30 Side Dishes to Serve with Fried Chicken
Updated: Mar. 15, 2024
These side dishes for fried chicken are the perfect complement to everyone's favorite crispy, crunchy main. We've got recipes that will transform tired sides into fresh additions to your dinner plate.
When you’re cooking homemade fried chicken, you know it’s going to be a star. (Explore KFC’s fried chicken recipe). But a good supporting cast of sides ensures a truly memorable meal. The best fried chicken sides either complement the savory richness, or offer a contrast. Buttery biscuits, for example, offer a savory match to the chicken, while tangy coleslaw surprises taste buds, bringing bright notes to the richly coated meat.
(In case, you’re craving wings and don’t have time for making them at home, here are some chicken wings restaurants to try!)
In the summer, fresh vegetables are a simple and satisfying side option: from corn to cucumbers. In the winter (yes, you can make fried chicken in the winter!), embrace the cozy with potatoes and squash.
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Cool Beans Salad
This hearty, flavorful recipe combines two types of beans with corn, fresh peppers and spices. Beans and rice are a classic picnic side dish that tastes great cold, hot or anything in between. Feel free to play with spices or toss in extra herbs from the garden.
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Roasted Fresh Okra
If you cook okra properly, it’s a flavorful vegetable that can be meltingly tender or wonderfully crunchy. This roasted okra is a great place to start if you’ve never cooked it before. It’s quick to prep and ends up crisp every time.
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Creamy Coleslaw
Want to know the secret to making homemade coleslaw quick? Pick up a bag of pre-shredded cabbage and carrots (or, almost as fast, use a food processor). The creamy, tangy dressing is the perfect balance to savory fried chicken.
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Cherry Tomato Salad
Sweet-tart cherry tomatoes are delicious fresh from the vine in the summer, but they’re also pretty reliable from the store all year round. This bright, herby recipe is a great way to liven up a fried chicken dinner.
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Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
Serve up a restaurant-worthy meal by pairing delicious fried chicken with creamy mac and cheese. The cheesy, saucy side dish is a nice textural contrast to the crunchy chicken.
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Mexican Street Corn Bake
Since fried chicken is usually lightly spiced, it pairs well with all kinds of cuisines. Give it a Southwestern slant by serving this Mexican street food-inspired corn. Though the flavors are complex, the corn comes together easily in one pan.
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Vibrant Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Planning a picnic? Don’t skip this beloved southern side dish! Make it ahead of time so the flavors have time to develop.
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Asian Coleslaw
Fried chicken is a staple in many Asian cuisines, and the savory main dish tastes delicious with an Asian-spiced side dish. This recipe results in a mild, sweet, sesame-scented slaw, but you could spice it up by adding a dash of Sriracha or by sprinkling a bit of cayenne pepper into fried chicken breading.
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Garlic-Herb Pattypan Squash
Round, knubby little pattypan squash is a fun summer veggie that cooks up quickly. If you can’t find any, swap in small zucchini or another summer squash.
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Barley Corn Salad
Love pasta salad but not the soggy noodles? Try this delightful, versatile salad, where whole grain barley takes the place of pasta. If you’re eating gluten-free, try whole buckwheat, sorghum or brown rice.
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Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Both crispy and crunchy, these potatoes match perfectly with fried chicken. After a quick boil to tenderize the taters, they roast in the oven, making them a fairly hands-free side.
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Bacon Collard Greens
Bitter, vitamin-rich collard greens transform into a silky side in this classic recipe. After sauteing onions and bacon until they’re taking on color, collard greens stew in broth till completely tender.
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Traditional Mashed Potatoes
Cozy, creamy mashed potatoes are a delicious counterbalance to crunchy fried chicken. This classic fried chicken side is especially comforting in the winter.
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Thymed Zucchini Saute
Fried chicken makes a great picnic food because it doesn’t require cutlery, and individual pieces are just the right size for a paper plate. Pack a container of this easy zucchini recipe, which is free of dairy and meat, making it safe to keep in a basket.
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Farmers Market Orzo Salad
Chewy, grain-like orzo is actually tiny pasta, and it makes a delicious, hearty base for a summer salad. Though this recipe calls for zucchini, tomatoes and squash, you can substitute any fresh seasonal veggies you have on hand.
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Mom’s Buttermilk Biscuits
Homemade biscuits are tough to beat. This top-rated recipe is packed with buttery flavor. You can also substitute store-bought biscuits for a speedy chicken side dish.
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Cleo’s Potato Salad
Creamy potato salad might be our favorite hearty summer side ever! Stirring a dash of cider vinegar into the creamy potatoes makes the flavors pop.
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Parmesan Potato Wedges
One of our favorite potato recipes, these crunchy wedges are meant to be dipped in ketchup or ranch. If you don’t want to shred fresh Parmesan, you can use the sprinkle from the can—we won’t tell anyone!
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Grilled Sweet Corn
Any kind of corn on the cob tastes great with fried chicken. Boiling corn is quick and easy, but there are lots of ways to cook corn: grilling, microwaving, and even slow-cooking.
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Heirloom Tomato Salad
Rich, savory fried chicken is so tasty with juicy tomatoes. Though this recipe specifically uses heirlooms, any type of tomato—like cherry, grape or sweet orange tomatoes—will also work in a pinch.
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Macaroni Coleslaw
This coleslaw is a celebration of creamy, crunchy textures. A tangy Miracle Whip dressing swirls through crunchy cabbage slaw, water chestnuts, celery, peppers and whichever fresh vegetables you choose to add.
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Three-Bean Baked Beans
Do you dip fried chicken in barbecue sauce? If so, these saucy baked beans are for you! The secret is, quite literally, in the sauce—bottled sauce is jazzed up with extra ingredients to maximize flavor.
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Honey Cornbread
Tender, crumbly cornbread is a perfect treat alongside fried chicken. If you’re not a big baker, don’t worry, this is a simple baking recipe that couldn’t be easier to mix together and pop in the oven.
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Black-Eyed Peas with Collard Greens
Black-eyed peas are traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day for good luck, but they’re too delicious not to eat all year round! Using canned beans makes this delicious side dish super speedy.
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Healthy Potato Salad
Inspired by German potato salads, this lighter version is dressed with a piquant mustard and red wine vinaigrette. It’s especially delicious alongside leftover fried chicken (just be sure to reheat the chicken properly so it maintains that classic crisp coating).
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Fresh Cucumber Salad
These yummy, crunchy cucumbers are similar to pickles, but fresher and milder. Enjoy any leftover cucumber salad on burgers and sandwiches.
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Veggie-Stuffed Tomatoes
A delicious vegetarian side dish, veggie-stuffed tomatoes demand to be made at the peak of summer, when tomatoes are big and bursting with juice. Serving a hearty, healthy side dish alongside meaty mains is a great way to reduce meat portions without feeling stingy.
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Crunchy Lemon-Pesto Garden Salad
A dash of homemade pesto makes every vegetable taste great. This zesty, lemony salad is easy to adapt to any veggies you have on hand. It’s also hearty enough to make in advance without risking the dreaded soggy salad.
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Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
It’s time to pull your trusty cast-iron skillet out of the cupboard! Fried chicken is a welcoming cozy supper in the fall, when these sweet potatoes would be just perfect. For the tastiest skillet sweet potatoes, make sure you’ve reseasoned your cast-iron if it’s been awhile.
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Lemony Green Beans
Snappy green beans are delicious with fried chicken. As a bonus, etiquette guides give the green light to eat green beans with your fingers. Serve drumsticks and you can skip the silverware altogether!Originally Published: July 08, 2020
