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Here are all the best side dishes for salmon! These tasty sides go perfectly with the flaky fish, from sauteed veggies to fresh salads.
What goes with salmon? Salmon is one of the easiest healthy dinner ideas out there, ideal for quick weeknight dinners. But sometimes it’s hard to find a fast side dish that can compete with the speed of salmon. Of course if you’re serving salmon for a dinner party, you might have some extra time to spare. Here are our top salmon side dishes, listed in order of total cook time! Stick to the top of the list if you need something fast, and keep scrolling down if you have a little more time.
And now, our top salmon side dishes!
Guess what? Frozen peas can taste amazing in 5 minutes. Yep, you can transform a bag of these frozen green spheres into an easy side dish that everyone around the table will love. The secret? A little olive oil, butter, garlic and lemon.
Total time: 5 minutes
Here's our top side to go with salmon: lemon green beans! These beans are so easy to make and come together in 10 minutes, making them perfect for a quick weeknight meal. They come out crisp tender and flavored with zesty lemon. Even though they're quick, they look beautiful and dress up any meal. If you've got an Instant Pot, try Instant Pot Green Beans with Lemon.
Total time: 10 minutes
Here’s a clutch pantry staple recipe to accessorize with quick weeknight meals: orzo! This rice-shaped pasta is ultra fast to cook, making it ideal for nights where you need something on the table fast. This orzo recipe is incredibly simple but comes out comforting and nostalgic, pairing the tender grains with butter and a hint of lemon.
Total time: 10 minutes
Here's another one of our quick sides to go with salmon: the best broccoli! It's bright green and crisp tender, served with red onion, olive oil, and feta cheese crumbles. If you prefer, try Sauteed Broccoli, Instant Pot Broccoli, or Roasted Broccoli instead. Or go for broccoli's elegant cousin: this Perfect Roasted Broccolini!
Total time: 10 minutes
This tiny pasta is fluffy, flavorful, and takes just 10 minutes to whip up with no cooking required. That’s right: all you have to do is boil water! This traditional Berber food has swept the globe: its ease of preparation and delightful light texture makes the perfect side for salmon.
Total time: 10 minutes
When it comes to easy side dishes: this one takes the cake! Introducing: the simplest arugula salad. It’s quite possibly the easiest salad you’ll make. You don’t even have to make a salad dressing! In 5 to 10 minutes, you’ve got an elegant salad that's perfect with salmon.
These truly are the best sauteed mushrooms, and the meaty flavor is perfect with salmon! They're tender and juicy, with a brightness at the finish. Fresh thyme and oregano give an herby punch. Take one bite and you'll exclaim "Wow!"
Total time: 10 minutes
When it comes to quick and impressive side dishes, this one might be tops: Sauteed Broccolini! The elegantly long stems of this green veggie make it look fancy, but here’s a secret. You can cook it up in just 5 minutes in a hot skillet. Add a bit of garlic and lemon, and you won’t be able to stop eating these irresistibly large spears. Here’s how to make it in a flash: and a bit more about this unique vegetable.
Total time: 10 minutes
Here's a quick side dish for salmon that is elegant and delicious: Sauteed Chard! We highly recommend serving it with toasted pine nuts, which add a nutty essence, and Parmesan cheese, which adds a savory pop.
Total time: 10 minutes
Here’s a salmon side dish you can mix up in minutes: White Bean Salad! It’s bursting with Mediterranean flavor from simple ingredients: bell pepper brings a crunch, parsley an herbaceous bite, and red wine vinegar brings a zing of acidity. Top with a sprinkle of feta, and it’s irresistibly tasty with minimal effort.
Total time: 10 minutes
Here's a fantastic side to go with salmon, or really any meal! Our Italian-style chopped salad is everyone's favorite. It features crunchy romaine, colorful veggies, Parmesan cheese, and our zesty Homemade Italian Dressing. The kicker? Jarred pepperoncini, which bring a tang and crunch. Another option? Radish Chopped Salad Recipe with blue cheese dressing.
