Healthy Summer Side Dish Recipes

Find healthy, delicious summer side dish recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

Japanese Cucumber Salad

Rating: Unrated
20
This Japanese-inspired cool, crisp salad is as elegant and well balanced as it is simple.
By Jessie Price

Massaged Kale Salad

Rating: Unrated
19
Here a pungent garlicky dressing is infused into kale by massaging the greens and the dressing together with your hands. Any type of kale will work in this kale salad recipe, just remember to remove the tough stems before you start.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Zucchini & Mushroom Saute

Rating: Unrated
3
Serve this simple side dish with grilled turkey burgers. Other fresh herbs, like thyme or oregano, work well too.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Easy Brown Rice

Rating: Unrated
4
Here's the only recipe you need to make perfect brown rice every time! This healthy whole grain is great on its own as a side dish, or use it in your favorite recipes calling for cooked brown rice.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chilaquiles Casserole

Rating: Unrated
172
Our version of this enchilada-style chilaquiles casserole is packed with nutritious beans and vegetables. Canned prepared enchilada sauce has great flavor and keeps the prep time quick. It can vary in heat level so find one that suits your taste. If you want to eliminate the heat altogether, try a green enchilada sauce (which is often milder than red) or substitute two 8-ounce cans of plain tomato sauce.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Quick Cucumber Kimchi

Rating: Unrated
11
While slowly fermented cabbage and pungent garlic are the ingredients most people associate with kimchi, there are dozens and dozens of other versions of Korea's national dish, featuring all manner of vegetables, such as these quickly pickled cucumbers with just a trace of garlic.
By Jamie Purviance

Broccoli with Balsamic Mushrooms

Rating: Unrated
1
Just a touch of butter adds silkiness to the balsamic sauce that coats broccoli and meaty mushrooms in this easy broccoli side dish recipe.
By Stacy Fraser

Sautéed Butternut Squash

Sautéeing butternut squash in olive oil quickly yields perfectly cooked results and slighly caramelizes the squash for extra flavor. This recipe makes a delicious vegetable side dish to pair with roasted meats.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Warm Pear & Spinach Salad with Maple-Bacon Vinaigrette

Rating: Unrated
2
Mature, larger-leaved spinach holds up better to the warm bacon vinaigrette than baby spinach in this healthy spinach salad recipe. If you don't want the spinach to wilt, let the dressing cool before tossing it with the salad.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Zucchini Gratin

Rating: Unrated
5
This delicious zucchini gratin recipe has a delectable crispy Parmesan and breadcrumb topping and is made without any butter or cream, allowing the fresh zucchini flavor to shine. Slice the zucchini uniformly to ensure even cooking.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Easy Steamed Zucchini

This foolproof way to cook zucchini is also the easiest and fastest. Just steam it on the stovetop for a few minutes and you have a healthy vegetable side dish to add to dinner. Toss with a little pesto for extra flavor.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Spinach & Warm Mushroom Salad

Rating: Unrated
2
In this hearty mushroom and spinach salad recipe, sturdier “mature” spinach leaves hold up better than baby spinach when tossed with the warm mushroom-and-bacon vinaigrette.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Inspiration and Ideas

Best Side Dishes to Bring to Your Next Summer BBQ

Best Side Dishes to Bring to Your Next Summer BBQ

Want to steal the show at your next summer cookout? Make one of EatingWell's quick and easy side dishes, including recipes for coleslaw, colorful fruit salad and sweet and spicy baked beans.
Steamed Fresh Green Beans

Steamed Fresh Green Beans

Steaming (but not for too long!) is a foolproof way to get perfect, crisp-tender green beans, every time. This easy recipe is a great starting point for other flavors or preparations, like adding cooked green beans to a salad.
Chickpea & Potato Hash

Chickpea & Potato Hash

Rating: Unrated
8
Microwaved Fresh Green Beans

Microwaved Fresh Green Beans

Fresh Fruit Salad

Fresh Fruit Salad

Rating: Unrated
2
Orange & Avocado Salad

Orange & Avocado Salad

Rating: Unrated
8

Winter Salad with Toasted Walnuts

This salad was one of the favorites chosen from over 1,000 salad recipes for our 30th anniversary issue. In 2004, Deborah Madison waxed poetic about winter ingredients, particularly nuts. “In the chill air of winter, nuts move up to center stage as do their warming, substantial, golden oils--so good with winter salad greens and vegetables, such as shaved fennel, all of which are likely to end up in a salad together,” she says. Madison suggested using a mix of lettuces that balance each other here--a mild, tender variety, such as Boston, with a more intense and sturdy green, such as escarole, for instance.

All Healthy Summer Side Dish Recipes

Hasselback Tex-Mex Avocados

Rating: Unrated
2
Transform an avocado into a showstopping dish that tastes even better than it looks. Just cut slits in an avocado half using the hasselback technique, then add tomato, cheese and a flavorful dressing for a healthy Mexican-inspired side.
By Carolyn Casner

Cucumber-Yogurt Salad

Rating: Unrated
2
A refreshing accompaniment to a main course of meat or fish, this cucumber-yogurt salad also makes a tasty filling for pita bread. If the cucumbers are grated instead of chopped, this mixture can be served as a dip.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Baked Rice with Roasted Corn, Peppers & Onions

This filling rice casserole, loosely based on paella, features seared corn, roasted peppers, garlic and red onions. If you like, include diced zucchini or chopped green beans as well. A flavorful roasted garlic mayonnaise makes a luxurious topping.
By Deborah Madison

