Lets be honest, we all know Thanksgiving is all about the side dishes. Who doesn’t love the warm dinner rolls, creamy mashed potatoes, and savory stuffing!? As delicious as they are, most holiday side dishes are not the healthiest. Being that holiday season is the time of year when people are most likely to fall off the health and fitness train, I went on the hunt for healthy holiday said dishes.
I tired a few out last year not sure how my family would take them but they were a huge hit!! My kids could not get enough of the vegan sweet potato casserole. These recipes are great if you are in charge of bring a side dish to a holiday get-together because they are classic with a healthy twist.
Healthy Holiday Side Dishes:
Honey Whole Wheat Dinner Roll
Ingredients:
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp warm water
- ⅓ cup organic coconut oil or butter, melted
- 2 tbsp instant yeast
- ¼ cup organic honey
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 2½ cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400F line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- In a large mixer, combine water, oil, yeast, and honey then let mixture sit for 15 minutes.
- With a dough hook, mix in salt, eggs, and white whole wheat flour until combined. Add all-purpose flour ½ cup at a time.
- Form dough into balls and let them sit for 10 minutes.
- Put the rolls onto baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Brussels Sprouts:
Ingredients:
- 1 pound Brussels sprouts, halved
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 or 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
(Feel free to add more of the sprouts or sweet potatoes if you are wanting a larger portion)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Chop brussels sprouts in half.
- Peel sweet potato and chop into 1-2 inch pieces
- Pour olive oil over the vegetables
- Add cumin, garlic salt, salt, and pepper to taste, mix to cover
- Cover cooking pan with olive oil or non-stick spray
- Roast at 400 for about 40-45 minutes. When you are about to easily put a fork in veggies you know they’re ready!
Vegan Sweet Potato Casserole
Ingredients:
- 3.5 pounds sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 6 tablespoons coconut oil or olive oil
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Topping:
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- 6 tablespoons almond flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoon melted vegan butter
- 3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Boil the sweet potato for 20 minutes until soft then drain and mash
- Add the rest of the ingredients and using the masher
- Scoop sweet potato mix into a casserole dish and top with the Maple Pecan topping.
- Bake for 30 minutes
Healthy Green Bean Casserole:
- ¼ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup Parmesan
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt,
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped (8 oz)
- 1 lb. fresh green beans, ends removed, cut in half
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare the topping by mixing the almond meal with the Parmesan.
- Mix the yogurt with kosher salt, garlic powder and the cayenne pepper.
- In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion with ½ teaspoon of the salt and cook 4 minutes, stirring often, until onions are golden brown.
- Add the green beans and cook, stirring often, 4 more minutes, until just tender. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute. Remove from heat.
- Stir in the cheddar until it melts, then stir in the seasoned yogurt.
- Transfer the mixture into a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with the topping. Bake 30 minutes, until topping is golden. If using the almond flour topping, you might need to finish it under the broiler for a minute or so to get it to brown.