10 healthy veggie side dishes straight from the fall garden

#1: Arugula, Dried Cherry and Wild Rice Salad with a Zippy Lemon Dressing

Arugula is a very cold hardy salad green that I always make sure to grow in my fall garden. That means I usually have plenty to harvest throughout the fall and even into the holiday season. Adding wild rice to this salad makes it hearty enough to serve as a main dish on a busy weeknight, or bring as a potluck contribution to a party.

Try the recipe by Cookie and Kate

Photo courtesy of Cookie and Kate

#2: Roasted Root Vegetables with Rosemary and Honey

Root vegetables are easy to grow for fall and winter recipes and very common at local farmers markets. Sellers at our market in Wisconsin regularly stock sweet and regular potatoes, beets, carrots, parsnips, turnips, and radishes all winter long. We often add tofu or another protein like salmon to this dish to make it filling enough for a main dish on a weeknight.

Try the recipe by Garden Therapy

Photo courtesy of Garden Therapy

#3: Super Kale Salad

If you’ve been wondering how to use all of the kale you’ve been growing, or just want to include more kale in your diet but don’t know how, the miracle of massaged kale salads might be just what you need.

Massaging the kale completely transforms it from that waxy garnish into a savory, smooth and filling salad that deserves to be center stage at the dinner table.

This one’s from my site!

Try the recipe by The Creative Vegetable Gardener

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#4: Carmelized Brussels Sprouts and Apples

Brussels sprouts and apples aren’t two things I’d normally put together while eating dinner, but this combination works really well! The sweetness of the apples contrasts perfectly with the earthiness of the Brussels sprouts and other ingredients.

Brussels sprouts take a loooong time to grow in the vegetable garden (over 120 days!), but come fall they definitely seem worth it. I leave mine in the ground until we get a few hard frosts which bring out the natural sweetness in the sprouts.  I’ve even been known to wait until after the first snowfall to harvest mine.

Try the recipe by 101 Cookbooks

Photo courtesy of 101 Cookbooks

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#5: Pumpkin Cornbread

Because chili is on our regular winter dinner rotation I’ve collected a few favorite cornbread recipes over the years. But, adding pumpkin as a secret ingredient was a new concept for me! It makes the bread a little more moist and hearty, which goes great with chili.

Try the recipe by Healthy Homespun Living

Phot courtesy of Healthy Homespun Living

#6: Marrakesh Carrot Salad

Most years I harvest carrots from my garden into early December. I have a few fun photos of me digging up carrots from garden beds in the snow. I like to use the cold outside temperatures of fall and early winter to keep my carrots crisp and sweet. 

In my opinion, sometimes carrot salads can be a little to much, well, carrot! I love this salad because it calls for adding lentils, feta and dates. Somehow they all combine together to make a magical salad that looks beautiful and tastes amazing. 

Try the recipe by Sprouted Kitchen

Photo courtesy of Sprouted Kitchen

#7: Roasted Parsnip Soup with Apple and Rosemary

One of my first memories of my husband is from the farm where we met. We spent an early spring day digging up wild parsnip side by side and talking in the bright sun. The chef that night really wanted the roots for a special dish to serve for Passover.

While overwintered parsnips are a special treat in early spring, I also like to eat them in fall and winter. They’re easy to find at our local farmers markets and grocery stores. This recipe is a paired with a ramp pesto, but it also a great excuse to use the garlic scape pesto you froze in summer! 

Try the recipe by Lovely Greens

Photo courtesy of Lovely Greens

#8: Roasted Beet Salad with Spinach and Herbs

You planted a crop of fall spinach, right? No!?!? Well, you definitely have to put it on your planting list for next year. I never tire of spreading the wonders of fall and winter spinach near and far. Did you know it can survive the winter in cold climates (like my zone 5 Wisconsin garden) and starts to re-grow in spring? 

I usually have a pretty robust crop of spinach in my garden by the time fall rolls around. In fact, sometimes I have more than I can possibly eat, which means we often have spinach salads for dinner!

If you also have beets in your garden this recipes calls for roasting them and adding them to the spinach with some fresh herbs and a lemon vinaigrette.

Try the recipe  by Naturally Ella

 Photo courtesy of Naturally Ella

#9: Butternut Squash and Leek Stuffing

The recipe comes from one of my all-time favorite cooking blogs, Love and Lemons. She lives in the Chicago, which is in the same climate as where I live, so her seasonal recipes track what’s available in my garden perfectly. I also love her bright photos and vegetable-centric recipes.

Butternut squash is a staple of our fall and winter cooking and recipes. I’ve never been a huge fan of conventional stuffing because it’s mostly bread with hardly any vegetables. But, this one is more up my alley with the addition of squash!

Try the recipe by Love and Lemons

Photo courtesy of Love and Lemons

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#10: Miso Sweet Potato and Broccoli Bowl

The earthiness of the wild rice and broccoli combined with the sweetness of the potatoes and topped with the bright miso sauce makes this dish one that always has me exclaiming out loud, “Dang, that’s good!” Add a protein to finish it off and this is the perfect one dish meal for a weeknight dinner. 

Try the recipe by Smitten Kitchen

Photo courtesy of Smitten Kitchen

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More seasonal recipes from the garden:

The True Flavors of Thanksgiving

Easy Garlic Scape Pesto Recipe

Quick and Easy Friday Night Garden Pizza

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