51 Vegetable Sides That'll Have Everyone Grabbing Seconds

Side dishes can be a tricky thing. Not only do you have to find one that perfectly compliments your main dish — be it chicken thighs, ground beef, baked pasta or more — but it also needs to satisfy everyone at your dinner table, picky kids and adults included. It’s no easy feat! Thankfully, veggie sides deliciously meet both of those requirements. Not only are they extremely versatile, but vegetables of all shapes, sizes and varieties can be used to enhance and transform just about any other ingredient. Need some more convincing? Just check out our Kale Salad with Strawberries and Fennel recipe below. Though mixing sliced strawberries in with kale might seem like a strange suggestion, this simple step makes this weeknight side dish a total gamechanger! Roasted sunflower seeds and thin stalks of fennel also give the side ample crunch and texture, which nicely offsets the chewiness of the kale. Keep clicking through this gallery to see even more fun and creative ways you can dress up all your favorite veggies year-round!

The perfect roasted asparagus should be lightly browned and tender, yet bright green and crisp. Roasting the spears at a high temperature helps achieve this. We also browned grated Parmesan to make a nutty, crumbly frico topping. Wait until ready to serve to top the vegetables so the crisped cheese stays crunchy.

This simple side is both easy and delicious, thanks to a clove of garlic and dried red chili flakes.

Ina adds nutmeg to enhance the nutty flavors of Gruyere and Parmesan, then tops her dish with breadcrumbs to form a rich, buttery crust.

It doesn't need to be July or August for you to enjoy corn on the cob. In fact, this easy 15-minute recipe gives you the perfect excuse to make it and eat it any time of the year! The star of this side dish is the paprika butter topping, which you'll make by combining softened butter, grated garlic, salt, pepper and rosemary. If you have some of the topping leftover, a little birdy told us that it tastes amazing smeared across a grilled hotdog too.

If turnips have been absent from your dinner table in years' past, this stress-free salad recipe is a great way to introduce the earthy vegetable into your family's diet. Dressing the turnips with a zesty mixture made from lemon juice, mashed anchovy filet and grated garlic also helps the root vegetable's natural nuttiness shine, giving you an elegant side dish that's done in just 20 minutes.

Ree turns roasted carrots into a wonderful snacky side dish that couldn't be easier. And for dipping? A quick sauce made of store-bought ketchup and ranch dressing.

Frozen green beans, canned white cannellini beans and frozen edamame beans are at the heart of this fiber-rich side dish recipe. We suggest serving it with the homemade mustard-vinaigrette included in the recipe, though your favorite store-bought salad dressing could also work!

The easiest way to get your sprouts extra crispy? Cook them in the air fryer! You'll use less oil but still get the texture you're craving.

Broccoli and fresh herbs feel right at home when mashed with creamy potatoes.

Want to give your go-to coleslaw recipe a sunshiny upgrade?! Try this tropical take on the classic picnic side! Canned coconut milk and freshly-squeezed lime juice replace traditional mayonnaise in this recipe, while chopped mango and salted peanuts completely transform store-bought coleslaw mix. Trust us — each and every bite will have you daydreaming of white sand beaches and rolling ocean waves.

Bok choy comes into season in the spring and fall. There are a few different ways to cook it; the Food Network test kitchen tried all of them, and this simple 15-minute technique is our favorite. It involves quickly stir-frying the bok choy with garlic, ginger, a splash of Shaoxing wine and savory chicken bouillon. At Chinese restaurants, adult bok choy is typically blanched until just-tender or sliced thinly for stir fries, but we prefer to split heads of tender baby bok choy in half. Just be sure to rinse your bok choy thoroughly, as sand and grit can hide between the leaves.

This bright and flavorful salad is a great dish to whip up when you’re lacking on time. Ready in just 30 minutes, all you need are a few pantry staples to create a bold, complex, flavor dish. Soy sauce, sesame oil, and crushed red pepper flakes help dress up cooling cucumber with deep flavor.

Zucchini is easily overlooked, but with the addition of melty cheese and a crunchy cornflake topping, you can transform this summer vegetable into a perfect casserole for a barbeque or potluck. Switch out the herbs with what you have on hand—chives, thyme, basil and cilantro would all work well and add great flavor!

If there's one vegetable that pairs perfectly with just about any protein — be it chicken, beef or fish — it's green beans. In this 15-minute recipe from Food Network Magazine, the beloved veggies are cooked in olive oil until beautifully browned. They are then topped with a herby "crumble" made from fresh parsley, basil, pistachios and scallions.

We found that the best way to grill asparagus is to lay it right on the grill grates at an angle--no foil packet or grilling basket necessary. We jazzed ours up with tangy, creamy feta and fresh mint. To get a good char, be sure to use medium-sized asparagus—no pencil-thin stalks here!

Enjoy one of your favorite bar and party snacks in a new form. With our spicy buffalo sauce and cool, creamy blue cheese sauce, cauliflower is as satisfying as wings but with a fraction of the calories and fat.

This 5-star Swiss chard recipe makes a great side dish for monthly enjoyment! You’ll use both the stems and the leaves of a bunch of rainbow chard here, as well as a can of black-eyed peas. Seasoning the dish with a few dashes of bottled hot sauce finishes it off, adding in a bold, unexpected kick which pairs nicely with just about any of these pork tenderloin recipes.

