12 Old-School Sides That Got Modern Twists From Celebrity Chefs

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Old-school side dishes have long been classics. We're talking about the kinds of sides your grandparents might have served you, like collard greens, stuffing, and baked beans. But these 12 old-school sides have been given updated twists from celebrity chefs, and we're totally here for it. You're about to see them in a whole new light.

In their original forms, some of these dishes have fallen out of favor. Others are still going strong, but can get a bit boring after the hundredth time you've served them with your favorite mains. So, what can you do about it? Famous chefs — and chefs in general — tend to be more creative when making changes to dishes than a lot of home cooks are. The average person may be worried about changing a recipe and getting it "wrong." But here's a secret: there's often no absolute right and wrong in cooking. You can play around, experiment, and see what you like.

We're taking inspiration from celebrity chefs who gave these classic sides a modern twist and a whole new lease on life. From the tamarind sweet potatoes that might stand in for sweet potato casserole or mashed sweet potatoes to an Italian take on classic baked beans, there are all kinds of ways to switch things up. And once you've learned some potential additions and techniques, you can make changes of your own.

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Collard greens are an old-school side dish in the American South. They're often served with barbecue or ham, and perhaps other sides like black-eyed peas, potato salad, or mac and cheese. And they're delicious in their simplicity, but there are ways to give them a modern twist.

We've taken inspiration from Food Network star Sunny Anderson who has a recipe for sweet and sour collard greens. The addition of balsamic vinegar adds sweet and sour notes simultaneously. Anderson also adds sun-dried tomatoes to the dish, which gives it an Italian bent. The balsamic vinegar helps to lift and brighten the greens, combating their slightly bitter flavor. The sun-dried tomatoes bring umami notes, making the overall flavor deeper and richer. You could add these ingredients to any classic collard greens recipe, whether a family favorite or one found online.

If you don't want to use balsamic, apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar and some sugar will also give your greens a sweet and sour flair. And, when you're done, you can add any leftover collard greens to pasta to create a whole new dish. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

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Most of us have struggled our way through a helping of plain boiled Brussels sprouts. It's an old-school side dish — and one that has given Brussels sprouts a bad name. Many people hate these little greens, but they can be incredibly delicious if you make them right.

Nigella Lawson has given the humble sprout a much-needed update that we're crazy about. She put together a recipe for Brussels sprouts with preserved lemons and pomegranate, which is a tasty upgrade if ever we saw one. As the name of the recipe suggests, preserved lemons play a role here, along with other aromatic ingredients like garlic and cinnamon. The whole dish is finished with pomegranate seeds, leaving you with a Middle Eastern twist on what is often a pretty basic recipe.

But that's not the only way you can make sprouts more interesting. Our roasted Brussels sprouts salad recipe contains sweet potato, almonds, feta, and more. It's another great alternative to a basic plate of boiled Brussels. Even just roasting them makes all the difference, bringing out their sweetest, most delicious flavors.

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You might remember Nadiya Hussain from "The Great British Bake Off," but you should also pay attention to her take on cucumber salad. A traditional cucumber salad has its roots in Germany and surrounding nations. It can have a simple sugar and vinegar dressing or a sour cream dressing. Either way, it usually contains dill. There's nothing wrong with this vintage side dish, but it can get boring if you have it a lot.

Hussain's alternative is a Thai cucumber salad, putting an Asian spin on this recipe. It has a dressing of lime juice and brown sugar, which has similar sweet and sour notes to those you'd find in the European version of this salad, but slightly different. It also features crushed peanuts to finish it off, leaning further into those Thai flavors.

We also have an Asian cucumber salad recipe, which is fresh and zesty with lots of great flavor from fresh mint and cilantro. It can fill the same space on a dinner table as an old-school cucumber salad, but it draws from other food traditions.

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Deviled eggs are about as old-school as it gets. It's the kind of dish your great aunt might have made for a special occasion. Traditionally, they're made by mixing the yolks with mayonnaise, mustard, a touch of vinegar, and a sprinkle of paprika on top for color. They're a classic for a reason, but after a while, it's easy for deviled eggs to start feeling a little boring.

