Side Dish Recipes

Hot black bean, avocado, and corn salad with chile, fresh lime, and cilantro. Bright Tex-Mex no-cook salad that works as a main or side. Vegan, fiber-packed, and ready when canned beans are.

Pumpkin and avocado oil soup blends pumpkin, fennel and potato into a silky pureed soup, with buttery avocado oil standing in for butter. A light, velvety vegan starter finished with a drizzle of oil.

Pureed broccoli and potato soup with caramelized aromatics and thyme. Velvet-smooth texture without a drop of cream or butter.

Baked chickpeas slow-cook in an earthenware pot with sweet sauteed onions, fresh chile, garlic, and oregano in their own velvety cooking liquid. Greek-style vegan main or side that gets better the longer it bakes.

Brussels sprout and carrot salad marinated in lemon vinaigrette for hours, served chilled. Diabetic-friendly, vegan, high-fiber side dish that gets better as it sits.

Kasha stuffed tomatoes filled with toasted buckwheat groats, mushrooms, celery, pine nuts, and fresh herbs. A hearty Eastern European-inspired vegetarian side, perfect for late summer harvest meals.

Spicy black bean soup built on sautéed onion, garlic, and jalapeño with cumin and chili powder. A 35-minute one-pot vegetarian weeknight dinner, finished with lime and cilantro for a bright Tex-Mex kick.

Israeli salad with diced cucumber, tomatoes, radishes, green pepper, carrots, and lettuce in a fresh lemon juice dressing. A crisp, vegetarian chopped salad ready in 10 minutes.

Sauteed spinach with garlic and a little fresh tomato, cooked down in olive oil into a quick, savory side dish. A simple, healthy way to turn a pound of greens into a flavor-packed plate in minutes.

Steamed zucchini and yellow squash rounds with garlic, oregano, and extra-virgin olive oil. A fast, diabetic-friendly side dish with only 29 calories per serving.

Cumin and garlic pinto beans simmered low and slow with onion, a single slice of bacon, and whole cumin seeds. The classic Tex-Mex side, sturdier and tastier than canned. Quick-soak method skips the overnight wait.

Sautéed broccoli with lemon and anchovies quickly blanches broccoli, then tosses it with garlic, melted anchovies, cayenne, and fresh lemon juice. A salty, briny Southern Italian side in 15 minutes.

Red beans and greens salad tosses kidney beans with chopped escarole, red onion, and chunky salsa. Five minutes, five ingredients, zero cooking.

Red-skinned potatoes tossed in a bright parsley-cucumber sauce with dill, lemon, and scallions. A fresh, dairy-free Jewish side dish topped with poppy seeds.

Baked acorn squash halves stuffed with crushed pineapple and cinnamon. A diabetic-friendly side dish steamed in a water bath until fork-tender and naturally sweet.

Thai coconut rice made with jasmine rice simmered in coconut milk and coconut cream with a touch of sugar and salt. Fragrant, slightly sweet, and rich, the classic side dish for Thai curries.