Total time: 15 minutes
This Mediterranean-style cauliflower goes perfectly with salmon! This lemon herb steamed cauliflower cooks in minutes and is so good, you won’t want to stop eating it! The lemon zest makes it bright, and using Italian seasoning and olive oil gives a savory flair. Even better: it takes only 10 minutes to cook. (Got a pressure cooker? Try our Instant Pot Cauliflower.)
Total time: 15 minutes
Here’s a delicious salad that pairs perfectly with salmon: Goat Cheese Salad with Arugula and Apples! It’s simple and comes together quickly, but my does it deliver on flavor! The crunch of the apples, creamy goat cheese, and fluffy arugula are the ideal pair for the tangy sweet dressing.
Total time: 15 minutes
Here's an elegant side for salmon: this delightful fennel salad! It pairs the shaved raw vegetable with sweet apple, zingy lemon and savory Parmesan cheese. Delicate fennel fronds make a feathery garnish, and each bite is irresistibly crunchy with a pop of acidity. Welcome to our (and your?) new favorite side dish, versatile enough to pair with fish, chicken, or vegetarian mains beautifully.
Here’s one of our favorite side dishes for salmon that’s packed with flavor and fits almost any diet: Cucumber Salad! It’s simple and punchy, with a vinegar-based dressing that packs in tangy, sweet and salty flavor. It’s ideal for just about anytime: summer cookouts or pitch-ins, lunches, or an easy make-ahead side dish you can keep in the fridge for dinners all week.
Total time: 15 minutes
Craving sprouts? There’s nothing better than a crispy Brussels sprouts, or tender shaved into a Brussels sprout salad. But sometimes on weeknights, we need something fast: that doesn’t require preheating an oven or thin shaving with a knife. Introducing: these quick Sauteed Brussels Sprouts! They’re so quick to make, and the flavor comes out beautifully: caramelized on the outside and crisp tender on the inside.
Total time: 15 minutes
Here’s a simple way to dress up fresh green beans as a gourmet side for salmon: Green Beans Almondine! This dish is brilliant: the beans are bright green and perfectly tender, sautéed in butter with garlic and toasted almonds and finished with a little lemon zest.
Total time: 15 minutes
This kale salad recipe is a perfect simple side for salmon! After you taste this kale salad, you’ll agree that those green leaves smothered in a lemony, garlicky Parmesan dressing can only be one thing: delicious.
Total time: 15 minutes
Here’s the fastest way to get colorful veggies to jump onto your plate: the Ultimate Sautéed Vegetables recipe. These sauteed vegetables are beautifully colored, bursting with flavor and crisp tender in texture. They’re the perfect side dish for salmon!
Total time: 20 minutes
Try this refreshing Romaine Salad to serve with salmon! The electric green of the romaine leaves, pastel dressing and delicate pink radishes have a fresh monochrome effect tastes as good as it looks. The Green Goddess Dressing smothers it all in herbaceous creaminess. Take it over the top with a sprinkle of crunchy breadcrumbs
Farro is a chewy, tender whole grains that's a unique variation to rice. It's quick to cook and tastes so good mixed with garlic and fresh herbs! Here it's mixed with sage, thyme and oregano. If you want to dress it up for entertaining, try Farro with Mushrooms & Parmesan.
Total time: 20 minutes
Asparagus is a perfect side to go with salmon! Use this method for baking in a hot oven until tender, then spritzing it with lemon: the way to make this healthy veggie taste over-the-moon good. The finishing touch: gooey melted Parmesan cheese. For plant based, try Roasted Asparagus or Sauteed Asparagus. Or, make it into a salad: Asparagus Salad with Feta.
Total time: 20 minutes
What's better with salmon than crispy Brussels sprouts? This is the best classic Brussels sprouts recipe: they're roasted at very high heat until perfectly salted and crispy.
Total time: 25 minutes
Here’s a way to cook everyone’s favorite root vegetable that might surprise you: Steamed Sweet Potatoes! This easy method is fast and easy, and it results in the most deliciously moist and tender flesh. Don’t get us wrong: we love the oven for vegetables, like these Baked Sweet Potatoes. But steaming this orange vegetable makes it so moist, it might become your new best method.
