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DAN ROBERTS FOR TASTE OF HOME
Mashed Potatoes
The potatoes are the star of everyone’s favorite Thanksgiving side dish, and they’re wonderfully affordable: about $1 worth of russets for a full batch. Everything else—milk, butter, salt and pepper—comes straight from the fridge or pantry. Altogether, a standard recipe costs around $2.50 for a six-serving batch. Double the recipe for 12 people, and you’ll be at about $5.
Recipe: Mashed Potatoes
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Ellie Crowley For Taste Of Home
Glazed Sweet Potatoes
A 3-pound bag of sweet potatoes generally runs a little over $3. This recipe uses 2 pounds, so the sweet potatoes themselves are just over $2. Even with the added butter, maple syrup, brown sugar and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon, this gloriously sticky-sweet side dish costs about $3.50 for a five-person serving.
Recipe: Glazed Sweet Potatoes
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Taste of Home
Roasted Carrots with Thyme and Honey
Carrots have remained one of the most consistent bargains in the produce aisle—usually $1 to $1.50 per pound—and they carry this dish. The thyme, oil, honey and salt are tiny amounts pulled from staples you likely already have in the pantry, keeping this side around $2 to $2.50 for a four-person serving. When doubled for eight people, this dish will still be around $5 or less.
Recipe: Roasted Carrots with Thyme
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MARK DERSE FOR TASTE OF HOME
Seasoned Green Beans
Fresh green beans usually cost around $2 per pound, and that’s your biggest cost for this recipe. The butter and seasonings only add a small fraction to the overall cost, which means the whole dish will cost about $2.50 to $3 for a small family-sized batch.
Recipe: Seasoned Green Beans
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TASTE OF HOME
Classic Cranberry Sauce
Cranberries themselves are surprisingly affordable—usually $2 to $3 per bag in November—and they make up almost the entire cost of a standard cranberry sauce recipe. The sugar and the liquid (water or a splash of orange juice) are probably already in your kitchen, keeping this bright, tart sauce around $2.50 to $3.50 for a 12-person serving.
Recipe: Homemade Cranberry Sauce
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Eric Kleinberg For Taste Of Home
Brown Sugar-Baked Butternut Squash
A small butternut squash (about 2 pounds) typically costs $2.50 to $3, and that makes up nearly the full cost of this dish. Staples like a pat of butter, a little brown sugar and a few warming spices finish the recipe, bringing the six-serving batch to about $4 or less.
Recipe: Baked Butternut Squash
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Taste of Home
Honey-Garlic Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts remain one of the best-value vegetables on the holiday table, usually around $2 to $2.50 per pound. Tossing the sprouts in ingredients like honey, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic salt adds pennies to the final total. Altogether, a six-serving sheet pan recipe lands right around the $5 mark.
Recipe: Honey-Garlic Brussels Sprouts
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TASTE OF HOME
Baked Corn Casserole
Two cans of corn—one whole kernel, one cream-style—account for about $2 to $2.50, making them the main driver of the cost of this dish. The other ingredients (milk, eggs, butter, sugar, flour and seasonings) are common staples, so the total for this sweet dish comes to $4.50 or less for 10 people.
Recipe: Baked Corn
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DAN ROBERTS FOR TASTE OF HOME
Dinner Rolls
Flour is the hero of this recipe, and even a generous amount costs only a few cents when portioned from a larger bag. Milk, eggs and butter round things out using ingredients most cooks always have on hand. And because these rolls are homemade—not pulled from the freezer section—you get something that feels genuinely special without spending any extra. A two-dozen batch of warm dinner rolls typically lands around $3 to $4 total.
Recipe: Dinner Rolls
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Taste of Home
Fall Salad
In a recipe like this, the greens make up most of the cost; using a 5-ounce bag comes out to about $3 for the base. Pecans, Parmesan and a pear add a bit more, but since the dressing uses pantry staples, the full salad still comes in around $4 to $5 for six people.
Recipe: Taste-of-Fall Salad
Dining and Cooking