5-Ingredient Mediterranean Diet Side Dishes

Green peas add a pop of color to this bright whole-grain side dish. Plus, choosing frozen saves you time—no shelling required! Want to save even more time? Use a pouch of precooked quinoa.

Quinoa with Peas & Lemon

Broccolini, with its long thin stems and small florets, is a cross between broccoli and gai lan or Chinese broccoli. 

Quick & Easy Sautéed Broccolini

Serve as a simple side dish, or stir it into salads or grain bowls to add more plant power

Turmeric-Roasted Cauliflower

Don't skip salting the cucumbers in this quick cucumber salad recipe—just 10 minutes pulls out some of their excess moisture, concentrating the flavor and keeping the salad from being watered down. 

Smashed Cucumber Salad with Lemon & Cumin

Tender spinach with a hint of garlic, Parmesan cheese and sweet balsamic vinegar makes a quick and flavorful side dish. The sturdy leaves of mature spinach hold up best during cooking.

Balsamic-Parmesan Sautéed Spinach

Kalettes, a cross between kale and Brussels sprouts, cook quickly in a hot oven in this easy vegetable side dish recipe.

Roasted Kalette

When cauliflower is pulsed in a food processor, it magically turns into a vegetable that really resembles white rice. In this easy recipe, cauliflower rice is made into an herbed pilaf.

Cauliflower Rice