12 easy side dishes

A great side dish can make any meal feel complete. These twelve easy recipes include vegetables, potatoes and quick breads that fit into busy weeknights and weekends too, giving you plenty of options no matter what you’re serving.

12 easy side dishes collection

About these side dishes

These side dishes are easy to make and use simple ingredients. You’ll find potatoes, vegetables and quick breads that work well with many meals and suit both busy days and slower weekends.

Some can be made ahead, others cook quickly, and each recipe includes step-by-step photos to guide you.

All of them include helpful notes for timing, serving and storing. If you ever need help with a recipe, leave a comment below, I read and reply to every one.

Potato sides

Top view of French onion mashed potatoes swirled with caramelized onions and garnished with fresh thyme.

French Onion Mashed Potatoes

Rich, creamy, and full of flavor, with golden caramelized onions swirled into buttery mashed potatoes.

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Crispy golden garlic butter potato stacks garnished with thyme, stacked neatly on a dark ceramic plate with a soft, rustic background

Garlic Butter Stacked Potatoes

Ready in under an hour, these Garlic Butter Potato Stacks bake right in a muffin tin until golden, crisp, and tender in the middle. They’re simple to make with any kind of potato, no special variety needed.

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Easy Garlic And Lemon Roast Potatoes - Greek-Style served in a bowl with feta and olives

Easy Garlic and Lemon Roast Potatoes - Greek-style

These Garlic and Lemon Roast Potatoes are baked in a vegetable or chicken broth flavored with olive oil, lemon, garlic, and herbs.

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Quick Bread Sides

Top view of sliced no-yeast focaccia topped with rosemary and flaky salt, arranged on parchment with a serrated knife and striped kitchen towel

No-Yeast Focaccia – No Knead, No Rise

Soft inside, crisp on the edges, and ready in about 30 minutes. Beginner-friendly and no yeast needed.

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No yeast garlic herb pull-apart bread baked until golden brown in a loaf pan with a piece pulled apart to show the soft interior.

No Yeast Garlic Herb Pull-Apart Bread

Soft, fluffy, and filled with buttery garlic herb flavor, this easy pull-apart bread is made without yeast or rising time. It's perfect served warm or at room temperature.

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Garlic bread muffins

Garlic Bread Muffins - No Yeast

Enjoy the comforting and indulgent flavors in these Garlic Bread Muffins, filled with pockets of garlic butter and melted cheese.

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3 ingredient Garlic Breadsticks

Yeast free and no knead, this 3 ingredient Garlic Breadsticks is one of my easiest and quickest bread type recipes ever. Perfect for dipping in a roasted tomato sauce, cream cheese or even soup, this versatile bread sticks are prepared and baked in under 30 minutes.

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4-Ingredient Microwave Cheese Bread

Soft, savory, and ready in under 2 minutes

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This is really one of my favourite quick bread bakes. Besides it being budget-friendly, it is so easy to put together after a busy day. All the ingredients are simply mixed together in one bowl, scooped into your preferred baking pan, and baked.

Quick Mayonnaise Bread - (Just 4 ingredients-no yeast)

Prepared and baked in under 30 minutes, my recipe for Quick Mayonnaise Bread is super easy to make.

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Vegetable sides

Creamy Vegetable Bake

A medley of vegetables baked to perfection in cheese and white sauce.

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Honey Roasted Carrots & Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) is a delicious side dish that can double as a light vegetarian main course. It’s a great mix of sweet, savory, and crunchy, and goes perfectly with roasted meats, grilled dishes, or grains like quinoa and couscous.

Honey Roasted Carrots and Chickpeas

A delicious side dish that can double as a light vegetarian main course

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French roasted vegetable bake

French Roasted Vegetable Bake

Inspired by the classic French tian, a dish known for its beautiful layers of thinly sliced vegetables

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What to serve these with

These sides work with almost any meal, but here are a few ideas for pairing them with what you're cooking:

Potato sides add substance to plates that need something more filling, great with quick skillet meals, roasts, or even simple grilled chicken.

Vegetable sides round out dishes that feel too heavy on protein or carbs. They’re also perfect when you want extra colour and variety on the table.

Quick breads shine with anything saucy or baked, soups, casseroles, stews, or slow-cook dishes, and they help turn smaller meals into something more complete.

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Easy Recipes Using Yogurt

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Easy No-Knead Bread Recipes

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Collage of easy slice-and-bake butter cookies featuring sugar-coated butter cookies, iced sandwich cookies, marzipan butter cookies, and chilled cookie dough logs ready for slicing and baking.

Easy Slice and Bake Butter Cookies

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pita bread recipe collection

Easy Pita Bread Recipes

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