That's where Alton Brown comes in with his five-pepper deviled eggs, giving this classic side a kick. Brown's version adds complexity by incorporating five different peppers: black, white, pink, and green pepper, plus brined green peppercorns, alongside the usual creamy yolk base. Each pepper brings its own subtle notes, from the citrusy sweetness of pink peppercorns to the slightly spicy bite of black pepper.

Brown's recipe is a reminder that there's no single right way to make deviled eggs. Play around with pepper varieties you love, or add extra spice for more kick. And there are other ways to play around with deviled eggs to take them away from the traditional. For instance, you might want to look at our vegan alternatives to deviled eggs, ranging from tofu to mushrooms to lentils, all mimicking the real thing.

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There was a time when sweet potatoes seemed exciting. But now, as far as side dishes go, they can feel a little uninspiring. Sweet potato casserole is one of those vintage sides that used to make its way to dinner tables regularly, but is now basically only ever whipped out for Thanksgiving. Then you have its plainer alternative: mashed sweet potato. It's nice enough, but it can feel somewhat plain and old-fashioned these days.

"Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi serves her sweet potatoes with a tamarind glaze, giving them a delicious sweet and sour twist with a hint of fruitiness. It's a delicious way to update a sweet potato side, whether you're looking to spruce up your Thanksgiving menu or you just want something new to try for dinner.

You can take a classic sweet potato casserole recipe and transform it from there. Rather than the traditional marshmallow or candied pecan topping, throw together a tamarind glaze to top off your sweet spuds. You might even choose to keep the pecans or try another nut, glazing them with a tamarind mixture. If you want to make the dish more low key, you could also simply stir sweetened tamarind paste through mashed sweet potatoes or drizzle it over roasted chunks.

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Green bean casserole is another old-school side dish that's associated with Thanksgiving. It's the kind of thing many people eat because it's traditional, rather than because they love it. Made with cream of mushroom soup and packaged crispy onions, it doesn't feel particularly fresh or exciting when you're used to making your meals from scratch. It can be a little cloying and lacking in flavor, but you might be wondering what the alternative is.

Well, Damaris Phillips has well and truly updated it with her sheet pan green bean casserole recipe. It's a modern take on the classic, pairing roasted green beans and shiitake mushrooms with a goat cheese sauce, and finishing them with those classic crispy onions. It has all the components you expect from a green bean casserole — beans, mushroom, a creamy sauce, and crispy onions — but presented in an elevated way, with no claggy canned soup in the mix.

But there are all kinds of alternatives to a classic casserole. We have a recipe for green bean casserole pastry bites. It takes all the usual ingredients that go in the traditional recipe, and pops it on top of some puff pastry, making it instantly more upscale.

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Red cabbage, usually boiled or braised, is the type of old-fashioned side dish you'd expect to be served by your grandparents. It's particularly popular around Christmas in some parts of the world, but it's good at any time of year. The trouble is, it's often been boiled until it's tasteless or braised for so long that it doesn't feel like the time it takes is worth the payoff.

But Yotam Ottolenghi has a new take on this old-school classic that will make you reconsider it. His sweet and sour red cabbage recipe actually has a fairly short list of ingredients for a chef who is famous for complex dishes. It uses a combination of dark brown sugar and pomegranate molasses to give it sweet and tart notes that stand out from your usual red cabbage dishes. Cinnamon, pears, and cashew nuts bring even more flavor. It's festive, but with a Middle Eastern slant. You can take your usual favorite red cabbage recipe and adjust the seasonings to make something similar.

But there are also quicker, fresher ways to serve red cabbage as a side dish. We adore this cabbage salad recipe that uses a mix of red and napa cabbage. However, you could replace the napa with more red cabbage, if you prefer.

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Potato gratin might be a dish with vintage origins, but it's still popular today. Creamy and comforting, it's the kind of side that often overshadows the main dish. It might be delicious the way it is, but sometimes you want a change. Maybe it feels a bit heavy for everyday or you just want to experiment with some other versions.

Gordon Ramsay's recipe for potato and butternut squash gratin is a standout. You can follow a classic potatoes au gratin recipe, but replace half of the potatoes with butternut squash. It cooks at around the same rate as potatoes, so slice it to a similar thickness and the rest will take care of itself. Or, if you're not into squash, you could replace half the white potatoes in the recipe with sweet potatoes. Either way, you'll get an added sweetness and complexity in the finished dish.

