What's your favorite veggie side dish?

shaumom

I grew up with really boring side dishes, like boiled peas or carrots with salt, and would love to hear some tastier side dishes people have enjoyed with their veggies1

fitoverfortymom

Just about any vegetable roasted with a little bit of oil, sea salt, and smoked paprika, especially green beans, Brussels sprouts, shishito peppers, broccoli.

estherdragonbat

I love roasting veggies. Green beans, mushrooms, carrots, root vegetables. I also make oven fries. Generally I use potato and add carrot sticks for volume. Put it all in a ziploc bag with a teaspoon of oil and any seasonings I feel like (salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne, and rosemary seem to keep coming up) and roast at 425 for about a half hour.

Stirfrying and fritatta work well too.

alawrenc12

Fresh green beans sauteed with fresh garlic and roasted red pepper
Grilled asparagus marinated in italian dressing
Tin Foil Packet on grill of red and green peppers, onion, zucchini, broccoli and cauliflower with a little bit of olive oil and cajun spices

Joanna2012B

fitoverfortymom wrote: »

Just about any vegetable roasted with a little bit of oil, sea salt, and smoked paprika, especially green beans, Brussels sprouts, shishito peppers, broccoli.

I do this too!! I also like asparagus and cauliflower roasted. Right now I am loving the spiraled vegetables (Beets, Sweet Potatoes and Zucchini. I just sautee them in a little olive oil and sea salt. Eating my beets right now YUM!!

janejellyroll

Roasted or braised cabbage

Sauteed pea pods with a bit of sesame oil and sriracha

Roasted broccoli

Braised collards

leggup

Roasted brussels sprouts are my favorite. Cut them in half. Toss with olive oil and balsamic. Spread on pan and sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast 400 degrees for 20-25 min. About halfway through the time I sometimes toss chopped onions on top with whatever oil/vinegar mix is left. So yum. Ratio:

• 1 lb of brussels sprouts
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• Coarse kosher salt, to taste

cwolfman13

I like all kinds of veggies...usually sauteed or roasted...

lemurcat12

I'm pretty boring, I suppose.

Mixed root vegetables, roasted with some olive oil, salt, and pepper. Turnips, parsnips, carrots, celeriac (my favorite), beets.

Roasted anything, but broccoli and cauliflower are particularly easy and good.

Beet salad --- mix roasted beets with arugula and add some goat cheese and walnuts.

Sautee green beans with some silvered almonds, add dill at the end.

Sautee zucchini and yellow squash with mushrooms.

Sautee brussels sprouts with bacon (this is a vegetable gateway drug) or just roast them with olive oil and salt.

Sautee cabbage, onions, and apples together, eat with a pork chop.

Mix hot and cold ingredients (roasted veg on cold greens) in a salad.

Chop up broccoli and cauliflower and sautee them in olive oil, add some tomatoes and shrimp and pine nuts and then serve over pasta.

Sautee broccoli, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, carrots, and/or whatever else pleases you, and add some tofu (or meat if you prefer) and some Japanese seven spice (which is AMAZING) and eat with rice as a stir fry.

Brazilian style collards -- sautee in olive oil with garlic and onions (good with any greens). Boiled collards (traditional way or vegetarian alternatives) are good too. Adding a bit of vinegar to greens or jalapenos can be tasty.

Bit of a fall bias here -- I'd have more asparagus ideas in the spring.

Francl27

Mashed potatoes, roasted veggies (but adding oil defeats the purpose lol), creamed spinach.

I've been in a rut though... if I'm going to have to add too many calories to make my veggies tasty, might as well have pasta or potatoes.

Need2Exerc1se

I can't imagine picking a favorite side dish anymore than picking a favorite main dish. But I do agree that roasted is almost always a good way to go.

DDBooBoo57

Roasted asparagus--olive oil, salt and pepper. Delish!

Lynzdee18

Coleslaw.

GailK1967

Steamed spinach. God I love it. I often have it alone as a snack.

LonniJay

Does bacon wrapped asparagus count... Just thinking about them makes me hungry. I could eat them as a meal!

