19 Easy Sautéed Veggie Sides for Weeknights

November 16, 2020

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Round out your dinner with a simple and delicious vegetable side dish. We sauté vegetables like spinach and carrots to create a flavorful and healthy dish in just 20 minutes or less. Recipes like Balsamic-Parmesan Sautéed Spinach and Broccoli Rabe with Orange & Sesame are nutritious and perfect for busy weeknights.

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Sautéed Broccoli with Peanut Sauce

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Peanut butter, balanced with a little soy sauce and vinegar, makes a delicious and kid-friendly sauce for broccoli and other vegetables. Giving the broccoli a head start by steaming it before sautéing it with the other vegetables ensures that all the vegetables are nicely cooked at the same time.

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Sautéed Radishes with Bacon

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Cooking radishes in bacon drippings mellows the flavor and tempers their bite. The crispy bacon gives the dish a rich, meaty flavor that is complemented by garlic and thyme. Serve this easy side dish alongside pork chops or chicken.

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Zucchini & Mushroom Saute

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Serve this simple side dish with grilled turkey burgers. Other fresh herbs, like thyme or oregano, work well too.

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Balsamic-Parmesan Sautéed Spinach

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Tender spinach with a hint of garlic, Parmesan cheese and sweet balsamic vinegar makes a quick and flavorful side dish. The sturdy leaves of mature spinach hold up best during cooking.

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Sautéed Mushrooms with Sherry & Shallots

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Sweet sherry and fresh rosemary complement the earthy taste of sautéed mushrooms in this easy side dish. This quick low-carb side is the perfect accompaniment to steak or pork, or try it as a burger topping.

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Sautéed Pea Shoots with Garlic

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This quick and easy side dish goes with anything on the dinner menu. Made with a simple sauce, it highlights the fresh vegetables as the stars of the show. When pea shoots aren't in season, try this same stir-fry with fresh watercress or spinach.

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Broccoli Rabe with Orange & Sesame

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You can go without using oil if you are cooking broccoli rabe in the dry heat of a skillet. It adds a nice sear to the oranges as well. Seasoned with toasty sesame, this healthy vegetable side dish is an easy flavor upgrade.

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Stir-Fried Carrots, Corn & Peppers

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This eclectic stir-fry is a colorful combination of carrot, red bell pepper, corn and romaine lettuce. This recipe exemplifies how to stir-fry vegetables with different textures. The carrots, which are a “hard vegetable,” should be stir-fried for a minute before adding “medium-hard” vegetables like peppers or corn, which require slightly less cooking. Finally, add “soft or leafy vegetables” in the last 30 seconds to ensure all the vegetables achieve the same level of doneness. Make sure the lettuce is dry--if it's wet when added to the pan, it will turn the stir-fry into a braise.

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Sautéed Cabbage

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This easy side dish takes only 20 minutes from start to finish. You can enjoy sautéed cabbage simply cooked with butter and onion or jazz it up with one of the variations (see below). Enjoy all the versions of this quick side dish with roasted pork or chicken.

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Sauteed Swiss Chard

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Sautéed in olive oil and seasoned with just a touch of salt and pepper, this nutritious Swiss chard vegetable side dish pairs wonderfully with any protein you're serving.

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Quick Vegetable Saute

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Add a little shallot and dried dill or tarragon to any mixture of frozen vegetables and have a delicious side dish on the table fast. If you'd like to make this recipe with fresh vegetables instead, cut them into bite-size pieces and add a tablespoon or two of water to the skillet when you add the vegetables; adjust the cooking time as needed.

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Sautéed Carrots with Gomasio

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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.

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Sesame Snap Peas with Carrots & Peppers

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The colorful combination of sugar snap peas, red bell pepper and carrot plus Asian-inspired flavors make this side dish a pleasure to whip up for a weeknight dinner.

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Sautéed Zucchini & Onions with Chive Butter

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Switch up the chives for whatever's growing in your garden--basil or dill would also be delicious in the compound butter that tops this simple sautéed zucchini recipe.

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Sesame Sugar Snap Peas

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This super-quick vegetable side dish comes together in no time. Fresh snap peas need only a few minutes in a hot skillet-just enough time to whip up a simple soy-ginger glaze.

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Simple Sautéed Spinach

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Sautéed spinach (or any greens) with garlic and a squeeze of lemon (or vinegar) is a simple formula that lets spinach shine and will never go out of favor.

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Broccoli and Cauliflower Sauté

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Mix up these nutrient-packed cruciferous vegetables for a flavorful and healthy side dish.

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Sautéed Peppers, Asparagus, and Zucchini

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Pair this flavorful veggie combo with chicken or fish for a taste of summer any time of year.

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Carrot Sauté with Ginger & Orange

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Spiked with fresh ginger and orange juice, sautéed grated carrots make an appealing, textural side dish. To speed up preparation time, use a food processor to grate the carrots or purchase them already grated.

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