Meet your new favorite way to cook green beans! Oven roasted green beans have an irresistible taste matched only by their amazing color.

Crispy Roasted Green Beans

I have no idea why it never occurred to me to try roasting green beans while I was roasting so many other vegetables. Steamed and stir-fried green beans have been in my cooking life for decades yet I’d somehow never tried oven roasting them.

It turns out that green beans are even more amazing when oven roasted! Roasted green beans turn out with browned and crispy edges and I never can resist eating them right off the pan when they come out of the oven.

I’ve been roasting vegetables for years now, but somehow green beans were never on my list. That all changed when I finally tried it a while back. Sure enough, oven-roasted green beans blew me away.

Oven Roasted Green Beans

Roasting vegetables brings out so much more flavor than other cooking methods. This time of year especially, I love the excuse to turn on the oven and enjoy my vegetables this way. As a huge bonus, roasting green beans is so easy and hands-off. You can make some of the most flavorful veggies you’ve ever tasted with hardly any effort.

My kids, who aren’t usually big vegetable fans, really enjoyed this side dish too! It’s wonderful just as it is and can be adapted with different spices and seasonings to suit your palate. You can even roast some green beans for Green Bean Gratin.

After you try this super simple baked green beans recipe, you need to give Turmeric Roasted Potatoes and Green Beans and Sriracha Honey Roasted Green Beans a shot, too!

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Rice Pilaf makes an ideal side dish for any main course! This simple recipe lets the flavors of garlic and onion shine along with the tender rice and buttery orzo pasta. Learn how to make rice pilaf and you’ll have the perfect side dish at your fingertips for just about any meal!

What is Rice Pilaf?

Rice Pilaf is a dish made from rice and grains cooked in chicken broth and seasoned with onion and spices. Pilafs can also be more elaborate like my Mushroom and Pepper Rice Pilaf or this Indian Pulao. Pulao is a traditional pilaf dish enjoyed throughout India as an everyday staple and it can be dressed up with vegetables or with meat.

Classic rice pilaf is as simple as today’s recipe! This version includes orzo, a miniature pasta. Similar to rice in shape, the orzo adds a heartiness to the soft fluffy white rice.

This pilaf recipe is based on a recipe I found years ago over at Allrecipes.com. With just a few pantry-friendly ingredients this side dish comes together with just a few minutes effort. If you’re looking for an easy rice pilaf recipe without any frills or hard-to-find ingredients, this is the one for you!

How to Make Rice Pilaf

Rice pilaf is very simple! You’ll start by sauteeing orzo in a little melted butter with onion and garlic. Add broth and white rice. Simmer, fluff, and serve.

The result is a flavorful rice that doesn’t require a great deal of seasonings or spices. I typically just use a little salt and pepper to taste.

This is a great side dish for just about any meal. I served the pilaf with Spicy Honey Brushed Chicken and Roasted Bell Peppers, Broccoli and Summer Squash tonight and it was perfect.

My rice-loving son ate a double portion and still asked for more. There were no leftovers at all. I recommend doubling this recipe if serving more than 3-4 people. Especially if you have rice lovers in your family! Plus, leftover rice pilaf is never a bad idea.

Crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, these Roasted Red Potatoes are sure to become a regular feature on your menu. The kids absolutely loved them.

Oven Roasted Red Potatoes

This simple side dish recipe can easily be coordinated to bake along with your entree. The last time I made these, I adjusted the cooking times for the potatoes so I could bake them at the same time as the Baked Chicken I was planning to serve.

These potato wedges are a fantastic side dish for just about any occasion. We’ve enjoyed them served alongside Balsamic Glazed Meatloaf and a mixed greens salad, with out-of-this-world tasty Filthy Burgers, and with these Buttered Steak Bites with Mushrooms.

One of the beauties of roasted potatoes is that they are simple enough to go with so many different kinds of main dishes yet still completely delicious in its own right. And you must try them dipped in Po’dunk Sauce, Ranch Dip, or Homemade Ketchup, too!

Making impressive roasted potatoes that are crispy on the outside yet fluffy and tender on the inside takes no special skills or talent in the kitchen. Even brand new home cooks can knock this recipe out of the ballpark.

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Thrown together on a whim one night many years ago while we were on the road, this Bacon Potato Salad rapidly became a family favorite.

Filled with plenty of eggs, bites of bacon, and a bright dill pickle flavor, this salad has proven irresistible to everyone who tries it.

Sean and I were craving potato salad, and I was improvising with what I had on hand in the camper. It was a lucky whim that turned into this dill pickle and bacon-inspired salad.

Sean commented that it was really good before I had even tasted it and sure enough, this recipe turned out to be an absolute keeper.

Bacon Potato Salad

The first time I added bacon to a potato salad it was a game-changer. We all know that bacon + potatoes is pretty much a guaranteed win, right?

After that, I added bacon to our salads whenever I made one all summer long. This has become the most requested potato salad that I make when we get together with friends.

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Old fashioned coleslaw with vinegar is a tangy, sweet, crunchy slaw that will keep you coming back for more. With a dressing made from vinegar and oil, it is better suited to picnics and parties in the hot summer months than the perhaps better-known mayonnaise-based versions.

Old Fashioned Coleslaw with Vinegar

Think of making this old fashioned slaw as being a bit like brining pickles. The cabbage will keep nicely for several days in an airtight container.

You’ll want to serve it with a slotted spoon or with tongs to drain the liquid from the cabbage. This is a slaw that you need to taste to truly understand. It’s irresistible to me.

Don’t toss out any leftover brine from the recipe, though. It is so full of flavor! You can add it to this Roast Beef or this Slow Cooker Pot Roast.

You can even toss the leftover brine into a fresh salad for a tangy sweet dressing.

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