Ina Garten Gives This Classic Thanksgiving Side Dish A Hard Pass

While the undeniable hero of a Thanksgiving spread is a perfectly browned, juicy turkey, many people get just as excited to see their favorite side dish make an appearance on the dinner table. The options for enticing and even unexpected Thanksgiving side dishes are endless, but some are also divisive. The inclusion of canned cranberry sauce divides families every year, and whether to serve candied yams as a side or a dessert can cause fists to fly in more animated households. Ina Garten, perhaps better known as the Barefoot Contessa, has a controversial opinion of her own. She says one dish that never belongs with your holiday feast is stuffing.

Some people argue over whether stuffing should be cooked separately or right inside your bird, but Garten thinks folks should skip the dish altogether. The main reason is that it's basically filler, meant to stuff guests just like the turkey itself. With so many other delicacies to enjoy, you don't want to be bursting at the seams before that beloved pumpkin pie is served.

Honestly, even as a fan of stuffing, I can see her point. From a flavor standpoint, even the best recipes don't hold a candle to most of the other side dishes people can choose from. At best, it has a textural attraction, although that's not to say that some folks won't be distraught if it isn't present. For some, it's as nostalgic as the Thanksgiving bird, and taking it away is akin to trampling on someone's treasured memories. However, if you're willing to risk creating controversy on the holiday, some interesting stuffing substitutes could win people over.

Whether you generally make stuffing with loads of fall vegetables or leave it as carby as can be, eighty-sixing it will undoubtedly create a hole in your Thanksgiving spread. You'll want to fill that gap with something equally as satisfying for those who will miss it. Ina Garten prefers to make smashed sweet potatoes and spinach gratin in stuffing's stead, but there are plenty of other side dishes that would work just as well.

One stuffing alternative folks can get behind is wild rice pilaf. Mix in vibrant fall ingredients like butternut squash, dried cranberries, and toasted pecans for a dish that pops on the Thanksgiving dinner table. Another option would be boosting the protein available by making a potato stuffing with ground beef. Add onions, peppers, and mushrooms along with tomato sauce and smoked paprika, and you'll have a savory side dish that might make guests forget the traditional stuffing is missing.

Of course, if you absolutely need to have some bread in your side dish, make it memorable by using a cornbread stuffing and including fall flavors like maple bacon and apples. If guests who follow a gluten-free lifestyle are attending the festivities, use gluten-free cornbread along with all the herbs typically included in a classic stuffing recipe. Even folks who aren't gluten-free may enjoy seeing something new and interesting on the table, and those who are will appreciate having more Thanksgiving side dish options than usual.