Healthy Summer Side Dish Recipes

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.

Just a touch of butter adds silkiness to the balsamic sauce that coats broccoli and meaty mushrooms in this easy broccoli side dish recipe.

Simple steps give this broccoli salad recipe a more nuanced flavor: soaking the onion tempers its bite and toasting the cumin enhances its aroma. Serve alongside grilled chicken, pork or fish.

Almond flour (aka almond meal) makes the coating on these broccoli "fries" extra-crunchy and flavorful. Find it in the gluten-free section of large supermarkets and natural-foods stores.

Resist the temptation to turn the broccoli over while it roasts in this easy recipe. Leaving it cut-side down means you'll get deliciously caramelized results.

Fish sauce may seem like an unlikely ingredient for a dressing, but these Brussels sprouts are flat-out addictive. Serve with grilled chicken or coconut shrimp and rice for a complete meal.

In this quick vegetable side dish, maple-vinegar-glazed carrots are topped with gomasio, a blend of toasted sesame seeds and salt. Find gomasio in the natural-foods section or Asian-foods section at large supermarkets or at Asian markets. Or substitute 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Make a big batch of homemade ranch dressing to keep on hand for dipping crisp, raw vegetables anytime for a healthy snack both kids and adults will enjoy.

You have to taste it to believe it--these beets have the all the savory flavor and chewy texture of classic beef jerky, for a vegan jerky that's great for packing and snacking.

This flavorful corn couldn't be easier to prepare. Just cover the ears of corn in a quick garlic-and-chive-flavored butter and wrap in foil and they're ready to throw on the grill at home or over coals at the campsite.

These easy, cheesy potatoes cook in a foil packet perfect for throwing on the grill or over the coals of a campfire for a delicious, healthy side dish.

If you can't find burrata for this savory fruit salad recipe--balls of fresh mozzarella cheese filled with curd and cream--use very fresh mozzarella instead: it won't have the oozing creaminess but the dish will still be delicious.

Most of this savory fruit-and-tomato salad recipe can be prepared in advance-just mix the tomatoes with the dressing right before serving. For the most stunning presentation, use a mix of colorful heirloom tomatoes.

This sweet-and-savory fruit salad recipe is all about the quality of the watermelon: you want its flesh to be really sweet so that all the savory ingredients--the capers, the olives, the feta--shine.

Vegetable gratin recipes often have a crunchy breadcrumb or crouton topping. But summer tomatoes are too gorgeous to hide, so we tucked crusty cubes of bread underneath them instead. Plus, the bread soaks up all the juicy tomato goodness. If you can't find marjoram, fresh basil or oregano makes a good substitute.

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.

Padrón peppers have a poblano-like flavor and can be as mild as a bell pepper or as fiery as a habanero (or anywhere in between). Serve the grilled peppers with other tapas, like cheese, salumi, olives and Marcona almonds.

Grilled corn turns up across the globe, from Japan's supernaturally sweet Hokkaido corn to Mexico's elote, grilled corn slathered with mayonnaise and grated Cotija cheese. In this healthy corn on the cob recipe, the corn takes its inspiration from Cambodia's pod oeng, corn grilled with pandan leaf–flavored coconut milk.

Enjoy this healthy and simple grilled vegetable salad recipe alongside anything else you feel like throwing on the grill. Or toss it with pasta and plenty of Parmesan and call it dinner.

Don't skip salting the cucumbers in this quick cucumber salad recipe--just 10 minutes pulls out some of their excess moisture, concentrating the flavor and keeping the salad from being watered down. Serve as a healthy side dish at a summer cookout alongside burgers and hotdogs.