If you’re looking to add some variety to your collection of meatless sides, we’re here to help!
This collection of easy Vegetarian Side Dishes are super satisfying and packed with flavor.
You’ll find a variety of veggies, pastas, salads, potato dishes, rice, grains and more on this Vegetarian side dish ideas… With flavors from around the world, there’s something here for any palate.
Cook your way through all of these vegetarian sides, you’re sure to find some new favorites!
The Best Vegetarian Side Dishes:
1. Green Beans Almondine
Starting of this list of vegetarian sides… Grean Beans Almondine!! Doesn’t it sound fancy?
Vibrant French style green beans tossed with brown butter, toasty almonds (that’s where almondine comes from), shallots, garlic and a squeeze of lemon to brighten it in the end.
2. 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.
3. Balela Salad
Balela Salad is a Middle Eastern style chickpea salad. This hearty refreshing salad is bursting with zesty flavor.
So easy, delicious, nutrient dense and satisfying! It’s perfect for any party or busy weeknight meal.
4. Cherry Tomato Gratin
This Cherry Tomato gratin is the newest star on your party spread. It’s the perfect combination of easy, tasty and pretty.
You’ll want to gobble it up before the guests arrive!
5. Creamed Corn
After you try this easy Creamed Corn recipe, you will never, ever go back to canned. Made with fresh corn (though you can use frozen), it’s so creamy and full of flavor.
This side dish is addictively good. It will make a great addition to your Thanksgiving and Christmas spreads, but is a must in summer when that sweet corn is in season…
6. Corn Casserole
This easy 5 ingredient Corn Casserole is a great southern style side dish, and takes next to no effort. Seriously, just mix up the ingredients, then stick it in the oven.
It’s a versatile dish that would go great on a holiday spread. But it’s so good, you just might want to eat it all year long!
7. Moroccan Couscous
Give regular couscous a colorful makeover by adding a bunch of veggies and earthy Moroccan spices. Brimming with flavors and textures, you will absolutely love this couscous, which can be made in under 20 minutes.
8. Chipotle’s Cilantro Lime Rice
Take your rice to a whole new level with this Chipotle’s Cilantro Lime Rice. Once you try this Cilantro Lime Rice, you’ll never go back to plain old white. Just a simple addition of a few ingredients, and a few extra moments of effort are all it takes to transform your rice.
9. 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.
10. Refried Beans
Take your Mexican night up a notch with this easy Refried Beans recipe! They are sooo much better than the canned stuff.
With just a few simple ingredients, and minimal effort, you can have restaurant quality refried beans to serve alongside your tacos, or any of your favorite Mexican dishes.
11. 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. Dig into it with your scrambled eggs and toast first thing in the morning, or along with your favorite sandwich for lunch, or use it as a topping for your taco night.
12. Rainbow Pasta Salad
We’re starting this pasta salad list with something which is basic, simple, easy, quick and yet so satisfying and delicious.
Make this colorful pasta for your everyday easy lunches, as a side to some Italian meal or a quick fix for all the potluck parties or get togethers.
13. Mango Salsa
When Mangoes are in season and plentiful at the market, it’s hard to resist making Mango Salsa. It’s so easy!
This is a great side for your Mexican dishes, and is great for dipping tortilla chips.
14. Green Rice Casserole
Green rice casserole is a great addition to your holiday spread. Creamy, cheesy goodness with spinach and peppers.
This vintage casserole is also super versatile.
15. Pico de Gallo
This Quick and Easy Pico de Gallo recipe is the most fresh, healthy and delicious salsa recipe. It’s loaded with fresh ripe tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, cilantro and lime juice.
It is perfect for serving with chips, on a salad, tacos or with any of your favorite Mexican dishes. It only takes just a few minutes from start to finish.
16. Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
This Mediterranean quinoa salad is exactly what it sounds like, a quinoa salad made Mediterranean-style.
It uses quinoa, roasted cherry tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, feta cheese, kalamata olives, toasted pine nuts, and more.
17. Tomato Cucumber Raita
This traditional Indian dip will cool your palette when you are eating spicy mains like curries.
Then again, you just might like it so much that you make it your go-to summer cool-down dish.
18. Israeli Couscous Salad
Vibrant, bright and light fresh flavors! A melody of textures! Do you sometimes crave for some good starchy carbs in your salad? Something that feels like a hearty fulfilling meal any time of the day, and yet something that you don’t mind going back for a few times a day? This Israeli Couscous Salad has it all!
Colorful veggies and Levantine flavors like Kalamata olives, feta, and pine nuts along with nutty chewy pearled couscous and tossed with a fresh lemon Dijon vinaigrette. It’s a salad chameleon at its best!!
19. Lazy Sweet Potato Mash
This recipe is so easy to make, we call it lazy. Sometimes, it’s okay to be lazy, and if you need all the time you can get, then this one’s for you.
The sweet potato is simply cooked in the microwave and mashed up, to make a dish that’s easy and delicious.
20. Cherry Tomato Confit
Bunches of cherry tomatoes, heavy glugs of olive oil, a handful of garlic cloves, a few herbs… That’s all you need for this beauty coming out of your oven… Cherry Tomato Confit!!
Luxuriously soft, melt-in-your mouth, juicy and bright flavor bombs. Welcome this summer delight into your life and it will add savory sweet deliciousness to any dish.
