Recipe Roundup: Simple Summer Sides

Showcase fresh produce in simple-to-prepare side dishes, perfect for your weekend picnics and barbecues. Raw vegetable and fruit salads, like our Heirloom Tomato Salad with Two Vinegars, are delicious alongside grilled chicken and meats, while others with grains and beans make satisfying vegetarian main courses. Below are some our favorites, showcasing summer ingredients at their best.

 

Cherry Tomato, Green Bean and Wax Bean Salad with Herbed Bread Crumbs Simple bread crumbs give this salad some crunch. It looks especially pretty made with dark green beans and pale yellow wax beans.

Watermelon, Feta and Mint Salad Combining sweet, salty and spicy flavors, this no-cook salad is great for a picnic or a backyard barbecue.

Green Bean Salad with Sweet and Sour Mustard Vinaigrette In this delicious riff on the classic green bean salad, we add chickpeas, crunchy radishes and crumbled bacon, all tossed with a sweet and sour mustard vinaigrette.

Grilled Squash and Orzo Salad with Pine Nuts and Mint Turn grilled vegetables into a finished dish by adding cooked orzo pasta and crunchy nuts.

Farro with Fresh Corn and Sugar Snap Peas Here, chewy farro pairs with sweet corn and sugar snaps, just barely cooked so the bright essence and crunch won’t be lost.

Spicy Cucumber Salad with Roasted Peanuts A sprinkle of toasted peanuts and bright cilantro adds complexity to this marinated Thai-style salad, which is refreshing, pungent and spicy at the same time.

Summer Beans with Lemon and Almonds This colorful bean salad is easy to make ahead: just blanch and marinate the beans in advance, then top with the almonds just before serving.

Quinoa Salad with Grilled Vegetables and Feta Prep is simple for this salad: the vegetables are cooked on a stovetop grill pan, so you don’t have to fire up your grill. Just cook the quinoa and toss everything together!

Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint The combination of flavors and textures in this cooling salad is perfect on a hot summer day.

Shaved Zucchini Salad with Almonds and Asiago Shaving raw zucchini for this pretty salad lends a new texture to your summer squash dishes.

 

See more simple summer sides here.