If you need some interesting new Healthy Side Dishes to cook for your family, you’ve come to the right place!
There is an amazing range of recipes here. Whatever main course you’re looking to pair with, there’s the perfect companion here.
You’ll find plenty of great sides that are loaded with nutritious ingredients like veggies, whole grains, sweet potatoes and more.
Cook you way through all of these healthy side dishes, they’re all fantastic!
The Best Healthy Sides:
1. Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Starting off our list of healthy side dishes is this amazing Mediterranean Quinoa Salad.
It’s a light and tasty side dish full of nutritious ingredients. A simple mix of quinoa, a few veggies, some Mediterranean staples, and a zesty lemon dressing is all it takes.
2. Easy Baked Sweet Potato Fries
These easy baked sweet potato fries are a great way to bring the joy that comes with sweet potato fries to your own home. They are gluten-free, vegetarian, and perfectly seasoned.
If you need a finger-food side, definitely give these fries a try!
3. Greek Salad (Horiatiki)
This traditional Greek Salad recipe, known to the locals as Horiatiki, is one of our summertime favorites!
Crisp cucumbers, sweet cherry tomatoes, red onions, briny olives and capers, creamy feta, and a simple herb dressing. That’s all it takes. And the results are top notch.
4. Balela Salad
Let us present you Balela deliciousness!! So colorful, so easy, so refreshing… This hearty colorful salad comes from many Middle Eastern countries and is bursting with flavors and textures.
Chickpeas, black beans, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, parsley, mint… no wonder it’s one of our favorite healthy side dishes!
5. Steak Fries
These easy baked Steak Fries are a breeze to make, and go with just about anything. They may be the perfect side dish.
You’ll love these tasty potato wedges, which are perfectly seasoned, then baked to crispy perfection. Go baking, no frying for healthy side dish with potatoes.
6. Caponata
You will love the combination of savory, sweet and tart flavors in this creamy eggplant caponata, with summer veggies like onion, tomatoes, olives and more!
It’s a winner recipe, for sure!
7. Cucumber Avocado Tomato Salad with Pesto
Spring and summer demand colorful, light, refreshing salads. So here it is our Cucumber Avocado Tomato Salad, but with major flavor bender… delicious basil pesto dressing.
This one is there for you to brighten up any meal of the day.
8. Cuban Black Beans
These Cuban Black Beans, or Frijoles Negros, are the healthy side dish you need if you want to master Cuban cooking.
They’re a staple, along with rice, with all of their famously flavorful main dishes. But don’t worry, these black beans are so easy.
9. Quick and Easy Pico de Gallo
If you’re planning a Mexican night, a good salsa is a must. Easy, fresh and delicious, this healthy Pico de Gallo whips up in 10 minutes.
Try this fresh pico your next taco night.
10. Moroccan Couscous
Give regular couscous a colorful makeover by adding a bunch of veggies and earthy Moroccan spices.
This Moroccan Couscous is not only an ideal dish next to any of your chicken, beef or fish dishes, but it can be a stand alone light vegetarian lunch option.
11. Rainbow Pasta Salad
We just love this simple and healthy Rainbow Pasta Salad. It’s so easy to make, and tastes delicious.
Make a big batch, leftovers make great lunches.
12. Three Bean Salad
This easy Three Bean Salad recipe is a summertime side dish classic. But it goes so well with so many things, we love it all year long!
Fresh green beans are mixed with garbanzo beans and kidney beans, then all get tossed with a tangy dressing. It’s tasty, budget friendly, and a surefire hit.
13. Roasted Broccoli
Make this incredibly easy and addicting Sheet Pan Roasted Broccoli recipe for your loved ones. The healthy, crispy and amazingly flavored broccoli will taste just delicious.
Try this perfect veggie side dish with your favorite protein and make a complete and satisfying dinner.
14. Hibachi Fried Rice
If you’re a rice lover like me, this easy Hibachi Fried Rice recipe is a must! It’s so quick to make, and the taste is just too good.
Made famous by Japanese steakhouses like Benihana, it’s the perfect side dish for any of your favorite stir fry dishes.
15. Zucchini Carrot Salad
Quick, easy, tasty and nutritious. This spiralized zucchini carrot salad will add a whole new dimension to your salad repertoire.
It comes with a bright and tangy Catalina dressing.
16. Mediterranean Pasta
This Mediterranean Pasta is your new weeknight best friend. It’s a super delicious side to your favorite grilled or baked lean protein.
Plus, leftovers are great for lunch!
17. Habichuelas Guisadas (Puerto Rican Stewed Beans)
This Habichuelas Guisadas (Puerto Rican Stewed Beans) are the tastiest beans you will ever eat, seasoned with tomato, sofrito, sazon and adobo.
Once you try your beans the Puerto Rican way, you may never eat them any other way again…
18. Espinacas con Garbanzos
This classic Spanish dish is a great addition to your recipe collection. Hearty chick peas and fresh spinach are cooked in a cozy sauce of tomatoes, onions and exotic spices.
One of our very favorite healthy sides!
