18 Quick & Easy Diabetes-Friendly Holiday Side Dishes

December 22, 2020

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Make a fast and flavorful side dish to accompany your holiday meal. These diabetes-friendly recipes are low in calories, sodium and saturated fat, so you can easily follow a healthy eating pattern. Side dishes like Green Beans Amandine and Kale Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing are easy, delicious and on the table in 25 minutes or less.

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Kale Salad with Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing

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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.

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Roasted Kalettes

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Kalettes, a cross between kale and Brussels sprouts, cook quickly in a hot oven in this easy vegetable side dish recipe.

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Garlic-Parmesan Asparagus

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In this garlic-Parmesan-crusted asparagus recipe, we combine Parmesan cheese, whole-wheat panko breadcrumbs and walnuts for a crispy topping that's baked over asparagus. Roasting the asparagus spears in a hot oven keeps them tender-crisp in this quick side dish!

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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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Green Beans Amandine

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A rich browned butter and white wine sauce updates this holiday mainstay. Haricots verts are French-style green beans that are slender and delicate. You can usually find bags of them in the produce section. The packaged beans are often trimmed, which saves time. You can sub traditional green beans; steam those about 2 minutes longer in Step 1.

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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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Brown Sugar-Glazed Beets

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Try a sweet glaze on beets or other root vegetables to help balance their earthy flavor. This easy recipe will work with steamed carrots, turnips or rutabaga too.

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Roasted Asparagus Parmesan

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This oven-roasted asparagus Parmesan has just the right amount of cheese--and it's incredibly easy to make. Serve this healthy side dish with chicken, fish, lamb--or any other protein.

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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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Basic Green Salad with Vinaigrette

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Make a larger batch of this basic vinaigrette to have on hand for salads throughout the week.

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Creamed Corn

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Our take on this classic is subtly flavored and every bit as creamy as the full-fat original.

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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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Sautéed Mushroom Salad

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Here we make a warm sherry-mushroom dressing to toss over bitter greens. The dressing wilts the greens until they are just tender.

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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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Simple Green Salad with Citronette

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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.

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Broccoli with Caramelized Onions & Pine Nuts

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Broccoli's impressive nutritional profile (think folate, vitamins C and A, fiber, phytochemicals) puts it high on the list of foods to eat more of, an inviting task when you toss it with crunchy pine nuts, soft, sweet onions and tangy balsamic vinegar.

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Charred Green Beans with Mustard Vinaigrette & Hazelnuts

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Our go-to trick for this crunchy, mustardy vegan side dish: Use a grill basket--it lets you cook all the things that would ordinarily fall through the grill grates, no skewering required. Pick one up from the hardware store or order one online for less than $15.

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Warm Red Cabbage Salad

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In this quick German-inspired side dish, red cabbage is cooked until just tender and combined with sweet apples, caraway and a tangy vinaigrette. Serve with roasted pork loin or turkey kielbasa.

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