25+ Frugal Side Dish Recipes

Enjoy some amazing macaroni salad with your next meal, and you’ll be glad you did. It’s made with pasta, peppers, onions, bacon, ranch, and mayo. It’s delightful for hot weather too.

Next time you head to your next big barbecue or potluck dinner, bring some of this creamy cucumber and dill salad. Its incredible flavor is unforgettable and will please a crowd too. It’s fantastic with burgers also.

I sometimes dream about this broccoli bacon salad. It’s jam-packed with bacon, fresh broccoli, onions, cheese, and the best dressing ever. It’s sweet and tangy at the same time. Every bite leaves you wanting the next. 

You can quickly make some of this tomato and onion salad with just eight ingredients and ten minutes of your time. It tastes incredible and is perfect for parties, barbecues, and picnics.

There is nothing better than kicking back and munching on a cool and refreshing salad. We enjoy this corn salad whenever we host a barbecue, and everyone gobbles up every last kernel. It has both yellow and white corn in it as well as bacon and vegetables too. 

I can’t get enough of this brightly colored salad. It’s filling and has beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Eat it with tacos, a handful of chips, or by the spoonful. 

Imagine making potato salad with your Instant Pot! Using a pressure cooker for sides is fantastic because it free’s up your stove and tastes excellent too. This isn’t your ordinary potato salad, either. It’s loaded with all sorts of good stuff.

Adding raisins to this broccoli salad makes it even more enjoyable. Grab some broccoli salad with a sandwich, and you will have a lovely lunch. Or take it to a party, and everyone will rave out how good it is. 

Spaghetti salad is one of the most frugal salads you can make! Spaghetti noodles are inexpensive. You can save even more money if you grow many of the vegetables in your garden too. 

This salad is made with the freshest and most delicious ingredients. It’s light, crisp, and refreshing. Enjoy it on a hot day or with any of your favorite dishes. 

Whenever you hit a potluck or visit grandma for Sunday dinner, you can just about guarantee you are going to get some pea salad. This recipe is so tasty and filling too. Bacon, peas, cheese, onions, mayo, sour cream, and seasons are terrific together. 

If you love honey gold potatoes here is a roasted potato that crisps up nicely and then is so light and fluffy as you bite into the sliced potatoes. The perfect oven baked potato recipe.

10 minutes of prep is all it takes for these crispy and pillowy potatoes. One of my favorite go-to potato side dish recipes.

Mashed sweet potatoes go with pretty much everything. They are fantastic with most cuts of meat like pork, beef, or chick and make a lovely vegetarian dish too. Plus, it’s flavorful, smooth, and creamy. 

We eat steak fries with all sorts of meals. They are easy to make, and you don’t need much of anything for ingredients either. Give them a taste, and they are sure to be a new favorite potato recipe. 

You can quickly and easily make these Hasselback sweet potatoes in your air fryer. They have the best garlic butter drizzled all over them and go great with all your favorite toppings. 

Skip takeout and try this cilantro lime rice recipe. This is tender rice that is flavored with lime and cilantro.

A cheese and delicious rice casserole that is baked in the oven. Give this broccoli and rice recipe a try.

If you enjoy wild rice here is another comforting dish to pair next to a roast, chicken, and more.

Fried rice gets a lighter take, while staying full of flavor. Give this cauliflower fried rice a try.

Am I the only one that could live off of mac and cheese? Maybe that makes a big kid, but man, it’s so tasty and irresistible I can’t help myself sometimes. I love this recipe because you only need 6 ingredients and can throw it together quickly.

You can roast these balsamic green beans in the oven, and from start, to finish it’s only around 30 minutes. Most of that time is baking, so you don’t even have to spend a lot of time making them. 

Tangy lemon, garlic, and zucchini are baked just perfectly in this dish. If you have been craving vegetables that also taste excellent, add these to your list. Please your guests with this fun and tasty side dish.

Even your kiddos are going to beg for these baked parmesan zucchini rounds. Imagine not having to bribe them into eating veggies! They have lots of nutrients and protein too.

Carrots are really delicious when made the right way. This recipe has lots of good fat, cauliflower and is seasoned with salt and pepper. It doesn’t take much work to make it either. 

We love eating vegetables, especially when they are roasted. This recipe has lots of vibrant colors, and the flavor is intense. Serve with a big fat juicy steak and watch everyone smile. 

Here is one of my absolute favorite green bean recipes. This is a 30 minute dish that will transform the way you view a green bean recipe.

Cabbage is loaded with lots of vitamins and minerals, and it’s just an added bonus that it also tastes wonderful too. Especially when you make it with some spicy sriracha and some zesty lime. 

Whipping up a side dish in your slow cooker allows you lots of time to work on other things. You don’t have to stand over the stove and watch it constantly and can go about your day with little prep time involved.

This lip-smacking Korean dish is so good. Each fork-full has the right amount of spinach, garlic, onion, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. What are you waiting for? Get in the kitchen and whip up a batch.

Roasted tomatoes are an elegant and lovely dinner or lunch idea for most meals. They are simple to make, and they are seasoned perfectly every single time. Try them and see. 

Involve the kids in helping cook this veggie rice, and they will love it even more. Serve it with some grilled chicken, roasted veggies, or anything else that sounds good. 

Three ingredients are all that’s standing between you and some tasty baby bok choy. If you haven’t eaten bok choy before, this is the best recipe to start out on. It’s easy, flavorful, and goes with just about anything.

Doesn’t everything taste better when it’s made on a skewer? These Brussel sprouts are so yummy. And you can bet that your kids will even eat them because they are made with bacon. 

Consider this garlic mashed cauliflower recipe instead of mashed potatoes. It’s a great low carb alternative and is easy to make as well. 

This may just be my new favorite way to enjoy cooked carrots. They are roasted beautifully and have a fantastic amount of parmesan cheese, basil, and garlic in every bite.

If you are a fan of Mexican street corn, you really need to try this cauliflower recipe. It’s an entire head of cauliflower, and you will be impressed by how flavorful it is.

All you need is carrots as the rest of the ingredients are generally in your pantry! Hands down one of all time favorite carrot recipes!! Stop what you are doing and try it!!

This simple any tasty low-carb mashed rutabaga dish is a flavorful surprise for your next meal. Your kids will love it, and it is a lot fewer carbs than potatoes.