- Recipes
- Side Dishes
Meghan Splawn
Meghan Splawn
Meghan was the Food Editor for Kitchn's Skills content. She's a master of everyday baking, family cooking, and harnessing good light. Meghan approaches food with an eye towards budgeting — both time and money — and having fun. Meghan has a baking and pastry degree, and spent the first 10 years of her career as part of Alton Brown's culinary team. She co-hosts a weekly podcast about food and family called Didn't I Just Feed You.
updated Jan 8, 2024
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It always feels like a treat when salmon is in my dinner lineup. I love it because it’s easy to prepare and there are so many ways to cook it. Take your pick between cooking salmon in the oven, under the broiler for an extra-speedy dinner, or on the grill. You can even cook salmon straight from the freezer.
The best side dishes for salmon should be simple enough to make while the salmon cooks, and deliver plenty of flavor without outshining the beautiful fish. Basics like rice, vegetables, or salad work well with salmon, but we have much more too. Here are 55 side dishes to serve with salmon, no matter how you plan on cooking it.
Potato Side Dishes for Salmon
We especially love any kind of roasted potato side or a bright potato salad showered with lots of fresh herbs.
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Parmesan Potatoes
Melted Parmesan takes these roasted potatoes to a whole new level.
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Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes
These mouthwatering smashed potatoes are tossed in a garlic butter mixture and baked until golden and crispy.
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Crispy Skillet-Fried Potatoes
The secret to these impossibly crispy potatoes? Not baking or boiling. All you need is a skillet and a lid (yes, really) to pull off these perfect spuds.
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French-Inspired Potato Salad
This simple, stunning potato salad replaces the mayo with two types of tangy mustard, a shocking amount of herbs for a fresh side that's easy to devour.
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Butter-Roasted Sweet Potatoes
These potatoes are roasted until they are a dark amber on the outside, creating a layer of deeply caramelized sweet potato that just barely holds the soft, buttery insides together.
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Roasted Baby Potatoes
Everyone needs a simple, versatile side that’s easy to partner with whatever they're cooking for dinner.
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Ukrainian Dill Potatoes
The dish is just four humble ingredients — potatoes, dill, garlic, and sunflower oil — but their combination is magical. With each bite of creamy boiled potato, you get a grassy hit of fresh dill and a kick from raw garlic, all brought together by the nutty aroma of virgin sunflower oil (the hallmark ingredient of Ukrainian cooking).
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Mashed Sweet Potatoes
These ultra-creamy mashed sweet potatoes are just lightly sweetened with maple syrup.
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3-Ingredient Sheet Pan Cajun Spiced Potatoes
Red potatoes are coated in Cajun seasoning and a few dashes of cayenne pepper hot sauce, then baked until hot and crisp.
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Garlic Confit Mashed Potatoes
Garlic confit improves just about everything, including these buttery mashed potatoes.
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Rice and Grain Side Dishes for Salmon
When it comes to rounding out your plate, rice and all types of grains are fair game.
Cilantro-Lime Rice
This cilantro-lime rice is zesty and fresh, and the perfect addition to almost all of your weeknight meals.
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Mushroom Rice Pilaf
This creamy mushroom and herb-flecked skillet makes the perfect side to anything you're cooking for dinner, or better yet top it with a yolky poached or fried egg to make it the star of your plate.
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Baked Barley Risotto with Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
This cozy risotto-like dinner swaps whole-grain pearl barley in for the usual arborio rice.
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Green Bean Salad with Farro and Crispy Shallots
Adorned with toasty nuts, fried shallots, and radicchio, this green bean salad is a beautiful addition to your table, anytime of year.
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Crunchy Cabbage Slaw with Farro, Pecorino, and Dates
This crunchy, no-wilt salad is packed with red cabbage, shredded kale, dates, farro, and Pecorino cheese, and leaves you with ample leftovers for lunch.
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5-Ingredient Spinach Risotto
A creamy, cheesy, impossibly easy risotto that's adaptable to whatever ingredients you have on hand.
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One-Pot Smoked Almond and Herb Couscous
This side dish recipe for couscous spiced with smoked paprika and flecked with almonds and parsley.
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Arroz Verde
Fresh cilantro and poblano peppers give this rice dish a vibrant green hue and an incredible herby flavor.
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One-Pot Rich Lemon Rice
This vegetarian dish is part risotto, part carbonara. Rich and creamy thanks to eggs and Parmesan, its burst of brightness comes from a squeeze of lemon.
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Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
An easy, make-ahead recipe for quinoa salad filled with fresh vegetables, herbs, and cheese that's perfect for a packable lunch.
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Vegetable Side Dishes for Salmon
Take your pick between green beans, asparagus, carrots, cabbage, leafy greens, or even a simple salad.
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Garlic Green Beans
This quick and simple way to cook green beans will become an instant favorite.
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Easy 10-Minute Garlic Broccolini
An easy recipe for sautéed Broccolini with garlic and red pepper flakes that's the perfect weeknight side dish.
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Oven-Caramelized Cabbage Wedges
Cooked in a fiercely hot oven, cabbage ascends to the ranks of potato chips: crisp, golden, savory, toasty.
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Spanakopita Kale Salad
With briny feta crumbles, crunchy toasted walnuts, and zippy herbs, this chopped kale salad tastes just like spanakopita, the iconic Greek savory pie.
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Roasted Parmesan Asparagus
Roasted asparagus is a quick and easy side dish for any night of the week. Add a little Parmesan and garlic to the mix and you have some crave-worthy veggies that take practically no time to whip up.
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Grilled Zucchini
Grilling gives the mild-mannered squash a spunky, smoky attitude, and it makes a great partner to salmon no matter how you cook it.
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Air Fryer Green Beans
Air fryers are great for cooking green beans (fresh or frozen!).
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Cacio e Pepe Broccoli
The beloved pasta meets roasted broccoli florets in this place, feel-good side dish.
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Honey-Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots
Once you’ve tasted these roasted carrots bathed in a honey-garlic butter sauce, you may never want to eat them any other way.
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There aren’t any big secrets to making awesome kale — you just need a large skillet, plenty of garlic, and a squeeze of lemon.
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Cheesy Grilled Parmesan Broccoli
Marinated broccoli gets tossed with Parmesan and grilled to tender, smoky perfection.
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Tangy Cucumber Salad
A light, fresh salad of quick-pickled cucumbers and chopped fresh chives that's perfect for your next potluck or barbecue.
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Tangy Carrot Slaw
When you're craving something crunchy, fresh, and a little tangy, this simple slaw delivers every time.
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Garlicky Roasted Broccoli
This broccoli takes just a few minutes to throw into the oven and emerges toasty around the edges and garlicky and a little spicy.
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Easy Lemon-Ginger Spinach
Not only is this easy weeknight side packed with light, refreshing flavors from lemon and ginger, but it also goes with everything.
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Minty Snap Pea Salad
This refreshing snap pea salad with fresh mozzarella, radishes, and lots of fresh mint.
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Melted Cabbage
Cabbage wedges are seared, then baked until the leaves become meltingly tender and caramelized just enough around the edges.
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Garlicky Sautéed Escarole
Here are the simple steps you take to perfectly cook sautéed escarole.
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Simple Arugula Salad
A quick and easy, unfussy arugula salad tossed in a lemon vinaigrette and finished with shaved Parmesan.
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Sautéed Broccoli Rabe
Bored with plain ol' broccoli? Serve garlicky broccoli rabe instead.
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Pasta Side Dishes for Salmon
From orzo to one-pot pastas, these simple side dishes pair perfectly with salmon.
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Creamy Spinach Parmesan Orzo
A recipe for quick and easy creamy orzo pasta made with spinach and Parmesan cheese. It's a perfect vegetarian dinner or simple side side.
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Lemon Herb Pasta Salad with Green Beans
Light and fresh pasta salad packed with fresh herbs, snappy green beans, and a sunny lemon vinaigrette.
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Garlic Noodles
These easy garlic noodles get maximum umami flavor from oyster sauce, fish sauce, and soy sauce.
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Asparagus Pasta
A very light and springy skillet pasta with big lemony flavor.
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Caramelized Cabbage Butter Pasta
This buttery caramelized cabbage isn't just perfect with pasta — try it piled onto toast, with eggs, or in sandwiches and wraps.
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Creamy Calabrian Chili Pasta
A big spoonful of Calabrian chili paste gives quick and creamy pantry pasta a spicy kick.
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Pasta al Limone
This vibrant and creamy pasta is bursting with fresh lemon flavor.
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One-Pot Tomato Chickpeas and Orzo
A recipe for quick and easy tomato orzo studded with chickpeas, which is made in just one pot.
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Brown Butter Za’atar Pasta
Strands of spaghetti or bucatini tossed with brown butter that’s infused with za’atar, lemon juice, Parmesan, and a mix of fresh herbs.
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Fregola with Verde Sauce
Craving pasta salad? Make this any-season fregola recipe with kale and herb pesto.
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Creamy Miso Butter Pasta
A mix of butter, miso paste, pasta water, and Parm makes this pasta super flavorful.
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One-Pot Penne with Creamy Basil-Garlic Sauce
This creamy basil garlic pasta with green vegetables and crispy breadcrumbs is a weeknight dinner crowd-pleaser.
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20-Minute Burst Cherry Tomato Pasta
Cherry tomatoes release their juices in a hot skillet to create a bright, fresh sauce that's rounded out with garlic and basil for your favorite pasta.
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Gnocchi Skillet with Green Beans and Asparagus
This one-pan recipe is loaded with cauliflower gnocchi and crisp-tender veggies, all tossed in a lightly creamy sauce.
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One-Pot Creamy Mushroom and Spinach Orzo
A one-pot recipe for creamy orzo pasta with mushrooms, spinach, and plenty of Parmesan cheese.
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