Eating enough fiber has many health benefits, from strengthening bones to maintaining a healthy gut flora. Luckily, these flavorful side dishes help you reap those benefits, with at least 3 grams of fiber per serving. Plus, they take advantage of tasty summer ingredients like tomatoes, corn, and zucchini. Pair options like our Slow Roasted Tomatoes or Grilled Corn Salad with Chili Miso Dressing with your favorite seasonal main dish for a filling, fiber-rich meal.
Slow roasted tomatoes
Summer ripe tomatoes become candy-sweet when cooked slowly in a low oven. Preserve summer bounty from your garden or farmers market with this recipe. Freeze for up to 6 months. Try these delicious tomatoes on sandwiches, mix them into risotto, or chop them and mix with Kalamata olives, olive oil and fresh herbs to serve on pita chips.
Escalivada (smoky slow roasted vegetables)
This vegan side dish is traditionally served at room temperature alongside grilled meat or fish, but you can also double the portion and eat it as a vegan main dish with crusty bread dipped in flavorful garlicky olive oil. The name of this roasted vegetable pairing comes from the Catalan word “escalivar,” which means to cook in ashes, although these days most people use the oven or grill to brown their veggies.
Grilled corn salad with chili miso dressing
Serve this salad with grilled steak, chicken, or white fish like halibut. You can also double the recipe to bring to your next potluck party. If you have tuna, a pungent Asian leafy vegetable, on hand, use it in place of less spicy spinach. Store-bought Thai sweet chili sauce and umami-packed white miso add instant flavor to this easy summer salad.
Grilled eggplant agrodolce
In this vegetable side dish, the Italian sauce “agrodolce” means “sour” (“agro”) and “sweet” (“dolce”), and here, baked eggplant is sponge-like, soaking up and resting in the sweet and sour sauce.
Charred kidney beans with mustard vinaigrette and hazelnuts
Our favorite trick for making this crunchy, mustardy vegan side dish is to use a grill basket, which allows you to cook all of the ingredients that would otherwise fall through the grill grates without the need for skewers.
Macaroni Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing
Give the classic pasta salad a fresher, more flavorful twist. Avocado replaces mayonnaise in this easy pasta dish for extra creaminess. Whole-grain elbow macaroni and fresh veggies make this a healthy pasta salad you’ll want to make all summer long.
Spiral Beet Salad
Impress your guests with this amazing beet salad that’s quick and easy to make. The spiralizer slices the beets thinly so there’s no need to cook or chop the vegetables. Regular red beets look great, but using striped Chioggia beets, golden beets, or a mix of the three will make the presentation even fancier.
Fresh sweet corn salad
We love fresh summer corn when it’s in season, but you can substitute frozen corn year-round in this easy and quick side dish.
Broccoli and balsamic mushrooms
In this easy broccoli side dish recipe, a touch of butter adds a smooth texture to the balsamic sauce that coats the broccoli and meaty mushrooms.
Herb Tomato Gratin
Vegetable gratin recipes often call for a topping of crunchy breadcrumbs or croutons, but summer tomatoes are too beautiful to hide, so we layered some crunchy cubes of bread underneath instead. Plus, the bread soaks up all the juicy goodness. If you can’t get marjoram, you can substitute fresh basil or oregano.
Bean salad with basil vinaigrette
This eye-popping bean salad recipe channels your inner food stylist as you plate up beans and veggies. Serve at a potluck or as a beautiful salad for brunch alongside grilled chicken, scallops, or fish.
Roasted Baby Carrots with Maple Thyme
Supercharge your carrot side dish with this recipe for Maple Thyme Roasted Baby Carrots. Try saving some of this recipe to add to our Carrot and Goat Cheese Arugula Salad recipe.
Broccoli, chickpea and pomegranate salad
Simple steps add more subtle flavor to this broccoli salad recipe: soaking onions tone down the sharpness and roasting cumin adds aroma. Serve with grilled chicken, pork, or fish.
Italian white bean salad
This Italian White Bean Salad is healthy and delicious. The capers and rosemary-lemon dressing add great flavor to the cannellini beans and chopped tomatoes.
Parsley Tabouli
Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman
This tangy, parsley-filled tabouli recipe is a flavorful side dish perfect for any gathering. The recipe can easily be doubled to feed a large crowd. Serve at room temperature or chilled.
Strawberry and beet salad
This beautiful strawberry and beet summer salad is perfect for a picnic or lunch on the go – just add some dressing.
Summer Green Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette and Anchovy Breadcrumbs
Using a variety of green vegetables gives this simple summer salad a fun mix of textures, while the breaded anchovies and sun-dried tomatoes in the vinaigrette add subtle but essential umami flavor.
Pineapple and avocado salad
This refreshing and simple Cuban salad recipe recreates the flavors of the tropics and is served with spicy chicken or pork, rice and beans.
Snap Pea Salad with Lemon and Feta
Fresh veggies, a lemony vinaigrette, salty feta cheese, and crunchy radishes and pea pods all come together in this side salad. Meyer lemons are perfect for this salad, but any kind will do.
Sweet Potato Nacho Fried
This healthy recipe swaps tortilla chips for sweet potato for an extra boost of Vitamin A and fiber. Serve as an appetizer at your next party or as dinner by adding chicken, tofu, shrimp, or beans for extra protein.
Summer squash salad with ricotta salata and charred fennel
Spinach works well as a leafy substitute for sorrel in this salad, but Ben Bebenroth, chef and owner of Farm-to-Food Spice Catering in Cleveland, sometimes uses thinly sliced fresh rhubarb to replicate sorrel’s tangy flavor in this summer squash salad.
Tropical cucumber salad
Cucumber, avocado, and mango combine with a sweet and spicy dressing for a tropical flavor.
Grilled Asparagus Parmesan
In this easy grilled side dish, grilled asparagus is lightly tossed with finely grated Parmesan and a dash of lemon for a flavorful finish.
Fresh fruit salad
This refreshing and easy fruit salad recipe is a hit at any potluck or barbecue party. If you love creamy fruit salads or fruit salads with yogurt, instead of serving your fruit salad with whipped cream, try serving it with a tangy lime yogurt dressing. This is a colorful and healthy fruit salad recipe perfect for any occasion.
Spinach salad with ginger soy sauce dressing
This spinach salad with a lively ginger dressing is inspired by the iceberg salad served in Japanese steakhouses across the U.S. Add shrimp for lunch or a light dinner.
