If you're hosting Thanksgiving this year, then you may have already started planning the festive dinner. And if, during the planning process, you got stuck trying to figure out how many sides you should offer based on your guest count, then don't worry — Daily Meal spoke to an expert to find out the 411. That expert is Chef Ian Coogan, the Culinary Director at Motel Morris in New York City.
Let's say that your dinner table will have eight people, how many sides should you prepare? Coogan says, "For Thanksgiving, where part of the celebration is the bounty, I like to have at least four sides — such as stuffing, mashed sweet potatoes , Brussels sprouts , and sautéed greens." It's also worth noting that Coogan doesn't count things like gravy and cranberry sauce as sides but rather as sauces, so you may want to do the same when figuring out your four sides. With this in mind, if you're hosting a bigger crowd — say 12 to 16 people — then you may want to increase the amount of sides to six or eight options.
Additionally, even if you have a smaller guest count, you can still include more than four sides if there are multiple dishes that you want to showcase — just keep in mind that you will likely have plenty of leftovers. How to shop for the right amount of sides Coogan advises, "When shopping for these items, I typically calculate about half a large potato per person and a generous handful of each raw vegetable per person. It's always a good idea to throw in a little e.