Thanksgiving Side Dishes You Can Make with Pepper Jelly
What are you thankful for this year? Here at the Jones family household, the thing we’re most thankful for is all of you, our Pepper Jelly customers, home cooks, and blog readers. We appreciate each and every jar of Pepper Jelly we sell, as well as each and every email we receive that lets us know you tried and enjoyed one of the many, many recipes we’ve shared.
To us, Pepper Jelly isn’t just a food we enjoy or a product we make; it’s a part of who we are, a member of our family. And just like every member of the Jones family, Pepper Jelly deserves a spot at the table.
Thanksgiving is a time to get together with the people we love the most and indulge in the food, conversation, and activities we enjoy the most. Fittingly, we’ve experimented with lots of different Thanksgiving dish ideas over the years. As a Thanksgiving gift from our family to yours, here are our picks for the top 5 best Thanksgiving side dishes made with Pepper Jelly.
Grab yourself a jar of Pepper Jelly and bring a little of the Jones family spirit into your own household!
The 5 Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Try This Year
We all have our favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. Some of us love sweet potatoes, while others can’t get enough stuffing. Once you give these creative Thanksgiving dish ideas a whirl, though, we’re confident Pepper Jelly will be the new king of your dinner table… and of your heart.
Pepper Jelly Cranberry Sauce
To kick this list off, let’s start with an obvious Thanksgiving dish idea, that also doubles as one of our best. Cranberry sauce is a staple of most Thanksgiving dinner tables, and we all know that homemade is better than canned. Give your cranberry sauce a sweet ‘n’ spicy kick this year by mixing in a little Cranberry Pepper Jelly (or, if you want to give a real kick, Cranberry Habanero Pepper Jelly)! It adds just the right amount of fiery flavor without detracting from that tart cranberry taste we all love.
Pepper Jelly Cornbread Stuffing
Use a complete cornbread dressing recipe that specifies the bread, liquid, fat and any eggs. Add pepper jelly only in a measured amount suited to that recipe; a whole jar can make the dressing excessively sweet and wet. Celery, onions, apples, cranberries and herbs are flavor options, but their moisture changes the mixture. Bake dressing in a separate dish and check that its center reaches 165°F. This is a menu idea, not a complete stuffing formula.
Pepper Jelly Glazed Veggies
Pepper Jelly isn’t just for dipping or spreading; it also works well as a marinade or a glaze. We already mentioned how good Pepper Jelly-glazed chicken can be, but did you know that Pepper Jelly also pops when applied to vegetables? We’re especially fond of Pepper Jelly-glazed carrots and Pepper Jelly-glazed brussel sprouts here in the Jones household, but the possibilities are endless. Try Pepper Jelly on broccoli, cauliflower, butternut squash, fingerling potatoes, green beans, or asparagus. Everything tastes better with a peppery zing!
Pepper Jelly Sweet Potato Latkes
Okay, let’s try something a little unconventional now. Sweet potatoes are another Thanksgiving staple, but instead of baking them with marshmallows this year, why not try something new? Just like other kinds of potato, sweet potatoes can be grated, then mixed with egg, flour, and seasonings, and finally fried in a skillet to create crispy latkes. These potato pancakes are a unique and scrumptious alternative to traditional sweet potato dishes, and they just so happen to be extra tasty when topped with sour cream and Pepper Jelly.
Pepper Jelly Turkey Meatballs
For raw ground turkey, use a complete turkey-meatball recipe and cook the centers to 165°F. Keep its specified binder; pepper jelly is a sauce or flavor addition, not a direct replacement for eggs or milk. Our meatball guide explains the cooking and glaze choices.
Cooked leftover roast turkey is a different ingredient from raw ground turkey. Choose a recipe designed for cooked turkey rather than substituting it into a raw-meatball formula. Refrigerate Thanksgiving leftovers promptly, use them within three to four days and reheat to 165°F.
Pepper Jelly Makes Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes Even Easier (and Tastier!)
Prepping any Thanksgiving dinner for family or friends isn’t easy. It takes a lot of time and effort. We hope that this blog makes things a little easier for you… and a little yummier.
If you’re a Pepper Jelly customer, we here at the Jones family want to say thank you! Thank you for supporting our business. Thank you for enjoying our products. Thank you for sharing our blog posts. And, most of all, thank you for taking a chance on a small, family-owned business like Grandma Jones’ Pepper Jelly.
Our goal has always been to make our Grandma Jones proud by doing her generations-old recipes justice. Every time you order Pepper Jelly from our online store, that tells us we’re doing something right, and that means the world to us.
Whenever you need us, we’re here for you. Browse our full selection of delicious Pepper Jelly products, order a jar or two (or three, or four, or…), and let us know what you think. Nothing is more important to us than the feedback of our customers.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Detailed vegetable sides for Thanksgiving
- Pepper jelly glazed green beans: Follow the full ingredient list and stovetop method.
- Glazed Brussels sprouts: Add roasted vegetables with a pepper jelly finish.
- Glazed sweet potatoes: Use the dedicated sweet potato recipe for quantities and technique.
Plan the Serving and Leftover Window
Keep cold perishable sides at 40°F or below and hot sides at 140°F or above. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within two hours, or one hour above 90°F. Do not wait for a large dish to cool completely on the table. Sources: safe cooking temperatures and USDA leftover guidance. The linked vegetable recipes above supply quantities and technique for individual side dishes.