Healthy Nature

With Labor Day upon us, sunny weather, and warm days, whipping up some tasty vegan and gluten-free side dishes for your Labor Day party does not have to be complicated or stressful. When you are inviting over lots of family and friends, chances are someone is not going to eat gluten or will be a vegan or vegetarian.

Or even if there is not, some healthier side dishes are a great accompaniment to heavier main dishes like hotdogs, hamburgers, steak, or the like.

Gluten-free and vegan cooking doesn’t have to be crazy or require lots of specialty ingredients. You can make some seriously delicious side dishes with simple and wholesome ingredients that everyone in your friends and family group will be happy to devour!

Without further ado, let’s take a look at these tasty vegan and gluten-free Labor Day side dishes.

Slow Cooker Ranch Potatoes

Everyone loves a yummy potato. These easy ranch potatoes are thrown together in a slow cooker, so you can dump all of the ingredients in and let it cook away without any hassle. All you need are potatoes, onions, vegan butter, and some herbs for these crowd-pleasing ranch potatoes! They are ideal to pair with burgers and hotdogs, and for your vegan loved ones, a side of veggies or a veggie burger is perfect.

Vegan Broccoli Salad

Broccoli salad is generally a hit and makes its way to most family BBQs in one form or another. This broccoli salad gets a little vegan makeover, but you will never know it doesn’t have the real deal stuff in it, making it great for all of your guests.

The creamy dressing is made from cashews and water, ACV, maple syrup, garlic, salt, and freshy ground black pepper. Don’t worry – the dressing doesn’t taste like cashews!

Collard Green Slaw

If you want a side dish that gets your greens in for the day, look no further. This slaw is great for a warm day because collard greens are such a sturdy green that can hold up to heat and dressing without wilting and getting soggy.

The addition of pomegranate seeds, green onions, purple cabbage, apples, carrots, and sesame seeds provide tons more crunch and veggies. The dressing is tahini-based and gives it an Asian flare.

Tomato Salsa Salad

Tomatoes are ripe, juicy, and delicious in the summer and are available everywhere. Take advantage of this summer veggie and make a tangy, zingy, and vibrant salad from tomatoes, red onion, garlic, serrano peppers, lime juice, cilantro, and salt and pepper.

You can either eat this tomato salad on its own, with chips, or even scoop it over fish or chicken for the non-vegans.

Roasted Garlic and Herb White Bean Dip

Garlic lovers, rejoice! This is a super garlic forward creamy white bean dip that blends beans, herbs, roasted garlic, fresh lemon, olive oil, and fresh black pepper for a dip bursting with flavor. It is ideal served with a crunchy baguette or fresh summer veggies.

Quinoa Broccoli Slaw with Honey-Mustard Dressing

If you are looking for a heartier side dish, this broccoli and quinoa slaw with sweet and tangy honey mustard dressing is a great option. It is packed with protein from the nutty quinoa and you also get a great crunch from the toasted slivered almonds.

Lemony Roasted Asparagus

Roasted asparagus is easy and tastes so fresh and delicious. Roasting it with lemon brightens up the side dish even more and is light and refreshing for a summer veggie!

Crisp Apple & Kohlrabi Salad

Fresh sliced apples, kohlrabi, smoky and nutty gouda, tarragon, toasted sunflower seeds, lemon zest, and flakey sea salt make for one awesome gluten-free salad. If you want to make this salad vegan, simply omit the cheese or sub in your favorite vegan cheese.