Side Dish Recipes & Ideas

No matter what you bring home from the farmers market, making this summery spin on a classic Cobb is easy.

I don’t know about your garden, but in summertime the mint in my own vegetable patch always threatens to take over. I love that sweet herb, but how many juleps can one gal make? Luckily I was in Portugal recently and I found that mint, or hortelã, as the Portuguese call it, was a common ingredient throughout the meal there.

Summer is all about the simple side salads. When fresh produce is at its best, you only need a few pantry staples and spices to dress it up. Case in point? This cucumber salad with Greek yogurt, red onion, and fresh dill. It’s a prime example of letting peak-season ingredients shine. The first thing you’ll want to do for this salad is soften the sharp bite of the red onion by soaking thin slices of the onion in a mixture of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and dried oregano.

There’s no denying that classic cookout fare — burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, macaroni salad — is delicious, but it’s not always the most colorful spread. To avoid a sea of beige and brown, bring along this vibrant red cabbage and dill slaw. It’s so easy to throw together and it’s guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser. What I love most about this slaw is that it has major make-ahead potential.

An easy way to serve guests summer comfort food.

You’re hitting the road in just under an hour, the bags are packed, the house is tidy, and then you hear it: the hungry gurgle of an empty belly. Not wanting to mess up the kitchen, you reach for a few pantry ingredients and the half a container of cream cheese languishing in the fridge. The goal? Only dirty the dishes you can throw in the dishwasher you’ll run before you leave, but also make a tasty sandwich you can eat now or in the car. Enter: the summer vegetable sub sandwich.

Imagine pillowy-soft Hawaiian rolls piled high with slices of tender beef brisket and sweet pineapple, all topped with a crunchy cabbage slaw. Are you hungry yet? These tasty little sandwiches can be yours for the eating as a weeknight dinner or for your next party or tailgate. All it takes is a piece of brisket, some pantry staples for a homemade pineapple teriyaki sauce, and a long stint in a slow cooker.

Grab zucchini noodles, pesto, and an egg and you've got a lunch bowl that's sure to satisfy.

You'll be making this all summer long.

You know what I love? Being surprised by a familiar ingredient or an old recipe. This beet ambrosia does both. Ambrosia is typically a sweet fruit salad studded with marshmallows and chopped nuts, dressed with a sweet, creamy dressing. Beet ambrosia takes its visual cues from traditional ambrosia, but is decidedly savory. A bite of this beet ambrosia is like a bite of the classic beet and goat cheese salad, but easier to eat.

If pork chops are a regular player in your meal plan rotation, you’re going to love this dinner. It’s a fancied-up throwback inspired by the Shake’N Bake pork chops of the ’80s and ’90s. This version gets an upgrade from panko in place of regular breadcrumbs, plus the addition of grated Parmesan. Along with smoky spices and a hit of garlic, these sheet pan pork chops are an easy way to bring an old friend back to the dinner table with a few new tricks.

For some, Brussels sprouts can be a hard sell. Although the cruciferous veggie has gone mainstream over the years (we probably have bacon to thank for that), it’s always helpful to jazz them up a bit if you’re trying to incite enthusiasm. Enter: these roasted Brussels sprouts with everything bagel spice. The same spice blend on your favorite everything bagel is what takes basic roasted Brussels sprouts from meh to yay! The idea is so ingenious, I wish I’d thought of it.

As an ardent pie crust lover, it’s only natural that I adore empanadas, the sweet or savory stuffed pastries from Latin America or Spain. They’re usually served at parties or even as a meal, and one of my favorite fillings is chicken with olives. This quick weeknight version reimagines the handheld pastry as a skillet pie, with a bubbling layer of juicy ground chicken cooked with bell peppers, onions, and olives in a savory spiced sauce, all topped with a flaky pie crust.

Another weekend has gone by, and now it’s back to the grind. How about we ease into the week by making this simple sheet pan chicken with veggies for dinner tonight? The key to success with this sheet pan meal is to buy a small sweet potato and microwave it first before dicing and adding it to the sheet pan. This way, the potato will be perfectly cooked alongside the chicken breast, broccoli, bell pepper, and green beans.

