These Vegetable Side Dishes are ideal for dinner, whether you prefer stovetop cooking, air frying, or oven-roasted veggies. Whether you crave traditional veggie sides or something more unique, these ideas will inspire you to incorporate more vegetables into your diet.
Kid friendly sides
Kid-friendly veggie sides are often those that are visually appealing, easy to eat, and have flavors that appeal to children's tastes, whether by adding cheese, cutting the vegetables into fun shapes, or serving with familiar dips. Here are some suggestions:
- Veggie fries - Similar to carrot fries, you can cut sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, or zucchini into fry shapes, season them, and roast them in the oven or air fryer until cooked and slightly charred. Served with ketchup or ranch dressing, these are appealing to kids and provide a healthier alternative to traditional fries. Find more ideas in the round up post air fryer vegetables.
- Roasted sweet potato wedges or fries - Sweet potatoes' natural sweetness makes them a favorite among kids when cut and roasted.
- Cheesy broccoli - Try oven-roasted broccoli with cheese. Alternatively, mix grated broccoli with cheese and breadcrumbs, shape into small patties or bites, and bake until golden and cheesy.
- Corn on the cob - Grilled or air-fried corn on the cob with a touch of salted butter is a fun treat for kids.
- Vegetable kabobs - Similar to chicken tikka kebabs, skewer cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and chunks of zucchini, then grill or roast them in the oven. Kids love eating food on skewers!
- Peas and carrots - Simply sauté green peas and cubed carrots in butter with salt and pepper. It's a classic and a favorite vegetable side dish among kids.
- Veggies with ranch - Cut vegetables such as cucumber, carrots, and colorful bell peppers into fun shapes and serve with ranch dressing for dipping.
How can I make veggies more flavorful?
With simple yet effective techniques, you can turn ordinary vegetables into flavorful and satisfying dinner side dishes that your family will love. Here are some suggestions:
- Roasting: This is one of my favorite methods for creating flavorful vegetable side dishes for dinner. Roasting vegetables caramelizes their natural sugars, enhances their flavor, and makes them irresistible.
- Grilling: Like roasting, grilling vegetables is a popular method, especially in summer. It imparts a smoky flavor that enhances their taste."
- Sautéing: Sautéing vegetables in butter or olive oil with garlic, can enrich their flavor with depth. Adding herbs or spices towards the end of cooking enhances their taste.
- Seasoning: However you decide to prepare your veggies for dinner, be sure to season them generously with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a blend of herbs and spices like garlic, thyme, rosemary, paprika, or Italian seasoning to enhance their depth and complexity of flavor.
Recipes
Whether oven-roasted, grilled, air-fried, or skillet-cooked, nutritious vegetables can effortlessly become flavorful sides that your family will crave. I hope you've discovered a new favorite to pair with chicken, burgers, steak, or seafood for tonight's dinner!
All contents and images are my original work, unless and otherwise mentioned. Please do not use my recipes or images without linking back to www.kitchenathoskins.com. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite in your own words and don’t forget to include a link back to the original recipe.
Leave a Reply