This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
I’ve rounded up all of my favorite healthy holiday sides to share with you! Each of these side dishes will compliment just about any main holiday dish, and are made with lots of nutritious ingredients so you can feel full and satisfied.
Holiday gatherings are all about good food, great company, and cherished traditions. As a dietitian I’m a huge believer that your holiday spread doesn’t have to be “healthy”, but I do like to have some nourishing recipes on the table so that you can leave your meal feeling great!
Here are my top favorite healthy holiday sides!
The combination of tangy, salty feta with maple-syrup sweetened cranberry sauce is the most amazing flavor experience ever. It’s also made with Greek yogurt for a slightly lighter whipped feta option. It’s the perfect holiday appetizer to impress your guests and it’s easy!
Table of Contents
This sweet potato and apple casserole is the perfect sweet and savory side dish for the holiday table. It’s made with nourishing, wholesome ingredients like sweet potatoes, apples, maple syrup and crunchy pecans.
This easy recipe combines two amazing foods: roasted potatoes and French onion soup. If you love both of those foods, this is going to be your new favorite way to eat potatoes. Your entire family will be asking you for this recipe!
Garlic, butter, potatoes…. The perfect combination, if you ask me. This mashed potatoes recipe is full of classic flavors that your entire family will love, making it the perfect side dish for holiday entertaining. Not only are they delicious, but they have a bit more nutrition folded in too. Cottage cheese is the secret ingredient that gives these potatoes a creamy consistency and a higher protein content.
These charcuterie skewers make an absolutely fabulous holiday appetizer or side dish (especially if you’re intimidated to make a classic charcuterie board!). You can make these charcuterie kabobs with any variety of flavors and colors that you enjoy, which is the best part. I love changing these up with different cheeses and using a variety of meat and veggies, too!
When this pear arugula salad is put together it looks gorgeous and fancy, but it’s actually an incredibly simple salad to make! The beautiful vibrant colors of this salad make it perfect for a holiday side dish, and it’s also absolutely delicious.
If you’ve seen what look like mini butternut squash at the grocery store- they’re honeynut squashes! This velvety soup doesn’t use any heavy cream and only a little bit of butter so it’s a lighter but just as delicious version of classic butternut squash soup. I love a good, delicious soup as a holiday side dish or appetizer.
The holy grail of holiday side dishes – mac and cheese. This recipe is lighter and packed with protein than traditional mac and cheese, but just as delicious. This creamy high protein mac and cheese has everything you love about traditional mac and cheese and packs an impressive 35 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber per serving.
These crispy feta brussel sprouts are perfectly crispy, super flavorful, and easy to make. They take less than 15 minutes, so it’s the perfect side dish to compliment your holiday table. You can make them in the oven or air fryer.
This sweet potato casserole is easy, a little bit lighter than most traditional sweet potato casserole recipes, and absolutely delicious. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and savory. The sweet potato base is creamy and buttery and the crunchy brown sugar walnuts topping adds the perfect amount of sweet, buttery, nutty crunch. Mmmmm.
These crispy parmesan carrot sticks are baked with simple nutritious ingredients like olive oil, garlic, and parmesan cheese. They’re a great option for changing up your standard holiday carrot dishes.
These hot honey carrots are easy, but they’re so much better than regular roasted carrots. If you love a sweet and spicy combination, you’ll love the sweet carrots and honey with spicy savory flavors. They’re perfect if you need a glow up to your normal roasted carrot side dish for the holidays.
Move over boring steamed broccoli, this air fried broccoli and feta cheese is SO yummy and the perfect side to change things up this holiday season. You’ll use simple ingredients for this flavorful broccoli like feta cheese, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and garlic for a great holiday side dish that’s done in no time.
This healthy cowboy caviar recipe is essentially a fresh salsa packed with amazing-for-you simple ingredients like tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion, beans, and corn and then tossed in an easy delicious lime dressing. It’s the best appetizer or side dish to serve with some crostini or tortilla chips.
This sweet and tangy bell pepper slaw is easy to make and packed with flavor from bell peppers, shredded cabbage and a light red wine vinaigrette. It’s perfect for a no-cook veggie side dish to add to your holiday table.
This creamy cottage cheese pasta sauce is high protein, velvety smooth and sooooo good. Add this to macaroni or penne pasta for a crowd pleasing holiday side dish. Your guests will love it, and I promise no one will know that you’ve used cottage cheese in this pasta dish.
This high protein pasta salad is delicious and perfect to prep ahead for your holiday dinners. It’s packed with veggies and tossed in a flavorful homemade dressing. It packs an impressive 47 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber per serving for a balanced, satisfying holiday side dish everyone will love.
I love switching up a classic holiday veggie side dish (roasted broccoli) with something new and fun like this. The smashed broccoli florets are topped with garlic and parmesan and get perfectly crispy. Plus, you only need a handful of simple ingredients to make these.
If you’re a brussels sprouts fan, you’re going to love these super easy stove-top maple balsamic brussel sprouts. They’re quicker than the traditional method of making them in the oven and they’re a major crowd pleaser.
Maybe a little unconventional, but this chopped taco salad is such a yummy side dish to have on your holiday table! This is perfect if you have guests who don’t love traditional holiday side dishes.
I hope you enjoy these healthy holiday sides, too!
