10 Favourite Healthy Side Dishes

Posted on March 29 2018

You can expect leafy greens (i.e kale), perfectly roasted vegetables, pasta salad, crunchy detox salad, stuffed gems, stuffed mushrooms, potato salad, couscous salad and some delicious, healthy dressings in this round-up of my top 10 Favourite Healthy Side Dishes!

These are not your common or garden side dishes…

My 10 Favourite Healthy Side Dishes have got spunk. They’re packed with FLAVOUR, texture, colour, and oodles of nutritional value.

If you visited last week and checked out my 10 Clean Eating Hearty Healthy Recipes, then you’ll know that I’m heading into autumn on this side of the globe, I know many of you are heading into spring (no fair). But thankfully the weather has taken a turn for the warmer and it’s no longer raining buckets and blowing a gale. It’s blue skies again, and the ocean is a rich, deep royal blue today, which, makes me happy.

These awesome Healthy Side Dishes are:

Easy to make

Most of them take about 30 minutes or less
The Zingy Avocado Couscous Salad takes a record breaking 10 minutes to prepare!
We’ve got allll our texture bases covered! Crunchy, crispy roasted edges, chewy pasta, etc etc.

They’re all 100% good for you (check out a crowd favourite Roast Beet Butternut Basil Goat Cheese Salad at the bottom of the list!)
And we’ve got flavour in spades.

Let’s jump in! Here are my 10 Favourite Healthy Side Dishes:

1. RED CABBAGE SPINACH & BEETROOT DETOX SALAD

With Honey Mustard Dressing! This is SUCH a wonderful combination of flavours and crunchy textures, your foodie senses will be saying YUM and YES PLEASE! It’s got spiralled beetroot, red cabbage, carrots, baby spinach, radishes, celery, almonds, seeds and other yummy things! Just talking about it is making me hungry.

Click here to view the Red Cabbage Spinach & Beetroot Detox Salad recipe

2. GOLDEN SPICE ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

Seriously the simplest and most flavour-effective (is that a thing?) way to cook cauliflower! Even the cauliflower haters (you know who you are) will actually like this because it’s so spicy from the turmeric, paprika and cumin, it’s colourful and the edges go a little charred and crispy giving it texture and extra FLAVOUR. So much flavour guys. Who knew cauliflower could be so delicious?

Click here to view the Golden Spice Roasted Cauliflower recipe

3. KALE APPLE CRANBERRY SALAD WITH SESAME DRESSING

You guessed it! It’s the Sesame Dressing that really brings this salad together, softens the kale a little bit and takes the edge off the bitterness of the kale, paired with the sweet, slightly tart green apple and cranberries, this is a match made in heaven and a wonderful way to get in one of our daily servings of leafy greens that’s so important to our health. I love this salad for every day, it keeps so well in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Click here to view the Kale Apple Cranberry With Sesame Dressing recipe

4. ROASTED MUSHROOM CAULIFLOWER BACON SALAD

Dressed with a Creamy Yoghurt Balsamic Dressing, this salad is a real flavour explosion! It goes wonderfully with chicken breasts, it’s great for a bbq (or braai as we say here) – really goes well if you’re serving burgers, or to go alongside a steak dinner. What could be better than mushrooms, cauliflower, bacon and a creamy dressing?

Click here to view the Roasted Mushroom Cauliflower Bacon Salad recipe

5. PEPPER QUINOA STUFFED GIANT MUSHROOMS

These only take 25 minutes to make and are a perfect side with just about anything, or a great vegetarian meal. The giant mushies are stuffed with red pepper, button mushrooms and quinoa in a coconut sauce. It’s simple, satisfying and totally YUM.

Click here to view the Pepper Quinoa Stuffed Giant Mushrooms recipe

6. GREEN GODDESS PESTO PASTA SALAD

On the table in 30 minutes, this is another side dish / light meal duo. It’s got pesto (store bought, or homemade – try my Simple Homemade Fresh Basil Pesto), lemon juice for freshness, fresh herbs, lots of zucchini and spring onions and it’s just the perfect fresh and tasty, light and healthy green dish!

Click here to view the Green Goddess Pesto Pasta Salad recipe

7. ROAST BEET BUTTERNUT BASIL GOAT CHEESE SALAD

This is a favourite favourite of mine, I just love butternut and beets, and when they’re paired together and roasted to perfection, it’s just a perfectly harmonised flavour combination that can’t be beaten! Add in a little basil and some goat cheese and WOW! Plus this salad goes with just about everything.

Click here to view the Roast Beet Butternut Basil Goat Cheese Salad recipe

8. ZINGY AVOCADO CITRUS COUSCOUS SALAD

Puuuurfect for spring and summer! This salad is so zingy and citrusy and creamy from the avocado, fresh and wonderful. It’s also a little more filling than a green salad given that it’s made with couscous. This is another side dish that could easily be enjoyed as a light, yet satisfying lunch. Ladies!! You’ll love this one! It’s right up your alley I just know it. This salad will go great with fish, especially salmon.

Click here to view the Zingy Avocado Citrus Couscous Salad recipe

9. ROASTED BEET POTATO SALAD WITH CASHEW DRESSING

A slightly different take on a traditional potato salad…It’s much healthier, has potatoes, beets, beans, salad sprouts and goat cheese (optional), a dairy free creamy cashew nut dressing, and is much tastier! It’s easy to make and very easy on the eyes.

Click here to view the Roasted Beet Potato Salad With Cashew Dressing recipe

10. COUSCOUS STUFFED GEM SQUASH WITH ROASTED CHICKPEAS

Last, but definitely not least…this quirky little side dish has layer upon layer of flavour dimensions and textures, it’s interesting and colourful to look at, easy to prepare, and you can tweak the toppings to your liking. These little guys are the best and everyone will love them!

Click here to view the Couscous Stuffed Gem Squash With Roasted Chickpeas recipe

Do you have some favourite side dishes that you make on repeat? What are your favourites?

Give these recipes a try, and do let me know how they turn out and what everyone thinks of them! I love hearing from you and replying to your comments, let’s keep in touch.

You might also like my 10 Healthy Superfood Fruit Smoothies post.