Healthy Vegetable Dishes

By Food & Wine
Updated May 10, 2017
From charred cauliflower steaks with spiced corn to crisp leek salad with persimmons and almonds, here are healthy yet satisfying vegetable dishes.
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Green Vegetables with Dukka and Tahini Dressing

© Tara Pearce
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The Egyptian spice blend dukka is a fantastic garnish for this delicious vegetable dish. Sprouted, or activated, almonds add healthy crunch.

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Root-Vegetable Gratin

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Use a mandoline to cut the vegetables into thin slices; they will turn tender when baked with chicken broth and a little cream.

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Cauliflower Steaks with Spiced Corn

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Eat this cauliflower filet with a steak knife; it's surprisingly hefty.

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Stuffed Baby Peppers with Yogurt and Floral Honey

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"Honey is an incredible anti-everything," says Jovial King. "It's antibacterial, antiviral and great for combating allergies, as long as it's raw." Marcia Kiesel uses King's flower-infused honey in savory dishes, like these yogurt-stuffed peppers.

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Pickled Beet Salad

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These pickled beets are perfect in a salad with parsley and fennel fronds.

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Leek Salad with Persimmons and Almonds

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Here, Hugh Acheson creates a salad based on butter-braised leeks, a French favorite.

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Warm Corn Chowder Salad with Bacon and Cider Vinegar

Fredrika Stjärne
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In this riff on corn chowder, the Beekman boys toss corn, potatoes and bacon with cider vinegar. They grow at least five varieties of sweet corn each summer, and they're always coming up with new ways to use it. Because the corn for this salad is barely cooked, it's best to use the juiciest kernels available.

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Sautéed Carrots with Lemon and Marjoram

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Lemon juice and garlic balance sweet sautéed carrots flavored with fresh marjoram. A simple yet exceptional side dish, it goes equally well alongside meat, fish, or poultry.

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Sparkling White Kimchi

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"You see 7UP quite a bit in Korean recipes," says David Chang. "My mom cooked with it: She put it in a noodle dish, she added it to beef stock." When he wanted to prepare a quick "white" version of kimchi, Chang opted for 7UP; it adds lovely bubbliness to the cabbage. It can be served as a side dish like traditional red chile kimchi or with cold noodle soup.

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Braised Root Vegetables and Cabbage with Fall Fruit

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Alain Ducasse uses six pots to cook each type of vegetable on its own, then layers them in a baking dish. For the simplified version of Ducasse's fruit-and-root-vegetable stew, everything cooks in one big pot.

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Asparagus with Toasted Almonds and Garlic

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Slivered almonds add a nice crunch to this quick and easy asparagus side dish.

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Mushroom Salad with Mint

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Mushrooms are packed with minerals like selenium that have been shown to guard against some cancers. Here they're drizzled with lemon juice in a salad Joe Bastianich calls "soulful but still filling." He adds, "Raw mushrooms are a great conduit for good olive oil."

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Artichokes with Scallion Vinaigrette

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A generous portion of bay leaves in the steaming liquid here permeates the artichoke leaves and hearts with flavor and provides an enticing aroma as you serve the dish. The scallion vinaigrette balances the sweetness of the artichokes.

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Roasted Baby Turnips with Parsley-Mustard Vinaigrette

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Sheila Neal, Matt Neal's wife, has always loved turnips. "They were my show-and-tell in kindergarten; I showed my class how to season them with salt and eat them," she says. These elegant baby turnips—roasted to bring out their sweetness—can be served warm or cold.

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Balsamic-Glazed Cipollini with Lemon and Bay Leaves

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Called cipollini agrodólce in Italian for their sweet-and-sour vinegar glaze (agro means sour; dólce, sweet), these soft and tangy onions are a fantastic accompaniment to any rich roast meat.

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Fresh Tomato and Caper Salad

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When guests sit down to the dinner table, Moroccan hosts often set out small salads to eat with bread or on their own. Paula Wolfert found this salad in Essaouira, along the Atlantic coast. She says it's rare to see capers in Moroccan salads, even though the country is one of the world's leading suppliers.

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Roasted Eggplant with Tomato Dressing

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"This recipe is a very traditional one, and this is a common ingredient combination," says chef, Ferit Sarper. He makes the dish especially appealing by serving the eggplant whole and then topping it with an incredibly light tomato vinaigrette.

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Two-Tone Potato Salad

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Pickled onions and cucumber relish add a tangy kick to Emilee Gettle's blue-and-gold potato salad. Because she and Jere Gettle don't eat eggs, they opt for vegan mayonnaise.

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Radishes with Sour Cream Dressing and Nigella Seeds

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Crunchy black nigella seeds have a nutty, peppery flavor.

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Grilled Broccoli and Bread Salad with Pickled Shallots

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"Grilling over an open flame is my favorite way of cooking," says Charlie Parker. "It gives food so much flavor without the need for butter." Here, he serves lightly charred broccoli and ciabatta cubes in a twist on an Italian bread-and-tomato salad.

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Green Beans Two Ways

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Instead of just steaming or boiling green beans, Katie Workman first sautés them in butter and garlic, then simmers them in chicken broth. For adults, she adds fresh herbs and citrus—both zest and juice—giving the beans a fresh, vibrant flavor.

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Sugar Snap Peas with Soffrito, Hot Pepper and Mint

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"It's hard to improve upon a perfect sugar snap pea," says Gjelina chef Travis Lett. "The question for the chef is, how do you not screw it up?" Lett's answer is to keep things simple, by cooking the sweet peas with fresh mint, crushed red pepper and soffrito (an aromatic Italian mix of sautéed minced vegetables, usually used to flavor soups and sauces).

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Chilled Cucumber Soup

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Chef Eric Skokan grows hundreds of vegetables at his farm, analyzing each variety for its best use. He prefers the Zagross Persian cucumber for this tangy soup.

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Grilled Squash Ribbons and Prosciutto with Mint Dressing

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Grilling zucchini and summer squash ribbons on skewers is terrific because the edges become wonderfully charred and crisp, while the insides stay tender and juicy.

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Garlicky Broccolini

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Jason Travi recommends using a peppery olive oil to sauté the blanched Broccolini with the garlic and crushed red pepper. The recipe is delicious with a variety of other vegetables as well, such as cauliflower, snap peas or green beans.

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Creamless Creamed Corn with Mushrooms and Lemon

Frances Janisch
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"My granny taught me that when corn is very fresh, the juices are naturally creamy," Kevin Gillespie says. "I took that as the gospel." He grates half of the corn here to make a luxurious puree that thickens without cream.

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Sweet-and-Sour Braised Cabbage

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To punch up the flavor of braised cabbage, Frank Castronovo adds dried sour cherries, apples and a pinch of ground cloves.

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Beet, Fennel and Jicama Salad with Macadamia Nut Dressing

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Not only are macadamia nuts a good source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, but when they're pureed, they also serve as an ingeniously creamy base for dairy-free salad dressings.

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Lemony Quinoa Salad with Shaved Vegetables

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Eating quinoa is a great way for vegetarians to get protein. Jeremy Fox tosses nutty-tasting quinoa with crunchy shaved vegetables for a refreshing salad loaded with vitamins and minerals.

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Oven-Roasted Cauliflower Florets

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When roasted with a little olive oil, cauliflower florets turn lusciously sweet, crisp and caramel-brown. A squeeze of lemon brightens their flavor.

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