15+ Quick & Easy Side Dishes That Steal the Show (You’ll Forget About the Main Course)

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Side dish, appetizer—you’d think it’s the same thing, right? Nope. They’re actually different.

There’s a difference between side dishes and appetizers. Appetizers are usually fun finger foods you eat to stimulate your hunger or get your appetite going before the main course. Side dishes, on the other hand, are served with the main course. (When I don’t have time to cook, I either go for sheet-pan dinners or dump and go crockpot meals.)

So think about tasty side dishes. They usually come with a lot of vegetables and tend to be colorful. Eggplants, carrots, beans, peas, broccoli… it all depends on how you cook them.

One I really love is a crunchy Brussels carrot salad. All you need to do is slice up some raw carrots and a few beets, then add a lemony honey vinaigrette dressing. Sprinkle some cilantro or parsley on top. Oh, and don’t forget the crispy sliced almonds. It always makes a great side dish. It also makes an amazing snack when you’re craving something in the afternoon and don’t want to reach for junk food. It’s perfect.

Another side dish I really love is something I call nutty buttered green beans. You might think butter isn’t healthy for you, but that’s not true. Just go for grass-fed and eat it in moderation. It actually has vitamins and nutrients like K2 that your body needs. But that’s beside the point. These beans are delicious. You can take any plain, boring green bean and turn it into something so tasty you’ll want it ten times over.

It’s basically just buttered green beans with thinly sliced almonds, or any nut you prefer, sprinkled on after you stir-fry or cook them. I personally love the stir-fry method because it gives them a little crisp. You can also top them with fresh thyme or any herbs you like. It’s amazing and super healthy too.

And of course, the ultimate side dish you can never go wrong with is mashed potatoes. I like mixing mine with extra virgin olive oil. It’s a healthy fat and totally different from the processed stuff. But honestly, mashed potatoes never fail. That’s another side dish I always recommend.

In fact, I gathered a bunch of side dish recipes for you to try. I really want you to check them out. Let me know what you think. You can change things up and add variety so you don’t feel like you’re eating the same thing every day. Even if you’re using the same type of food or ingredients, just mix and match to keep things exciting.

Let me know how you find these recipes!

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