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40 Quick and Easy Side Dishes for Fish

Whether you’re throwing it on the grill or baking it in the oven, you’re going to need a side to round out your fish dinner. From cauliflower rice to ratatouille, you’re guaranteed to find what you’re looking for in one of these 40 side dishes for fish. Promise.

50 Ridiculously Easy Fish Recipes That Anyone Can Make


1. Corn And Tomato Salad With Feta And Lime

  • Time Commitment: 20 minutes
  • Why We Love it: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly

We paired two of our favorite in-season vegetables in one summery side dish. Behold, a corn and tomato salad that will taste great on tacos, in pasta or all by itself.

2. Gluten-free Cauliflower Gnocchi Pomodoro

  • Time Commitment: 50 minutes
  • Why I Love It: gluten free, kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy

Whether it’s ravioli, tortellini or spaghetti, we’ll never turn down a big plate of pasta. This veggie-based wonder is no exception.

3. 20-minute Burrata Salad With Stone Fruit And Asparagus

  • Time Commitment: 20 minutes
  • Why I Love It: vegetarian, special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser

No time? No problem. This recipe is a cinch to pull together, but your guests will be too busy being impressed to notice.

4. Creamy Sweet Corn Pappardelle

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: vegan, kid-friendly, dairy free

We don’t always eat vegan, but it’s a fun bonus when a creamy, delightful dish just so happens to be plant-based. (The secret is corn cob "milk.")

5. Melon Caprese Skewers

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, vegetarian

Aren’t these little guys by Coterie member Gaby Dalkin the cutest? They're super refreshing after a long day in the yard.

6. Rainbow Vegetable Skewers

  • Time Commitment: 55 minutes
  • Why I Love It: vegan, crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly

Fire up the grill, the veggies are coming. The secret is sticking to one veggie per skewer so they all cook evenly without burning.

7. Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Sriracha And Lime

  • Time Commitment: 55 minutes
  • Why I Love It: vegan, <10 ingredients, one pan

If there’s a sweet potato fan club out there, we’d like to join. These only need five additional ingredients to come together.

8. Panzanella Salad

  • Time Commitment: 10 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <30 minutes, no cook

A healthy yet satisfying side that won’t take all day to make. (And hello, the main ingredient is bread.)

9. Easy Green Beans With Browned Butter Almondine

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, special occasion-worthy

So darn easy, so darn elegant. It has Christmas dinner written all over it, but we're pretty sure you'll enjoy this side any time of year.

10. Ultra-crispy Baked Potato Wedges

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, kid-friendly

We’ve never met a French fry we didn’t like, but we definitely prefer mess-free baking to deep-frying.

11. Lemon-tahini Salad With Lentils, Beets And Carrots

  • Time Commitment: 45 minutes
  • Why I Love It: vegan, special occasion-worthy

Precooked lentils make this recipe a total breeze. But in our book, the tahini dressing is the star.

12. Cauliflower ‘potato’ Salad

  • Time Commitment: 40 minutes
  • Why I Love It: low carb, vegetarian, crowd-pleaser

When the carb cravings hit, cauliflower is here to sub in for potatoes. Don't knock it 'til you try it, folks.

13. Cacio E Pepe Brussels Sprouts

  • Time Commitment: 35 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, one pan

Make it rain Pecorino Romano. These sprouts take 35 minutes to make (and way less time to devour).

14. Charred Cauliflower With Garlic Tahini Sauce

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, vegetarian

Our favorite cruciferous veggie strikes again. It's steamed until tender, then broiled until crispy.

15. Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed With Barley Risotto

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, high protein

Ooh, so fancy. Bookmark it now for your next dinner party.

16. Oven-roasted Beets And Potatoes

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour
  • Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, one pan

When you really want to impress your guests...without doing too much work. Pair the side with seared halibut or cod.

17. Sweet Corn, Tomato And Zucchini Grain Salad With Peach-dijon Vinaigrette

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <30 minutes, no cook, vegetarian

Borage and nasturtium flowers? A salad never looked so pretty.

18. Greek Orzo-stuffed Red Peppers

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: vegetarian, special occasion-worthy

Plated with lemony basil tomatoes to boot. We’re already thinking about how great the leftovers are going to be.

19. Crispy Parmesan Brussels Sprout Bites

  • Time Commitment: 45 minutes
  • Why I Love It: vegetarian, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser

A side sauce never hurts, especially when you're feeding picky kids. (Lemony Dijonnaise goes great with fish sticks too, BTW.)

20. Ratatouille

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, one pan, vegan

This dish is basically oven-roasted produce, like zucchini, squash and eggplant. It pairs perfectly with shrimp, salmon, cod—you name it.

