30 Sides For Salmon That Are Anything But Boring
Tangy Potato-Green Bean Salad
Recipe: Tangy Potato-Green Bean Salad
A lively lemon-dill vinaigrette makes this anytime side stand out from your typical potato salad. It pairs particularly well with baked or grilled salmon, but also complements your everyday ham sandwich or chicken salad.
Quinoa Salad with Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas
Recipe: Quinoa Salad with Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas
Hearty enough to hold down dinner on its own, we particularly like to pair this grain bowl with a tasty protein like salmon. The easy honey-mustard dressing will have you ditching the bottled stuff for good.
Easy Grilled Asparagus
Recipe: Easy Grilled Asparagus
Grilling your salmon? Why not throw your vegetables on the grate beside your main. For the best grilled asparagus, select medium-sized (or jumbo when in season) asparagus. They will hold up much better on the grill.
Asparagus Gratin
Recipe: Asparagus Gratin
This dish is a delicious way to showcase fresh farmers' market asparagus. Swaddled in a cheesy, creamy sauce, this asparagus has all the flavors you love in a gratin but with half of the effort.
Air-Fryer Okra
Recipe: Air-Fryer Okra
In-season okra is the ultimate side. Pair that flavor with the magic of your air fryer, and you've got a simple supper side that just can't be ignored.
Oven-Baked Sweet Potatoes
Recipe: Oven-Baked Sweet Potatoes
Simple but satisfying, there's a reason baked potatoes are a dinnertime staple. Feel free to personalize your toppings from fresh chives to bacon bits.
Best-Ever Succotash
Recipe: Best-Ever Succotash
This colorful side is calling. For a vegetarian option to serve alongside salmon, follow the recipe but omit the bacon and replace the drippings with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.
Honey-Glazed Spiced Carrots
Recipe: Honey-Glazed Spiced Carrots
The naturally sweet and earthy flavor of carrots is enhanced during the roasting process in this side dish, and the honey and spice dressing adds an extra layer of flavor.
Air-Fryer Zucchini Chips
Recipe: Air-Fryer Zucchini Chips
Serve a side of chips, but healthier. Cut the chips in a relatively uniform size so they cook evenly in your air fryer.
Crispy Potatoes
Recipe: Crispy Potatoes
An all-purpose potato, like russet, Yukon gold, red, or fingerling, will guarantee just the right roasted crispiness. Leftovers, if you have any, make a great breakfast hash the next day.
Black-Eyed Pea and Grain Salad
Recipe: Black-Eyed Pea and Grain Salad
Inspired by Texas caviar, the classic combo of black-eyed peas, peppers, cilantro, and scallions, this grain salad is the ideal side for any piece of salmon. This salad uses bulgur wheat as the grain, but can be subbed with quinoa or another grain of your choice.
Brussels Sprout Slaw with Apples and Pecans
Recipe: Brussels Sprout Slaw with Apples and Pecans
This salad has a bright, lemon and olive oil dressing and gets a salty punch from Parmesan cheese, while apples add a touch of sweetness. It's got the crunch of coleslaw, but steps up the creativity with Brussels.
Old-School Squash Casserole Recipe
Recipe: Old-School Squash Casserole Recipe
Vegetables are always delicious smothered in butter, cream, and cheese. Squash casserole is a staple dish found at meat-and-three diners, but its fairly easy to make at home too.
Hush Puppies
Recipe: Hush Puppies
Just because you're not serving fried catfish or fried shrimp doesn't mean hush puppies can't make an appearance on your table. Pairing them with a helping of salmon is a nice way to switch things up.
Grilled Sweet Potato Fries
Recipe: Grilled Sweet Potato Fries
You won't have any leftovers with these sweet and salty honey drizzled potato wedges. Because the sweet potatoes are microwaved before hitting the grill, the fries are super tender and cook quickly.
Dianne's Southwestern Cornbread Salad
Recipe: Dianne's Southwestern Cornbread Salad
Creamy ranch dressing gives this customizable layered salad a bit of zest. We use boxed cornbread mix, but feel free to use your favorite cornbread recipe in its place.
Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
Recipe: Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
You won't have to fight your family to finish their vegetables when these sweet roasted carrots and parsnips are on their plate. This recipe is so user-friendly, you can even throw sweet potatoes and turnips in the mix, as well.
