Like many people, I am always on the look out for deliciously easy low carb side dish recipes and swaps.
But too many low carb side dish ideas are super strict keto sides that leave me hungry OR yet another cauliflower rice recipe OR way too hard for every day, quick meals!!!
So I have collected up over 30 of my favourite easy low carb side dish recipes that are genuinely:
- Super simple
- Cheap
- Properly filling
- AND use all sorts of different vegetables that are easily available.
They are basically brilliantly simple low carb swaps for your family’s favourite every day side dishes.
Simple Low Carb Alternatives
The recipe collection includes easy low carb alternatives for :
- Mash
- Noodles
- Roast potatoes
- Rice
- Fries
- Gnocchi
- Potato & pasta salad
- PLUS your favourite scalloped potatoes or potato au gratin.
And they use a wide range of flavonoid and fibre rich vegetables and natural antibiotic herbs which are great for restoring gut health.
I hope you enjoy these low carb side dishes as much as my family. Do save for quick reference.
Table of Contents
Low Carb Fries
Low carb swaps for fries might seem like a challenge but there are super quick and tasty substitutes :
- Brussel Sprout Fries
- Celeriac Fries
- Rutabaga (Swede) Fries
- Zucchini Fries
Brussel Sprout Fries
Lots of people think they don’t like Brussel sprouts but they truly are scrumptious as a quick keto friendly side. All you need to do is :
- Fry chopped red onion & 2 crushed garlic cloves in olive oil for 5 mins.
- Put onion & garlic to one side.
- Fry halved sprouts – with extra oil if needed – for 5 mins cut side down.
- Don’t move sprouts – let ’em char.
- Combine the lot in pan with salt.
- Serve with parmesan.
Celeriac Fries
Celeriac is mineral and fibre rich and contains less than half the net carbs of potatoes. It is the closest straight low-carb swap for potato fries.
To make celeriac fries in oven :
- Pre-heat oven to 390f/200c.
- Peel celeriac & chop chunky fries.
- Combine with 1/4 cup of olive oil PLUS 1 tsp of e.g. paprika, garam masala, garlic or rosemary.
- Spread out on baking sheet.
- Cook for roughly 45 mins.
- Season with salt & serve hot.
Rutabaga (Swede) Fries
Rutabaga – Swede to us Brits – is a good cheap, magnesium-rich swap for lower carb oven baked fries.
Rutabaga fries are again great spicy :
- Preheat oven 410f/210c.
- Peel rutabaga & chop into fries.
- Toss in 1/4 cup of olive oil with spices of choice e.g. cumin, paprika, garam masala, thyme.
- Spread on baking sheet.
- Cook for roughly 30 mins – tossing half way – until nice and crispy.
- Serve hot, salted.
Zucchini Fries
Zucchini – courgette if you prefer – make great low carb fries in summer when they’re super cheap or you’ve a glut of zucchini in your garden.
Zucchini are also low FODMAP so handy for cutting down gassy food.
To make zucchini fries :
- Preheat oven 425f/220c.
- Line 2 trays with baking paper.
- Cut 3 mid-sized zucchini into fries.
- Beat 2 eggs in a wide bowl.
- Combine 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of parmesan and flavours of choice e.g. garlic, oregano in wide bowl.
- Drop fries into egg, move around.
- Lift with spatula into flour.
- Swish around so well covered.
- Move with spatula to baking trays.
- Cook for roughly 25 minutes – tossing half way – until crisp.
Low Carb Gnocchi
Homemade gnocchi is the ultimate comfort food for me and these lower carb versions still hit that spot :
- Cauliflower Gnocchi
- Turnip Gnocchi
- Celeriac Gnocchi
- Pumpkin Gnocchi
- Mozzarella Gnocchi
You do need flour to make gnocchi, so use e.g. almond, coconut or spelt to keep sugar levels down.
Cauliflower Gnocchi
- Grate 1 medium sized cauliflower.
- Steam in microwave for 3 mins.
- Mix 1/2 cup of flour, 1 cup of parmesan, 2 cups of rough grated cheese & 2 eggs in a bowl.
- Combine well with cauliflower.
- Bring together as 4 balls of dough.
- Put in fridge for 15 mins.
- Roll out as thin tubes, cut gnocchi size pieces & squidge with fork.
- Put back in fridge for 15 mins.
- Cook in big pan of salted water until all float, roughly 1-2 mins.
- Serve pronto with sauce or oodles of butter & barely wilted spinach.
Turnip Gnocchi
Turnips are a very healthy low carb swap for potatoes in lots of recipes and you can grow turnips easily.
To make turnip gnocchi :
- Cook 3 cups of turnip in boiling water for 30-40 mins until soft.
- Drain & mash smoothly.
- Cool mash enough to touch.
- Mix well with 1 cup of flour & 1 egg and knead into a dough.
