12 Easy Summer Veggie Sides to Help Lower Blood Pressure

chunky black bean salsa with corn & bell pepper
Photo: Fred Hardy

These summery sides feature plenty of veggies, which deliver potassium, a key nutrient that helps keep blood-pressure in check. Plus, they're lower in saturated fat and sodium—two nutrients people with high blood pressure need to be aware of. Recipes like our Fresh Sweet Corn Salad and Air Fryer Eggplant are perfect to pair with a healthy high-blood pressure dinner.

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Chunky Black Bean Salsa with Corn & Bell Pepper

chunky black bean salsa with corn & bell pepper
Fred Hardy

This TikTok-trending, veggie-packed salsa gets inspiration from Texas caviar (aka cowboy caviar), a dish created in 1940 to ring in the New Year by Helen Corbitt, who was a chef at Neiman Marcus. Scoop it up with tortilla chips or try it as a topping for grilled meat or fish, or as a filling for a quick quesadilla.

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Big Beautiful Summer Salad

plate with microgreens, radishes, avocado

This gorgeous and healthy summer vegetable salad is loaded with pretty produce, including golden beets, avocado, corn, microgreens and radishes. Chickpeas and edamame add substance, and an herb-filled buttermilk-avocado dressing makes this salad really special. Serve it on its own for a light vegetarian meal or add grilled chicken for an easy weeknight dinner.

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Fresh Sweet Corn Salad

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We love fresh summer corn when it's in season, but frozen corn makes a great year-round substitute in this quick and easy side dish.

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Blueberry-Peach Salad with Sesame-Ginger Balsamic Vinaigrette

Blueberry Peach Salad with Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette
Jacob Fox

In this installment of Diaspora Dining, Jessica B. Harris' series on foods of the African diaspora, fresh summer fruit stars in a salad that's perfect for serving at your Juneteenth barbecue.

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Smashed Cucumber Salad with Lemon & Cumin

bowl of Smashed Cucumber Salad with Lemon & Cumin

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 this smashed cucumber salad at a summer cookout alongside burgers and hot dogs.

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Purple Power Slaw with Sesame-Ginger Vinaigrette

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Combining a trio of purple vegetables--cabbage, carrots and daikon--makes for a stunning slaw recipe. It would be equally delicious tossed with a classic creamy dressing.

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Air-Fryer Eggplant

air fryer eggplant
Jacob Fox

This air-fryer eggplant is crispy on the outside with a tender middle. You can fit more slices in the basket when you use smaller eggplant. Dip these crispy slices in marinara or pesto, or drizzle with balsamic glaze.

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Spicy Cucumber Salad with Chili Oil

spicy cucumber salad with chili oil
Photography / Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling / Emily Nabors Hall

The cucumbers retain their crunch in this spicy cucumber salad with chili oil. Here we use chili crisp, an oil-based condiment with crispy bits of chili; it adds crunch, heat and flavor to the cooling cucumbers. Smashing the cucumbers helps them absorb the complex flavors of the dressing.

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Air-Fryer Broccoli

air fryer broccoli
Jacob Fox

The Parmesan cheese in this air-fryer broccoli gives this easy side dish a savory flavor, while a squeeze of lemon over the top after cooking adds brightness and acidity.

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Macaroni Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

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Give classic pasta salad a fresher, more flavorful spin. This fast pasta dish calls for avocado to replace some of the mayonnaise, which makes it extra creamy. Whole-wheat elbow macaroni and fresh vegetables lighten up this healthy pasta salad that you'll be making all summer long.

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Air-Fryer Corn on the Cob

air fryer corn on the cob
Jacob Fox

Air-fryer corn on the cob is a simple way to cook sweet corn with little mess. We like it smothered in butter, salt and pepper, but any spice blend will work well.

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Zucchini & Mushroom Sauté

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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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