Chicken Alfredo is a great entree to serve your family and guests who come to visit. Side dishes can be difficult to come up with, especially when trying to pair something with a pasta dish. We have compiled 12 unique ideas for you to take out the stress of finding the perfect side dish. Enjoy!
1. Panzanella Salad
This salad is fresh, flavorful, and anything but boring. You will need mushrooms, asparagus, peas, scallions, watercress, and day old sourdough bread to top your salad. The homemade dressing includes rice vinegar, olive oil, mustard, mint, and black pepper. Talk about a nice, green salad!
2. Cacio e Pepe Brussel Sprouts
Who says vegetables have to be bland? Cook up some Brussels sprouts with butter and olive oil and season it with salt, pepper, and freshly grated Romano and Parmesan cheese for a delicious and healthy side. Your kids might also be willing to try them since it has cheese on top!
3. Chopped Italian Salad Pizza
This fresh take on salad will pleasantly surprise any dinner guest. Roll out some pizza dough until it is thin then add Bibb lettuce, micro greens, chopped red onion, banana peppers (pepperoncini), ricotta, and mozzarella cheese balls. The dressing is a cinch to whisk together. Add vinegar, mustard, and oregano then slowly whisk in the olive oil until it all comes together and drizzle it all over the pizza before serving.
4. Zucchini and Tomato Ragu
Use up your summer squash, zucchini, and extra tomatoes from the garden for this scrumptious side. You will also need onions and garlic along with fresh mozzarella, basil, and parsley. This recipe is akin to ratatouille without all the strenuous prep work. Bon appetit!
5. New Caprese Salad
It isn’t your typical salad because there’s no lettuce, however, you will need zucchini and ripe tomatoes for this dish. Grill up some zucchinis drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. While you’re at it, slice up some fresh mozzarella and tomatoes and your prep work is done. Alternate mozzarella and tomatoes on top of the zucchini then season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with oil and balsamic vinegar for a simply flavorful side dish.
6. Rainbow Heirloom Tomato Bruschetta
Your extra tomatoes will come in handy for this recipe too. Toast some baguette slices and top it with ricotta cheese, and salt and pepper. Thinly slice a yellow, green, and red tomato along with heirloom cherry tomatoes and toss them with a pesto, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar sauce. This will give you a colorful presentation that only takes about 15 minutes to prepare. Score!
7. Asparagus Caesar Salad
This dish is a spin on an old classic, the Caesar salad. Boil the asparagus until tender (about 5 to 7 minutes) and make your dressing while that’s cooking. For the dressing you will need anchovies, garlic, salt, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil, and black pepper. After the asparagus is done, drain it and shock them in ice water to stop the cooking process. Pat them dry and spread them on a serving platter. Drizzle your sauce on top along with croutons and garnish with Parmesan shavings.
8. Mediterranean Roasted Artichoke
Artichoke is an often underrated vegetable, but this can be an excellent side to pair with chicken Alfredo. The best time to buy fresh artichokes is March to May and October to November. Smaller artichokes will cook quicker, but when picking your artichoke the size doesn’t matter as far as taste goes. Roasting artichokes in tin foil is our favorite method of cooking them. Thoroughly wash, then cut your artichokes in half. Wrap each half in some tin foil after drizzling with olive oil and sticking one whole garlic clove in the middle of each half. Roast them at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes for some tender, flavorful roasted artichokes.
9. Cucumber Salad
This is another healthy and refreshing salad that will make your taste buds happy. You will need an English cucumber, red onion, and chickpeas. The seasonings include dill, parsley, and mint. This Mediterranean style side can be made in advance since it is served cold. Little prep work in this case doesn’t mean you sacrifice on flavor. Sometimes simple sides are truly the best way to go.
10. Brussels Sprouts Skillet
This side includes Brussels sprouts with pancetta and crispy bread crumbs, all of which add different textures and flavors to your side dish. After you cook your pancetta, leave the fat and cook your halved Brussels sprouts in that for some added flavor. After everything is cooked, hit it with some lemon juice and lemon zest for a hint of acidity.
11. Cauliflower, Olive, Pepper, and Caper Salad
You will need to do a bit more prep work for this recipe but you can make it well ahead of time. This is a unique salad that combines a lot of different vegetables. The directions will tell you exactly how to quickly pickle carrots, onion, celery, and bell peppers. For the cauliflower, you will need to boil it and shock it with ice water. After combining all the vegetables and dressing them, you let them sit in the fridge for at least an hour, or up to 2 days before serving. The dressing is vinegar-based so allowing the vegetables to sit will also get the flavors to soak in more.
12. Cauliflower with Roasted Tomatoes
Last but not least, here is a recipe that uses garlic bread crumbs. This recipe calls for roasted cauliflower and tomatoes. Be sure to roast these vegetables on separate pans in the oven so that the cauliflower doesn’t get soaked. The crunchy bread crumbs on top of these vegetables add a nice texture to your side dish.
We hope you enjoyed this list of side dishes to serve with your chicken Alfredo meal. You can make any of these recipes at home. The amount of prep work you are willing to do will help determine which side dish you want to make. You will surely surprise your dinner guests with one of these dishes instead of the typical garlic bread side.