Greens with Parmesan Vinaigrette

Rating: Unrated
5
Make a simple vinaigrette more interesting with freshly grated Parmesan.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Garlic-Parmesan Hasselback Zucchini

Rating: Unrated
3
Using the hasselback technique--cutting partially into a whole fruit or vegetable every 1/2 inch or so--gives you an easy way to sneak lots of flavor into this healthy zucchini recipe. To bake the zucchini instead of grilling, place in a foil-lined 8-inch-square baking pan and bake at 425°F until tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
By Breana Killeen

Purple Fruit Salad

Rating: Unrated
2
Serve this refreshing fruit salad featuring juicy plums, grapes and berries on its own or with other colorblock fruit salads (like red, green and orange) for a fun, crowd-pleasing rainbow side dish.
By Carolyn Casner

Persian Cucumber & Tomato Salad with Preserved Lemon

In this cucumber and tomato salad recipe, preserved lemon adds a tangy, salty bite. Serve this healthy salad as an accompaniment to dishes like grilled lamb or chicken or as a side on a bed of finely julienned purple kale, lightly dressed with more olive oil and lemon juice. Look for preserved lemons at specialty-foods stores. Or, to make your own, see our Preserved Lemons recipe on eatingwell.com.
By Romney Steele

Basic Green Salad with Vinaigrette

Rating: Unrated
2
Make a larger batch of this basic vinaigrette to have on hand for salads throughout the week.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Simple Green Salad with Citronette

Frisée and radicchio are both assertive, slightly bitter greens that add color and texture to any salad. Match them with mellower-flavored greens, such as red leaf lettuce, baby spinach or even Boston lettuce.
By Eataly and Lidia Bastianich

Spiralized Zucchini & Summer Squash Casserole

Rating: Unrated
5
If you don't have a spiralizer to make this healthy zucchini noodle casserole (aka zoodles), use a vegetable peeler to make long thin strips of the squash and zucchini, stopping when you reach the seedy center. Just a few minutes under the broiler gives these ricotta-and-basil-filled nests a light golden top.
By Hilary Meyer

Warm Beet & Spinach Salad

Rating: Unrated
8
This warm spinach-and-beet salad is inspired by a dish from Penny Cluse Café in Burlington, Vermont. If you have cooked beets on hand, you can have it ready in just a few minutes.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Tomato Salad with Lemon-Basil Vinaigrette

Rating: Unrated
7
Seek out several varieties of heirloom tomatoes for this simple salad. Sweeter and juicier than conventional tomatoes, they add the perfect pop of color.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Green Salad with Peaches, Feta & Mint Vinaigrette

Rating: Unrated
2
This healthy side salad recipe follows one of the essential formulas for great salads: tossing bitter greens with sweet fruit, crunchy toasted nuts and salty cheese. Melons are a good alternative to the stone fruit later in the summer, or try dried apricots during the winter months.
By Joyce Goldstein

"Use a Spoon" Chopped Salad

Rating: Unrated
13
When Paul Newman and Michel Nischan opened their Westport, Connecticut, restaurant Dressing Room, Paul's request was that the menu always include a chopped salad that you could eat with a spoon. This chopped salad recipe is full of great flavors, colors and textures, featuring celery, carrots, red pepper, apple, cucumber, greens, cabbage, goat cheese and almonds. This is great for any holiday meal: you can let it stand and it stays crisp.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Sautéed Mushroom Salad

Rating: Unrated
2
Here we make a warm sherry-mushroom dressing to toss over bitter greens. The dressing wilts the greens until they are just tender.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Cabbage Slaw

Rating: Unrated
5
Although it's not a traditional topping for American tacos, cabbage slaw is an essential ingredient when making fish tacos. This colorful, vinegar-dressed coleslaw can be made in just a few minutes. Use preshredded cabbage to make it even quicker.
By John Ash

Cucumber & Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Rating: Unrated
18
An easy salad to serve with grilled chicken or steak for supper or on a bed of greens for a satisfying lunch. Substitute white beans or chickpeas for the black-eyed peas if you prefer.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Curried Potato Salad

In this healthy and creamy potato salad recipe, yogurt replaces half of the mayo and we keep the potato skins on for more fiber and potassium. Red bell pepper and green peas add even more color to the yellow-tinted potato salad.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Creamed Corn

Rating: Unrated
2
Our take on this classic is subtly flavored and every bit as creamy as the full-fat original.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Chickpea Salad

Rating: Unrated
6
Feta cheese and chickpeas lend a Mediterranean flair to this satisfying side salad. The Creamy Dill Ranch is great with it, but would also be good with a tangy vinaigrette.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Roasted Fresh Green Beans

After a few minutes in a super-hot oven, these roasted green beans are delightfully browned but still tender. This simple sheet-pan vegetable side dish is great with grilled or roasted meats.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Roasted Baby Zucchini with Lemon Labneh

Rating: Unrated
1
This easy vegetable side dish shines alongside roasted or seared steak, chicken, shrimp or firm fish, such as cod or salmon. Sumac lends punchy, fruity, sour-lemon notes to this fast and simple recipe. Find ground sumac spice online, in specialty markets and in well-stocked grocery stores.
By Carolyn Malcoun

Kale Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

Rating: Unrated
2
The lightly sweet, creamy homemade poppy seed dressing takes this crunchy salad to the next level for a mouthwatering vegetable side dish or light lunch. Top with cooked chicken for a heartier meal.
By Carolyn Casner

Green Salad with Strawberries & Goat Cheese

Rating: Unrated
10
This lively salad captures the essence of early summer with ripe strawberries, chives and baby spinach. To make it a meal, top it with grilled chicken breast.
By Hilary Meyer
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