This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
When eating healthy, it’s nice to have some go-to sides to pair with your meal. Healthy side dishes don’t have to be vegetables, nor do they need to be hard!
More Collections: Green Salad Recipes, Family Dinner Ideas, Healthy Dinner Ideas
We Love a Healthy Side Dish!
A healthy side dish should complement the main dish by completing a balanced meal. They are typically low in calories and rich in nutrients and often include fruits, vegetables, or whole grains.
Why we love healthy sides:
- Avoids processed foods. The closer a food is to its original state, the healthier and more nutrient-rich it is.
- Easy. It’s simple to include nutrient-rich fruits and veggies.
- Flavorful. Healthy dishes doesn’t mean we skimp on flavor, and these are packed with taste!
How to Eat Healthy
- Be cautious of cooking methods. Steaming vegetables keeps a higher nutrient count than boiling.
- Eat intentionally and slowly.
- Choose whole grains.
- Plan your menu and do your shopping accordingly.
- Instead of deep frying try an air fryer or roasting.
- Serve dressing and dip on the side.
- Control the ingredients by cooking at home.
- Avoid short-term “diets” and make adjustments for long-term eating plans.
Healthy Substitutions
- Rice. Substitute white rice with something similar with more nutrients like brown rice, Cauliflower Rice, quinoa, barley, couscous, or riced cabbage.
- Mashed potatoes. Mashed cauliflower, mashed carrots, butternut squash, and mashed turnips are all healthy alternatives to traditional mashed potatoes.
Preparing Vegetable Side Dishes
- Raw vegetables can be quite refreshing and delicious all on their own or used to dip in other things.
- Sauté vegetables with a bit of olive oil in a hot pan. Make them savory by adding in some of your favorite herbs and spices like basil, rosemary, thyme, garlic, green onions, salt, and pepper.
- Roasted vegetables make an easy healthy side dish. Simply toss with olive oil & salt or flavored with other herbs and spices. Cut the vegetables the same size, don’t overcrowd the pan, roast at high heat, and flip halfway.
- Grilled vegetables. Similar to roasting but with added texture and flavor from the char. Place directly on the grill grates or use a grill basket. Chop them into similar sizes and thread them on a skewer.
- Steamed vegetables. Cut all the vegetables the same size. Bring the water to a boil then add the veggies to the steamer basket. Be sure no water is touching the veggies. Test one with a fork and steam longer if necessary. Toss them with butter and add flavor with salt and fresh herbs or brighten them up with a splash of lemon juice.
Best Healthy Side Dishes
These are some of our favorite healthy side dish recipes. They include our go-to’s that even the kids love and some classics!
1 Oven Roasted Vegetables Recipe
2 How to Boil Corn on the Cob Recipe
3 Roasted Brussel Sprouts
4 Roasted Sweet Potato Cubes
5 Fruit Salad Recipe
6 Roasted Green Beans Recipe
7 Summer Corn Salad Recipe
8 Zucchini Tots Recipe
9 Baked Parmesan Asparagus Recipe
10 Roasted Red Potatoes Recipe
Healthy Vegetable Sides
Vegetables are dairy & gluten-free, lower in fat & sugar, and high in nutrients like fiber, making them great healthy side dishes for any meal at home or to take to a potluck.
11 Honey Glazed Carrots
12 Roasted Carrots Recipe
13 Sauteed Green Beans Recipe
14 Herb Roasted Potatoes Recipe
15 Corn on the Cob on the Grill
16 Microwave Corn
17 Roasted Broccoli Recipe
18 Balsamic Glazed Brussel Sprouts
19 Air Fryer Zucchini Recipe
20 Zucchini Chips Recipe
21 Grilled Asparagus
22 Zucchini Fries Recipe
23 Green Bean Bundles
24 Zucchini Chips Recipe
25 Cauliflower Rice Recipe
26 Parmesan Crusted Zucchini Recipe
Recipe Video
Get the recipe27 Mashed Cauliflower Recipe
28 Potatoes and Asparagus Recipe
29 Parmesan Brussel Sprouts Recipe
30 Roasted Cauliflower Recipe
More Healthy Sides
Enjoy even more healthy side options. With so many to choose from, you’ll never run out of tasty choices.
31 Veggie Cups Appetizer
32 Roasted Tomatoes Recipe
33 Homemade Naan Recipe
34 Cilantro Lime Rice Recipe
35 Coconut Rice Recipe
36 Spanish Rice Recipe
37 Crockpot Spanish Rice Recipe
38 Baked French Fries Recipe
39 Roasted Chickpeas Recipe
40 Broccoli Slaw Recipe
41 Fruit Kabobs
42 Homemade Applesauce Recipe
43 Crock Pot Pinto Beans Recipe
44 Caprese Stuffed Avocados Recipe
Healthy Side Salads
Don’t forget the side salads. All of these are great sides to add to your main dish and can be modified by adding your favorite healthy ingredients.
45 Kale Salad Recipe
46 Arugula Salad Recipe
47 Brussel Sprout Salad Recipe
48 Tuna Salad Recipe
49 Southwest Caprese Salad Recipe
50 Tomato Mozzarella Salad Recipe
51 Quick Caprese Salad Recipe
52 Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad Recipe
53 Asparagus Salad Recipe
54 Strawberry Harvest Salad Recipe
55 Strawberry Spinach Salad Recipe
A Favorite Healthy Side
We love to Roast Veggies because they make the perfect side dish to most meals.
We love to do a mix of veggies, but our go-to recipe includes butternut squash, brussels sprouts, carrots, and potatoes. We also like to throw in yellow squash and zucchini on hand. This recipe takes less than 10 minutes to prep and the result is incredible.
Here is the recipe:
50+ Healthy Appetizers – Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
- 1½ cups baby carrots
- 1½ cups brussel sprouts
- 1½ cups potatoes Yukon Gold, cubed
- 1½ cups butternut squash cubed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ tablespoon garlic salt (with parsley flakes)
- ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ⅛ cup Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Place veggies in a bowl and add olive oil, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning. Toss to coat.
- Place on greased foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, flipping over half way through the bake time.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
On the Lighter Side
Whether it’s to accompany a special meal or regular week-night dinner, you are sure to find the perfect recipe that’s both healthy and delicious!
More Collections: Healthy Soup Recipes, Healthy Pasta Recipes, Healthy Appetizers
I love the sheet pan veggie recipe. I’ll often add sliced apple sausage for a complete meal.
So many great options here! Can’t wait to try those sheet pan veggies, yum.
Loved these sides dishes! The roasted vegetables were so good! Now on repeat!
This such an amazing collection! I bookmarked it for later. Love the roasted veggies!
It’s not always easy making the right choices. Having all these healthier choices makes it so much easier and takes a lot of the guesswork out for you.