Category Archives: Sides

Healthy Side Dishes for Grilling

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Delicious real food (healthy) side dishes for grilling! Perfect for the next time you fire up the grill. Yummy, so many great ideas.

There is just something delicious about supper from the grill. Our grill has been fired up multiple times a week lately and we are nearing 4th of July weekend where I think the majority of the country will be throwing some meat on the grill or packing a picnic. Now we need to tackle healthy side dishes for grilling!

The meat is the easy part – add some marinade or rub and you are good to go. Figuring out side dishes for grilling is where the problem comes in. Especially if you want healthy sides!

Don’t worry, I’ve rounded up a great list of 26 healthy side dishes for grilling! These would make the perfect addition to your next grilled supper – in fact, there are enough real food options to keep you going all summer.

Healthy Side Dishes for Grilling

Salads

Delicious real food (healthy) side dishes for grilling! Perfect for the next time you fire up the grill. Yummy, so many great ideas.

Garbanzo Bean and Roasted Corn Salad

Red White and Blue Fruit Salad

Patriotic Taco Salad

Greek Pasta Salad

Cucumber Tomato Salad

Broccoli Salad

Coleslaw

Simple Potato Salad with Thyme and Olive Oil

Potato Salad

Texas Caviar

Dips

Delicious real food (healthy) side dishes for grilling! Perfect for the next time you fire up the grill. Yummy, so many great ideas.

Homemade Guacamole

7 Layer Taco Dip

Healthier Cheese Dip (No Velveeta)

Homemade Salsa

Strawberry Peach Salsa

Easy, Delicious Hummus

Veggies, Beans, and Potatoes

Citrus Grilled Asparagus Final copy

Citrus Grilled Asparagus

Homemade French Fries Better Than Fast Food

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

Maple Baked Beans

Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes

Easy Grilled Vegetables

Grilled Potatoes with Rosemary and Smoked Paprika

Asparagus and Peppers

Oven Roasted Corn

Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

What are your favorite real food side dishes for grilling?

Delicious real food (healthy) side dishes for grilling! Perfect for the next time you fire up the grill. Yummy, so many great ideas.

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Garbanzo Bean and Roasted Corn Salad

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This Garbanzo Bean and Roasted Corn Salad came together on a whim a couple weeks ago. I needed a dish to bring someplace and wanted to use ingredients that sounded good and were in my house.

Garbanzo Bean and Roasted Corn Salad | Perfect side dish for grilling and the leftovers make a tasty lunch. I love this!!!

Garbanzo beans are one of my favorite things so I decided to determine the rest of the salad around that ingredient. Onion and jalapeno make pretty much everything better so those made an appearance as well. Sautéing them before adding them to the salad gives them more of a subtle flavor. I like my salads lightly dressed, mostly because I’m cheap and I hate to see all of the dressing left at the bottom of the dish. Because it’s not sitting in gobs of dressing, this will keep well for several days depending on what add ins you use. The perfect amount of citrus and oil flavors came through, but if you’d like to add more, go for it.

This salad is super easy to adapt based on what you have on hand. Look and see what vegetables you need to use up and add them in.

I enjoyed eating the leftovers for my lunch and will definitely be making it again. My 3 year old also loved it and had to keep taking bites from my bowl instead of her lunch. Little stinker. I suppose I should be happy she enjoys eating her vegetables.

4.3 from 4 reviews
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Garbanzo Bean and Roasted Corn Salad
Serves: 7 cups - 8-12 servings
 
Ingredients
  • 1 (16 ounces) package frozen corn
  • 3 cups garbanzo beans (or two cans drained and rinsed)
  • 2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
  • ½ a small onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
Add Ins (use what you like):
  • ½-1 cup diced tomatoes
  • 1-2 avocados, chopped
  • ½-1 cup red bell pepper
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro
Dressing
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons lime (or lemon) juice
  • 2 teaspoons cumin powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Turn your oven on to high broil. Spread the corn onto a large baking sheet and place in the oven around 10 minutes. You don't want to over cook and dry out the corn so watch it and stir one or two times.
  2. In a skillet sauté the jalapeno, onion, and garlic.
  3. In a large bowl combine the corn, garbanzo beans, onion mixture and dressing ingredients.
  4. Adjust seasons to taste. Can also add a little garlic powder if needed.
  5. Gently stir in add ins.
  6. Can serve room temperature or chilled.

 

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Indian Pea Pilaf (peas pilau)

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Indian Pea Pilaf (peas pilau). My favorite rice side dish. Easy and super tasty.

This is another recipe from my sister. She makes some awesome Indian food. The flavors are subtle but tasty and different. Something different about this recipe is that there is no heat from peppers which makes if perfect for those with sensitive palates.

I made Indian Pea Pilaf or Peas Pilau for my first time a year ago and fell in love. What a simple dish to prepare and it has a unique twist. This is my favorite recipe to use when I want to serve a side dish of rice with any recipe. Last week I make it to go with roasted chicken. My husband is not a fan of peas but this was tasty enough that he said he didn’t mind them.

5.0 from 3 reviews
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Indian Pea Pilaf (peas pilau)
Serves: 8-10
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups basmati rice
  • 2 tablespoons butter or expeller pressed coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 cloves
  • 4 green cardamom pods
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tablepoon ginger garlic paste (or 1½ teaspoons finely minced ginger an 1/12 teaspoons finely minced garlic)
  • 2 teaspoons salt (may need a little more)
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 3 cups water
Instructions
  1. Melt butter in a skillet. Add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cloves, cardamom pods, and cinnamon stick. Saute until fragrant - around a minute. Watch carefully so the spices don't burn.
  2. Add the onions and saute until tender.
  3. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté another minute.
  4. Stir in peas and salt. Turn off heat.
  5. Place rice, pea mixture, and water into a rice cooker and cook according to cooker instructions.

 

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How to Cook Quinoa

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Quinoa is a little seed that packs a powerful punch. The World’s Healthiest Foods talks about the many benefits of this product.

Although you can find quinoa at your local Wal-Mart you will pay more for it. Sam’s Club has it for a great price or you can order it through (affiliate link) Amazon, Vitacost (this is my referral link – if you sign up through it you will receive $10 off a $30 purchase), or your food co-op. If you have never had quinoa before, you might want to buy a cup or two from the bulk bins in a health food store so you aren’t stuck with something else in your pantry you’ll never use.

How to Cook Quinoa

So, now that you’ve gone out and bought this little seed you might wonder how to cook quinoa. It is very simple and you can have it ready to eat in under 25 minutes. Doesn’t get much better than that. Even though the quinoa you buy has already had most of the saponins removed, there is enough residue left that rinsing the quinoa is very important! Don’t skip or you will end up with a bitter tasting dish. If you don’t have a mesh strainer fine enough, line what you have with cheese cloth. If you are making this as a side dish feel free to add sautéed onions, garlic, and herbs in with the quinoa and liquid.

Come back next week for a list of recipes to use your quinoa in!

5.0 from 1 reviews
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Quinoa
 
Ingredients
  • 1 C. Quinoa
  • 2 C. liquid (water or broth)
  • optional, ¼ t. salt
Instructions
  1. Rinse quinoa well in a fine mesh strainer.
  2. Place liquid, quinoa, and salt in a pot and bring to a boil.
  3. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer.
  4. Cook for 15 minutes.
  5. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.
  6. Fluff with fork.

 

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