26 Easy Veggie Sides in Three Steps or Less
Add a burst of flavor to your meals with these effortless veggie sides that can be made in three steps or less. From crispy roasted veggies to vibrant salads, these delicious sides complement any main course. Recipes like our Garlic-Parmesan Asparagus and our Ginger-&-Miso-Glazed Broccoli are a nutritious, tasty side on any table.
Anthony Anderson’s Sweet Potato Home Fries with Cranberry-Hazelnut Crumble
Photographer: Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Chelesa Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
These home fries are made with sweet potatoes, which are rich in fiber as well as vitamin A, a nutrient which can help support a healthy immune system. Actor Anthony Anderson likes sprinkling a cranberry-hazelnut crumble on top for an easy but delicious upgrade.
Lidia Bastianich's Spicy Crispy Roasted Cauliflower
In her latest cookbook, Lidia Bastianich writes: "I love cauliflower in pasta sauces, salads, and soups, and braised in tomato sauce. But I know that not everyone feels the same way. I've found that making it crispy in the oven, as in this recipe, opens the door for many cauliflower doubters. These bite-sized florets can be finger food for gatherings, served as an appetizer, or as an added vegetable for the table. It was a dish I made for my grandkids when they were younger, a good alternative to a lot of the less healthy fried finger foods often served to young children. They gobbled them up, loving every bite of the crispy florets, which you can serve sprinkled with some lemon juice or dunked in one of your family's favorite sauces. But if all else fails, ketchup with some Calabrese peperoncino is spicy goodness." Adapted from Lidia's From Our Family Table to Yours: More Than 100 Recipes Made with Love for All Occasions © 2023 by Tutti a Tavola, LLC. By permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Arugula & Fennel Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
This salad is a study in simplicity, so use the best-quality ingredients to allow each one to really shine. Break out that special bottle of olive oil and grab a block of nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano from the specialty cheese section for the biggest flavor impact.
Baked-Feta Potatoes with Lemon
Inspired by the viral baked-feta pasta trend, we bake potatoes alongside a block of feta cheese to create a rich, flavorful side dish. Serve with chicken, fish or your favorite protein for a filling meal.
Ginger-&-Miso-Glazed Broccoli
A touch of maple or honey balances the flavor of umami-laden miso while thickening the sauce to coat this stir-fried broccoli.
Garlic-Parmesan Asparagus
In this garlic-Parmesan-crusted asparagus recipe, we combine Parmesan cheese, whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs and walnuts for a crispy topping that's baked over asparagus. Roasting the asparagus spears in a hot oven keeps them tender-crisp in this quick side dish!
Zucchini Parmesan Casserole
This is an excellent veggie side dish for summer, when zucchini are abundant. A topping of crunchy panko breadcrumbs contrasts with the delicate squash, and onion, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper pack this casserole with flavor. Melty Parmesan cheese is in the mix to bring it all together. Affordable and easy to throw together with ingredients you likely already have on hand, this casserole is perfect for almost any indoor or outdoor summer spread.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Onions for Two
Hearty Brussels sprouts pair nicely with salty bacon and onions in this quick Thanksgiving side dish for two. A sweet balsamic glaze makes a nice complement drizzled over the top, but it's not necessary to enjoy this classic combo. For a twist on this recipe, try swapping pancetta for the bacon. If you want to have leftovers, this recipe is easily doubled.
Green Beans with Pine Nuts & Gremolata
A simple combo of fresh parsley, garlic and lemon zest adds bright flavor to green beans for an easy, make-ahead side. Make even quicker work of the gremolata in Step 2 by pulsing the ingredients in a food processor instead of chopping by hand.
Melting Beets with Ricotta
Creamy, herbaceous, earthy, sweet, crisp and melt-in-your-mouth all at once? This simple recipe is firing on all cylinders. Use any color beets if golden aren't available. Either way, the cider vinegar will still make them pop, and the ricotta garnish adds just the right amount of creaminess.
