Welcome to a roundup of our 40 best vegetable sides that add flavor and color to your meal.
These recipes cater to all skill levels, making it a breeze to incorporate more vegetables into your daily meals.
Get ready to turn ordinary dinners into extraordinary feasts with these 40 tasty and easy vegetable side dishes.
Vegetables are not just a supporting act; they’re culinary powerhouses, capable of transforming any meal into a gastronomic experience.
From crispy roasted Brussels sprouts to zesty grilled zucchini, these recipes will introduce you to exciting ways to enjoy your greens (and reds, yellows, and purples, too!).
Stovetop vegetable sides
1. Mashed potatoes
This mashed potato recipe is easy to make, light, and creamy, and you can adjust its consistency based on your preference.
The best way to serve this vegetable side dish is with butter and chives, or even better, with a generous amount of mushroom gravy.
2. Sauteed eggplant
This easy sauteed eggplant recipe is cooked in a pan on the stovetop in just 20 minutes and is convenient for a last-minute dinner served on pasta.
You can serve it as an Italian side dish, on bruschetta, next to your main dish, or upgrade it to a main dish, similar to a pasta alla Norma.
3. Quick sauteed zucchini
Serve this green vegetable side with pasta or risotto, in a frittata, or on pizza.
It’s a quick vegetable side ready in about 10 minutes, and the sautèed zucchini shines with fresh lemon juice and finely chopped parsley.
4. Caramelized onions
Caramelized onions are excellent as a topping to appetizers and protein main dishes.
This vegetable side melts in your mouth and is fantastic as an addition to starters, soups, hummus, vegetable salads, mujadara, and sandwiches.
5. Pan-fried asparagus
Lemon sautéed asparagus is the tastiest and best way to cook asparagus on the stove.
The asparagus turns out tender-crisp in just 10 minutes, and you can use this spring side dish in salads, frittata, and stir-fries.
6. Steamed artichokes
These steamed artichokes are easy to make and delicious, soft, and buttery.
You’ll be able to taste the artichoke flavor fully, and you can jazz them up with chimichurri and vegan mayonnaise.
7. Sauteed mushrooms
Here’s how to make perfect sauteed mushrooms on the stovetop with a few simple ingredients in about 15 minutes.
They are not only a delicious side dish on their own but also an excellent addition to pasta, salads, and grain bowls.
8. Cauliflower mashed potatoes
Cauliflower mashed potato is a lighter alternative; it’s easy to make, tasty, light, and airy.
You can expect a familiar, comforting flavor, similar to classic mashed potatoes, but with cheesy notes and a mild cauliflower taste.
9. Braised red cabbage
Braised red cabbage requires minimal effort and attention while it simmers for 40 to 50 minutes. It’s an excellent recipe to make ahead because the day after will be even tastier.
You can serve it as a delicious side dish to most meals, such as lentil loaf and stuffed butternut squash. It’s a cozy, tender, sweet, aromatic, nourishing recipe for your family.
10. Mashed sweet potatoes
Take your pick from 2 variations of mashed sweet potatoes: sweet or savory.
Sweet potatoes are a great autumn and winter side dish and pair well with other veggies, stews, mushroom gravy, and lentil Wellington.
11. Fried zucchini
You’ll love this fried zucchini recipe because it is easy to make, light without eggs, with simple ingredients, and with minimal mess in the kitchen.
Plus, you can choose your favorite cooking method; the options are deep-fried in oil, “fried” in the oven, or in the air-fryer.
12. Zaalouk (Moroccan eggplant dip)
You’ll love Zaalouk’s creamy yet chunky texture and rich, aromatic, slightly smokey, and savory taste.
This recipe is easy to make in one skillet in less than 30 minutes and is perfect for meal prep.
Vegetable sides in the oven
13. Easy roasted mushrooms
Oven-roasted mushrooms are a quick and easy side dish with a few staple ingredients and most mushroom varieties.
All you need to make them tasty and meaty is salt, garlic, and olive oil at a high oven temperature.
14. Roasted sweet potatoes
Easy and nutritious, these roasted sweet potatoes are the perfect side dish for an everyday dinner.
And since they are easy to top with tahini sauce and fresh herbs, they are also ideal for special dinners, holidays, and celebrations.
15. Garlic-roasted broccoli
Oven-roasted broccoli is so tasty you won’t believe it’s actual broccoli.