19. Grilled Zucchini
It’s summer, that means it’s time to fire up the grill. And have we found the perfect side dish for the season, Grilled Zucchini!
Your favorite summer squash has never been more delicious. A little bit of seasoning is all it takes, then let your grill work its magic.
Once you try it, we bet you’ll be pairing it with just about everything!
20. Tomato Cucumber Raita
This traditional Indian dip is just what you need when you have a fiery main course. It will cool your palette when you are eating those spicy tikkas and curries.
21. Green Bean Almondine
These green beans are covered in almonds toasted in marvelous melted butter. The buttered almonds are topped with parsley and lemon juice. YUM!
22. Chili Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Pecans
These chili maple glazed sweet potatoes with pecans have a nice kick due to being topped with a marvelous maple-chili glaze.
The maple syrup adds sweetness, and the chili adds spiciness to make for a great sweet and spicy combo.
23. Mango Salsa
You gotta try mango salsa in the summer time when you see some juicy, ripe mangoes. All you doing is chopping and mixing a few ingredients. Life can’t get easier than that… right?
Use it as topping for tacos or over baked chicken or fish.
24. Roasted Asparagus
These easy Roasted Asparagus are an essential veggie side dish you need in your repertoire. They’re the perfect accompaniment to your grilled or roasted meats, and they’re so easy!
25. Israeli Couscous Salad with Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette
This gorgeous Israeli Couscous Salad is light and fresh, yet at the same time oh so satisfying.
Pearled couscous are tossed with tons of veggies, feta cheese, Kalamata olives and a refreshing dressing. Great potluck contender!
26. Batata Harra
Add an exotic twist to your everyday potatoes with this Lebanese delight. It’s packed full of flavors.
If you love fresh herbs, this batata harra is a must try healthy side dish.
27. Pipirrana (Spanish Summer Salad)
Here to celebrate tomato season this summer is a tribute to all those luscious summer tomatoes, ripening on the vines in warm sunshine.
Mixed with just a few more cool crunchies, and you have yet another colorful popular traditional dish, pipirrana, all the way from the south of Spain.
28. Kale Salad
This super healthy kale salad has a wide array of flavors that combine for a salad that tastes as beautiful as it looks.
You’ll be coming back to this one year round!
29. Caesar Salad
If you want to master your salad game, this easy Caesar Salad recipe is a MUST!
Perhaps the most famous and popular salad on the planet, Caesar is so simple, yet so tasty. All you need is lettuce, croutons, parm cheese, and an awesome dressing. We have it for you!
30. Chakalaka (South African Vegetable Dish)
Chakalaka! If your grilled protein needs a new sidekick, this famous South African vegetable dish is the answer!
It has a well rounded variety of healthy veggies and beans.
31. Greek Green Beans (Fasolakia)
Greek green beans, properly known as fasolakia, make a tasty side dish out of fresh green beans braised in extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes, and herbs.
You definitely need to try this one!
Get the Recipe @ eatingeuropean
32. Saffron Rice
Elevate your basic side dish with this simple and easy Saffron Rice recipe. You’ll be amazed how much flavor your humble grain can have.
This beautiful and fragrant rice is a showstopper side dish that will make any meal more special. It’s perfect for company meals and special occasions.
33. Tabbouleh
If you’re looking for a new salad recipe, we have just the one… Tabbouleh!
This famous Levantine salad is bursting with herby flavors from plenty of fresh parsley, veggie power from tomatoes and cucumber, and it has a hearty bite from bulgur wheat.
34. Grilled Brussels Sprouts
Fire up the grill and make these perfectly charred and crispy brussels sprouts. They are brushed with seasoned olive oil that turns them super tasty.
Get the Recipe @ thegraciouswife
35. Kale Cobb Salad
Try this best summer Kale Cobb Salad at home! This colorful salad is perfectly arranged, with super flavorful and healthy ingredients, and then topped with creamy poppy seed dressing
It’s perfect for summer potlucks or get-togethers.
Get the Recipe @ damndelicious
So there you go, thirty five great healthy side dishes. The only question now is, which one do you feel like tonight?
Check out these other great recipe collections!
Healthy Dinner Ideas
Healthy Chicken Dishes
Broccoli Recipes
Kale Recipes
Salad Recipes
Brown Rice Recipes
Quinoa Recipes
35 BEST Healthy Side Dishes
This collection of Healthy Side Dishes has a huge variety of nutritious pairings for your favorite mains. We love these super easy sweet potato fries:
Ingredients
- 1 lb sweet potatoes
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
- Sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash sweet potatoes. Peel skin if desired. Cut into ¼ to ½ inch square fries.
- Soak in cold water at least 30 minutes to a few hours.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Remove fries from water, pat dry very well and toss with mixture of corn starch, black pepper, paprika and garlic powder.
- Toss with olive oil and spread evenly in single layer on parchment paper lines baking sheet. If no parchment paper is available, line sheet with aluminum foil and grease, or just grease baking sheet.
- Place fries in oven and bake 15 minutes. Flip fries with spatula, return to oven and bake additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven, allow to rest 5 minutes, and sprinkle with sea salt and any additional desired garnishings.
Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.
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