Tested American side dishes, from holiday-table staples to everyday vegetables and potatoes. Cooked from the real recipe and timed honestly so they land with the main.
Ree Drummond’s Pioneer Woman potato rolls fold freshly mashed potato into a buttery yeast dough at about 140 calories per roll. This batch from thepioneerwoman.com yields 24 pull-apart rolls in 3 hours and 15 minutes, and most of that is just rising time. Freshly mashed potato goes right into the dough here, which replaces part …
Ina Garten’s ham and cheese in puff pastry layers black forest ham, Gruyere, and Dijon mustard inside flaky sheets at about 535 calories per serving. The whole recipe takes just 50 minutes with five ingredients from her Barefoot Contessa show, so it works for cocktail parties without stress. Ina skips the individual turnovers or pinwheels …
Ina Garten’s curried couscous tosses fluffy grains with yogurt, curry, almonds, currants, and fresh vegetables at around 330 calories per serving. Everything comes together in 20 minutes from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, so it works as a quick side you can make ahead. The recipe starts with a yogurt and olive oil dressing spiked with …
Ina Garten’s cheese puffs are light, golden gougères made with Gruyere, Parmesan, and a rich milk-based choux dough at about 55 calories each. At 40 puffs per batch they take just 40 minutes from her Barefoot in Paris cookbook, and most of that is hands-on prep. Most gougère recipes have you add eggs by hand …
Ina Garten’s mini Italian frittatas pack leeks, prosciutto, baby spinach, and two Italian cheeses into individual baked egg cups. They come together in about 55 minutes and serve 12 straight from the pan. Ina developed this recipe for her Make It Ahead cookbook in 2014 and later walked through it on the Barefoot Contessa episode …
Ina Garten salmon salad pairs chilled salmon with celery, red onion, dill, and capers in a raspberry vinegar dressing. And this Barefoot Contessa Cookbook recipe serves 4 at around 545 calories in just 30 minutes, since the salmon starts pre-cooked. Most salmon salads lean on mayonnaise, but this Barefoot Contessa version uses raspberry vinegar instead. …
Martha Stewart Irish soda bread is a tender loaf with cold butter, caraway seeds, raisins, and buttermilk at about 595 calories per serving. And it takes about 1 hour 35 minutes total, since the 70-minute bake does most of the work after a quick mix. Martha adds cold butter and an egg to this marthastewart.com …
Martha Stewart’s pasta salad tosses farfalle with blanched green beans, chickpeas, capers, and fresh basil in a lemony mayo dressing sharpened with red wine vinegar. It feeds 6 to 8 in about 45 minutes. This version is published on marthastewart.com under the title “Pasta Salad with Green Beans and Basil,” and it leans Mediterranean with …
Martha Stewart’s butternut squash soup simmers peeled squash and sweet Vidalia onion in chicken broth with thyme, then gets pureed until silky smooth, with crispy bacon on top. It serves 12 in about 1 hour. Her team published this recipe on marthastewart.com as a no-cream approach to fall soup, and the richness comes entirely from …
Martha Stewart’s cucumber salad pairs thinly sliced English cucumber with roasted peanuts, fresh herbs, and a rice vinegar dressing reduced to a syrup, and it comes together in about 20 minutes of active work for 2 to 4 servings. Her test kitchen published this Thai-inspired version on marthastewart.com, built on ajad, the bright cucumber relish …