If you want to experiment with more changes to level up your gratin, try using other cheeses, such as blue cheese or Camembert in place of the classic Gruyère. You could also opt for different herbs or use small amounts of spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, or smoked paprika.

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Baked beans are a classic side for a potluck or cookout that haven't totally fallen out of favor but are less popular than they once were. Some molasses-heavy recipes can be a little on the sweet side, but even if you're a fan, you might get tired of the same old dish being served up again and again.

But Giada De Laurentiis, inspired by her culinary heritage, came up with an Italian-style baked beans recipe. Rather than going for the classic sweet and smoky flavor profile, she took things down an Italian road by using plenty of garlic and balsamic vinegar to add tang, Mediterranean style. Dark beer in the recipe also adds a depth and complexity that basic baked beans can lack. And the choice of beans also gives the dish an Italian twist, as De Laurentiis uses cannellini beans rather than the traditional navy variety.

If you want to use this kind of spin in your own cooking, you could start with a regular BBQ baked beans recipe and go from there. Swap out the usual beans for something more Italian, like cannellini or borlotti. You can also pllay with the seasonings to give them an Italian feel, using plenty of garlic or herbs like basil and oregano.

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While it might be most popular around the holidays, stuffing is a popular side — and one that people tend to love. But it may date back to Roman times in some form, and it has been fairly similar to what it is today since the 1800s, so isn't it time for a bit of an update? Luckily Martha Stewart is on the case.

Stewart might be known as a classic cook, rather than a highly innovative one, but her brioche stuffing recipe is just different enough from the original, while still staying true to the form. It's much the same as any other stuffing recipe, but using brioche in place of the regular bread. This makes it sweeter and richer, but not unrecognizable, so it still goes well with all your Thanksgiving faves. You can easily update your own favorite stuffing recipe by using brioche in place of regular bread. Challah is another option, if you prefer it or find it easier to source.

There are plenty more ways to upgrade homemade stuffing, as well. Drizzling over brown butter, using more fresh herbs, livening it up with beer, or adding chestnuts are among your options. It's a brilliantly customizable dish.

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If you've ever been served a hearty spoonful of mashed turnips with your main course, you'll know that this side dish is in desperate need of an upgrade. On their own, mashed turnips don't always taste great. They can be on the bland and watery side if they're boiled too long. And while turnips have a natural pepperiness, this isn't always prevalent or they can taste too bitter if the dish isn't well-balanced.

For a modern twist on this classic vegetable side, look no further than David Chang who has a version calling for turnips with bacon and pickled mustard seeds. The pickled mustard seeds add the kind of peppery kick that you want from a flavorful turnip dish. Bacon helps round it out, with salty, savory notes. But, if you want to make the recipe vegetarian, you can try veggie bacon or small chunks of smoked tofu in its place.

If you want to go all out and look at this vegetable in a new light, you could also try making turnip cakes, a popular Lunar New Year food. You might have had them at a dim sum place, but they're worth making at home, even if it's a little time consuming. Turnip cakes make the vegetable way more exciting and delicious than usual.

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There are so many ways to enjoy grits, but cheese grits are an old-school classic, particularly in the American South. These ground dried corn kernels are cooked with cheese to make a creamy, flavorful, and surprisingly versatile side. It's traditional for a reason, but there's always room to try different things.

Bobby Flay has found a new twist, combining two Southern classics into one dish: cheese grits and pimento cheese. As well as adding cheddar to these grits, cream cheese and pimentos go in, giving it a familiar but slightly new flavor. You can use your favorite recipe — such as this easy cheese grits casserole — just adding those couple of extra ingredients to give it a pimento cheese twist. Or, if you're not into pimento cheese, you could upgrade your grits by using other cheeses — a rich pecorino or a pungent blue cheese, for instance.

You might also be interested in Paula Deen's secret method for perfect grits. She uses quick grits but cooks them slowly to give the finished dish the perfect level of creaminess. It's a simple switch, but one that can make all the difference.