These veggie melts answer the call for easy comfort food after you’ve had one of those days. You know the kind — when you want something nourishing but also a little indulgent. Since they’re stuffed with a mess of sautéed vegetables and melted cheese, and treated to a swipe of tangy spread, these melts deliver the familiar comfort you love from a grilled cheese, while using those vegetables hanging out in the crisper for a veggie-packed meal.

Sometimes dinner inspiration starts with a side rather than the main dish. Case in point? This braised purple cabbage. With only three ingredients, humble cabbage is transformed into an outrageously delicious side dish that just might steal the show come dinnertime. The best part about this dish is that it is almost entirely hands-off. All you have to do is cut the cabbage into wedges and arrange them in a baking dish.

When you’re tired at the end of a long day (like maybe today) and you don’t feel like making anything too complicated for dinner, this sheet pan chicken will be there for you. After a little prep work, everything cooks together on one pan in the oven, leaving you free to change into comfy clothes, pour a glass of wine, and maybe even read a few pages of that book you started a month ago. While baked chicken might sound bland or boring, this recipe is far from that.

Like clockwork, my longing for spring settles in right around the middle of March. We have all waited long enough, no? Enough with the stews and the roasts; enough with the Brussels sprouts and the winter squash. Bring on the light, bright flavors of the approaching season — I am ready to stuff myself with asparagus and radishes and green peas! So let’s all have at it then. Put down the kale and make room in your grocery basket for the new season’s gems.

Bathed in warm brown butter, hit with a healthy squeeze of lemon juice, and finished with a loving sprinkle of flaky sea salt, this radish recipe is such a stunner of a side dish that it may cause you to plan an entire dinner party around it. Brown butter is a sauce that can do no wrong. Whether it’s tossed with pasta, poured over a baked potato, or drizzled on popcorn, it provides an instant upgrade to just about anything.

Young baby carrots are the sweetest little guys around, in both appearance and flavor. This breezy side dish makes the most of the roots, roasting them to bring out their natural sugars and dressing them in nothing but a happy mix of fresh herbs and minced garlic. True baby carrots (not these guys) get pulled out of the ground in spring while their siblings continue to grow extra big and strong in the ground to be harvested later in the year.

I love one-dish meals, especially ones that involve fennel and lemon. The aromatic anise flavor of fennel and its juicy bite, caramelized around the edges by the heat of the oven — ah, it’s delicious. So you can see how this quick, one-pan dish is really my favorite meal of the past month. My love of chicken thighs is well-documented.

If you’re suffering from lettuce fatigue, it’s time to look further down the produce aisle to sweet Swiss chard. This hearty but tender green is the base of our favorite winter weeknight salad. It’s filled with shaved fennel, cubed sweet potato, and sliced cucumber and tossed with an orange vinaigrette. No need to get too fancy here — we want this to be a side dish that goes with everything from skillet pork chops to a hearty lasagna.

A few months back, I was frantically searching for ways to simplify my life. Even my kitchen routines received a dramatic culling; nothing was too precious or too small to be immune. It was then I asked myself: Why do I need to chop garlic for every meal? I decided this tedious task provided too insignificant an impact to continue daily, and mostly avoided it — and garlic — for several months.

This seasonal twist on classic stuffed shells keeps the tender cooked pasta, the ricotta, and the stringy, melted mozzarella cheese, but ditches traditional filling for the flavors of Thanksgiving. And we mean that literally! These shells are stuffed with stuffing, roasted vegetables, and even bits of leftover turkey. If you love a next-day turkey sandwich, you have to try this quirky twist on Thanksgiving leftovers.

This is one of the two stuffings I created with the mother of the Syrian refugee family we hosted for Canadian Thanksgiving. We found that bringing the foods of two traditions together is more than the delicious dish it creates. It’s a symbol of an intention for harmony and our willingness to find the parts and pieces in our own stories that make room for the parts and pieces in another.

When it comes to holiday meals, I am all about the side dishes. I would happily forgo the turkey, ham, or centerpiece protein altogether in favor of a panoply of starchy, gooey goodness to pile on my plate. And I’m no side dish snob. At Thanksgiving, I crave unpretentious dishes like green bean casseroles, corn puddings, and mashed potatoes choking beneath a pool of butter and gravy. There is, however, one notable exception to my love of traditional Thanksgiving sides.