Air-Fryer Corn on the Cob
Recipe: Air-Fryer Corn on the Cob
Faster than frying and healthier too, air frying adds a fresh take on your summer corn that will result in a crisp and crunchy exterior and tender and juicy interior.
Smashed Baby Red Potatoes
Recipe: Smashed Baby Red Potatoes
Trust us when we say these roasted potatoes are hard to stop eating. Baby red potatoes are the perfect size and shape for this recipe, but you can also use baby multicolored potatoes for a fun presentation.
Easy Cauliflower Casserole
Recipe: Easy Cauliflower Casserole
Don't be surprised if the youngest diners at your table confuse this cheesy cauliflower casserole for a classic mac and cheese. This recipe makes the most of your pantry staples, just grab cooking spray, panko, and can of cream of chicken soup, and you're practically halfway there.
Asparagus with Cheese Sauce and Herb Breadcrumbs
Recipe: Asparagus with Cheese Sauce and Herb Breadcrumbs
This easy, 25-minute recipe for asparagus is best with a drizzle of cheese sauce and a dusting of breadcrumbs so the vegetable's bright flavor shines through.
Air-Fryer French Fries
Recipe: Air-Fryer French Fries
Everyone at the table will be excited about fries. With a recipe this good (and simple) they won't realize the air fryer kept their fried potato cravings healthier than ever before.
Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas with Orange Zest and Buttery Almonds
Recipe: Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas with Orange Zest and Buttery Almonds
These sugar snap peas just need a few quick minutes in the pan and the lovely creole-seasoned sauce comes together just as quick. We cut the sugar snap peas at an angle, so they can absorb all that delicious butter sauce.
Baked Broccoli Tots
Recipe: Baked Broccoli Tots
These cute, bite-sized tots will trick even the pickiest of eaters into eating their greens. Plus, who can say no to a silky cheese sauce?
Arroz Verde (Mexican Green Rice) Recipe
Recipe: Arroz Verde (Mexican Green Rice)
Rice and salmon are always a great pair, but swap your traditional pilaf or wild rice for this flavorful Mexican Green Rice. The vibrant green color comes from smokey poblanos and spinach added to the rice.
Carla Hall's Warm Carrot Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing
Recipe: Carla Hall's Warm Carrot Salad with Creamy Lemon Dressing
Carla Hall's tasty carrot salad balances sweet and savory, incorporating lightly caramelized pineapple chunks and tart, crunchy apples. Use rainbow carrots in hues of purple, red, orange, and yellows to give the dish a fun pop of color.
Lemony White Bean Salad with Broccoli
Recipe: Lemony White Bean Salad with Broccoli
Creamy white beans combine with hearty roasted broccoli and greens for a salad full of flavor and fiber. Red onion and a lovely lemon vinaigrette provides a zingy bite that goes perfectly with rich, fatty salmon.
Field Pea, Corn, and Bacon Salad
Recipe: Field Pea, Corn, and Bacon Salad
The perfect way to show off farmers market-fresh field peas. Cooked with sweet corn kernels in bacon drippings until tender, everyone will want seconds of this side.
Green Beans with Garlic
Recipe: Green Beans with Garlic Recipe
A quick and easy weeknight dish, the green beans are cooked simply with garlic for a healthy veggie side. The recipe calls for three cloves of garlic, but garlic lovers can increase that as they like.
Grilled Baby Zucchini-and-Tomato Salad
Recipe: Grilled Baby Zucchini-and-Tomato Salad
Our take on a panzanella, the classic Italian bread salad, with juicy tomatoes, basil, and hunks of toasted garlic bread. This version also includes tender baby zucchini and a bright shallot vinaigrette.
Whether it's pan-fried, grilled, poached, or baked, salmon is always a welcomed supper main. This versatile fish is the star of some of our favorite weeknight and special occasion salmon dishes–from our BBQ Cedar Plank Salmon to our Teriyaki Salmon Bowls. But if you're stumped on what to serve alongside this rich-tasting fish, we can't blame you. It feels like the options are endless. Our rule for picking the best side dishes for salmon is keeping things simple. The right side should be bright and flavorful without overpowering your fish and easy enough to make while your salmon cooks: think grains, salads, vegetables, and simple casseroles. Ready to get cooking? Here are some of our favorite side dishes to make with salmon tonight.