Food and Recipes Side Dishes The Best Sides To Accompany Those Chicken Dinners By Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon Wells Mary Shannon is a Digital Associate Editor and has been on the Southern Living team since 2017. She helps run the brand's social media accounts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, where she's happily behind the scenes. When she's not ruffling feathers with an etiquette poll via Instagram Stories, she's writing content for the website and assisting in various print projects like gift guides and home stories.She grew up in Mobile, Alabama, which she insists is home to the country's first Mardi Gras (not New Orleans) and now lives in Birmingham with her husband and rescue pup Rocky, whose name is unrelated to The University of Tennessee (Roll Tide). Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on July 29, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Iain Bagwell Chicken is the ultimate weeknight dinner component. It's budget-friendly, healthy, and easy to cook. Plus, you can prepare it dozens of ways. Because plain chicken doesn't have a ton of flavor on its own, you can get really creative with your side dishes. Chicken will go with just about anything, so we picked out some of our favorite chicken dinner sides that are packed with flavor. We've got a few different preparations of potatoes—baked, mashed, and smashed—and lots of refreshing ways to prepare vegetables, like our Field Pea, Corn and Bacon Salad. Whether you want to go healthy with a veggie side or heavy with a macaroni and cheese recipe, you'll love these side dishes for chicken. You've probably got a rotisserie chicken in the fridge or some chicken breasts in the freezer, so it's time to get them out and pair them with these sides. From picky kids to health-nut parents, there's truly a chicken side dish for everyone on this list. 01 of 18 Roasted Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Stelling; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Roasted Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese This veggie version of a classic macaroni and cheese can be made up to one day in advance to help you out the night you're serving. Not a fan of broccoli? We have tons of macaroni and cheese recipes that will go with chicken just as well. 02 of 18 Honey-Glazed Spiced Carrots Iain Bagwell Recipe: Honey-Glazed Spiced Carrots These flavorful carrots are pretty enough for a company-is-coming spread. 03 of 18 Lisa Cericola's Herbed Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Lisa Cericola's Herbed Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes There's not much that a warm serving of mashed potatoes doesn't taste good with, especially when that serving has brown butter in it. 04 of 18 Skillet-Toasted Gnocchi with Peas Victor Protasio Recipe: Skillet-Toasted Gnocchi with Peas Instead of cooking up another box of pasta, try this quick gnocchi recipe topped with grilled chicken for new flavor. 05 of 18 Grilled Baby Zucchini-and-Tomato Salad Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Anna Hampton Recipe: Grilled Baby Zucchini-and-Tomato Salad Instead of walking back and forth between the grill and stovetop, cook your chicken and side dish on the grill together. This simple, fresh recipe is perfect for summer. 06 of 18 Field Pea, Corn and Bacon Salad Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Cat Steele Recipe: Field Pea, Corn and Bacon Salad This fresh salad would make for a filling summer dinner over a bed of greens with grilled shrimp, chicken or steak on top. 07 of 18 Pasta with Burst Tomatoes and Mascarpone Hector Sanchez Recipe: Pasta with Burst Tomatoes and Mascarpone You'll want to make extra burst tomatoes to add to sandwiches and omelets all week. 08 of 18 Herbed Cucumber-and-Tomato Salad Greg DuPree Recipe: Herbed Cucumber-and-Tomato Salad This cool salad is one of our best ways to cool off on hot summer days. 09 of 18 Spicy Pineapple Slaw Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Kellie Kelley; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Spicy Pineapple Slaw This sweet and spicy slaw is a healthy, flavorful option for any summer picnic or potluck. It would specifically go great with barbecue chicken. 10 of 18 Arugula Salad with Bacony Croutons and Sherry Vinaigrette Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke Recipe: Arugula Salad with Bacony Croutons and Sherry Vinaigrette If you want a salad that's anything but boring, allow us to introduce you to this pretty little arugula number. 11 of 18 Balsamic Green Beans with Pearl Onions Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: William Smith Recipe: Balsamic Green Beans with Pearl Onions Guests will have no idea that this beautiful side dish only took 10 minutes of hands-on time. 12 of 18 Black-Eyed Pea and Grain Salad Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Kaye E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Black-Eyed Pea and Grain Salad Southern favorite Texas Caviar inspired this colorful salad, so you know it will be a crowd-pleaser. 13 of 18 Harvest Salad Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Recipe: Harvest Salad This stunning green salad is the best way to show off the fall's bounty. 14 of 18 Baked Potatoes Jennifer Causey Recipe: Baked Potatoes There aren't many dishes that a perfect baked potato won't complement. This no-fail, no-fuss recipe will win every time. 15 of 18 Cuban Black Bean-and-Yellow Rice Bowls Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Cuban Black Bean-and-Yellow Rice Bowls Top this hearty, colorful bowl off with some grilled or roasted chicken, and your family will be stuffed (with the good-for-you stuff). 16 of 18 Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots Linda Pugliese; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Shallots Brussels sprouts recipes are everywhere these days, but we bet you haven't had one like this yet. 17 of 18 Southern Cobb Salad with Cornbread Croutons Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Southern Cobb Salad with Cornbread Croutons With black eyed peas and cornbread croutons, this salad is just about as Southern as it gets. 18 of 18 Smashed Baby Red Potatoes Iain Bagwell Recipe: Smashed Baby Red Potatoes Instead of roasting or mashing your potatoes, you should be smashing them. Let this recipe prove it to you. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit