Brighten Your Table With These Go-With-Anything Spring Sides - Cooking Light

1701 Roasted Cauliflower With Red Onions and Oranges

Photo: Romulo Yanes

Welcome spring by feasting on nutritious side-dishes bursting with the flavors and colors. These accompaniments aim to invigorate your palate without inflating calories.

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Roasted Spring Vegetables with Mustard-Sherry Vinaigrette

Victor Protasio

View Recipe: Roasted Spring Vegetables with Mustard-sherry Vinaigrette

For a fresh pop of flavor, we drizzle roasted spring vegetables with a vinaigrette. If you can find small salad turnips, try them in place of radishes.

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Roasted Carrots with Pine Nut Gremolata

Caitlin Bensel

View Recipe: Roasted Carrots with Pine Nut Gremolata

Starting the carrots at a high temp gives them a pretty browned exterior; finishing at a lower temp makes them tender. Pair with chicken or fish.

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Herby Shallot Toasts

Victor Protasio

View Recipe: Herby Shallot Toasts

These toasts are an easy starter for any meal or a fun side for steak night. Slightly sweet, nutty Manchego cheese pairs well with the savory shallot flavor, but any hard grating cheese would taste great.

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Millet and Tomatoes

Victor Protasio

View Recipe: Millet and Tomatoes

Millet is a naturally gluten-free whole grain with a nutty corn flavor. Its nutty corn flavor pairs well with fresh cherry tomatoes, thyme, and Parmesan in this easy side.

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Radicchio and Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Tahini Vinaigrette

Victor Protasio

View Recipe: Radicchio and Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Tahini Vinaigrette

Serve as a side with grilled lamb chops or chicken or double it for a satisfying vegetarian main. For a kid-friendly version, swap chopped romaine or spinach for the radicchio.

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Curried Peas with Mint and Lime

Caitlin Bensel

View Recipe: Curried Peas with Mint and Lime

Green peas are a freezer staple, making this side dish that much easier to bring together. Serve this herby side with roast beef or lamb. Stir any leftover peas into an Indian-style curry on another night.

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Radish, White Bean, and Olive Salad

Caitlin Bensel

View Recipe: Radish, White Bean, and Olive Salad

This quick side is all about texture, from the meaty olives to the creamy cannellini beans and crunchy radishes. The mild bean makes the salad a great match for nearly any main.

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Braised Fingerling Potatoes with Oregano and Thyme

Caitlin Bensel

View Recipe: Braised Fingerling Potatoes with Oregano and Thyme

A stovetop sauté and an oven braise gives the spuds a bronzed exterior and creamy interior. The stock mixture reduces in the oven, giving the potatoes their own rich gravy. Serve with a simply roasted chicken or pork loin.

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Warm Butter Radish and Edamame Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Warm Butter Radish and Edamame Salad

Radishes are so much more than a salad garnish. They lose their pepperiness once sautéed and turn a faint rosy pink. For a boost of protein, we contrast the radishes with edamame, a great alternative to frozen green peas.

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All the Green Things Salad

Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez

View Recipe: All the Green Things Salad

This salad is full of lovely textures ranging from crunchy to creamy. You can make the zippy lemon dressing and blanch, drain, and chill the peas and asparagus up to 2 says ahead, but combine all the elements shortly before serving to preserve the color of the avocado and the crunch of the greens.

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Avocado and Almond Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Avocado and Almond Salad

Creamy avocado and crunchy almonds make for a perfectly balanced salad.

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Parmesan Carrots With Lemon-Parsley Dressing

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Parmesan Carrots With Lemon-Parsley Dressing

Steaming and sautéing the carrots in the same pan is the time-saving trick to making them tender and beautifully glazed.

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Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon-Caper Vinaigrette

Photo: Romulo Yanes

Mild cauliflower soaks up the tangy flavors of lemon and capers.

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Berry and Walnut Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Berry and Walnut Salad

Best enjoyed at the height of summer, this blueberry, strawberry, and walnut salad is a delicious way to use up fresh produce in your fridge. The use of honey and buttermilk makes for a creamy dressing you won't soon forget.

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Tarragon Carrots With Green Beans

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Tarragon Carrots With Green Beans

Get the benefits of two veggies in one simple side.

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Photo: Jennifer Causey

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Radish and Parmesan Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Radish and Parmesan Salad

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

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Sweet-and-Sour Carrots

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Sweet-and-Sour Carrots

These mildly spicy carrots make the perfect side for an Asian-inspired meal.

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Wilted Chard with Red Onion and Pine Nuts

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Wilted Chard with Red Onion and Pine Nuts

Don’t toss those gorgeous stems! Instead, thinly slice and give them a head start in the pan before adding the leaves. Swiss chard and rainbow chard actually have a lot of natural sodium; you’ll find that just a small amount of salt is all you need.

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Roasted Red Pepper and Pine Nut Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Roasted Red Pepper and Pine Nut Salad

Spring mix, a blend of small, tender lettuces, is an ideal base for side salads with a more delicate profile (think herbs, berries, and nuts rather than croutons, pungent cheeses, or big, crunchy vegetables). This Mediterranean version would be a perfect side for citrus-and-herb baked chicken and Greek-style roasted potatoes.

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Balsamic Onion and Thyme Carrots

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Balsamic Onion and Thyme Carrots

The secret to making perfectly cooked onions is a dash of baking soda.

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Baby Bok Choy and Cucumber Salad

Photo: Jennifer Causey

View Recipe: Baby Bok Choy and Cucumber Salad

Thinly slice the bok choy stalks and leaves for an Asian cucumber salad that's full of color and texture. You can also use larger bok choy, but save the wide, fibrous ends of the stalks for a dish where they'll be cooked.

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Roasted Cauliflower With Red Onions and Oranges

Photo: Romulo Yanes

View Recipe: Roasted Cauliflower With Red Onions and Oranges

Switch up your roasted cauliflower recipe game by adding a bit of citrus to the mix: Sweet orange is accented by savory red onion and a sprinkle of red pepper, for a simple dish that comes together in minutes.

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23 Go-With-Anything Spring Sides

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Roasted Spring Vegetables with Mustard-Sherry Vinaigrette

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Roasted Carrots with Pine Nut Gremolata

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Herby Shallot Toasts

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Millet and Tomatoes

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Radicchio and Chickpea Salad with Lemon-Tahini Vinaigrette

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Curried Peas with Mint and Lime

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Radish, White Bean, and Olive Salad

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Braised Fingerling Potatoes with Oregano and Thyme

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Warm Butter Radish and Edamame Salad

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All the Green Things Salad

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Avocado and Almond Salad

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Parmesan Carrots With Lemon-Parsley Dressing

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Roasted Cauliflower with Lemon-Caper Vinaigrette

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Berry and Walnut Salad

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Tarragon Carrots With Green Beans

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Radish and Parmesan Salad

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Sweet-and-Sour Carrots

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Wilted Chard with Red Onion and Pine Nuts

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Roasted Red Pepper and Pine Nut Salad

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Balsamic Onion and Thyme Carrots

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Baby Bok Choy and Cucumber Salad

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Roasted Cauliflower With Red Onions and Oranges

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