Crunchy, lemony, slightly spicy, and with the perfect twist of garlic, they are ideal as a pre-dinner appetizer, snack, or vegetable side dish.
16. Sweet potato wedges
Roasted sweet potato wedges are a quick and easy recipe that takes no time to prepare and only 30 minutes of roasting.
You can peel the sweet potatoes or make these wholesome skin-on sweet potato wedges; they make a rustic and healthful side dish served with marinara sauce.
17. Roasted eggplant
Roasted eggplant is an easy, delicious side that complements a variety of main dishes.
You can easily use it to make other recipes, such as salads, caponata, and curries, and serve as a healthy side dish with a drizzle of salsa verde on top.
18. Roasted potatoes
These tender and buttery roasted potatoes are perfect as an appetizer or side dish; we eat these a lot as a healthier alternative to french fries.
You can serve them as they are or with a dip like mayonnaise, chipotle sauce, and tahini sauce.
19. Roasted vegetable tray
These roasted vegetables are colorful, tasty, tender, and aromatic, perfect as an all-year side dish.
Follow our roasted veggie mix recommendations, and serve this colorful vegetable side with your favorite pasta, soup, or pizza.
20. Italian roasted zucchini
Tender, aromatic, and delicious, this roasted zucchini recipe is one dish that is easy to prepare and goes well with any meal.
The breadcrumb topping gives a lot of flavor to the zucchini, and it gets all golden, crisp, and crunchy as the breadcrumbs are gratin in the oven.
21. Roasted bell pepper
Oven-roasting peppers are a simple, clean, and healthy way to make smokey, juicy roasted peppers.
Drizzle with an Italian marinade and serve with focaccia bread for a Mediterranean, aromatic, and flavor-packed side dish.
22. Tomato confit
Tomato confit is the easiest, meltiest, most delicious tomato recipe.
Soft, juicy, packed with oregano and garlic aroma. Tomatoes made this way can elevate any meal: as a juicy side dish, a starter served with toasted crostini, or as a topping to a bowl of pasta.
23. Smashed potatoes
These smashed potatoes are the perfect finger food, similar to nachos, and you can even top them with cheese or dairy-free cheese if you like.
This recipe is excellent for so many occasions: weeknight dinner or Sunday dinner; you can serve them as a side dish and substitute for roasted potatoes.
24. Roasted carrots
Roasted carrots are a lovely side dish, perfect for many occasions, from a simple weeknight dinner to a special celebratory meal.
These carrots are tender, slightly caramelized, tasty, and can be drizzled with chimichurri, green goddess dressing, or chili oil.
25. Roasted Brussels sprouts
Roasted Brussels Sprouts are tender and buttery, but the dressing makes them extra special.
A creamy mustard vinaigrette coats the crevices of the oven-roasted Brussels sprouts with sweet, tangy, acidic, and slightly spicy notes.
26. Roasted butternut squash
Make them sweet or savory; this tender roasted butternut squash recipe is the ultimate fall side dish.
One is with garlic and fresh herbs, The other is with cinnamon and maple syrup. Both recipes are delicious as a side for an everyday or holiday dinner, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas celebrations.
Easy vegetable sides
27. Moroccan carrots
This warm carrot salad is a warming and wholesome side dish for any meal.
To build a beautiful mezze platter, serve the carrots with couscous, falafel, and Moroccan couscous salad.
28. Pickled red onions
Pickling vegetables is a quick and healthy way to prep veggies (and add extra zest to your meals).
Make them in 30 minutes without cooking and with four ingredients. We are sure you’ll want to put them on everything, including bowls, tacos, sandwiches, and salads.
29. Red cabbage slaw
This red cabbage slaw is perfect for any special occasion – Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and more.
The recipe is easy: crunchy red cabbage as a base, shredded carrots to add sweetness, sliced green apples to add sour notes, and chopped walnuts to add a nutty and earthy flavor.
30. Microwave sweet potato
Microwave sweet potato is a quick, healthy, and delicious side dish.
Eat it as is, as a vibrant vegetable side, or load it with chickpea salad or quinoa salad to turn it into a tasty and healthy main dish.
31. Cauliflower rice
This cauliflower rice recipe is grated with a box grater or processed in a food processor, then lightly cooked on the stove and served as if it were regular rice.
Eat it as a low–carb side dish when you feel like a little extra green next to curries, stews, and stir–fry meals.
