Side Dish Recipes & Ideas

This mixed salad is filled with lots of hearty vegetables and a variety of textures.

This easy soup has lots of complex flavors and is topped with crispy potato skins.

This Ital stew is loaded with a variety of nutrient-rich plants.

If you don’t want to crank up the oven, hot water cornbread is the way to go.

This is the best way to get a perfect pot of red rice every time!

This okra soup — named after Kardea Brown's great-grandfather — is one of the best ways to use up fresh or frozen okra and turn it into a hearty and filling meal.

Kardea Brown's smoky red rice recipe is tried and true and easy to make at home.

It's surprisingly satisfying, given its simplicity and short ingredient list.

Simple but satisfying.

It's the perfect combo of sweet, savory, and toasty.

These recipes do not disappoint.

It's thick and creamy without being too rich.

Fill them however your heart desires.

Better than anything you can buy.

They're quick and simple enough to pull together while your dinner bakes.

At the center of any Lunar New Year celebration (and certainly those I grew up around) is food.

They make the best sliders.

Round out the special-occasion seafood.

I spent over two weeks traveling around Ireland, and number one on this culinary journey was Irish seafood chowder. 

Made with real cheddar cheese.

Chili is certainly meal-worthy all on its own, but I always think having one simple side is the ticket to rounding out this cold-weather superstar.

On New Year's Day, black-eyed peas are thought to bring luck, and greens are thought to bring money.

It's been a tradition in my family for generations.

The coziest meal for a cold day.

It's from one of my favorite cookbooks, Jubilee, by Toni Tipton-Martin.

Best enjoyed straight from the skillet.

From mashed potatoes to roasted Brussels sprouts.

They're impossible *not* to love.

One pan and a few staple ingredients are all you need to make the most impressive side dish ever.

From greens to potatoes and pilaf, these sides are totally holiday-worthy.

I created a simpler, oven-baked version that uses store-bought puff pastry dough.

The orange-infused maple vinaigrette will be a new favorite.

It's nearly effortless.

Cutting back on carbs doesn't mean missing out on the good stuff.

Where have these been my whole life!?

When it comes to getting this staple side dish on the table, you've got choices.

I think we can all agree the sides are the very best part of the dinner.

My go-to method for intensifying broccoli's natural flavor and color.

It's worth making room.

Because Thanksgiving dinner isn't complete without it.

Stuffings, mashes, casseroles and more.

Potato chips, but make it soup.

PSA: If you like fennel even a little bit, you've got to try it.

Just add bread!

It's all about the butter.

Dare I say it's better than butternut?

The vegetable side dish you'll make all winter long.

It's perfect for your morning bagel.

It's somewhere between cornbread and corn pudding, and we're here for it.

Get a head-start on your side dishes.

Soup definitely counts as dinner if you serve one of these satisfying sides with it.

Indigenous foods activist M. Karlos Baca's recipe weaves food memories into sustenance.

It's an easy side you can always count on.

Like the boxed stuff, but so much better. Here's a step-by-step recipe that shows how to get the taste you crave on Thanksgiving and beyond.

Here's what to cook with your meaty main to round out the meal.

Keep these in your back pocket for quick meals and sides.

Move over, broccoli.

Traditionally, it can take two full days to make; this recipe only requires 40 minutes.

It's a fall favorite for good reason.

They're always the favorite part of the meal.