14 sides someone’s mother shows up with every year in the same covered dish

A covered dish comes through the door and half the room already knows what is inside. These 14 are those sides, the ones that have been made and carried to enough tables that people know them before they are uncovered, from jiffy corn casserole to honey butter skillet cornbread to cheddar and chive mashed potatoes.

Creamy Broccoli With Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Sun-dried tomatoes bring a concentrated punch against the mild broccoli here, both cooked together in one skillet with Italian seasoning, paprika, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Chicken stock keeps things moving as the broccoli softens, and grated Parmesan pulls the whole skillet together. From start to finish the recipe takes 25 minutes and serves 4.

Get the recipe: Creamy Broccoli With Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Bang Bang Cauliflower

Frank’s RedHot Sweet Chili Sauce, hot sauce, lime juice, and garlic powder make the coating that goes over the cauliflower florets before they go into a 500-degree oven. The florets roast and brown, then come out topped with grated Parmesan, fresh parsley, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Total time is about 30 minutes, with prep running 10, and the recipe makes 4 servings.

Get the recipe: Bang Bang Cauliflower

Buttery Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Simmering a whole head of cauliflower in chicken stock before roasting is what gives it the tender interior and the crisp exterior at the same time. It goes into the oven with butter, Parmesan, thyme, salt, and pepper, and a few minutes under the broiler gives the outside its color. Prep is just 5 minutes, and the full recipe is done in 30 and serves 4.

Get the recipe: Buttery Whole Roasted Cauliflower

German Potato Salad

The backbone of this salad is a warm dressing made in the same skillet as the bacon, with apple cider vinegar, water, white sugar, and Dijon or stone mustard cooked alongside sauteed yellow onion before going over the still-warm boiled Yukon Gold potatoes. Fresh parsley and chives finish it, and the crispy bacon pieces get scattered over the top. It serves 6 and takes about 55 minutes total.

Get the recipe: German Potato Salad

Cheddar and Chive Mashed Potatoes

Russet potatoes are boiled and mashed with unsalted butter, whole milk, and shredded sharp cheddar before fresh chives go in at the end. The combination has been showing up on Sunday tables for decades because it works, and the sharp cheddar gives the mash a flavor that plain butter-and-cream versions just don’t have. The whole thing comes together in 30 minutes and feeds eight.

Get the recipe: Cheddar and Chive Mashed Potatoes

Creamy Mushrooms and Bacon Skillet

This is one of those skillet sides where the fat left behind by browning the bacon does half the work, coating the white mushrooms before butter, heavy whipping cream, and chicken stock go in. Italian seasoning, thyme, garlic powder, and onion powder season the sauce, and grated Parmesan and fresh parsley round it out. Four servings, 30 minutes, one pan.

Get the recipe: Creamy Mushrooms and Bacon Skillet

Italian Orzo Pasta Salad

Orzo gets boiled and then tossed with a dressing of red wine vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, and honey, which keeps the pasta from tasting flat against all the vegetables and cheese. Cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red bell pepper, red onion, Kalamata olives, fresh basil, and crumbled feta round out the bowl. The recipe makes six servings and takes an hour from start to finish.

Get the recipe: Italian Orzo Pasta Salad

Parmesan Crusted Potatoes

Large russet potatoes go into the oven coated with grated Parmesan, panko bread crumbs, garlic powder, dried thyme, and dried oregano, then bake until browned. The combination of cheese and seasoned crumbs produces a crust that holds its shape right against the potato, with the herbs and garlic coming through in the flavor. Six servings come out of the oven in 50 minutes, with 35 of those spent baking.

Get the recipe: Parmesan Crusted Potatoes

Lemon Garlic Spinach

A large amount of fresh spinach wilts down in avocado oil with garlic, then gets finished with a teaspoon of lemon juice and red pepper flakes before serving. The cook time is three minutes, so the spinach stays bright rather than turning dull and soft. Four servings are on the table in 10 minutes, start to finish, with five of those minutes going toward prep.

Get the recipe: Lemon Garlic Spinach

Jiffy Corn Casserole

Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix, eggs, sour cream, butter, kernel corn, creamed corn, and freshly-cracked pepper get stirred into a batter and baked in a casserole dish for 50 minutes. The creamed corn brings softness to the interior while the whole kernel corn gives the casserole some texture throughout. Ten minutes of prep and it comes out of the oven in nine portions.

Get the recipe: Jiffy Corn Casserole

Fresh Green Bean Casserole

The classic casserole gets rebuilt from scratch here, with fresh green beans and a sauce made entirely in one skillet from unsalted butter, shallots, garlic, flour, chicken broth, heavy cream, and whole milk. Oregano, black pepper, and garlic powder season the filling before it goes into the oven, and panko bread crumbs form the golden topping. No canned soup appears anywhere in the recipe. The whole thing serves six and takes 55 minutes from start to finish.

Get the recipe: Fresh Green Bean Casserole

Roasted Maple Parmesan Carrots

Roasted carrots glazed in maple-flavored syrup and finished with grated Parmesan, cinnamon, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley is the kind of combination that sounds unlikely until it comes out of the oven. The syrup caramelizes against the Parmesan as the carrots roast, which accounts for why this side keeps showing up on the recipe-request list. Ready in 35 minutes for a table of six, it requires very little from the cook.

Get the recipe: Roasted Maple Parmesan Carrots

Baked Sliced Zucchini

Zucchini rounds get coated in Parmesan, olive oil, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder, then baked and finished under the broiler to crisp the edges. The whole process takes 20 minutes for four servings, which makes it one of the faster sides during summer when the harvest runs ahead of the menu. Tender inside and golden at the edges, the rounds have a reputation for converting people who usually leave the zucchini on their plate.

Get the recipe: Baked Sliced Zucchini

Honey Butter Skillet Cornbread

Made in a skillet from yellow cornmeal, all-purpose flour, buttermilk, honey, eggs, and butter, this cornbread gets browned on the stovetop before going into the oven to finish baking. Both granulated sugar and honey go into the batter, giving it a sweetness that distinguishes it from a plain skillet bread. It serves eight, takes 35 minutes, and asks nothing more complicated than one skillet and a hot oven.

Get the recipe: Honey Butter Skillet Cornbread