A vegetable-heavy casserole is a must on any Thanksgiving table — and welcome any fall night. Here, a generous mixture of winter greens and tender artichoke hearts is smothered with a crispy topping of thick polenta slices. The polenta not only makes this dish gluten-free, but it also makes it extra hearty. That means it’s also well-suited for the vegetarians at your table.

When you’re planning a date night in, you want recipes that deliver on flavor and presentation, but don’t take all evening to prepare. This recipe for Parmesan roasted zucchini from Ina Garten’s new cookbook, Cooking for Jeffrey, is a perfect fit for all your side dish needs. This recipe is easily scalable, whether you’re making it for two for a cozy evening at home or for a larger group for a potluck or dinner party.

When I first saw the photo for this recipe, I thought onion rings! Then I thought doughnuts! But I was truly surprised to learn that they are, in fact, fried rings of delicata squash. Unlike some other varieties, the skin of this squash is edible. You simply slice the delicata into rings, then coat it in batter before frying it up until golden-brown.

This is the very definition of a #miraclemeal: beef and veggie kabobs that go straight from freezer to grill. These absolutely delicious family favorites are made with affordable beef sirloin that is coated with a spice rub, and threaded onto skewers along with veggies. The whole kabob is frozen, skewers and all, so you can make these two at a time or 10 at a time. The best part is you don’t even need to thaw them; when you’re ready to cook just fire up the grill!

All you have to do to make chicken salad a hundred times more interesting is add in a chopped apple. An apple adds crunch, sweetness, and freshness, and you’ve also taken care of eating a serving of fruit for the day. When apple season hits, make this chicken Waldorf salad your go-to lunch, or leave a batch of this in your fridge so that dinner is waiting for you when you get home.

As cooler weather settles in, the craving for something warm and gooey becomes fierce — here’s the solution. These melts, stuffed with chicken, cheddar, and apples, bring together some of the best flavors of the season to satisfy that craving. They’re hot and toasty and made in one big batch on a baking sheet, which makes them a simple yet ideal way to cap off a fall day. The best part about these sandwiches is that they are made all at once on one baking sheet.

If you’re tempted to order takeout tonight from your favorite Chinese restaurant, squash that urge and try this sweet and spicy tofu stir-fry instead. This dish comes together in the same amount of time it takes to steam rice, and the tofu gets browned and crispy without all the fuss of deep-frying. My favorite way of making crispy tofu is as simple as patting it really dry and using a nonstick pan.

This Thai curry can be whipped up in less time than it takes to call for takeout, so put the phone down and get in the kitchen. It’s also meatless, but thanks to hearty vegetables like butternut squash and broccoli, plus creamy coconut milk, it’s immensely satisfying and has all the necessary flavors to make you feel like cooking for fall has finally arrived. Saucy Thai curries always hit the spot, and this one is no different.

If I could make only one thing in the pressure cooker, I’d pick potatoes. They cook in only eight minutes and come out creamy and flavorful each time. In fact, I think they taste better — more potato-y than traditional boiled, steamed, or baked potatoes. After cooking, you can use the potatoes however you’d like. For a quick side dish, I toss them in melted butter and add some freshly chopped herbs and a generous sprinkle of salt.

Spoiler alert: Use a pressure cooker.

Yes, the spiralizer is a bit of a novelty, but it helps make things a bit more playful. I’ve found that my ambivalence towards cucumbers turn them into noodles, spiralized zucchini dish Give this salad a rest in the dressing before serving so the veggies have some time to soften and absorb the flavors.

When you crave the creaminess of mashed potatoes blended with sour cream and butter, but still want something a little lighter and a lot faster, reach for a bag of frozen cauliflower. While you certainly won’t mistake the taste of cauliflower for mashed potatoes, its soft, creamy texture is a dead ringer. Some sour cream, a spoonful of garlic, and a pat of butter make this otherwise light veggie feel a little more rich and indulgent. Want to make it look pretty, too?

If you can’t get enough of elote during the summer, this is the side dish you need in your life. Inspired by the cheesy Mexican street corn with a kick, this version calls in creamy feta to get the job done. Skip the salt and season your veggies with a big handful of salty cheese instead. Sweet corn meets its match when it’s tossed with crumbled feta and gets some added heat from a pinch of chile flakes.

