31 Restaurant Copycat Side Dishes

This healthy recipe combines two bar food favorites--fried zucchini and curly fries--into one tempting package. Serve these baked zucchini fries with a simple dipping sauce made with ranch dressing and marinara sauce for a crowd-pleasing appetizer or a side dish for burgers, chicken or pizza. No matter what you serve them with, they're a fun way to eat more vegetables for kids and adults alike.

Bump up the vitamin A and fiber when you swap tortilla chips for sweet potatoes in this healthy recipe. Serve as an appetizer at your next party or turn it into dinner by adding chicken, tofu, shrimp or more beans for protein.

We use flour-thickened milk combined with a modest amount of tangy sharp Cheddar to make a creamy cheese sauce for our healthy spin on the classic potatoes au gratin recipe. They're topped with additional cheese and some breadcrumbs, then baked until golden brown and bubbling. Serve the au gratin potatoes as a Thanksgiving side or with roasted chicken and vegetables for a satisfying dinner.

You may not have considered onions as candidates for the spiralizer, but you should. They create beautiful ribbons that make this recipe reminiscent of fried shoestring onions. And because this onion ring-inspired recipe is baked rather than fried, they're really easy to make. Serve them as a side with burgers or as a crunchy healthy snack for game night.

This vegan creamed spinach is as good as the real thing. It's creamy and flavorful with rich umami from the mushroom powder and nutritional yeast.

Brussels sprouts get crispy and flavorful in the oven when they're "smashed" and seasoned with Parmesan cheese and everything bagel spice.

Not one, not two, but three cheeses make these low-carb cheesy zucchini tots live up to their name. Bake them in the oven or fry them in your air fryer for a crisp exterior and a gooey, melted center. Don't use pre-shredded cheese here; shred it fresh for the best and creamiest results. Serve with ketchup, marinara, ranch or your favorite dipping sauce.

This creamy spinach casserole recipe is a more sophisticated cousin to creamed spinach. It's perfect for weekend entertaining or as a holiday side dish.

Get crispy, crunchy fries with much less oil than deep frying requires with these air-fried spuds. For the best texture, keep each fry as evenly sized as possible. Try a mandoline to make quick work of equal fries if your knife work could use some help.

Oven-roasted fingerling potatoes can be a special holiday side dish, but they're quick enough to enjoy on a weeknight too. The secret to these crispy roasted fingerling potatoes? Getting the baking sheet nice and hot before you spread the potatoes on it.

Curly fries get a makeover by using summer squash in place of potatoes. Summer squash "noodles" are tossed in a panko mixture spiked with lemon, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese and baked until crispy. If you can't find summer squash noodles, make your own using a spiralizer or vegetable peeler.

If you're looking for a new way to enjoy portobello mushrooms, look no further. These meaty mushrooms are sliced, then coated in crispy breadcrumb topping. Hot out of the oven, they're served with a creamy ranch sauce. They're a perfect lower-carb alternative to regular french fries!

Mable Clarke, the creator of this baked mac and cheese recipe, is a cook and activist from South Carolina who serves this dish at a monthly fish fry she started to save her church. "One thing I dislike is dry macaroni," says Clarke, so she makes plenty of custard for her version of this classic. "When people taste it, they say, 'Oooh, this macaroni!'"

You don't need a deep fryer to make crispy potato chips. We toss thinly sliced potatoes with just a touch of olive oil, pop them in the microwave and voilà! Crispy, crunchy homemade potato chips with 8 grams less fat per serving than regular chips.

Cauliflower stands in for potato in this taterless cauliflower tot recipe. Cauliflower is mashed, then mixed with cheese and given a crispy breadcrumb coating before being baked. These healthy cauliflower tater tots make a delicious side dish, appetizer or movie-night snack. Dip them in regular ketchup or make a spicy dipping sauce: Combine 1/3 cup ketchup with 2 tablespoons sriracha chile sauce and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.

Cheddar cheese, scallions and bacon flavor these "twice baked" sweet potatoes. Cooking the sweet potatoes in the microwave first (instead of baking them) helps keep this easy loaded sweet potato recipe quick.

The delicious dipping sauce makes this easy Brussels sprouts recipe an irresistible appetizer or side dish. If you want to double the recipe, use two large rimmed baking sheets and swap their spots in the oven halfway through cooking.

Sliced radishes add a peppery kick to this 10-minute slaw, which can serve as both a side and a topping for sandwiches.

Air-fried sweet potato fries are crispy, tender and delicately sweet. They're also made with less fat than traditional fries, so they're a healthier option when you're craving crunchy spuds. If the cinnamon-pepper spice is too intense, try thyme, oregano, paprika or garlic instead.

These crispy and golden hush puppies, studded with bits of onion and jalapeño, get a healthy makeover by skipping the deep fryer. The air fryer delivers on the classic crispy crust while using just a fraction of the oil from the classic version.

Classic scalloped potatoes get a burst of color, heartier texture and a healthy update with the addition of chopped spinach. The greens in this side dish also create a nice contrast to the creamy, velvety potatoes.

Use up unused broccoli stems by making your own broccoli slaw instead of using the bagged slaw in this easy potluck favorite. Trim and peel the stalks with a vegetable peeler, then cut 3 cups of matchsticks with the julienne blade on a mandoline or by hand.

Here's a new way to delight your green-bean-loving guests. The genius of this easy green bean recipe is in the dressing, which is made with savory oil that has also been used to fry shallots and garlic.

In this healthy potato salad recipe, a white-wine vinaigrette dresses the potatoes, tomatoes, feta and olives. Waxy potatoes, such as red and yellow, make the best potato salad because they hold their shape when cooked. Keep the potato skins on for more fiber and potassium.

This simple side riffs on the traditional pub combination of fries and malt vinegar. They are roasted to perfection, which gives a delicious crispy exterior.

Sweet spiralized butternut squash is encased in a salty, extra-crunchy exterior for a serving of slightly sweet curly fries. You can pair these baked butternut squash shoestring fries with any protein of your choice, but we're partial to grilled fish or chicken. Look for pre-spiralized squash in the refrigerated produce section.

Cornmeal adds crispiness, and a touch of brown ale in the batter adds a subtle malty flavor in this healthy onion rings recipe. While the onion rings bake, roasted red peppers from a jar and a clove of garlic turn plain mayo into an easy dipping sauce.

Mac and cheese no longer has to be off the menu if you don't do dairy. A blend of hearty cauliflower, butternut squash, cashews and nutritional yeast gives this vegan macaroni and cheese the gooey, cheesy texture and flavor of traditional mac, without a bit of dairy!

Thinly sliced sweet potatoes fry to a crispy crunch in the air fryer. These homemade chips also use much less oil, which cuts down on calories and fat. They're a naturally sweet side for sandwiches, burgers, wraps and more.

Use your air fryer to make these crispy, salty pickle chips for game day! The air fryer gives you a crispy crust, using much less oil than a traditional fryer. Enjoy these addictive little snacks on their own or with our Southern smoky, creamy dipping sauce.

Make this classic version of sweet and tangy barbecue baked beans in an electric pressure cooker, like the Instant Pot, in a fraction of the time it would take in the slow cooker or on the stove.