Are you looking for a good side to go with chicken? Look no further. We’ve got you covered with this list of the best easy, healthy and delicious side dishes for chicken.
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Whether you’re making grilled chicken breasts or a roasted chicken dinner, you’re not stuck with boring salads or plain steamed veggies. Check out these quick, easy, and healthy ideas for side dishes to serve with your chicken. They're sure to be popular with your family!
Because chicken is such a versatile protein that can be prepared so many ways, it's no surprise that it shows up on dinner tables at least once a week, if not more. Even with all the delicious ways to prepare it as a main dish, choosing complementary sides can make your chicken dinners tastier and even amp up any given flavor profile.
Best Healthy Sides for Chicken
Chicken makes a quick, easy and healthy lunch or dinner, particularly if you serve it alongside a flavorful side dish. From comfort food casseroles to classic condiments and from creative salads to all kinds of vegetables, you'll find delicious options for perfect pairings in this collection of best side dishes for chicken.
Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
It takes just 15 minutes to cook Brussels sprouts to crispiness in an air fryer. You'll love this easy method that leaves the inside tender while the outside browns to perfection.
Prep the sprouts by washing and trimming them before tossing with olive oil, sea salt, and cracked pepper. Air fry them in a single layer for best results. Before serving, drizzle with balsamic vinegar or garnish with crumbled bacon for extra deliciousness.
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Easy Grilled Romaine Salad With Bacon And Ranch Dressing
If you're grilling your chicken dinner, make this amazing grilled salad at the same time. Add Romaine lettuce leaves to your grill for just a few minutes to char them.
Assemble the salad by using the leaves as a canvas to top with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. Add cooked and crumbled bacon and my homemade healthy ranch dressing. It's the perfect crunchy salad to pair with grilled chicken.
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Roasted Carrots
These oven roasted carrots caramelize to deliciousness with just a little toss of coconut oil and seasonings of sea salt and pepper. Turn them out on a sheet pan and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes.
If you don't have time to peel and cut your carrots, use baby carrots instead. These roasted carrots will pair perfectly with almost any chicken dinner.
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Air Fryer Asparagus
Asparagus is a healthy side dish to serve with chicken and your air fryer will have it tender in about 10 minutes. Just toss the stalks with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Once cooked, serve as is or season them with a drizzle of fresh lemon, or add chopped nuts. A luscious topping of my homemade blender Hollandaise sauce is always a tasty addition.
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Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Cooked and cubed roasted sweet potatoes make up the base of this cold salad that pairs perfectly with a summer chicken meal. Diced celery, red onion and red bell peppers add a healthy and delicious crunch that's elevated with a flavorful kick from the zesty chipotle lime dressing.
Make this ahead so it has time to chill before serving. Pair this tasty salad with my crispy smoked chicken wings.
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Paleo Cornbread
This grain-free cornbread recipe skips the corn, sugar and sour cream in traditional cake-style cornbread and uses almond flour and coconut flour to create the cornbread texture. Ghee and honey add the slightly sweet buttery flavor.
This is the perfect bread to serve with roasted, air-fried or grilled chicken!
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Zucchini Pasta Pesto
Vegetable pasta keeps it low-carb with this healthy side. Spiralized zucchini is tossed with a homemade pesto sauce made with walnuts, basil, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil.
It's a delicious side dish to pair with grilled chicken. You don't even need to cook the zoodles, but if you want them warm, a quick sauté in a skillet for a minute will give them a little warmth.
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Easy Tomato Cucumber Salad
Perfect for summer when you can use your home grown tomatoes and cucumbers, this easy salad will be a refreshing addition to summer chicken dinners.
Sliced cucumber, tomato, onions and fresh basil are drizzled with a tangy red wine vinegar and olive oil dressing. It's a no-cook side that takes just minutes to assemble.
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Broccoli Salad With Bacon
Fresh broccoli florets join with red onion, golden raisins, walnuts and crumbled bacon for this sweet and savory salad that's drizzled with a tangy vinegar dressing.
It would be the perfect side item for a BBQ chicken dinner or to take to a potluck. Make it ahead of time and let it chill in the fridge for a few hours so the flavors can develop.
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Chicken Salad With Spinach And Strawberries
Salads are always an excellent side item to serve with chicken, and here, I pair this spinach and strawberry salad with grilled chicken and turn it into an entrée salad.
It's a quick assembly of baby spinach, sliced strawberries and chopped walnuts, drizzled with a champagne vinegar, Dijon and honey dressing. Add your chicken and enjoy!