- Then follow steps 6-9 for cauliflower gnocchi above.
- Drain from cooking water & fry gently in blob of butter for 1 min.
- Serve pronto hot with your favourite accompaniments.
Celeriac Gnocchi
You can make low carb celeriac gnocchi using the same method as in the turnip gnocchi recipe above.
Or this similar low carb celeriac gnocchi recipe minus the egg …
Pumpkin Gnocchi
Pumpkin gnocchi is an Italian classic with only half the carbs of potatoes.
You can make your own super comforting pumpkin and ricotta gnocchi easily with this recipe :
Mozzarella Gnocchi
This alternative low carb gnocchi recipe is mozzarella and is great if you want a low carb side for a tomatoey pasta sauce of any sort …
Low Carb Mash Recipes
Sometimes in the winter nothing hits the mark quite like mash does it?
And we can still enjoy mash as a stomach warming side dish with these Keto and low carb recipes :
- Butter Bean Marsh
- Cauliflower Mash
- Celeriac Mash
- Rutabaga (Swede) Mash
- Spaghetti Squash Mash
- Turnip Mash
Butter Bean Mash
Most Keto diets avoid beans but they are a cheap and healthy low carb side dish for vegans and vegetarians.
To make this butter bean mash :
- Sauté 1 onion & 2 cloves of garlic for 5 mins with herbs of choice e.g. rosemary, thyme, oregano.
- Add 1 can of butter beans.
- PLUS 1 cup of stock.
- Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Squeeze in lemon juice.
- Blend half smoothly and rough mash other half with a fork.
Cauliflower Mash
There are loads of recipes out there for cauliflower mash as a low carb side dish but use these basics for a super creamy version :
- Cut 1 cauliflower into florets.
- Steam gently for 15 mins until soft.
- Sauté 2 cloves of garlic in oil.
- Blend cauliflower, garlic & a pinch of salt with a 2 generous dollops of creamed cheese & same of butter.
- Season with chives or parsley.
Celeriac Mash
This low carb celeriac mash is deliciously rich in cream but if you’re after a cheap low carb side dish is still yummy with milk. Do include the parsley, it’s a wonderful natural way to improve digestion, ease stomach ache naturally and prevent constipation and is super easy to grow from cuttings …
Rutabaga (Swede) Mash
This easy low carb rutabaga mash with gut friendly sour cream and dill has some real gusto to it and is a great low carb side dish recipe for padding out rather sorry leftovers if you are trying to be a bit more frugal with food …
Spaghetti Squash Mash
In autumn & fall super healthy spaghetti squash is a fantastic seasonal vegetable for low carb diabetic friendly side dishes like this spaghetti squash mash with garlic and parmesan and again some stomach soothing parsley …
Turnip Mash
I am a big fan of turnips in all sorts of low carb dishes. It is actually super easy to grow turnips and they are a great crop for organic garden beginners.
But you do have to be a bit careful with turnip side dishes as they have a stronger tang than potatoes. This delicously creamy low carb turnip mash recipe has good easy tips on avoiding any bitterness …
If you’re vegan or avoiding dairy try this dairy free Turnip mash with coconut oil instead that you could also use with all the other low carb mash alternatives above.
Low Carb Noodle Alternatives
As a very long term vegetarian who only just returned – for health reasons – to meat eating after decades without, I lived for many years on noodles of all sorts but with diabetes such a big issue in my family I rely more and more on low carb noodle alternatives like these as we find even wholewheat and spelt noodles can really push blood sugar levels up.
Beet Noodles
Beet – or beetroot – noodles have got a really punchy flavour so they are brilliant for a super easy low carb side dish that with just a few gut healthy toppings is a meal in itself …
Garlic Butter Cabbage Noodles
I love cabbage as an easy low carb alternative to noodles in spicy stir fries but these cabbage noodles with garlic, parmesan, basil and oregano are a brilliant low carb side for all your favourite Italian sauces and casseroles as well.
I think they are especially good made with collard greens that are super easy to grow in the garden.
Zucchini Noodles
Zucchini noodles – aka zoodles – are a classic low carb, keto side dish but lots of us get put off because we think we need a spiralizer, mandolin or fancy Julienne peeler. We don’t.
You can create zucchini noodles with a box grater. And you can saute, boil and bake zoodles or even eat them raw as an easy low carb side for all sorts of other dishes. There’s a great guide here to everything zoodle …
Spaghetti Squash Noodles
Spaghetti squash comes with low carb noodles ready to go inside. How good is that?
