Healthy Recipes Healthy Seasonal Recipes Healthy Summer Recipes Healthy Summer Side Dish Recipes 25 High-Fiber Side Dishes to Make This Summer By Camryn Alexa Wimberly Camryn Alexa Wimberly Camryn Wimberly is EatingWell's Editorial Fellow. As a food and mental health blogger, Camryn explores how food and cooking can help improve mental health and also be an avenue to connect with one's culture and heritage. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Published on August 14, 2024 Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Reviewed by Dietitian Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, is nutrition editor for EatingWell. She is a registered dietitian with a master's in food, nutrition and sustainability. In addition to EatingWell, her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Real Simple, Parents, Better Homes and Gardens and MyRecipes. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Close Eating enough fiber is beneficial for your health in a lot of ways, whether it’s maintaining strong bones or supporting a healthy gut microbiome. Luckily, you can take advantage of those benefits with these flavorful side dishes because each serving contains at least 3 grams of fiber. Plus, they take advantage of delicious summer produce like tomatoes, corn, zucchini and more. Pair options like our Slow-Roasted Tomatoes or Grilled Corn Salad with Chili-Miso Dressing with your favorite seasonal entrees for a filling and tasty fiber-rich meal. 01 of 25 Slow-Roasted Tomatoes Slowly cooking summer-ripe tomatoes in a low oven makes them candy-sweet. Turn to this recipe to preserve the summer bounty from your garden or farmers' market; it freezes well for up to 6 months. Tuck these tasty bites into sandwiches; stir them into risotto; or chop them and mix with Kalamata olives, olive oil and fresh herbs to scoop up with pita chips. View Recipe 02 of 25 Escalivada (Smoky Slow-Roasted Vegetables) This vegan side dish is traditionally served at room temperature with grilled meat or fish, but feel free to double your portion and eat it as a vegan entree with crusty bread for dipping in that garlicky, flavor-packed olive oil. The name for this combination of roasted vegetables comes from the Catalan escalivar, meaning to cook in ashes, though most folks these days use an oven or grill to put some char on their veggies. View Recipe 03 of 25 Grilled Corn Salad with Chili-Miso Dressing Serve this salad with grilled steak, chicken or firm white fish like halibut. You can also double the recipe and bring it to your next potluck. If you can find tatsoi, a peppery Asian leafy green, use it instead of mild-mannered spinach. Store-bought Thai sweet chili sauce and umami-packed white miso build fast flavor in this easy summer salad. View Recipe 04 of 25 Grilled Baby Eggplant Agrodolce In this vegetable side dish, the Italian sauce agrodolce translates to sour ("agro") and sweet ("dolce"). Here, grilled eggplant acts like a sponge, soaking in that addictive sweet-sour sauce as it rests. View Recipe 05 of 25 Charred Green Beans with Mustard Vinaigrette & Hazelnuts Our go-to trick for this crunchy, mustardy vegan side dish: Use a grill basket—it lets you cook all the things that would ordinarily fall through the grill grates, no skewering required. View Recipe 06 of 25 Macaroni Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing Give classic pasta salad a fresher, more flavorful spin. This fast pasta dish calls for avocado to replace some of the mayonnaise, which makes it extra creamy. Whole-wheat elbow macaroni and fresh vegetables round out this healthy pasta salad that you'll be making all summer long. View Recipe 07 of 25 Spiralized Beet Salad Impress your guests with this stunning beet salad that's quick and easy to make. Because the beets are sliced so thinly by the spiralizer, you don't have to worry about cooking or painstakingly chopping veggies. Regular red beets look great, but striped Chioggia beets, golden beets or a mix of any of the three would make the presentation even more gorgeous. View Recipe 08 of 25 Fresh Sweet Corn Salad We love fresh summer corn when it's in season, but frozen corn makes a great year-round substitute in this quick and easy side dish. View Recipe 09 of 25 Broccoli with Balsamic Mushrooms Just a touch of butter adds silkiness to the balsamic sauce that coats broccoli and meaty mushrooms in this easy broccoli side dish recipe. View Recipe 10 of 25 Herbed Tomato Gratin Vegetable gratin recipes often have a crunchy