21. Southern Squash Casserole
This classic yellow Squash Casserole is a great every day side dish for your favorite Southern fare. Easy and delicious, this will be especially popular on your holiday spreads.
22. No Knead Bread
No Knead Bread!! This artisan quality bread can happen very fast and is super duper simple. You end up with a thick crispy crust and a chewy center with big fat holes like sourdough!
It’s very forgiving and only takes 3 minutes of active effort. Now that sounds unbelievable, right? Not so. Try it yourself today.
23. 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 side dish.
24. Chakalaka (South African Vegetable Dish)
Chakalaka! This is one of the most popular side dishes in South Africa.
A quick and simple preparation of veggies, beans, aromatics and spices, this versatile dish is one of our favorite vegetarian side dishes.
25. Creole Coleslaw
This creamy Creole Coleslaw is a great variation on that classic potluck side dish. Your traditional slaw gets a zippy upgrade.
Bring this to your next get together and guests will be asking for the secret to your slaw!
26. Creamed Peas with Pearl Onions
This is a simple, super easy, speedy side dish… A classic from your grandma’s generation.
Sweet peas slathered in creamy white sauce, sprinkled with pearl onions. This is a great vegetarian side dish.
27. Mediterranean Pasta
This Mediterranean Pasta is your new weeknight best friend. It’s super quick, like 20 minutes quick, and has great flavors the whole family will love.
We love it as a side dish, but make a big batch for lunch leftovers!
28. 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.
If you need a finger-food side, definitely give these fries a try!
29. Mexican Street Corn Salad
This Mexican street corn salad is a great way to get the classic flavors of elote served salad-style.
It’s creamy, cheesy, and filled with corn, red onions, cilantro, mayonnaise and many more..
30. Caponata – Sicilian Eggplant Relish
You will love the combination of savory, sweet and sour flavors in this creamy eggplant Caponata with onions, tomatoes, olives and raisins!
It’s a perfect make ahead dish, as it store beautifully in the fridge for a few days.
31. Creamed Spinach
This Creamed Spinach is going to be the new star of your side dish spread. It’s creamy, cheesy, and oh so comforting.
32.Jamaican Rice and Peas
Give your rice a Caribbean makeover with this amazing Jamaican Rice and Peas recipe. It’s a flavor bomb, loaded with a mixture of exotic and tropical tastes.
This easy rice dish is a perfect side for a variety of grilled meats and seafoods, and is an absolute must alongside a spicy batch of Jerk Chicken.
33. Macaroni Salad
Macaroni Salad is another one of the staple sides for fried fish.
This version is extra creamy and extra tangy. Make a big batch, and enjoy the leftovers for days!
34. Cuban Style Black Beans
Turning your simple black beans into a delicious quick Cuban Style Black Beans is super easy. Black beans are a staple in Cuban cuisine.
This recipe is healthy, high on fiber and an inexpensive tasty dish which can make a great addition to any meal!
35. Pineapple Casserole
If you’re looking for a simple, quick prep side dish that will knock the socks off your guest, then this golden Pineapple Casserole recipe is just the ticket.
It’s sweet, salty, buttery, cheesy and oh so decadent! Best of all, it pairs nicely with almost any entrée.
Get the Recipe @ dinneratthezoo
36. Roasted Brown Butter Honey Garlic Carrots
These roasted brown butter honey garlic carrots feature and amazing depth of flavor. Just a little extra effort takes your humble carrots to a new level.
They might become your new favorite side dish!
Get the Recipe @ therecipecritic
37. Creamy Mushroom Risotto
This creamy Mushroom Risotto is a simple and easy to make Italian dish.
Short grain rice is cooked on the stovetop with broth and flavored with mushrooms and parmesan cheese for an irresistible creamy dish. YUM!
38. Lemon Pesto Penne
This lemon pesto penne recipe is super quick, like 20 minutes quick, has plenty of fresh veggies, and great flavors from the combination of pesto sauce and lemon juice.
It’s a light and refreshing dish, perfect for summer.
39. Zucchini Fritters
Zucchini fritters are a wonderful way to make zucchini while still mixing things up!
They’re crispy patties that are filled with shredded squash, garlic, and fresh herbs. It takes only minutes to put together, and it makes a great side dish.
Get the Recipe @ dinneratthezoo
40. Greek Green Beans (Fasolakia)
Greek green beans, properly known as fasolakia, make a tasty dish out of fresh green beans braised in extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes, and herbs.
It works great as a side dish to accompany starchy mains.
Get the Recipe @ eatingeuropean
We hope you enjoy these delicious Vegetarian Side Dishes as much as we do. There’s such a big variety, which will you cook first?
The 40 BEST Vegetarian Sides
This list of healthy and easy Vegetarian Side Dishes includes veggies, grains, pastas and more. We love this super easy sweet potato mash:
Ingredients
- 6 medium sweet potatoes
- 1 cup milk
- 2 Tbsp butter
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Pierce sweet potato skins with a fork numerous times.
- Microwave sweet potatoes on high 2 minutes. Rotate. Repeat until sweet potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes total.
- Scoop insides on sweet potatoes into large saucepan. Add milk and butter. Mash until smooth.
- Add salt to taste.
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