Learn what goes well with salmon and turn your flaky fish into a feast with the 35+ best side dishes for salmon recipes.
What to Serve with Salmon: 10 Quick Ideas!
In this post, I’ll share the most popular side dish recipes to serve with salmon. But if you’re just looking for ideas and not recipes, here are my fav easy sides that don’t really need a recipe:
- Steamed broccoli, edamame, green beans or spinach
- Potatoes (roasted, baked, mashed or scalloped)
- Mixed green salad, cucumber slices and/or avocado
- Grilled veggies (like asparagus, zucchini and/or peppers
- Steamed rice (or use my Mother-in-Law’s viral easy basmati rice recipe)
- Cucumber slices tossed with mayo and dill
- Simple pasta (with a simple sauce like jarred pesto or butter and parmesan)
- Air Fryer Veggies (I personally love air fryer eggplant and zucchini)
- Warm bread to sop of a sauce
- Buttered corn
Now let’s dig in to the good stuff! From light and simple veggies to lux and creamy potato sides – here’s my roundup of the best side dish recipes for salmon.
Vegetable Side Dishes for Salmon Recipes
Fall-apart, rich salmon goes beautifully with crispy, crunchy veggies.
Here are a few that you HAVE to try with your salmon:
Pan-fried Asparagus
Hands down, the most classic salmon side dishes are these tender pan-fried asparagus spears. Their gentle flavor and wispiness are ideal with your flaky, indulgent salmon pieces.
Zucchini Fritters
My 5-ingredients (+salt) zucchini fritters are a great partner to salmon. They add lovely texture to the meal and have great body to hold up to the salmon. I love these with a little sour cream and lemon zest or fresh lemon juice.
Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Maple Bacon
These candied Brussels sprouts with bacon are nothing short of extremely tasty. They are totally worthy to sit alongside the perfect piece of melt-in-your-mouth salmon.
Green Beans Casserole
A classic choice and a great side dish for salmon. My ultimate recipe for green bean casserole with salty, crispy onions adds loads of richness and is great as a salmon side. Serve it straight from the casserole dish!
Broccoli (Frozen to Crispy)
Try this recipe for broccoli from Sweet Phi with a tasty crunch from the Parmesan cheese. You can have it out of the oven in under 30 minutes and on the table, ready to go. Try this same method with cauliflower!
Grilled Zucchini and Squash
Here is a recipe for summery, super pretty zucchini and squash from Peel with Zeal. I love the elegant little grill lines on the sliced veggies. The dish is topped with a bright lemony dressing and is delicious served warm or at room temperature with salmon.
Miso Glazed Carrots
Roast a few miso-glazed carrots to go with your salmon. This easy recipe from Uncomplicated Chef is a good one to try! The addition of pistachios and fresh orange juice is super tasty.
Butternut Squash fries
I adore these bright orange butternut fries with any of my salmon recipes.
Kids will squeal with delight at the sight of these crispy fries – all you need is 35 minutes for these homemade fries
Best Potato Sides for Salmon
Potatoes are a hearty side with baked, grilled, poached, or pan-fried salmon. Here are the best side dishes with potatoes to serve up with salmon:
Scalloped potatoes
These gluten-free au gratin potatoes are perfectly cooked (creamy but still with a little bite). I love the way they look – they taste like a special occasion dish, although they are totally simple.
Mashed Potatoes
A plate of salmon, steamed greens, and THESE silky mashed potatoes is heaven.
This is the ultimate comfort food – soft, easy-going textures and flavors that the whole family will love.
Creamy Potato Salad
This Potato Salad with egg recipe is the best I’ve made. It is super creamy with a tangy, lemony, mayonnaise-based dressing that I lighten up with Greek yogurt.
It pairs perfectly as a summery side with salmon.
Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
Eek! I love making fries with different types of vegetables – these crispy yam fries have a tasty Chipotle aioli that is perfect with simple salmon and fries.
Boiled Baby Potatoes
Here is a simple recipe for boiled baby potatoes with lovely dill and butter. This recipe from Lenas Kitchen also comes with a tarragon sauce which is DELICIOUS with a piece of salmon.