ChiChiDoesStuff

Roasted fresh green beans. Seasoned with the lemon pepper Mrs's Dash, and bacon bits.

jenilla1

steamed broccoli

Cbean08

I never cook my veggies with oil or butter and they always taste great to me.
Steamed or roasted broccoli with nutritional yeast seasoning
Steamed asparagus with garlic, lemon and pepper
Roasted cauliflower and carrots with marinara sauce
Roasted brussel sprouts with sundried tomato and garlic

oh, and how could I forget...

celery and peanut butter.

asianolikeyou

Steamed cauliflower
Roasted asparagus
Baked sweet potatoes

AntsyAngler

Sauteed onion, apple, mushrooms, and spinach. I like it with a bit of sharp cheddar and plenty of pepper.

Machka9

We usually have a massive pile of mixed veggies as the main part of dinner ... plus something else on the side.

shaumom

Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to trying a lot of these! And yeah...bacon wrapped asparagus totally works, LOL.

lizmcvey

my absolute favorite is roasted brussel sprouts. I put a little olive oil in a frying pan or wok and pepper, garlic, whatever spices you like and dump a bag of raw brussel sprouts in. It takes time to get them nice and roasted but it's worth the wait. Just keep rolling them around until the outside layer crisps up, a few will even peel off. They are so good with a nice piece of salmon or chicken....or anything really.

bioklutz

I love potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans - they taste good to me with minimal seasoning.

My favorite is schezwan green beans. I could eat that as a main dish.

ColetteM6

Roasted (acorn, butternut, spaghetti etc) squash.

KayteeBear

Parmesan Garlic Roasted Broccoli. Or asparagus. Really any roasted vegetable is great but parmesan garlic is my favorite.

katsheare

jenilla1 wrote: »

steamed broccoli

I love pretty much all veggies, but my go-to when I want something with a bit more punch is steamed broccoli with a tahini/lemon/garlic drizzle, maybe with toasted pine nuts on top. You don't need a lot of the drizzle or the pine nuts, and it's a very classy dish which takes very little time.

AnnPT77

To those suggesting avoiding any oil at all on veggies: You need some fat in the meal somewhere to metabolize the fat-soluble vitamins from the veggies. You also need some fat to pass the fiber smoothly through your digestive system and avoid constipation. Ignoring the veggies, you need fat in your food for proper hormone functioning.

Eat some fat! Olive oil, nuts, seeds and avocados are especially good and healthy sources

Back on topic: Winter squash or sweet potato soup is delicious. I like to puree in some navy or great northern beans to add thickness and protein, and some sunflower seeds or pepitas are also good, either pureed in or sprinkled on top. This is a great recipe, so yummy: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/252458/sweet-potato-peanut-bisque/

Sweet potato slices can also be used to make a bottom crust for as main-dish pie, such as a quiche, veggie/cheese mix, or veggie/meat. Here's an example recipe: http://www.cookinglight.com/food/vegetarian/sweet-potato-quiche-crust

You can use eggplant slices instead of pasta in a lasagna recipe, too.

If you like sweet peppers, cut the top off and stuff with your choice of other veggies, maybe some cooked quinoa or other grain, possibly some egg to hold it together, and bake until hot & tender.

Roast carrots with caraway seed and a little bit of apple cider vinegar in a baking dish.

Saute mushrooms, onions and garlic with greens. Collard greens, mustard greens, or kale are good sauteed briefly with onion and garlic and dressed with white wine vinegar, a dab of olive oil, and either a spoonful of prepared mustard or finely chopped fresh ginger (mix the oil/vinegar and mustard or ginger together before adding to greens).

aeloine

Roasted purple carrots are my absolute favorite! They are very sweet and super low cal.

shaumom

Awesome, love some of these new ideas, thank you again!

I am really intrigued by the carrots with caraway seed - not a seasoning I usually use. Interested in checking it out.

lporter229

So many great ideas on this thread! Total veggie lover here. My favorite is sauteed greens of any kind (collard, beet, mustard, spinach). Other favorites include:

Baby bok choy and mushrooms sauteed in sesame oil with garlic, ginger and sherry

Shredded Brussel sprouts sauteed in bacon grease or olive oil with garlic and red pepper flake

Grape tomato halves, zucchini and fresh corn sauteed in olive oil with lots of fresh basil (make this so much in the summer time)

Roasted beets and butternut squash...add a little orange zest if you have it...yum

When I am looking to just add a bunch of veggies to a big hunk of meat, I usually buy the frozen Normandy blend of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and squash. Add a bit of butter and some chopped fresh herbs.