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Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
Your Instant Pot will cook sweet potatoes to tenderness in about half the time it would take using a traditional oven. Set them on a trivet with a little water underneath and pressure cook.
Serve this naturally sweet vegetable with almost any chicken meal. Just add a little ghee or butter and a dash of sea salt to these steaming potatoes for an easy side item that requires hardly any effort to make.
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Peach Barbecue Sauce
Paint your grilled chicken with this delectable sugar-free BBQ sauce made with fresh or frozen peaches. Shallots, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, bacon fat and zesty seasonings join with juicy peaches to make this homemade BBQ sauce.
It's a 10-minute effort that you can refrigerate or freeze for future use.
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Cauliflower Rice
Rice is always a great side dish for chicken dinners and here, to keep it low carb, prepare "riced" cauliflower instead. Cut up a head of cauliflower and pulse it in your food processor to achieve the riced texture. A box grater will yield the same results.
Give it a sauté in a skillet to heat and soften it before serving. This rice would be a perfect side dish to pair with my grilled chicken with chimichurri sauce.
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Smoked Maple Butternut Squash
Butternut squash infused with maple flavor and a little smokiness is a delicious way to serve this healthy fall vegetable. If you have a smoker or gas grill to achieve that smoky flavor, this is an easy side to make.
You can even roast it in your oven and use smoked paprika to add flavoring. Once tender, simply mash the squash with a little ghee and sea salt.
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Peach Basil Salsa
Take your chicken to the next level with the addition of this sweet and savory salsa. Ripe and juicy peaches are diced and combined with sweet onion, lime juice and fresh basil.
A dash of sea salt brings out all the wonderful flavors of this easy to prepare condiment that's always a delicious pairing for chicken.
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Grilled Pineapple Salsa
Summer is the right time to grill some pineapple for a tropical salsa that will elevate your grilled or BBQ chicken entrée. The pineapple becomes caramelized from grilling and then mingles with the zesty flavors of jalapeno pepper, onion and cilantro.
Top your next summer chicken meal with this delectable condiment.
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Roasted Garlic
The mellow taste of roasted garlic will add depth of flavor to any chicken meal without being overpowering. You can add roasted garlic to sauces or even just mash it and add it to the top of cooked chicken for a boost of flavor.
Roast it on your grill or in the oven in a foil pack with a drizzle of olive oil and salt. Squeeze out the roasted cloves and use immediately or refrigerate them for later use.
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Green Bean Casserole
Keep it paleo, diary-free and gluten-free with this delicious green bean casserole that's flavored with sautéed mushrooms and onions for that classic casserole ingredients. Blanched green beans are covered with a creamy coconut milk and chicken broth sauce before being topped with crispy onions.
Bake until tender and bubbly. It's a side dish that's always appreciated and pairs well with chicken.
Recipe by by Shuangy's Kitchen
Cauliflower Mac And Cheese
Serve this dairy-free, gluten-free and low carb casserole of creamy mac and cheese with your next BBQ chicken meal.
The macaroni stand-in ingredient is cauliflower. The florets are covered in a rich sauce that uses nutritional yeast to mimic the cheddar cheese flavor. Coconut milk, spices, green onions and garlic keep it well-seasoned for a spectacular taste.
Recipe by Our Fine Day
Crispy Garlic Parsnip Fries
Keep it low carb with these parsnip fries that are well-seasoned with sea salt and garlic powder.
Peel the parsnips and slice them into french fries. Toss with olive oil and seasonings before oven roasting on a sheet pan. They're the perfect side item for BBQ chicken or any casual chicken meal.
Recipe by Bake It Paleo
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
Let your air fryer cook these homemade sweet potato fries to crunchy tenderness. Use your favorite variety of sweet potatoes and peel and slice them into uniform rectangular strips. Lightly toss them with avocado oil, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
Add them in a single layer to your air fryer basket and cook, tossing halfway for even browning. These make a tasty side-kick for BBQ chicken.
Recipe by Flavor The Moments
Is your weekly chicken dinner meal plan getting boring? Try these side dishes for chicken to spice up your meals! You will find they are some of the best healthy and easy sides that you could try out tonight or add to your weekly meal prep.
Whether you’re in the mood for chicken wings or chicken salad, you can build a delicious meal the whole family will love with these amazing chicken side dish recipes. Just pair a simple chicken dish or even rotisserie chicken with two or more sides.
And here are some easy recipes you can make with frozen chicken. Pairing a flavorful chicken dish with delicious sides is the best way to guarantee a family-favorite meal. Try something new tonight with these side dishes for chicken.
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