32. Shaved Brussels sprout salad
This Brussels sprouts salad is a crispy side dish for the fall and winter seasons when Brussels sprouts are in season.
It’s a beautiful and different dish for a quick lunch or everyday dinner, and it’s excellent for a special holiday meal from Thanksgiving through Christmas.
33. Green bean salad
Green bean salad is easily upgraded with fresh basil, cherry tomatoes, slivered almonds, and a creamy mustard dressing.
In about 15 minutes, you’ve got a delicious and super tasty side dish everyone will love.
34. Air fryer asparagus
You can air fry most vegetables, but air fryer asparagus is one of our favorite air fryer recipes.
They are similar to oven-baked asparagus, except that they are faster to “roast,” crispier on the outside, and juicer on the inside, thanks to the quick cooking time.
35. Sautèed green beans
Sautèed green beans are crunchy on the outside and tender juicy on the inside.
They cook in just 15 minutes with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and you can serve them with a garnish of fresh herbs and a squeeze of lemon juice.
36. Tomato and cucumber salad
Cucumber tomato salad is a vibrant, crisp, and refreshing dish you can have as a light meal, colorful appetizer, or versatile side dish with most mains.
37. Zucchini salad
This raw zucchini salad will exceed your expectations because it’s delicious, refreshing, and easy to make.
We use a vegetable peeler to slice the zucchini thinly. It’s an easy technique and a super easy side dish that takes 10 minutes to prepare.
38. Sautèed kale
Sautéed kale tastes delicious, and the beautiful thing is that as the kale cooks, it gets flavorful and tender, the chewy fiber softens, it loses its roughness, and it gains an almost buttery texture.
This recipe takes 10 minutes to make. You can use any kale and only need extra virgin olive oil, salt, red pepper flakes, and garlic.
39. Air fryer zucchini
Air fryer zucchini is an easy, healthy, and tasty way of preparing this delicious vegetable.
The air fryer’s hot air and quick cooking time produce a tender-crisp zucchini with minimal use of oil.
40. Coleslaw
We finish this list with a creamy and refreshing coleslaw recipe.
You’ll love our homemade coleslaw because it’s easy to make with a few simple vegetables; you can prep it in advance, and it’s light and refreshing.
The secret is all in the dressing, which we make with a combination of mayonnaise (we use our homemade vegan mayo, but any other mayo works) and Greek-style yogurt (non-dairy yogurt works well too).
More vegetable side dishes
If you want more side dishes to choose from, get healthy ideas from these salads and vegetable recipes:
- 45 easy salad recipes or these 25 easy vegan salad ideas.
- Our best recipes with eggplant, zucchini, or sweet potato.
- 15 best sides for lasagna and 25 ideas for what to eat with hummus.
- Vegetarian appetizers and light soup ideas.
What to serve with vegetable sides
These healthy side dishes go well with protein, pasta, and any main dish. Take your pick here for some easy dinner inspiration:
- 25 easy tofu recipes with curries, soups, and stir-fry dinner ideas.
- 40 easy pasta recipes with Italian pasta favorites and plant-based pasta ideas.
- Easy dinners with stews, soups, vegetarian meals, and salad recipes.
- Lentil recipes, bean meal ideas, or chickpea recipes.
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35 Best Chickpea Recipes
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20 Lentil Recipes (easy meals)
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40 Easy Pasta Recipes
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10 Easy Curry Recipes
For many more easy and healthy side dishes make sure to check out our Sides Recipes Page!
40 Best Vegetable Sides
Ingredients
- Pick your favorite vegetable side dish
- Read the recipe for ingredients required
- Make the recipe by following the instructions
Instructions
- How to store: Most of these vegetable sides keep for 3 days in the refrigerator, best if stored in an airtight container. We usually reheat it in the microwave, but a pan with a dash of water would do too.
- How to reheat: Most of these recipes can be reheated in the microwave, on a pan with a dash of water. Check the individual recipes for full make ahead, reheating and storage instructions.
Notes
Nutrition
If you liked these best vegetable sides, you might also enjoy:
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25 Easy Eggplant Recipes
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20 Easy Zucchini Recipes
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25 Best Sweet Potato Recipes
Hi! We are Nico & Louise
Welcome to The Plant-Based School, a food blog with easy, tasty, and wholesome recipes.
Our aim is to help you and your family eat more veggies through delicious recipes with simple ingredients.
Easy right?