I need ideas for dinner side dishes

lizziej

lizziej

Active member
I need some ideas for side dishes. We eat a lot of brown rice, white rice, and mashed/baked potatoes. We're trying to avoid mac and cheese. What else could I make? I do not have an air fryer -- yet.
 
Try baking cauliflower. Cut the cauliflower in small bouquets. Mix the cauliflower in a zip bag with olive oil, spices, close and shake the bag. Then add panko. Close, mix the bag. Then add parmesan cheese. Close, mix the bag. Spread on a baking sheet, cook for about 10-15 minutes, don't let the cauliflower melt. Enjoy.
 
We love roast cauliflower too, though we don't add the panko crumbs. We just drizzle oil and sprinkle herbs on it. Anything roasted is our go to. Do you like eating salads for a side? A green garden salad with avocado is nice.
 
I was just, before reading the other answers, was to suggest roasted cauliflower!

The way I do it is cut the florets down the middle so there is a flat side. Toss the cauliflower in olive oil and salt right on the baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes, then flip the pieces and put back in for 5 more minutes.
 
We do what you do plus rice-a-roni. I've been trying to get away from always having a starchy side dish and will sometimes instead do a frozen veggie & salad with whatever the main dish is. We like the Tattooed Chef sheet pan vegetables from Costco too.
 
I never thought about roasted cauliflower! Thanks to all of you for the different ways to make it - so simple!

Steph, we always have a vegetable, but I never really think about having two veggies. Sheet pan veggies sound delicious! Thanks!
 
My kids don't like cauliflower but do broccoli & baby potatoes roasted a lot. We also have some sort of green salad with every meal too. Hard to get veggies in these teenagers!
 
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We also do sweet potato fries a lot. I just buy the frozen ones. I use the air fryer but they’re made for the oven I’m sure they’re just as good that way.
 
We enjoy stir-fried veggies as a side dish, especially with shrimp. I'm sure you could add the shrimp (or other meats) to the stir-fry but we don't usually do that. We prefer our shrimp steamed with Old Bay seasoning. We like to stir fry a combination of mushrooms and cut-up zucchini & carrots, using a bit of soy sauce and/or fish sauce with some oil. You could vary the veggies depending on what your family enjoys.
 
We do corn on the cob (sometimes grilled if we are using the grill for chicken)
My boys live off of white rice
I also buy baby potatoes and dice them up mix with olive oil, garlic, salt and rosemary. I put them in the airfryer until crispy.
We also do salads, green beans
 
Kimberly27 said:
We do corn on the cob (sometimes grilled if we are using the grill for chicken)
Click to expand...

I am team corn. If my husband is grilling, there is an obscene amount of corn and it's mostly mine.

My brother loves to make Korean corn cheese and I really want to make those corn 'ribs' I saw on Pinterest
 
Where did the month go? I've been so busy at work that I hadn't had a chance to watch my post for more ideas.

Alycia - stir frying - I haven't done that in years. I'm going to have to look into it again.

Kimberly - your baby potatoes idea sounds delicious, but I don't have an air fryer. I've been wanting to get one, but my kitchen is small, and I don't have much extra storage space, so I need to try to get rid of stuff I don't use any more.

Brendazzle - we love corn, too, but Korean corn cheese sounds delicious!

Thank you!
 
Liz, you could roast the baby potatoes instead. I like roasting veggies cuz it's easy and quick and mostly hands-off. I don't cook often--DH loves to do it, thank goodness!--but that's one of my standbys. I'll roast honey-glazed carrots as well.
 
For sides, we also do at least 1 veggie a night. My husband works for a bakery, so we also add rolls, toasted bread (buttered and sprinkled with garlic powder or garlic salt), Garlic bread, corn muffins, etc.
 
Sara and Dawn, y'all have great ideas! I usually make boiled carrots, but honey-glazed sounds good. We love bread, and I hadn't thought about that as a side dish - so quick! Thank you both!
 
Roasted carrot sticks drizzled with lemon olive oil and add lemon zest when you pull them out of the oven.
Sweet potatoes with crumbled goat cheese, a drizzle of honey and a few dried cranberries/cherries.
Couscous or rice pilaf.
 
I mostly roast my veggies, too, but I hadn't thought to add panko to the cauliflower; I'm going to try that soon.

I cut up fresh green beans into smallish pieces. I put coconut oil, though I'm sure you could use olive oil, too, in a pan and add salt and slices of garlic. Once the garlic is a little toasty, I add the green beans and stir them occasionally, cooking until they are still a little firm but cooked through. My whole family loves them this way; they won't eat them from a can anymore.
 
Sara, LOL!!

Kellie, thank you for the great idea for green beans! After eating fresh, it's hard to go back to canned. I speak from experience. LOL!
 
We love roasted veggies. Brussels sprouts are so creamy & buttery when tossed in olive oil and roasted! My boys (who really don't like veggies) love roasted broccoli.
 
I am a big fan of salads and roasted carrots (I just use olive oil and pepper on them most of the time). Beans are also good as a side. My family sometimes likes a couple of pickles as a side. lol
 
I freeze small bags of white or brown rice. I pull one out and put in frying pan, add some riced cauliflower (frozen store bought bag), about 1:1 ratio, stir in frozen mixed veggies, I put the lid on, med heat, stir a few times and then when some of the moisture has cooked out of it, I leave the lid off, add spices, my latest go-to is a truffle parmesan spice. Another combo I like is italian seasoning, garlic, onion, umami and seasoned salt.

I buy potato salad, add in cauliflower florets, add a bit of yogurt and dill. I add a bit of bacon spice. If you don't have it, look on amazon. I don't often eat bacon, too greasy, but the spice is my go-to for lots of dishes.
 
More great ideas! Thank you, Tammy, Ginger, Mari, and Rae!

My son doesn't care for brussels sprouts, but he does like many vegetables. But he may like them roasted. They sound yummy!

Elote casserole sounds good! I should try it!

We eat salad about once a week, but I need to make carrots more often. Roasted carrots sound good and easy, as does beans, but I would need to make them ahead of time unless they are canned baked beans.

Bacon spice? I've never heard of it, but sounds like something I "need"! lol All the combinations of rice and rice cauliflower sound good, too!

I'm glad I already ate lunch today, because all these foods are making me a little hungry!
 
Mashed potatoes are always a hit in my house.
Last week I made some twice baked potatoes.
We always have boxed Pasta-Roni because my husband and kids will eat them.
 
We eat mashed potatoes, but I hadn't thought about twice-baked. Yum! I haven't bought Pasta-Roni in a long time. Thanks for the ideas, Carrie!
 
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