breadcrumb or crouton topping. But summer tomatoes are too gorgeous to hide, so we tucked crusty cubes of bread underneath them instead. Plus, the bread soaks up all the juicy tomato goodness. If you can't find marjoram, fresh basil or oregano makes a good substitute. View Recipe 11 of 25 Composed Bean Salad with Basil Vinaigrette Channel your inner food stylist while arranging the beans and vegetables for this show-stopping composed bean salad recipe. Serve at a potluck or for a beautiful salad at brunch alongside grilled chicken, scallops or fish. View Recipe 12 of 25 Maple-Thyme Roasted Baby Carrots Amp up your carrot side dish with this Maple-Thyme Roasted Baby Carrot recipe. Consider saving a portion of this recipe and adding it to our Arugula Salad with Carrots and Goat Cheese recipe. View Recipe 13 of 25 Broccoli, Chickpea & Pomegranate Salad Simple steps give this broccoli salad recipe a more nuanced flavor: soaking the onion tempers its bite and toasting the cumin enhances its aroma. Serve alongside grilled chicken, pork or fish. View Recipe 14 of 25 Italian White Bean Salad This Italian white bean salad is healthy and delicious. The capers and rosemary-lemon dressing add wonderful flavor to the cannellini beans and chopped tomato. View Recipe 15 of 25 Parsley Tabbouleh Photographer: Rachel Marek, Food Stylist: Holly Dreesman This tart, parsley-dominated tabbouleh recipe makes for a flavorful side at any gathering. The recipe can be easily doubled to feed a crowd. Serve at room temperature or chilled. View Recipe 16 of 25 Strawberry-Beet Salad This beautiful strawberry and beet summer salad is perfect for a picnic or lunch on-the-go—just pack the dressing on the side! View Recipe 17 of 25 Summer Greens Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette & Anchovy Breadcrumbs Using a variety of greens gives this simple summer salad an interesting mix of textures. The anchovy in the breadcrumbs and sun-dried tomatoes in the vinaigrette are subtle, but key to adding umami. View Recipe 18 of 25 Pineapple & Avocado Salad This refreshing, simple Cuban salad recipe captures the flavors of the tropics. Serve alongside spiced chicken or pork, with rice and beans. View Recipe 19 of 25 Snap Pea Salad with Lemon and Feta Fresh greens, lemony vinaigrette, briny feta and crisp radishes and pea pods all come together in this side salad that you'll want at every meal. We love Meyer lemons in this salad, but any variety will do. View Recipe 20 of 25 Loaded Sweet Potato Nacho Fries Bump up the vitamin A and fiber when you swap tortilla chips for sweet potatoes in this healthy recipe. Serve as an appetizer at your next party or turn it into dinner by adding chicken, tofu, shrimp or more beans for protein. View Recipe 21 of 25 Shaved Summer Squash Salad with Ricotta Salata & Charred Fennel While spinach is a good leafy substitute for the sorrel in this salad, Ben Bebenroth, chef and owner of Cleveland's farm-to-table Spice Catering, sometimes uses thinly sliced raw rhubarb to mimic sorrel's tangy flavor in this summer squash salad. View Recipe 22 of 25 Tropical Cucumber Salad Combine cucumber, avocado and mango with a salty-sweet dressing for a taste of the tropics. View Recipe 23 of 25 Grilled Asparagus Parmesan Caitlin Bensel Grilled asparagus gets a light and flavorful coating of finely grated Parmesan cheese and a hint of lemon in this easy grilled side dish. View Recipe 24 of 25 Fresh Fruit Salad This refreshing and easy fruit salad recipe will be the favorite at any potluck or cookout. And if you like creamy fruit salad or fruit salad with yogurt, we've got you covered with an optional tangy lime yogurt dressing to serve on the side—instead of making fruit salad with whipped cream. This is a colorful and healthy fruit salad recipe for all occasions. View Recipe 25 of 25 Spinach Salad with Ginger-Soy Dressing This spinach salad tossed with spunky ginger dressing was inspired by the iceberg salads served at Japanese steakhouses across the U.S. Add shrimp for lunch or a light supper. View Recipe Medically reviewed by Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Jessica Ball, M.S., RD Jessica Ball, M.S., RD, is nutrition editor for EatingWell. She is a registered dietitian with a master's in food, nutrition and sustainability. In addition to EatingWell, her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Real Simple, Parents, Better Homes and Gardens and MyRecipes. EatingWell's Editorial Guidelines Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit