Chicken is by far one of the most versatile and most effortless meats you can cook. With so many recipes and so little cooking time, no wonder it’s a staple in the weekly rotation of most family meals. However, it would be best if you also had sides to go with chicken.
There are so many ways to cook chicken. In fact, I think it may be impossible to even list the countless methods for preparing this poultry meat. One thing we know is that side dishes make a meal, so when you have the best chicken side dishes, dinner will be a hit.
Chicken can be prepared in a plethora of ways. In fact, there are so many ways to prepare this chicken meat that it might even be hard to mention them all. We all agree that a meal is just as good as its side dishes, therefore when you serve the best chicken side dishes, supper will be a success.
And when it comes to sides, chicken’s the most popular kid in high school, with more friends than it can count. While there are lots of side dishes that go with chicken, we’ve put together a list of some of the very best sides for chicken.
This list includes many healthy side dishes for chicken, such as vegetable side dishes for chicken that more than hold their own with any juicy, seasoned cut of bird.
Below, we offer a list of 24 sides that go with chicken guaranteed to earn a standing ovation from your taste buds (if not your diners).
Now, when we talk about easy side dishes for chicken, it just doesn’t get much easier than a hot, creamy, delicious pot of mashed potatoes.
This dish is by far the most popular of all the sides for chicken out there. And in this recipe, they show you how to make the best homemade version of this meal that tastes way better than any powder you can buy at the store.
Of course, we all know that most folks think making mashed potatoes from scratch is a big hassle. And yes, while it’s not as easy as pouring powder into boiling water, it’s not precisely hours of hard labor either.
There are plenty of nifty little kitchen tools out there that make peeling much faster.
Also, you want to be careful not to waterlog or overcook your potatoes. As soon as you can insert a butter knife into a potato and meet minor to no resistance, it’s finished boiling.
It’s natural for spinach to get the scrunched face reaction from kids as well as many adults. Let’s be honest. It’s not exactly the sweetest or tastiest veggie out there.
However, any canned or fresh spinach can turn into the Cinderella of the ball with the right spices!
This recipe shows us how to make creamed SpinachSpinach, one of the most delicious chicken dinner sides you can make.
Using only a few simple ingredients, like frozen cut leaf spinach, unsalted butter, shallots, garlic cloves, heavy cream, salt, freshly ground black pepper, nutmeg, and shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano, you can create creamed spinach that is sure to disappear from any plate.
One of our favorite sides for baked chicken or any kind of chicken dish is dinner rolls. These light, fluffy, sweet rolls of yeast are the perfect complement to your savory, juicy chicken.
Most of us love using dinner rolls to mop up delicious gravy, juices, and seasonings from our chicken.
And while, once again, you can always buy pre-made dinner rolls, this recipe for homemade dinner rolls proves why homemade is always better.
Just follow the simple recipe instructions, and you’ll pull out of the oven the softest, most-buttery, melt-in-your-mouth rolls you’ve ever served — guaranteed!
If you’re looking for some healthy sides for chicken, you’ll be pleasantly surprised if you haven’t already tried baked sweet potato.
This healthier potato dish is loaded with nutrients white potatoes don’t have. Plus, they have a sweeter taste than other potatoes that complements many chicken dishes.
On top of everything, these spuds are incredibly easy to bake and have a universe of different seasoning and topping options to make each sweet potato an amazing meal onto itself.
Our favorite flavor combinations for sweet potatoes are Greek-ish and Burrito Potato. But, you can also find tons of other recipe ideas for sweet potatoes, such as loaded sweet potatoes with bacon and cheese.
Another fabulous potato dish that’s perfect with chicken is potato salad. And while there are tons of “just okay” potato salad recipes out there, this recipe makes some of the best potato salad on the planet!
There’s nothing like tasting deliciously tender potatoes covered in savory cream that just melts in your mouth along with your juicy chicken leading the way at the end of your fork.
This recipe combines a few simple ingredients, such as red potatoes, green peppers, onion, hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper.
Corn is another fantastic vegetable that’s one of the really good sides for chicken, and corn pudding is a dish that really pairs well with poultry.
If you go on social media, you might find a lot of folks debating on whether or not corn pudding is a dessert, a side dish, or both.
It’s easy to see why people can’t agree as this dish’s creamy and thick custard, encapsures sweet corn kernels for an incredibly sweet (but not too sweet) taste.
Not to mention that it also makes for a great snack by itself.
Another fantastic corn dish that really works with chicken is grilled corn salad. This exciting dish really livens up any meal because it’s not your average salad.
Instead, this recipe combines just about every delicious taste and texture you can dream of, such as onions, corn, cherry tomatoes, arugula, avocado, red bell pepper, and fresh cilantro.
And then there’s the dressing that has lime juice, extra-virgin olive oil, honey, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
When you combine these ingredients, you’ve got yourself a very colorful and flavorful side dish sure to add a little kick to your chicken dinner!
Mushrooms are another tasty side dish for chicken. And one of the great things about these tasty little fungi is that you can season the devil out of them any way you want!
This recipe takes whole or halved mushrooms and flavors them with olive oil, butter, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, rosemary, green onions (or parsley), and pepper to create some truly tasty shrooms!
You can also add these to your mashed potatoes to give them a unique flavor and texture, but these mushrooms on slices of toast or sourdough for a delicious bruschetta, add them to your eggs for breakfast, or even slice them up and add them as a burger topping.
Chicken and Fettuccine Alfredo are two things in this world that simply belong together. The creamy, cheesy Alfredo sauce and soft, flavorful noodles really bring out the best in any chicken dish.
And in this recipe, they show you how to make Alfredo sauce that’s so good you’ll need some extra dinner rolls to mop up after your meal!
For this recipe, you’ll need ingredients such as cauliflower florets, parmesan cheese, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic cloves, dijon mustard, unsalted butter, fresh lemon juice, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, fettuccine pasta, pasta cooking water, and fresh parsley.
Once you’re finished, you’ll have the creamiest, dreamiest Fettuccine Alfredo ever to grace your plate!
While many casseroles include chicken, it’s always nice to have a few without chicken as a chicken side dish, this way. You can really savor the seasonings of your chicken while fully enjoying the complementary textures and flavors of your casserole.
And when it comes to great chicken side dish casseroles, you can’t go wrong with cheesy broccoli and rice.
This recipe takes frozen broccoli florets, cooked rice, onion, cream of mushroom soup, milk, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and shredded cheddar cheese to create a casserole masterpiece!
Add this dish to your favorite chicken meal for a savory and satisfying dining experience.
One of our favorite veggies that doesn’t seem to get enough love is sugar snap peas. And this recipe for Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon really brings out the flavor of these little crunchy green veggies in new and exciting ways.
Best of all, these peas cook up in about ten minutes, making them a super simple and quick side dish to throw together alongside your chicken or other side dishes like mashed potatoes or mac & cheese.
The five ingredients you’ll need are olive oil, fresh sugar snap peas, freshly grated lemon zest, sea salt, and ground black pepper.
Once you’re done, your sugar snap peas are guaranteed to snap your taste buds to attention!
When it comes to sides that seem made for chicken, you can’t get much more perfect than creamy cheddar cheese and potatoes.
And when you combine these two things into a savory casserole dish, you’ve got the makings of one legendary chicken dinner!
This casserole recipe includes russet potatoes, salt, half-and-half cream, salted butter, garlic puree, sour cream, pepper, cheddar cheese, and chopped bacon to form one mind-blowing side dish for your chicken dinner!
When you combine melty, savory cheese with soft, warm, delicious bread, you’ve got one of the best side dishes for chicken.
This cheesy bread recipe has ingredients such as homemade pizza dough, unsalted butter, garlic cloves, Italian seasoning or dried basil, shredded mozzarella cheese, and you have the option of using cornmeal to dust the pan.
Once your bread is baked, you can enjoy this side dish with all kinds of meals, such as soups and salads.
And our favorite chicken dish that tastes amazing with cheesy bread is parmesan chicken.
Speaking of parmesan, this recipe for roasted parmesan green beans is so delicious that even picky eaters who claim to “hate vegetables” will gobble these down with no trouble.
Just look at the picture above. How can anyone resist taking tongs full of these green beauties for their plate?
This recipe uses only a few basic ingredients, such as olive oil, grated parmesan cheese, panko bread crumbs, salt, and green beans.
However, you can also add extras like minced garlic, dried herbs, shaved parmesan cheese, butter, freshly ground black pepper, balsamic vinegar, and sliced almonds.
Scalloped potatoes are another version of a cheesy potato casserole that offers a very different texture even if the recipe calls for the same seasonings.
It’s hard to explain how the texture of sliced potatoes, perfectly baked to golden perfection inside of a cheesy, creamy sauce, can stand so far apart from any other cheese and potato casserole dish.
However, we feel it has to have something to do with the top baked crust of this dish, which really amplifies the cheesy baked flavor.
It’s not hard to see why the corner sections of this dish are everyone’s favorite!
If you’re ready for some more delicious veggie madness, then this recipe for Garlic Parmesan Zucchini Casserole is guaranteed to drive you nuts!
This dish blends together zucchini, olive oil, mixed cherry tomatoes, garlic cloves, freshly shredded parmesan cheese, dry Italian seasonings, sea salt, black pepper, and fresh parsley to form one of the most delicious veggie casseroles of all time!
There’s no way anyone can look at the picture above and not want some on their plate!
Like spinach, brussels sprouts are another famously maligned veggie that, for generations, has gotten very little love from the general public for generations.
We often think of little kids being admonished by parents to “eat your brussel sprouts or no dessert.”
Well, this recipe for roasted Brussels sprouts infuses these misunderstood tiny cabbages with an outrageously delicious flavor sure to convert even the most insistent “brussel sprout hater” in the room.
With only a few simple ingredients, such as Brussels sprouts, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese, you can craft the tastiest Brussel sprouts that are sure to have so-called veggie haters asking for seconds!
Don’t get us wrong. Broccoli is excellent. But broccolini is on a whole different level!
Seriously, we think broccolini has unfairly taken a back seat to broccoli for far too long, and after you’ve tried this recipe for Easy Broccolini, you’ll agree!
Now, how easy is easy, you ask?
All you’ll need to do is prep and boil your broccolini, then add salt, olive oil, and a little lemon.
Prep time is five minutes and cook time is only two minutes!
We would be remiss, not to mention the all-time classic chicken side dish, macaroni, and cheese, more commonly known as “mac and cheese.”
And once again, while you can pick up a box of mac and cheese at the store, this homemade recipe for mac and cheese will make you never want to touch boxed mac and cheese again.
As you can see from the picture, this mac and cheese meal is super cheesy, more so than on the creamy side, which is a big bonus for gooey cheese lovers!
This simple recipe for baked parmesan zucchini comes together in minutes using only a few simple ingredients, such as zucchini, olive oil, parmesan, salt, and pepper.
A great side dish for chicken on its own or with mashed potatoes or cheesy potato casserole.
Some misguided souls out there give the salad a bad rep, calling it boring and bland. However, this recipe for Spinach Salad with Bacon instantly destroys this claim.
This salad is an amazing compliment to chicken or any dish.
Honestly, for us, any recipe that says “with bacon” has us sold!
Sweet, tender, delicious roasted carrots are an ideal choice to add to your chicken dinner.
This tasty root veggie is loaded with nutrients and has a naturally sweet flavor which really shines in this recipe, which also adds a few savory seasonings.
Just looking at the photo above, it’s hard to believe this recipe only has six simple ingredients: carrots, olive oil, salt, black pepper, and garlic cloves, with fresh parsley for garnish.
Some other side dishes that pair well with roasted carrots are mashed potatoes, cheese and rice casserole, and stuffed sweet potatoes.
If you really want to “fancy-up” any chicken meal, asparagus is the way to go.
And this recipe for asparagus with creamy hollandaise sauce really adds new dimensions of flavor to this flavorful veggie.
The ingredients for the hollandaise sauce include salted butter, egg yolks, dijon mustard, water, fresh lemon juice (or white vinegar), cayenne pepper, and white pepper.
Trust us, folks, you’ll want to try this sauce on anything. It’s that doggone good!
Cauliflower is a veggie that’s seen a huge surge in popularity these days, thanks to dishes like cauliflower rice and mashed cauliflower. However, this simple veggie doesn’t need a disguise to be delicious, as this ingredient for Roasted Herb & Lemon Cauliflower proves.
If you’ve enjoyed these delicious recipes, you can also find more great sides to chicken recipes in the video below.
Our BEST 25+ Side Dishes for Chicken (+Baked Sweet Potato)
These recipes are sure to please. So, gather your family and friends and enjoy. Let us know your thoughts!
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