Tasty Salad Side Dishes for Salmon
Salad side dishes are great for creating balance in a salmon-centered meal. From simple to show-stopping – let’s go:
Easy Couscous Salad with Lemon Dressing
This is my easy and simple cous cous salad with a light and refreshing lemony dressing. You will go for seconds – trust me. This 4 ingredient salad couldn’t be made quicker, and the flavors work well with salmon.
Healthy Greek Pasta Salad
Here’s a veggie-packed version of a Greek pasta salad. You could, of course, serve a regular Greek salad with your salmon, but this recipe is actually all you’ll need with your salmon.
Thai Noodle Salad with Sweet Chili Dressing
My Thai noodle salad has loads of texture and colors – fresh, bright, and flavor-loaded as a partner to any salmon recipe.
Macaroni Salad
This is hands-down my best macaroni salad. Super flavorful and always moist, with pro tips to keep it from drying out.
If you’re grilling salmon, this side dish is a must-make.
Crispy Kale Caesar Salad
I adore the pairing of crispy kale and caesar dressing – the texture of the kale is really good with soft fleshy salmon.
Soba Cabbage Noodle Salad
Here is a golden oldie that I’ll never stop making – soba cabbage noodle salad. It has a sassy and spicy peanut sauce and is delicious with salmon. You’ll love it for its umami hit of soy and garlic alongside the lime juice and red chili – YUM!
Wild Rice Salad
Here’s a healthy and pretty wild rice salad – to easy to make and full of crunchy pecans and sweet cranberries. Yes, please!
Wilted Endive Leaves (Dates + orange)
This is a super endive lettuce recipe. With grown-up flavors, it’s great on a summer table for lunch with salmon and other favorite sides.
Shredded Kale and Quinoa Salad
This raw kale salad with quinoa has sweet currants and a creamy tahini dressing. The dressing is uber tasty and could even be drizzled straight onto simple salmon!
Edamame + Feta Salad
This salad from Lexis Clean Kitchen is so cute- I love the texture from the almonds, the sweet and sour kick from the dried cherries, plus the lovely salty feta.
Cucumber and Radish Salad
Try this cucumber salad from The Natural Nurturer. Crunchy cucumber and radish slices get coated in thick Greek yogurt and a sprinkle of fresh herbs like dill and chives. This makes the perfect side dish for salmon, you guys.
Yummy Breads to Serve with Salmon
To cozy up the meal, serve your favorite bread recipe with your salmon dish. Here are some of my go-tos:
Cornbread Casserole
This is my homemade cornbread casserole – light and fluffy with little corn kernels in between!
Serve it warm with lashings of butter and a drizzle of something sweet.
No Knead Garlic Cheesy Bread Fingers
Have this cheesy garlic bread on the table in 30 minutes, or so. I love the flavorings in this simple bread – so delicious!
Favorite Salmon Recipes
I couldn’t possibly let you leave without sharing some of my own favorite salmon recipes!
- This cajun-honey butter salmon (pictured above) is just luscious, you guys – add it to your meal rotation STAT.
- Buttery, fall-apart salmon like my baked salmon with mayonnaise is the perfect 5-minute recipe. I make this about once a week in my house. It’s quick, easy, and so good.
- Another recipe not to be missed is this honey teriyaki glazed salmon, where the savory and sweet flavors seep deep inside the salmon; it’s too good.
- Great for summer is my grilled salmon with avo and melon cucumber salsa.
- Salmon Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce. A perfect summery salmon recipe!
- Air Fryer Frozen Salmon. She ain’t fancy, but boy is she perfect on a weekday. Fall-apart flaky fish that goes straight from freezer to air fryer.
Side Dishes For Salmon Recipes
Ingredients
- salmon
Instructions
- Pick your favorite side dishes for salmon recipe from the collection above and enjoy!
hey does anyone know if i can use canned sweet corn for the cornbread casserole or is it better with fresh? kinda new to this cooking thing lol
Ricky T., canned corn works fine! Just drain it well. Happy cooking!
Actually, fresh corn will give you a better texture and flavor, but canned is OK if that’s what you have.
love the zucchini fritters. Gotta try them out again with salmon on the weekend