11 Fall Side Dishes That Bring Big Flavor in 20 Minutes or Less

As the seasons change, so does what goes on your plate. These 11 sides are perfect for fall meals.

By Robin Shreeves
Published October 27, 2025
Cooking green beans in a pan with a liquid being poured from a bowl

Serious Eats / Qi Ai

No one will deny that summer brings a bounty of fresh veggies for side dishes like sweet corn on the cob cooked in just minutes, the best tomatoes for Caprese, and snappy peas so flavorful you want to eat them raw. But summer can’t last forever, and sweater season brings the opportunity for heartier and warmer side dishes to serve with dinner.

These 11 fall sides help you transition from summer to autumn. They’re also ready in about 20 minutes because the one thing that stays the same when the seasons change is the short amount of time you often have to cook. Each of these autumnal side dishes comes together in about 20 minutes (or less) to help you get dinner on the table quickly.

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  • Salt-Wilted Shredded Brussels Sprout Salad

    a bowl of brussels sprouts salad with a spoon beside it
    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Inspired by salting and wilting cabbage for sauerkraut, this Brussels sprout salad calls for salting and wilting half the little green balls of goodness, while leaving the other half super crispy. The result is a salad with appealing textures and flavors from the veggies, a Dijon vinaigrette, crumbled fresh goat cheese, and crunchy hazelnuts.

  • Kale Caesar Salad

    Kale caesar salad in a speckled ceramic bowl. On the right periphery are a pair of wooden serving spoons, and on the left periphery is a small bowl holding croutons.

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    The trick to turning tough kale leaves into crisp but tender kale leaves is marinating them in olive oil. Aside from that, this salad gets the usual Caesar treatment—croutons, anchovy-rich Caesar dressing, and grated Parm. What’s not usual is that, unlike a salad made with romaine, the leftovers can stay crispy for days in the fridge. Just store the croutons separately.

  • Whipped Feta Spread

    20190614-whipped-feta-vicky-wasik-11
    Vicky Wasik

    Feta and Greek yogurt are blended with garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper to make a spread or a dip. As a spread, it’s great to jazz up a slice of crusty bread at dinner. As a dip, it adds flavor to raw veggies when they become a go-to side on a busy night.

  • Bengali-Spiced Green Beans

    A plate of green beans seasoned with spices, next to a bowl of rice and a jar of seasonings on a textured surface

    Serious Eats / Qi Ai

    Head to your spice rack and see if you have brown or black mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, and sesame seeds, and if you don’t have them all, you may want to fill in some empty spots on your rack. Once you have these spices, this flavorful green bean dish comes together quickly. Pair it with chicken, fish, or a vegetarian main.

    Continue to 5 of 11 below

  • Haricots Verts Amandine (French-Style Green Beans With Almonds)

    The composed green beans on a blue ceramic plate.

    Serious Eats / Diana Chistruga

    To make this classic French dish its best, first blanch the green beans before throwing them in an ice bath. Then make a sauce of melted butter and almonds, cooking the nuts until they’re browned and nutty. Add aromatics, and as the last step, add the beans back to the pan to warm them through. Delicious, fancy, and French in 20 minutes.

  • Easy Roasted Broccoli

    20170908-roasted-vegetables-vicky-wasik-broccoli.jpg
    Vicky Wasik

    The best roasted broccoli is all about making sure the broccoli is surrounded by as much heat as possible by preheating the roasting pan at 500°F. Then roast the florets tossed with olive oil and salt for about 20 minutes, and you have a crunchy, sweet, satisfying side that goes with just about any dinner.

  • Beet and Wheat Berry Salad With Pickled Apples and Pecans

    20161107-beet-salad-vicky-wasik-5.jpg
    Vicky Wasik

    This grain salad includes both the beet roots and greens, plus crisp pickled apples, crunchy pecans, and whole red winter wheat berries. A Dijon vinaigrette pulls it all together, and the salad can be a side salad on one night, and—if there’s enough leftover—a whole meal the next. It doesn’t wilt.

  • Grilled or Roasted Carrots With Sweet Soy Glaze

    Overhead view of glazed carrots on a funky marble background

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

    Nothing says a fall side like root vegetables, and this is a tasty, simple way to enjoy them. Brush the carrots with a glaze of seasoned honey, soy sauce, and brown sugar to complement their natural sweetness and grill them for 20 minutes. (If you have more time, you can roast them in the oven for 45 minutes or more.)

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  • Spicy Cabbage and Red Onion Slaw

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    J. Kenji López-Alt

    Throw this simple slaw together in 10 minutes and let it sit for another 10 while you prepare the rest of your meal. The spice comes from Thai bird chiles, and the crunchy, spicy, tangy slaw is a great side for grilled meat or fish.

  • Air-Fryer Cauliflower

    Overhead view of airfryer cauliflower on an orange table setting

    Serious Eats / Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Tossing uniformly cut cauliflower florets with water and oil, plus a sprinkle of salt and pepper, creates a crisp and tender side dish when cooked in the air fryer for 10 to 12 minutes. Serve as is, or toss with dill and lemon, curry and cumin, or even Buffalo sauce.

  • Radicchio, Endive, and Anchovy Salad

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    Bitter greens like radicchio, Belgian endive, and parsley take on a surprising sweetness when paired with fennel and celery dressed in an aggressively savory anchovy vinaigrette.

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