustard
Olive Oil – vegetable oil can be substituted.
Spiced Acorn Squash with Walnuts
Acorn Squash – try to buy them all in similar size so your pieces will be uniform in size.
Butter – salted or unsalted are both okay.
Maple Syrup – pure maple syrup was used for this recipe. Honey is a perfect substitute.
Cinnamon – ground cinnamon right from the spice cabinet.
Cloves – ground cloves from the spice cabinet.
Walnuts – no need to tast first…the oven baking will take care of that!
Tips For The Easy Sheet Pan Thanksgiving Sides
- Buy pre-washed, pre-cut vegetables – baby carrots and broccoli florets are sold in 12 – 16 ounce bags, ready to eat. Just open the bag and dump on the sheet pan. Too easy!
- Microwave the Squash – throw each whole uncut squash into the microwave for 1 minute on High power before attempting to cut in half. This slightly softens the squash and makes halving and slicing much, much easier (and safer!)
- Use Parchment Paper – if you have old or uncoated baking sheets, line them with parchment paper (or foil) for the fastest cleanup.
What We’re Loving For Thanksgiving Dinner
To round out Thanksgiving dinner with our sheet pan sides, we’re fortunate to be enjoying lots of other amazing eats –
- Turkey Breast – we’re ordering a cooked turkey breast to support a local restaurant struggling to stay open during the pandemic.
- Pies and rolls – again, we’re ordering these from a local bakery.
- Southern Cornbread Stuffing
For more easy and tasty ideas, check out all our shared Thanksgiving Recipes.
Easy Sheet Pan Thanksgiving Sides
Ingredients
Roasted Herb Carrots
- 1 pound baby carrots + olive oil
- 1/2 tsp parsley flakes
- 1/2 tsp thyme leaves
- dash of salt and pepper
Maple Mustard Broccoli with Cranberries
- 12 ounce broccoli florets trimmed + olive oil and salt
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
Spiced Acorn Squash with Walnuts
- 2 medium acorn squash seeded and sliced 1/2-inch thick
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/2 cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
Roasting Everything Together:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss carrots and 1 TBSP olive oil on a sheet pan. Sprinkle with herbs, salt and pepper. Place broccoli on a sheet pan, toss in 1 TBSP olive oil, sprinkle with salt. Lay squash slices on a sheet pan. Brush both sides with 1/2 the mixture of melted butter, syrup and spices. Roast carrots and broccoli for 15 minutes. Add acorn squash to the oven. Roast all pans another 20 -30 minutes. At the last 10 minutes or so, brush remaining half of butter mixture on the squash, sprinkle the cranberries on the broccoli and add the walnuts to the squash – to get everything hot and toasty.
Roasted Herb Carrots
- Ready to go right out of the oven!
Maple Mustard Broccoli with Cranberries
- In a small bowl, whisk the maple syrup, olive oil and Dijon. Drizzle over the broccoli and toss.
Spiced Acorn Squash with Walnuts
- Ready to go right from the oven
To Serve:
- Pile your Roasted Herb Carrots, Maple Mustard Broccoli with Cranberries and Spiced Acorn Squash with Walnuts onto platters and serve with everything else you love to eat on Thanksgiving!
Equipment Used
Nutrition Facts
© Copyright Christine Mello for Must Love Home. We would love for you to share a link to this recipe but please do not copy/paste the recipe instructions to websites or social media. We are happy for you to share a photo with a link back to this website instead.
