Healthy, Quick & Easy Side Dish Recipes

This easy salad recipe makes a stunning side dish for anything you've got cooking for dinner. The bright flavor of the citrus pairs perfectly with peppery arugula and avocado, plus a bit of jalapeño for a slight kick.

The eggs cook right on top of this chickpea and potato hash--cook them a few extra minutes if you prefer hard-set eggs. Serve with warm pita bread and a cucumber salad with mint and yogurt.

This flavorful corn couldn't be easier to prepare. Just cover the ears of corn in a quick garlic-and-chive-flavored butter and wrap in foil and they're ready to throw on the grill at home or over coals at the campsite.

An unlikely pairing of grapes and broccoli creates an out-of-the-ordinary quick side dish. The sweet snappy bite of the grapes complements the crispy raw broccoli and onion, while the creamy dressing and toasted almonds pull it all together. Enjoy it for lunch or double the recipe for an easy potluck recipe everyone will love.

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.

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

Steaming green beans in the microwave is quick and convenient, helping you to get dinner on the table in minutes. This basic recipe is a great starting point for the seasoning of your choice--a little butter, toasted nuts or a creamy sauce.

This quick and easy lemony and herb pasta dish makes a delicious side. Try adding chicken or shrimp for a more complete meal.

Here a pungent garlicky dressing is infused into kale by massaging the greens and the dressing together with your hands. Any type of kale will work in this kale salad recipe, just remember to remove the tough stems before you start.

Enjoy this sweet, refreshing salad alongside grilled meat or fish to cut through the richness and refresh the palate. If you like a little heat, adding jalapeño will give you the kick you crave. While packs of prechopped pineapple are convenient, they're almost always more expensive. When pineapple is in season, it's best to buy fresh and chop it yourself. Look for a pineapple with a golden-yellow exterior, which is a good indicator of ripeness.

This refreshing, simple Cuban salad recipe captures the flavors of the tropics. Serve alongside spiced chicken or pork, with rice and beans.

Roasting carrots in the oven brings out their inherent sweetness, while Parmesan and garlic give this easy side dish a flavorful savory accent.

When green beans, summer squash and cherry tomatoes are plentiful in backyard gardens and farmers' markets, try this quick braise. We like the salty, nutty flavor of Parmesan, but you can use any flavorful cheese.

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.

This gorgeous and colorful 8-layer taco salad recipe is made healthier by using ground turkey in place of beef, adding Greek yogurt and bumping up the amount of vegetables. Serve this salad in a clear glass bowl and you'll have an eye-catching party-worthy dinner or potluck side in just 30 minutes.

This spinach salad tossed with spunky ginger dressing was inspired by the iceberg salads served at Japanese steakhouses across the U.S. Add shrimp for lunch or a light supper.

A mixture of tomatoes, spinach, feta, olives and fresh oregano gives portobellos a Mediterranean vibe in this healthy stuffed mushroom recipe. Serve these along with chicken, fish or tofu as a super-satisfying side dish, or add a hearty salad and make them the centerpiece of a vegetarian dinner.

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.

Feel free to double this recipe to suit your needs. To add more flavor, swap reduced-sodium broth in for the water.

Topping steamed broccoli with a good-for-you cheese sauce is an easy way to entice picky eaters to eat their veggies.

Looking for a new way to cook zucchini? Try grilling it.

Roasting cauliflower transforms it into a crispy, tender vegetable. A sponge for other flavors, cauliflower can absorb any spice mix or marinade you add, like this warm and toasty combination of turmeric, cumin and garlic. Serve as a simple side dish, or stir it into salads or grain bowls to add more plant power.

Just a touch of butter adds silkiness to the balsamic sauce that coats broccoli and meaty mushrooms in this easy broccoli side dish recipe.

From pineapple and lemon to tomato and chili oil, these cucumber sides are suited for any palate. Plus, these simple sides only have three steps or less, so these recipes are easy to make.