I have a tendency to throw together side dishes at random with whatever ingredients we have on hand. I usually kind of half-plan these recipes–I’ll know I want to make something with green beans, for example, so I’ll buy the beans and then look at what else I have in the pantry or fridge to decide exactly what I’m going to do with them once I start cooking. And when I come up with these recipes, they’re so simple that I feel silly writing an entire blog post about them. I mean, I’m quite certain you’d be all, “Really Kiersten? Roasted potatoes with rosemary? A whole post about this?”
So! Instead of posting these recipes separately, I thought I’d put a few of them together in one post. Here are 5 easy three ingredient side dishes:
Citrus Soy Edamame
You’ll need:
2 c. frozen shelled edamame
1 tbsp. fresh orange juice + zest from orange
1 tbsp. soy sauce
Instructions:
Heat a skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add edamame, orange juice, and soy sauce; cover and cook 2-3 minutes or until edamame is heated through. Remove lid and increase heat to medium-high. Continue to cook until liquid has mostly evaporated, about 3 minutes more. Stir in orange zest.
Simple Herb Toasts
You’ll need:
1 baguette, cut into thick slices
olive oil mister (if you don’t have a mister, you can brush the tops with olive oil)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place baguette slices on baking sheet and spray tops with olive oil. Sprinkle with herbs. Bake 7-8 minutes or until tops are crisp and edges are beginning to brown.
Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
You’ll need:
1 1/2 lbs. red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. chopped rosemary
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine potatoes, olive oil, and rosemary in a bowl and toss until potatoes are coated in oil. Pour potato mixture onto baking sheet and roast for 40-45 minutes, or until potatoes are beginning to brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Seared Olive Green Beans
You’ll need:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
5 tbsp. olive tapenade
Instructions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add green beans and cook about 6 minutes, or until beans are starting to sear, stirring often. Add 2 tablespoons of water and cover; cook 1 minute or until beans are tender. Stir in olive tapenade.
Corn-on-the-Cob with Chipotle Butter
You’ll need:
4 ears of corn, husked
1 tbsp. butter, softened
1/2-1 tsp. chopped chipotle in adobo*
Instructions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add corn and cook 2 minutes. Carefully remove with tongs. In a small bowl, combine butter and chipotle. Top each cob with 1/4 of the butter mixture. (If you like more butter on your corn, double the chipotle butter recipe. I only like a smidgen on mine.)
*No, you don’t have to buy a whole can of chipotles in adobo just for this recipe! When you buy chipotles, puree the contents of the can in your food processor and then freeze it. You can freeze the mixture in ice cube trays or in a zip-top freezer bag (and then scoop out what you need whenever a recipe calls for it). One tablespoon of the puree is about equal to one whole chipotle pepper.
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The citrus soy edamame sounds delicious! I love quick and easy food to cook after a long day at work.
Me too! I always want a home-cooked meal, but sometimes I don’t want to do the cooking.
These sound so wholesome and delicious, yet simple. These will work great for special occasions and busy weeknights too!
Yeah, there are so many times when you need a quick, easy side dish–when you need dinner in a hurry, when your main dish is really labor intensive, when you have people over…
Great sides! Man I haven’t made rosemary potatoes in a while. I think I’m gonna rectify this week. My rosemary is getting jealous. I think last night I heard it say “REALLY, you clipped some DILL over ME!?! Traitor!”
Do you just roast potatoes and sprinkle them with dill? I’m growing dill and I don’t know what to do with it! Other than pickles…
I use it in salads, salad dressings, tuna salad, etc. I don’t usually plant it but for some reason I got it this year. Such a rebel…not.
Gosh, sometimes I feel so dumb. I always hated throwing away the rest of the can of chipotle peppers, but I never thought to freeze them! Thanks for the tip, and the simple recipes!
I cannot stand to throw anything away! You’d be surprised how many things you can freeze. I’ve tried just about everything.
Love these!! Great sides! Those potatoes are calling me!
Roasted potatoes are the best, aren’t they? So easy too!
Love your chipotle tip!! Just opened a can and have been thinking HOW am I going to use all these up?? Perfect timing — thank you
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Woo hoo! I love being useful.
And you can use the pureed chipotles for so many things–it’s good added to soup, mashed sweet potatoes, baked potatoes. So many possibilities!
Roasted potatoes? Chipotle butter? I’m in on all accounts.
I will eat anything with chipotle peppers on or in it.
I wish my rosemary would grow! That’s one of my favorite ways to roast potatoes and I love edamame. Definitely going to try it!
Rosemary is everywhere here–there’s a roundabout near our house and the ENTIRE thing is full of like 3-4 foot tall rosemary plants. My rosemary plant is still pretty tiny, but if I start running low, I’m just going to start hitting up the roundabout.
Love these ideas! All of them are delicious. My favorite is corn on the cob!
Thank you! I think I could eat corn-on-the-cob every week during the summer.
These look wonderful! I’m always on the lookout for simple dishes, dishes that have few ingredients that are common enough to be found in my grocery store. But still look and taste fabulous.
Thank you! I’m always looking for easy sides too. When I’m cooking a more involved main dish, it’s nice to have a side that doesn’t require a lot of work.
They all look so simple and yet so pretty. Will try the edamame this weekend as I don’t have any on hand at the moment. The corn looks so good though and the left overs would be perfect in a salad.
Pam
I hope you like the edamame! I love raw corn in a salad, but I’ve never thought of putting leftover cooked corn in it…
I want to try every one of them. I am obsessed with edamame, by the way. It’s sooooo yummy!
Sometimes I buy those big refrigerated packages of edamame and eat the whole thing for lunch. Super good.
Hi Kierston! I found your great site this week.
Q: Isn’t edamame the same as soy? What is the difference with this and all the soy we are warned about- even non-gmo & organic? Certainly looks pretty!
Edamame is another name for soybeans. I personally eat soy products, but certainly understand that other people do not. There are some brands of non-GMO edamame on the market, like this one: http://www.woodstock-foods.com/pages/productdetail.aspx?p=4256300780.
Thank you for your prompt reply… all the way from Australia! I’m not a vegeterian but I love to go fossicking for great ideas. So glad I found you!
This is a good idea for a post – everyone needs some simple side dish recipes in their hand! I’m loving all these creative and spicy corn on the cob ideas you post too!
Seriously, I think I could just do all corn recipes for the rest of the summer. I’m constantly having to remind myself that there are other delicious vegetables in season too.
Love the Edamame recipe! I have been getting my frozen shelled edamame from Trader Joes and now it’s no longer carried. Bummer! Do you know of any other places to find it?
Don’t you hate it when Trader Joe’s does that?! I usually buy the frozen shelled edamame at my local grocery store, but if yours doesn’t sell it, I know Whole Foods has it…
Great tip to freeze the chipotles.
Too funny – I just left a comment on your other post about how much I love 3 ingredient recipes! You wrote this just for me, right?!
Ha! Clearly I did.
Love this post! Great ideas
Yum! Just the kind of side items I like. EASY! I will be trying the green beans this week.
I hope you like them!
Love these easy side dishes!
this is totally what I needed! I need simple and fast
I know you think some of these are super easy, but we just started at this vegetarian lifestyle so we are wading in the waters of easy-to-make, fast and fresh. Thanks for posting them and keep up the great work. I look forward to browsing your recipes!
Good luck with your transition to vegetarianism!