Jalapeño Creamed Corn
Sweet and savory creamed corn gets a creamy kick from Cheddar cheese and jalapeño. We love the added spice sliced jalapeño adds as a garnish, but this is also great without it if you want to tame the heat. Try it alongside grilled steak or chicken or with your Thanksgiving spread.
Date and Balsamic-Glazed Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts are roasted until just tender then simmered with dates in a reduced garlic/balsamic vinegar sauce.
Roasted Cauliflower with Banana Peppers
Don't be tempted to jam all the cauliflower onto one sheet pan in order to make fewer dirty dishes. Spreading it out on two pans ensures that it gets golden brown.
Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetables
A mix of colorful root vegetables may be your star side. Peeled, pre-chopped butternut squash saves time, but pieces tend to be irregular and small—we prefer peeling and cubing it yourself.
Vegan Creamed Spinach
This vegan creamed spinach is as good as the real thing. It's creamy and flavorful with rich umami from the mushroom powder and nutritional yeast.
Apple, Fig & Brussels Sprouts Salad
Salad dressing made from sweet and mellow white balsamic vinegar balances out the assertive greens and Brussels sprouts in this healthy winter salad. If you have one handy, a small mandoline makes it easy to slice the Brussels and apple. To make it a dinner salad, top with shrimp or chicken.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Goat Cheese & Pomegranate
This gorgeous warm salad with nutty roasted Brussels sprouts, sweet-tart pomegranate seeds and creamy goat cheese is perfect for any winter meal—from a weeknight dinner to Christmas dinner or any other holiday celebration. The recipe is easily doubled if you are entertaining a crowd: just be sure to spread the sprouts out (use 2 pans if necessary) so they roast instead of steaming.
Pan-Roasted Carrots
This recipe gives you a faster route to "roasted," lightly caramelized carrots. Instead of cooking in the oven (and waiting for it to preheat), here you cook the carrots on the stovetop in a cast-iron skillet. The key is to keep the carrots still; you'll cook them for 5 minutes without stirring, then stir and cook undisturbed for another 5 minutes. The results are beautifully browned, crisp-tender carrots that take about a third of the time as oven-roasted. A hint of hoisin and maple syrup enhances the sweetness of the carrots without rendering them cloying.
Sautéed Peppers & Onions
This simple technique of cooking onions and peppers is a useful way to get your veggie servings in. They're quite versatile—use these peppers and onions on a burger or sausage sandwich, stuff them into quesadillas or layer them into casseroles.
Sautéed Cabbage
This easy side dish takes only 20 minutes from start to finish. You can enjoy sautéed cabbage simply cooked with butter and onion or jazz it up with one of the variations (see below). Enjoy all the versions of this quick side dish with roasted pork or chicken.
Broccoli with Balsamic Mushrooms
Just a touch of butter adds silkiness to the balsamic sauce that coats broccoli and meaty mushrooms in this easy broccoli side dish recipe.
Cauliflower Risotto
Cauliflower rice stands in for arborio in this recipe that's not only lower in carbs than traditional risotto, but also way faster and easier to make! In just 20 minutes you'll have a flavorful and healthy vegetable side to go with dinner.
Melting Beets with Goat Cheese
Roasting the beets with broth makes them crispy on the outside, yet tender on the inside. Crumbled goat cheese tops these melt-in-your-mouth beets for an easy side dish.
Broccoli and Cauliflower Sauté
Mix up these nutrient-packed cruciferous vegetables for a flavorful and healthy side dish.
Creamed Asparagus and Mushrooms
This vegetable side dish combines mushrooms with crisp-tender asparagus. The cooked vegetables are topped with a creamy sauce made from sherry and reduced-fat cream cheese and further flavored with Parmesan and fresh thyme.
Garlicky Wilted Greens
Both kale and Swiss chard can be strong tasting but we've balanced out the flavor in this side dish by cooking them with garlic and tossing them in a vinegar, Dijon mustard and basil mixture.
Read the original article on Eating Well.