This post has really good tips on how to prepare and cook spaghetti squash noodles so they are perfectly al dente …
Carrot Noodles
In my family not all of the diabetics get on well with carrots but they do have some real health benefits especially for women during our period or in perimenopause where they can help with hormone balance and they do make a very simple lower carb side dish as noodles …
Cucumber Noodles
If you are looking for a super low carb keto friendly noodle alternative, these cucumber noodles are a winner. They are a great low carb side for your favourite Chinese dishes and with fish in the summer …
Low Carb Potato Au Gratin Alternatives
Potato au gratin – or scalloped potatoes or potato dauphinoise or whatever you call them – are one of those super stomach warming almost a meal in themselves side dishes the whole family can really tuck into and fill up on.
But with potatoes such a no-no on a low carb diet, what are we to do?
Well it turns out there are some great easy low carb potato au gratin alternatives that even picky eaters in your family will love. My family are not great with “new” vegetables but do all wolf these down especially the turnip gratin which is a real winner and still delicious as a left over.
Radish Gratin
Radishes are super popular in Keto side dishes as they are so low carb but you don’t have to save them for the salad. This low carb radish au gratin is a brilliant side dish for everything from steak to those last few slices of bacon lurking in the fridge or an emergency can of fish …
Rutabaga Gratin
This super cheesy but super simple rutabaga gratin is a wonderful low carb side when you’ve got a load of people to feed at Christmas for example …
Turnip Gratin
As mentioned above, this turnip gratin is one of my big faves.
I do grow turnips in my little vegetable garden in spring but this recipe is a real winner in the back end of winter when the turnips are big and cheap and to be honest a bit soft and past their best. It is still delicious even then.
The big secret is to cut your turnip slices thin. The recipe does use cream but you can make a still scrumptious cheaper version with just milk. Personally I cook this at abut 70f / 20c hotter than recommended and for slightly less time.
Low Carb Potato & Pasta Salad Alternatives
Spicy Lentil Salad
If you are a big potato or pasta salad fan, you have to try this low carb spicy lentil alternative.
You can make it with low fat yoghurt if you want or if like me, you’ve embraced healthy full fats try it with a combo of full fat natural yoghurt and mayonnaise. It’s divine …
Low Carb Roast Potato Alternatives
Crunchy on the outside, soft inside roast potatoes really are heavenly aren’t they?
But again there are some wonderful low carb roast potato alternatives we can quickly whip up as easy low carb side dishes. They aren’t – of course – exactly like roast potatoes but they hit the same buttons.
Roasted Artichokes
Roasted artichokes are another of my big low carb faves. This recipe is quick and super easy. You just need to remember to leave time to scrub and scrape your artichokes …
Roasted Brussel Sprouts
I honestly eat roasted Brussel sprouts like sweeties!!
They are a fantastic low carb side dish for steak but also great as a super quick, super easy side with one of the gratin’s above when you’ve got leftover meat or fish or ham or some such to eat up.
They are even great as a low carb side for poached eggs.
Do give them a go. This recipe couldn’t be simpler and is brilliant …
Roasted Onions
Roasted onions are a wonderfully stomach warming low carb side dish you can make super cheaply for a big family …
Garlic Roasted Radishes
These garlic roasted radishes are a fantastic low carb alternative to roasted new potatoes in the spring and summer. The recipe has great tips on how to cook them so they are not bitter …
Roasted Beets
Beetroots have a reputation for being a faff in the kitchen but these easy low carb roasted beets actually take no more than 10 minutes to prep and don’t need to be peeled …
Low Carb Rice Alternatives
Switching to a more low carb diet is much harder if we try to ditch all our old favourite recipes that we know so well and can cook on autopilot.
But these low carb rice alternatives are all super simple swaps that let us carry on making all our family’s favourite “rice” dishes …
Cauliflower Rice
I am sure you know cauliflower rice is a brilliantly healthy low carb Keto side dish and you have cooked it plenty of times, but if yours isn’t brilliant try this easy recipe, it is …
Rutabaga Rice
Rutabaga rice is almost like a low carb couscous so makes a great low carb side dish swap for any recipes you eat couscous with …
Broccoli Rice
Broccoli rice is a lovely fresh low carb alternative to cauliflower rice that also gives you a big helping of greens …
Cabbage Rice
Cabbage rice like cauliflower rice is a really tasty low carb match for spicy dishes whether Mexican or Indian …
Lentils With Garlic
If you are following a very low carb Keto diet you may be skipping lentils but they are a super healthy, lower carb alternative to rice that is very helpful for vegans and vegetarians.
There are obviously all sorts of ways you can cook lentils but mastering how to cook lentils very well, very simply is really worth doing – just as it is with rice – as it means you know you can always whip up a healthy low carb side dish from your cupboard with almost no effort.
This very basic French style low carb recipe for lentils with garlic is a great place to start …
And there you go: a must save collection of fabulously easy low carb side dish recipes you can make as alternatives to all your family’s favourite side dishes. Do bookmark or save for quick reference …
And for more easy low carb recipe ideas follow me on Pinterest …
Original image sources : Jules