Sprinkle feta cheese and a homemade herb salt, made with dried oregano and thyme, over tender, charred slices of zucchini for a delicious veggie dish you'll make again and again.

Who wouldn't want to dig into a plate full of these expertly caramelized baby carrots?! Looks aside, this yummy side is perfect for anyone who's super curious about cooking with harissa, but hasn't tried it yet.

A mixture of basil, toasted pine nuts and Parmesan makes a flavorful topping for Ina’s oven-roasted broccoli.

Salt-and-vinegar is a flavor that has long been celebrated in the potato chip aisle, so it's only fitting that we applied the beloved combo to this crispy smashed potato recipe. Adding a hefty amount of vinegar to the water you cook your potatoes in is essential here — doing so will infuse your spuds with a lovely tanginess, that'll only be enhanced further by a sprinkle of coarse sea or table salt.

For a beautiful display of greens, try shaving brussels sprouts and adding a bit of savory pancetta.

Boxed quinoa is one of our all-time favorite pantry staples. It's also one of the main ingredients featured in this brightly colored salad recipe from Food Network Magazine. You'll use diced strawberries, baby spinach and sliced shallot along with it, plus a handful of chopped salted almonds for added crunch and texture. A refreshing and creamy poppyseed dressing finishes the dish off, giving you a side that's as filling as it is flavorful. In the mood for even more quinoa recipes? Check out this ultimate list of our best quinoa recipes!

Everything bagel-lovers will fall madly in love with this spiced spaghetti squash recipe. Though you can totally use store-bought seasoning to dress up your squash, mixing together pantry staples, like salt, pepper, garlic, sesame seeds and poppy seeds, is an easy way to do it yourself. Best part of all — you can even cook the squash in your microwave!

This recipe takes the traditional flavors in the green sauce called Gremolata—parsley, lemon, garlic and olive oil—and combines them with crisp toasted panko to create a crunchy topping for lightly charred asparagus.

Apple cider vinegar is a great ingredient to grab when you’re putting together a quick marinade, vinaigrette, chutney or dressing. For this unique coleslaw recipe, we combined it with sugar, celery salt and vegetable oil to easily dress up shredded green cabbage and carrots. It's simple, easy and can even be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator until dinnertime!

Golden raisins liven up this warm broccoli slaw, which also features heavenly strips of briny, thickly-cut bacon. Pair it alongside a freshly grilled hamburger or hotdog in warmer months or spoon it on top of these pulled pork sandwiches when it's a bit cooler outside!

With heart-healthy olive oil, sweet caramelized onions, and a heaping of fresh parsley, Food Network Kitchen’s cauliflower rice works great as a low-carb rice replacement.

It's not often that we advise our fans to "overcook" something, but in the case of this delectable 3-ingredient buttered broccoli recipe, that's exactly what we want you to do! You can even use the end product to make this frittata, this pasta or this gratin!

Need a quick and simple side that's ready in a matter of minutes? Try this blanched asparagus, served with an easy blender-made Hollandaise sauce and a sprinkle of cayenne for a little heat.

Cucumber and tomato salad is crunchy and refreshing, so it’s an easy salad for summertime. Serve it alongside grilled meats or top it with falafel for a quick, healthy dinner. This simple salad can be used as a a main dish, side salad or condiment.

Add everyone's favorite super food (mighty kale!) into your dish for an extra crunch and green goodness. Shavings of parmesan cheese layer on a nice, nutty flavor.

If you've never thought to use heirloom tomatoes and baby potatoes in the same dish before, we're here to tell you that they're a match made in food heaven! For this simple side dish recipe, you'll mix the two together and top them with chopped basil, parsley and chives.

Bell peppers and fennel probably aren't ingredients you've seen used in slaw recipes before, but this fun "garden" variety from Food Network Magazine is full of them! To coat the shredded cabbage and fennel that makes up the slaw's base, we use a zesty and creamy mixture of yogurt, sour cream, vinegar and garlic salt.

Grapefruit often gets a bad rap for its overly tart, somewhat bitter taste, but broiling it — like you do when putting together this super easy salad — truly transforms the citrus fruit. Sprinkling your grapefruit segments with brown sugar and paprika before placing it in your oven is key here and will go a really long way when you add the fruit in with the rest of your salad ingredients.

If you're looking for a new and creative way to finally convince your kids (or your spouse or roommates) to eat their broccoli, this tahini yogurt-topped version might just do the trick!

Fans of Guy Fieri's and Bobby Flay's beer can chicken recipes won't be able to resist this ginormous veggie side. To make it, you'll rest a head of cauliflower on the neck of a half-filled can of beer and place it inside a covered grill until it’s brightly golden and tender. It's truly a feast for the eyes and the stomach!

Crostatas don't need to be filled with chopped fruits in order to be delicious. Case in point: this buttery tomato and goat cheese crostata from Ina Garten! The Barefoot Contessa star fills it with plumb slices of juicy heirloom tomatoes and crumbly goat cheese. Before baking your own crostata in the oven, be sure to follow Ina's lead and place it on top of an upside down sheet pan. Doing so will ensure that your handmade crust is perfectly browned on all sides.

This salad is all about its yummy mix-ins. At its base, you'll find crunchy lettuce leaves and spheres of sliced cucumbers, but it's the crumbly goat cheese and earthy beet chip topping that truly make the dish a must-try!