Healthy Mexican Side Dish Recipes

This gorgeous and colorful 8-layer taco salad recipe is made healthier by using ground turkey in place of beef, adding Greek yogurt and bumping up the amount of vegetables. Serve this salad in a clear glass bowl and you'll have an eye-catching party-worthy dinner or potluck side in just 30 minutes.

In this homemade taco bowl recipe, we show you how to make a taco bowl with a corn tortilla using the underside of a muffin tin as a mold and then baking it to create cute little taco serving bowls.

Protein-rich quinoa makes a satisfying layer in this easy Mexican casserole recipe. If you want to make this dish vegetarian, beans are a nice swap for the chicken. Serve with a green salad tossed with an oregano vinaigrette.

Eating shishito or Padrón peppers can be a bit of a gamble. Most of them are quite mild, but every once in a while--BAM!--you get a hot one. If you're not up for that game, you can just go for all baby bells in this healthy side dish recipe. Find shishitos, Padróns and baby bells at large supermarkets, specialty stores and farmers' markets.

This simple, fresh-tasting salad adds delicious variety to grilled foods, such as salmon, halibut, chicken or pork. Browning the corn in a skillet gives it a nutty, caramelized flavor that contrasts with the sweetness of the mango.

Chopped pickled tomatillos make a delicious garnish for tacos and quesadillas.

Freshly harvested corn, charred green chiles and roasted tomatoes make this corn salad recipe a must-make for any summer potluck. Serve with grilled steak or chicken, as a taco topping or with tortilla chips as a dip.

Whip up this simple, tasty omelet on those nights when it seems the refrigerator is bare. Frozen hash browns are perfect for such occasions--just look for a brand with little or no fat. And while the cheese adds some fat, it also provides almost a third of your daily calcium needs.

Refried beans are great to have on hand. Spread them on a tortilla, add cheese and you've got a quesadilla. Top whole-grain toast with refrieds and a little salsa and you've got a great savory breakfast. This easy version has all the great flavor of traditional refried beans without the added fat.

This chunky Mexican side dish recipe for rajas, which literally means “strips” in Spanish, is a perfect side to grilled steak or chicken. It's also fantastic as a taco topper or stirred into scrambled eggs.

This authentic Mexican black bean recipe uses avocado leaves to add a flavor reminiscent of anise. If you don't have a Latin market in your area you'll likely have to go online, though it's worth it. But even if you leave them out, you'll still have an awesome pot of healthy black beans.

Chiles and cheese turn mild summer squash into a zesty, satisfying casserole. The jalapenos make this dish quite hot; if you prefer a milder version, use a second can of diced green chiles instead.

An easy, tasty way to jazz up canned refried and pinto beans for the perfect side to accompany any Tex-Mex meal. Opt for fat-free refried beans and no-salt-added pinto beans to keep this dish as healthy as possible.

Everyone gets an individual portion with this vegetarian, Tex-Mex mini casserole. A normal-size casserole like this would take close to an hour to bake--these are ready in half the time. Heatproof ramekins are a cook's best friend--we use them all the time to hold ingredients while cooking. You can buy them at most grocery stores.

Enjoy this crunchy, refreshing alternative to mayonnaise-based coleslaw on a taco or on the side.

Grated jicama, carrots and Granny Smith apples tossed with a tangy cider vinaigrette is a tasty side dish for summer barbecues. Make it a meal: Serve alongside Sweet-&-Sour Chicken Drumsticks.

Serve topped with salsa. Accompany with warmed flour tortillas and a grated carrot salad.

Cumin, garlic, lime and a jalapeño pepper spice up this roasted butternut squash recipe. If you like the consistent look of squash rounds, look for a long-necked butternut or use just the necks from a couple, reserving the bulbous bottoms for another use, such as for healthy muffins or soup.

This quick broccoli side dish recipe gets heat from your choice of pepper. If you prefer things on the mild side, use a mini red bell pepper instead of the chile pepper. Serve alongside roasted chicken or salmon or toss with pearled barley for a healthy grain salad.

In this easy quinoa recipe, tomatillos work double-duty: some are pureed to flavor the cooking liquid, others are chopped and stirred in raw for color and texture. Serve with grilled chicken, steak or fish, and a dollop of sour cream.