21. Vegan Potato Salad With Herbed Tahini Sauce

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: vegan, dairy free, crowd-pleaser, gluten free

No picnic is complete without potato salad, so why not make a vegan one that everyone can enjoy? The dressing is *everything*.

22. Cauliflower Stuffing With Pomegranate Seeds And Almonds

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, vegetarian

Cool if we have seconds? Stuff your fillet of fish with it or serve it as a side solo.

23. Cauliflower Rice

  • Time Commitment: 20 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, vegan, crowd-pleaser, low carb, keto friendly

Sometimes, you just gotta keep it simple. The world cauli rice is your oyster.

24. Sugar Snap Pea Salad With Chèvre Ranch

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser, gluten free

Four words: Goat. Cheese. Ranch. Dressing. Did we mention it's ready in a flash and the peas only need to be cooked for two minutes?

25. Avocado Rice

  • Time Commitment: 20 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes, vegan

Don't judge us, but we’re making this every night of the week (including fish Taco Tuesday).

26. Sage-barley Risotto With Butternut Squash

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why We Love it: special occasion-worthy, kid-friendly

You don’t have to be a chef to master this recipe. It calls for barley instead of arborio rice, which cooks way faster.

27. Spiralized Winter Vegetable Gratin

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
  • Why I Love It: kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy

Gruyère is the key to our heart. Sub whatever seasonal veggies you have on hand for parsnips, sweet potatoes and butternut squash if you must.

28. Roasted Sweet Potato And Arugula Salad With Turmeric-honey Mustard Yogurt Dressing

  • Time Commitment: 35 minutes
  • Why I Love It: vegetarian, dairy free, special occasion-worthy

This oh-so-impressive pick only takes 35 minutes. We love the addition of tart dried cherries in place of typical dried cranberries.

29. Greek Wedge Salad

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <30 minutes, no cook, vegan

The original is wonderfully simple, but all that bacon and blue cheese...oof. Try this lighter take on for size instead.

30. Summer Millet Salad

  • Time Commitment: 45 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, vegetarian, crowd-pleaser, gluten free

If you're tired of quinoa as a base, it's time you tried millet. It's gluten-free and cooks to tender perfection in a jiffy.

31. Coconut Creamed Spinach

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, vegan, dairy free

Trade traditional dairy for coconut milk—the result is just as creamy. We'd serve this beauty alongside Thai-inspired salmon.

32. Grilled Corn With Spicy Aioli

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: vegetarian, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser

Meet fish tacos' soulmate. In the off-season, use a grill pan on the stove instead of your barbecue to char the corn.

33. 15-minute Pasta Limone

  • Time Commitment: 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: one pot, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, kid-friendly

OK, so shrimp are technically crustaceans. But can you blame us for wanting to toss a few of 'em in garlic butter and serve them over the fastest pasta dish you've ever made? This side would also work well with grilled salmon.

34. Restorative Miso Noodle Soup

  • Time Commitment: 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: vegan, beginner-friendly, dairy free

We're feeling soothed already. Serve with a fillet of halibut, or flake the halibut into the soup.

35. Whole Roasted Carrots

  • Time Commitment: 45 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, vegan, special occasion-worthy

Flounder, cod, bass—any would pair wonderfully with this deliciously flexible side.

side dishes for fish smashed brussels sprouts recipe
Photo/Styling: Katherine Gillen

36. Smashed Brussels Sprouts

  • Time Commitment: 40 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, vegetarian

Warning: This will become your favorite way to make sprouts. Just boil, smash and roast.

side dishes for fish honey sesame sheet pan cauliflower recipe
Kristen Kilpatrick/The Comfortable Kitchen

37. Honey-sesame Sheet Pan Cauliflower

  • Time Commitment: 40 minutes
  • Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, one pan

Whether you keep the steamed rice or ditch it, this dish will pair beautifully with teriyaki salmon.

side dishes for fish green cabbage gratin recipe
Kelly Marshall/Sunday Best

38. Green Cabbage Gratin

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour and 10 minutes
  • Why I Love It: kid-friendly, special occasion-worthy

Because cheese, butter and breadcrumbs never hurt. Serve it with fried cod, smoked haddock or grilled tilapia.

side dishes for fish easy roasted tomato bucatini recipe
Photo/Styling: Katherine Gillen

39. Easy Roasted Tomato Bucatini

  • Time Commitment: 55 minutes
  • Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly

Any white fish will pair well with red sauce, like cod, mahi, yellowtail or pollock.

side dishes for fish masala smashed potatoes recipe
Iain Bagwell/Mumbai Modern

40. Masala Smashed Potatoes

  • Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy

Complete with cilantro-garlic yogurt sauce. We'd pair these spuds with a well-spiced salmon burger. (Go ahead and top that with the tangy sauce, too.)


For even more great recipes, check out our first cookbook, Only the Good Stuff.


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taryn pire

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