Total time: 30 minutes
Want to dress up broccoli to take it to irresistible status? Try this Parmesan broccoli! It’s crispy, crunchy, and impossible not to take another bite. Roasting broccoli brings a sweetness and lightly charred edges to this healthy green vegetable. Combine that with savory Parmesan cheese, and it’s got rock star status.
Total time: 30 minutes
Lentils are a perfect protein-packed side to go with salmon! This Mediterranean-style lentil salad is full of flavor. It's fresh and healthy, mixed with crunchy veggies and feta cheese. It’s a tasty way to add plant based protein alongside fish.
Total time: 30 minutes
Cornbread is easy, is a great side dish for salmon and it always, always satisfies. Try this Skillet Cornbread recipe! It’s great in a cast iron skillet, though you can use any type of oven-safe skillet that’s on hand. Bake it up and it has just the right thickness, moist crumb, and savory sweetness you want in a great cornbread.
Total time: 35 minutes
These roasted sweet potatoes are a great side to with salmon: the subtle sweetness of the potatoes pairs perfectly with the savory salmon. These sweet potatoes are so tasty, lightly seasoned with garlic powder and roasted until caramelized in a hot oven. Don't want to dice? Try our Quick Baked Sweet Potato.
Other options: try Mashed Red Potatoes, Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes or Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.
Total time: 35 minutes
Why mash potatoes when you can roast them to a golden crisp? We’ve always been partial to a crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside potato. To us, the mushy stuff just doesn’t compare. (Though these Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes are close!) These oven roasted red potatoes are baked until crispy with garlic powder, then showered with fresh herbs.
Total time: 40 minutes
Try these classic Steak Fries: perfect thick wedges that come out crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside! The traditional steak fry you’ll find in a restaurant is deep fried, but they’re easy to make at home baked in an oven. They’re even more delicious, in our opinion! Enjoy them as an easy side dish to go with salmon.
Total time: 45 minutes
30 Best Sides for Salmon
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
These zesty steamed green beans are the epitome of an easy side dish! This healthy recipe is the perfect side to go with salmon.
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh green beans*
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus zest from 1 lemon (1 tablespoon)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Trim the green beans.
- Place 1 ½ cups water into a saucepan or pot and bring it to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the green beans in the steamer basket. Steam with the lid on 4 to 5 minutes until just tender (test with a fork).
- Carefully remove the beans to a bowl. Toss with the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, kosher salt, and plenty of fresh ground black pepper.
Notes
*This recipe is easily doubled to feed a crowd.
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Sides to Go with Salmon, Green Beans Recipe, Easy Green Beans,
Some favorite salmon recipes
Now that you know what goes with salmon, you might need some more salmon recipes! We couldn’t leave you with just the sides! Here are our top favorite salmon recipes:
- Salmon with Capers: The fish is oven baked in foil until it’s perfectly tender, then topped with a delicious garlic butter sauce.
- Seared Salmon, Cajun Salmon or Blackened Salmon It’s a favorite easy way to cook fish in a flash, and the flavor is unbeatable.
- Oven Baked Salmon: This easy oven baked salmon comes out perfectly tender and flaky! Cooking salmon in foil makes a moist piece of fish every time.
- Teriyaki Salmon: A weeknight go-to, this easy healthy dinner recipe features a quick homemade sauce.
- Lemon Dill Salmon This fast lemon dill salmon takes just 10 minutes to bake! Mix up the zesty dill sauce while the salmon cooks.
- Broiled Salmon with Bourbon Glaze: Another super quick way to make salmon is in the broiler! This one is painted with a savory sweet bourbon glaze.
- Easy Cedar Plank Salmon: You haven’t lived until you’ve tried cedar plank salmon! This easy method of grilling on a wooden plank infuses a smoky flavor that’s irresistible.
Hello! I love following your recipes and trying new ones. I hope you have some suggestions for me, please. I’m hosting a luncheon and plan to prepare salmon salad sandwiches served on croissants. I’m looking for a light soup recipe that will complement the sandwiches. Do you have any recipe suggestions? Thank you for any help you can provide.
This pea soup might be nice! https://www.acouplecooks.com/pea-soup-rye-croutons-chive-blossoms/