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  2. 20 Side Dishes With 5 Ingredients or Less

20 Side Dishes With 5 Ingredients or Less

March 09, 2022
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Credit: Caitlin Bensel
If you want a great side dish that's not overly complicated or too time-consuming, look no further! These five-ingredient side dishes, including everything from hearty potato dishes to fresh salads, are sure to complement any main dish. 
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Maple-Dijon Roasted Carrots and Mushrooms

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Maple-Dijon Roasted Carrots and Mushrooms

Look for baby carrots, the small whole carrots with trimmed ends, rather than the rounded snacking carrots. While a container of mushrooms may seem like a lot for this recipe, they will shrink considerably, and concentrate their flavor, when roasted.

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Orange-Scallion Brown Rice

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Orange-Scallion Brown Rice

Perk up precooked brown rice with fresh orange rind, a faintly floral note that's welcome in stir-fries and other classic Asian dishes. If you like, you can add chopped toasted almonds or peanuts for extra crunch.

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Silky-Smooth Mashed Potatoes

Credit: Photo: Caitlin Bensel
View Recipe: Silky-Smooth Mashed Potatoes

This method completely eliminates potato lumps, so every bite is like velvet on your palate. The amount of milk and butter we use here yields potatoes that are a great mix of fluffy and creamy. For a fluffier batch, scale back on the milk by a few tablespoons, or add a few more to make them even creamier. Don’t discard the peels; they make a tasty snack: Toss with a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, and then roast at 400°F for 15 minutes or until crisp.

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Radish and Parmesan Salad

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Radish and Parmesan Salad

Tender lettuce allows flavor-forward radish and Parmesan to shine. 

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Caramelized Baby Carrots

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Caramelized Baby Carrots

Carrots become beautifully glazed and tender with just a little brown sugar and a quick, high-heat roast. To clean up, simply toss the foil. Use this simple roasted-carrot method as a base, and then layer on other flavor combinations as you like. Try smoky chipotle chile powder, fragrant garam masala, or tart ground sumac.

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Spanish-Style Roasted Potatoes

Credit: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Spanish-Style Roasted Potatoes

Paprika, fresh oregano, and olives turn everyday roasted potatoes into a spectacular side. Serve with a chorizo-flecked frittata or pan-grilled steak or chicken.

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Southern Tomato Salad

Credit: Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez
View Recipe: Southern Tomato Salad

Make the most of your farmers' market haul with this sweet and tangy tomato salad, which also boasts summer peaches, fresh mint, and goat cheese. This stunning, southern-inspired salad would make a welcome addition to any summer cookout or picnic. 

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Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Credit: Photo: Randy Mayor
View Recipe: Hasselback Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Cream

Here’s a spin on a typical baked sweet potato: Turn it into a gorgeous hasselback sweet potato and drizzle it with smoky chipotle cream. The accordion-like cuts give the potato some crispy outer edges, keeping the insides moist and soft. They also turn it into a pull-apart dish that’s super fun to eat.  

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Pan-Roasted Carrots

Credit: Photo: Victor Protasio
View Recipe: Pan-Roasted Carrots

This recipe gives you a faster route to “roasted,” lightly caramelized carrots. Instead of cooking in the oven (and waiting for it to preheat), here you cook the carrots on the stovetop in a cast-iron skillet. The key is to keep the carrots still; you’ll cook them for 5 minutes without stirring, then stir and cook undisturbed for another 5 minutes. The results are beautifully browned, crisp-tender carrots that take about a third of the time as oven-roasted. A hint of hoisin and maple syrup enhance the sweetness of the carrots without rendering them cloying.

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Parmesan-and-Herb Roasted Potatoes

Credit: Photo: Alison Miksch
View Recipe: Parmesan-and-Herb Roasted Potatoes

What would breakfast for dinner be without home fries? Parmesan, garlic, and rosemary make these spuds a little more dressed up than regular hash browns, pairing perfectly with the slightly elevated sausage and apple breakfast sandwiches.  

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Steamed Broccoli With Garlic and Red Onion

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez
View Recipe: Steamed Broccoli With Garlic and Red Onion

Broccoli is a go-to veggie side for many families yet is often served very plain, making it the vegetable that no one wants for dinner. Rather than slathering it with cream and cheese, we prefer to sauté it with herbs, vegetables, and oils to brighten the flavor. These are simple ways to use the foods that you have on hand that will liven up this veggie without adding extra calories and fat. Broccoli is such an easy, versatile side dish, as it absorbs fresh flavor from whatever it's cooked with. Any leftovers can be tossed in a soup or salad the next day. Looking for other variations? Try steamed broccoli with chorizo, with tomato ragout, or with a creamy tarragon dressing.

