Thanksgiving costs can rack up quickly, and the hours spent cooking in the kitchen can stretch on forever. No one needs that kind of pressure, and Trader Joe’s knows it. That’s why the store’s lineup of holiday sides covers the classics — with a quirky twist, of course — without wrecking your budget (or your patience). Here are 13 Thanksgiving sides you can find at the popular grocery chain that sell for under $6.
Autumn Vegetable & White Bean Gratin
Frenching up a traditional Thanksgiving dinner is never a bad idea. Trader Joe’s Autumn Vegetable & White Bean Gratin sits in that spot between hearty and healthy thanks to a white cheddar sauce that covers roasted veggies like butternut squash, cauliflower, and kale, with white beans added for protein. It sells for $5.99 and serves four. Trader Joe’s suggests baking it for 25 minutes at 350°F, but since turkey tends to take its sweet time in the oven, you can microwave it in about four minutes instead.
Loaded Mashed Potatoes
Mashed potatoes are a criminally underrated vessel for whatever flavor-packed ingredients you prefer. Trader Joe’s clearly recognizes the spud’s potential, and its ready-to-serve Loaded Mashed Potato for $5.99 comes packed with uncured bacon, sharp cheddar, sour cream, sliced scallions, and smoky bits of bacon. It comes in a 16-ounce tin, heats up in the microwave in a few minutes, and is on shelves for a limited time. So if you want dressed-up spuds to complement the turkey this year, you’ll have to hurry.
Creamy Corn
The limited Creamy Corn by Joe’s features sweet corn in a creamy sauce made with milk, cream, butter, cheddar cheese, and shallots. It cooks fast and goes for only $3.99. If you want to enhance the flavor, add black pepper and thyme, one Redditor suggested.
Roasted Green Vegetables
Nobody is exactly screaming with joy about roasted green vegetables on the table, but you have to get your greens in, people — especially with the usual Thanksgiving fixings. Joe’s pre-chopped and roasted vegetables include kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and pre-shelled edamame, all tossed with olive oil, garlic, and onion. It’s $4.99 for 12 ounces, and it’s a time-saver.
Cornbread Stuffing Mix
A decent boxed stuffing mix is usually what separates you from a relaxed Thanksgiving dinner. Not that cutting bread into cubes is splitting-the-atom hard, but it adds to the umpteen things you’re already doing. And while boxed stuffing can be hit or miss, Trader Joe’s cornbread stuffing mix has been called the best non-homemade option and gets plenty of praise. For $4.99, you get a base of toasted white bread mixed with cornbread croutons and seasoned with spices like oregano, sage, chicken broth, onion, celery, garlic, and mushrooms. It’s for a limited time only, so stock up.
Herbed Dinner Rolls
Call me dramatic, but a dinner roll can make or break a dinner because it’s the glue for all the flavors. And Trader Joe’s dinner rolls are bound to make your dinner. The herbed dinner rolls are part of the grocer’s 2025 limited holiday line and are available in the bakery.
People love Joe’s regular dinner rolls more than other store-bought ones because they’re pillowy and pull-apart thanks to the potato flour blend. The same applies to the holiday version, which features herbs like parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. At $3.49, there are eight rolls; for a chewy crust and tender crumb, warm them in the oven at 400°F for 3 to 5 minutes.
Fresh Cranberry Sauce
Traditionally, in Thanksgiving meal prep, the dish you hand off to someone else is the cranberry sauce. That “someone else” can be Trader Joe’s Fresh Cranberry Sauce made with whole cranberries. It goes for $3.99, which might seem like a splurge for a condiment, but it’s 16 ounces and you can use it later for leftover sandwiches.
Creamy Mac & Cheese
Trader Joe’s fall version of Mac & Cheese has (hold on to your chair) no pumpkin spice, but it has enough cheese to earn a designated spot on the Thanksgiving table next to your pumpkin centerpiece. For $4.99, you get a 20-ounce cup of pipette rigate noodles — Italian for “little pipe” — smothered in Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar, Parmesan, and mild cheddar, all fused with heavy cream and butter. It’s as easy as popping the lid, and nobody dead or alive has ever complained about mac and cheese on a dinner table. Except, maybe, the lactose intolerant…
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Trader Joe’s 18-ounce bag of Mashed Sweet Potatoes is a solid time-saver, and at $2.99 you can pair it with pretty much anything. It’s a limited-time seasonal item, so if you want it on the table this year, grab it while it’s around.
Vanilla Bean Whipped Sweet Potatoes
If you want mashed sweet potatoes in a tuxedo, for three dollars more Joe’s Vanilla Whipped Sweet Potatoes are the right choice. A clear seasonal hit at Trader Joe’s this year, the 16-ounce heat-and-eat dish is made with sweet potatoes, heavy cream, sea salt, nutmeg, brown sugar, vanilla bean paste, and bits of vanilla bean seeds. It’s both sweet and savory and works as a stand-out side.
Turkey Gravy
Gravy is one of those sides you underestimate until it suddenly eats up way more time than you planned and causes a last-minute pre-dinner meltdown. That’s why it’s smart to have a shelf-to-table option. Trader Joe’s Gravy is an open-pour-heat situation with herby flavors, and at $1.69, it’s a solid value
Butternut Squash Risotto
Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Risotto works beautifully as a bougie side on the cheap. It’s $4.69 and made with Carnaroli rice cooked to an al dente texture in puréed butternut squash, sautéed with diced butternut, onion, and white wine, then finished with cheese and herbs.
Extra Fine French Green Beans
Trader Joe’s Extra Fine French Green Beans are grown in France, picked at peak freshness, then blanched and flash-frozen to lock in that crisp, garden taste. Each 24-ounce bag runs $2.49 and cooks up in minutes. You can sauté, steam, or roast them.
More Thanksgiving stories:
- Kroger’s Thanksgiving Bundle Is More Expensive Than Walmart’s, But Might Be a Better Deal — See how this Thanksgiving deal stacks up to a few others.
- Subway Adds 3 New Thanksgiving Subs to the Menu, Complete With Stuffing — Stop by the sandwich chain for the holidays to score a Thanksgiving sub.
- Food Lion’s Customizable Thanksgiving Dinner Basket Is Also $40, But Still Doesn’t Beat Aldi — Here’s everything you need to know about the Thanksgiving deal from this East Coast grocery chain.