Poor zucchini, it’s hard to get any respect when you’re the most prolific and fastest-growing vegetable of them all. Everyone wants homegrown tomatoes no matter how many you have, but offer up a few a zucchini and suddenly the room empties. Pity those sad zucchini know-nothings — they have no idea what they’re missing! If you’re taking zucchini for granted this summer, hold on just a minute.

This colorful pie, loaded with every color of the rainbow, takes veggie pizza to a whole new level. It’s a great way to put your farmers market haul to work, and makes firing up the oven totally worth it. Think of these colorful toppings as suggestions. There’s so much room for experimenting and really making this your own creation. Do you have a soft spot for blue potatoes or purple cabbage? Consider swapping either one in, in place of the red onion.

Watch the video to learn how to make this easy side dish.

Creamed corn lovers, this one’s for you! For those nights when you don’t have a few hours for your veggies to simmer, this creamy corn dish with a kick has you covered. Inspired by the creamed corn you know and love, this quicker, lighter, and zestier version comes together in a fraction of the time. Chili powder brings smoky undertones to corn tossed with mild and creamy Colby cheese and fresh cilantro.

This is the kind of recipe that calls for a bottle of red wine and a reason to celebrate. Did you survive that Monday of back-to-back meetings? Well, that’s definitely a reason to celebrate. Of course making it to Hump Day is a cause for celebration, too. Sure, these steak roll-ups feel fancy, but they’re so quick and easy that they deserve to be made whenever the occasion feels right, be it a busy Wednesday or a slow Sunday.

This is a recipe that will surprise you. Sure, a savory pot pie is nothing new, but we’re throwing peaches into the mix. Tomatoes and peaches actually play off each other’s own sweetness and, when combined with onions and fresh herbs, make for a juicy pot pie that’s at first unexpected, and then incredibly comforting and satisfying. But the real secret is in the crust, and it’s a secret you may find yourself stealing for more recipes than just this one.

Consider eggplant noodles a short-and-sweet introduction to eggplant. These noodles don’t require a spiralizer, they don’t need to be salted (as some would argue all eggplant does), and they cook quickly. They also utilize one of eggplants often bemoaned qualities — they are incredibly absorbent. These noodles will soak up any sauce they are tossed with, becoming even more flavorful.

Here’s a dinner you can make with three ingredients (or four ingredients, if you count the smoky hint from the grill). Use your favorite purchased meatballs, your favorite barbecue sauce, and a few sweet bell peppers to make this meal in 15 minutes. You can probably do it in 10 if you really hustle. Frozen meatballs work like a dream here. Once the meatballs are thawed enough to easily thread onto a skewer, these kebabs are basically ready for the grill.

Culinary shape-shifter eggplant can be cajoled into many forms. A steak, strips of bacon, and even a fragrant rose. And if you’re wondering why one might want an aubergine rose, let me tell you — this is the tastiest rose you’ll ever eat.

Rollatini is a little like the love story of eggplant parm and lasagna. Typically rollatini is made by flouring and then frying thin slices of eggplant (like eggplant parm), which are then filled with a creamy ricotta cheese mixture (like lasagna). The resulting eggplant rolls are baked until tender in tomato sauce. Rollatini is also a really great meal for those rare times when you might have a lasagna craving, but don’t want pasta.

Corn and basil are fast friends when it comes to flavor. The sweetness of the corn is only amplified in the presence of this hot-tasting herb. Here, the two are literally bundled together with a bow of bacon and grilled until smoky and crisp. This recipe has a tendency to sputter a bit as it cooks. The fat rendering from the bacon drops into the grill, causing flames to leap up, which in turn give the corn an additional smoky kiss.

Caponata is a Sicilian eggplant relish made with celery, onion, and tomatoes cooked into a sweet and sour sauce and served with bread as an appetizer. Some versions have olives or capers, others call for raisins or zucchini, and some even use hot peppers or anchovies. The results of this nuanced cooking process are delicious, if not exhausting. Here, the slow cooker takes care of all the cooking, making this a mostly hands-off dish that can be used as an appetizer or main course.

Collard greens need a gentle, slow, luxurious braise in fragrant liquid (rather like a spa treatment), which makes a slow cooker the perfect vessel and method. With a little work up front and a thoughtful finish, a large slow cooker can yield many servings of velvety greens and brilliant potlikker — plenty for immediate feasting and plenty to freeze for later.