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Chickpea-and-Mint Green Beans

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Chickpea-and-Mint Green Beans

Canned chickpeas, cumin, and mint amp up the flavor of fresh haricot verts in this simple weeknight side that's ready in just 20 minutes.

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Frizzled Kale with Chiles

Credit: Caitlin Bensel
View Recipe: Frizzled Kale with Chiles

Massaging the kale first helps tenderize it slightly; this technique is also handy when using this fibrous green in raw preparations like salads and slaws. Serve with steak or top with sunny-side up eggs.

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Perfect Quinoa

Credit: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Perfect Quinoa

Rinsing removes this gluten-free pseudo-grain’s natural coating, called saponin, which can make it taste bitter. (Quinoa is technically a seed.) Although most boxed quinoa is prerinsed, it doesn’t hurt to give it an extra rinse at home. Allowing the quinoa to steam helps it absorb any remaining traces of liquid and plump up.

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Garlic-and-Sesame Green Beans

Credit: Photo: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Garlic-and-Sesame Green Beans

These garlicky sesame green beans are a simple, yet delicious way to put more veggies on the dinner table in minutes. This dish can easily be made gluten-free by using tamari instead of soy sauce, or even liquid aminos for those who avoid soy as well. 

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Balsamic-Tossed Parmesan Broccoli Rabe 

Credit: Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Claire Spollen
View Recipe: Balsamic-Tossed Parmesan Broccoli Rabe 

This easy, nutritious side comes together in just minutes, and makes a great addition to your favorite one-dish meal or protein. As opposed to traditional broccoli, rabe has a slightly bitter taste, which pairs well with balsamic and parmesan. 

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Miso Roasted Cauliflower

Credit: Photo: Brian Woodcock; Styling: Claire Spollen
View Recipe: Miso Roasted Cauliflower

Boost your cauliflower with this powerhouse ingredient that lends savory depth to this dish.

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Roasted Cabbage Wedges With Blue Cheese Breadcrumbs

Credit: Ann Taylor Pittman
View Recipe: Roasted Cabbage Wedges With Blue Cheese Breadcrumbs

This recipe offers a delicious change of pace from boiled or braised cabbage. Hefty wedges roast at moderately high heat until lightly caramelized on the outside and tender within. And they’re embellished with the most delicious, deeply flavorful crispy breadcrumbs. You’ll want to go with a bold blue cheese here—something like Roquefort or Maytag. And if you can find good rye bread, you'll notice the difference.

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Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash

Credit: Jennifer Causey
View Recipe: Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash

Preparing spaghetti squash in your Instant Pot yields a perfectly cooked squash—not mushy, but tender and holding its shape. Here we dress it with a touch of olive oil and seasonings to ever-so-slightly enhance its flavor. But spaghetti squash is also a perfect base for so many sauces, or just a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese as a side dish. At the store, look for squash that are about 3 lbs. Too much larger than that and they get “woody.”

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Baby Zucchini Ribbon Salad

Credit: Caitlin Bensel
View Recipe: Baby Zucchini Ribbon Salad

Zucchini is tender enough to be enjoyed raw—especially baby zucchini. Pull out your handy vegetable peeler and shave each zucchini into thin, long strips to create pretty zucchini “ribbons” as the base of the Greek salad–inspired summer side. Turn this into a warm-weather main dish with the addition of chickpeas or oil-packed chunk-light tuna.

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    Everything in This Slideshow

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    View All

    1 of 20 Maple-Dijon Roasted Carrots and Mushrooms
    2 of 20 Orange-Scallion Brown Rice
    3 of 20 Silky-Smooth Mashed Potatoes
    4 of 20 Radish and Parmesan Salad
    5 of 20 Caramelized Baby Carrots
    6 of 20 Spanish-Style Roasted Potatoes
    7 of 20 Southern Tomato Salad
    8 of 20 Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
    9 of 20 Pan-Roasted Carrots
    10 of 20 Parmesan-and-Herb Roasted Potatoes
    11 of 20 Steamed Broccoli With Garlic and Red Onion
    12 of 20 Chickpea-and-Mint Green Beans
    13 of 20 Frizzled Kale with Chiles
    14 of 20 Perfect Quinoa
    15 of 20 Garlic-and-Sesame Green Beans
    16 of 20 Balsamic-Tossed Parmesan Broccoli Rabe 
    17 of 20 Miso Roasted Cauliflower
    18 of 20 Roasted Cabbage Wedges With Blue Cheese Breadcrumbs
    19 of 20 Instant Pot Spaghetti Squash
    20 of 20 Baby Zucchini Ribbon Salad

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