Healthy Winter 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.

This squash recipe will leave you with some extra green tahini, which you can use as a salad dressing or a dip for crudités. Serve with a roast chicken and mixed green salad for a complete meal.

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.

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.

Sweet peaches and raspberries stud the peppery watercress to make this savory fruit salad recipe gorgeous. But what makes it so delicious is the crisp bacon coated in the delightfully sticky-sweet maple-port wine glaze.

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.

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.

With heat from chipotles in adobo sauce and sweetness from brown sugar, this healthy stovetop baked beans recipe is a spicy twist on the classic. We slashed more than half the sugar and three-quarters of the sodium--and a few hours of cooking time--as compared to a traditional recipe. Serve at your next cookout or BBQ and be prepared for people to rave.

If you're a fan of classic baked beans, give this healthy recipe with curry powder, lime juice and molasses a whirl. These stovetop baked beans also have half the sugar and three-quarters of the sodium compared to a traditional recipe--and take a few hours' less cooking time. Serve with pistachio-crusted pork tenderloin or grilled fish.

In this quick and healthy baked bean recipe, we swap Chinese 5-spice powder and rice vinegar for traditional dry mustard and cider vinegar. Not only does this recipe have half the sugar and three-quarters of the sodium compared to a traditional recipe, it also requires a few hours' less cooking time, making these beans an easy side dish for grilled pork chops or chicken.

If you're a fan of slow-cooked oven-baked beans, give this quick, healthy stovetop recipe a whirl. We slashed more than half the sugar and three-quarters of the sodium--and a few hours of cooking time--as compared to a traditional recipe.

Serve this refreshing fruit salad featuring juicy melon, clementines and mango on its own or with other colorblock fruit salads (like red, purple and green) for a fun, crowd-pleasing rainbow side dish.