Fresh summer corn is perfect all on its own in peak season — deliciously sweet and juicy — so why bother messing with it? Well, when you can make it even better by mixing it with tender zucchini, dotting it with fresh herbs and tangy goat cheese, and wrapping it all up in a buttery, flaky pie crust, it’s absolutely worth it. This savory galette is a bit of a show-off. It looks rustic and elegant all at the same time, without even trying.

Now is the peak season for corn — not the wan stuff of early May, but the real deal; the sweet, juicy golden corn that’s worth eating at every meal. In fact, midsummer corn is so tender, crisp, and sweet that the best way to eat it is raw. Here are five ways to gobble up summer corn without turning on the heat. Corn this good deserves to shine on its own. Make a fresh summer salad where raw corn is the star of the show.

Every so often I attempt to re-create some of my favorite takeout meals at home, and time and time again, the resulting dish is always easier to pull off than I imagined, leading me to question why I hadn’t done this sooner. These rice bowls for two — studded with pork and broccoli, and slathered in a really good peanut sauce — are no exception.

Eggplant is a nightshade often used as a substitute for meat in a number of dishes — from bolognese to burgers — so it only seems natural that we try our hand at transforming it into bacon. We’re taking eggplant back to the skillet, seasoning it for bacon success, and frying it up — just like the real stuff. Long, skinny varieties, such as Japanese or Chinese eggplant, are ideal for turning into bacon.

When you think of chowder, your mind probably lands on the clam variety. But now that summer is officially here, with fresh corn soon to be in abundance, it’s time to welcome a new chowder into your life. This chicken-corn chowder is just the ticket — and you don’t even have to go near the stove to make it. It really doesn’t get any easier than a slow-cooker soup.

When summer corn comes into season, it’s hard to think of a time when simply eating it off the cob would cause you any fatigue. But if you’re looking for a new way to get your fill of corn this summer, it’s time to look to the slow cooker for help because it is one of the easiest ways to get this sweet and creamy corn pudding on your table without having to worry about turning on the stove. The star flavor here comes from the corn, of course.

When fancy toast swept through San Francisco, littering cafe menus with $4 slabs of thick bread showered in cinnamon sugar or almond butter and homemade jams, I resisted trying it for a long time. When I caved and ordered one, I finally understood the appeal of just-toasted bread and quality toppings. The toast revolution doesn’t have to be for breakfast only, though — here’s one with creamy ricotta cheese, lemony peas, and crispy prosciutto!

You might be tired of heavy winter braises by now since spring is in full force, but that doesn’t mean you should retire the braising pot just yet. All the gorgeous spring vegetables still work beautifully in a quicker, lighter braise — one where you can still taste the unique flavors of each vegetable. Chicken is the perfect protein for a quick braise.

Usually gazpacho is all about the tomatoes, but when you can’t get your hands on the fresh, juicy, ripe beauties that only make an appearance during the heydays of summer, the answer to a really good gazpacho is an unexpected condiment hiding in your pantry. This version of gazpacho takes a turn from the traditional with the help of fish sauce.

I knew I had to include this endive-avocado salad as part of a Mother’s Day brunch, as it is my own mother’s favorite salad (hi, Mom!). I tell people often — on my blog, in my book — that I have a long and complicated relationship with salad. My mother insisted on it every single night (no matter what) growing up. That meant that ages 4 to 12 I came up with many, many creative ways to dispose of it that did not include consumption.

The minute I get my hands on the first radishes of spring, I’m off to enjoy them sliced with lots of butter and judicious pinches of flaky sea salt. As the season continues and the bounty begins to pile up, I start looking beyond raw preparations and sauté or roast my radishes instead. Radishes cook up beautifully; their affinity for butter and sea salt is just as apparent in the skillet.

Tiny sweet red beets and vibrant orange young carrots — each with a shock of fresh greens — are among spring’s most colorful arrivals. This salad makes the best of both, combining tender beets, quick-roasted carrots, and tangy beet greens. A creamy ranch-style dressing made with Greek yogurt, green onions, and herbs brings it all together for a salad that’s both fresh and hearty. This method of cooking beets are one of my go-to preparations.