40 Spotlight-Stealing Side Dishes For Lamb

Turnips, much like radishes and parsnips, turn irresistibly sweet when roasted, making them the perfect foil for savory lamb. This recipe is for purple-top turnips, which tend to be larger and thicker-skinned than Japanese varieties like hakurei. If yours are small and sweet, skip peeling and check them after just 15 minutes in the oven.

Get the Roasted Turnips recipe.

Cheesy, creamy, and perfectly decadent, potatoes au gratin is the side dish we turn to for practically every holiday. They go with turkey, lamb, ham...pretty much whatever you're serving, these are the potatoes to serve alongside.

Get the Potatoes Au Gratin recipe.

Spinach and arugula salads are great, but we’re here to tell you—the best summer salad might just be one without them.Instead, we’re using couscous, one of the quickest-cooking pastas, as the base for a confetti of colored vegetables (cucumbers! bell peppers! red onion!), doused in a creamy lemon Dijon dressing.

Get the Summer Couscous Salad recipe.

If you usually only roast your potatoes, you've got to try smashing them—it makes them super-crispy while also having an unbelievably buttery, tender center. 😍

Get the Smashed Potatoes recipe.

Saffron rice is quite possibly the most beautiful side dish to grace any dinner table. Colored with the reddish threads from saffron flower stigmas and paired with bright red pomegranate seeds, this rice has a subtle yet fragrant aroma that'll enhance the flavor of the meat you serve alongside it.

Get the Saffron Rice recipe.

Often overlooked for other creamy sides like mashed potatoes or cheesy grits, polenta deserves its place in the spotlight. Slightly sweet and extra-creamy, it’s a perfect pairing for any saucy, flavorful dishes (we’re lookin’ at you, lamb ragu) to soak up every last bite.

Get the Creamy Parmesan Polenta recipe.

This salad recipe is simple, with 2 types of mustard (Dijon for kick and whole-grain for a bit of sweetness) and some pickled red onions for acid and crispness. With only 2/3 cup of mayo, it isn't too creamy but you still get the richness you expect in a potato salad.

Get the Red Potato Salad recipe.

A quick side dish is always appreciated, especially one as easy as this combo. It goes well with your steak dinners, your rice & beans, or your vegan meatloaf, but if you really love your peas and carrots, you could just eat this in one sitting, as a meal (we have! 😉).

Get the Peas & Carrots recipe.

When you’re looking for simple, refreshing, and reliable, you’d be hard pressed to find a dish better than classic Greek salad. Filled with fresh veggies, tangy feta, and a simple dressing made of ingredients you might already have in your fridge, this bright salad is the perfect compliment for lamb.

Get the Greek Salad recipe.

When you think pea salad, you might envision a heavy, mayonnaise-based side dish. Those are great in their own right, but we decided to lighten things up a bit for our extra springy version. This one is fresh and crunchy, and has a bacon vinaigrette you might just be tempted to pour over everything.

Get the Bacon Pea Salad recipe.

With minimal time and zero effort, you can have asparagus ready faster than your oven could even preheat. With a teaspoon of olive oil and a little lemon juice to brighten it up, you have a quick and healthy side ready to go. It's our new favorite way to cook asparagus.

Get the Air Fryer Asparagus recipe.

Cozy, warming, and perfectly rich, our classic French onion soup is a recurring favorite on the weekly rotation. But when we want to put those bowls away and dig into something a bit heartier, we turn to the tried-and-true potato to transform the staple soup into a filling comfort food we crave.

Get the French Onion Baked Potatoes recipe.

Dauphinoise potatoes hail from 18th-century France—when you taste them, you'll see why they've stuck around so long. The preparation is simple: You simmer sliced potatoes in a garlic-infused cream and milk mixture until just barely tender, then layer them with Gruyère cheese in a casserole dish to bake into cheesy, melty heaven.

Get the Dauphinoise Potatoes recipe.

Creamed spinach is a simple side dish that is also the perfect way to use up an abundance of dying spinach. The creaminess will make you forget you're eating greens!

Get the Creamed Spinach recipe.

Just a heads up: Any dish that features the word “candied” is bound to be on the sweet side and more than likely something you won’t be eating every day. That said, don’t be shy about the amount of butter and brown sugar that goes into these candied carrots: Decadence is the goal here!

Get the Candied Carrots recipe.

We all love classic sweet potato casserole, but sometimes it feels like the marshmallows steal the spotlight. So this year, why not mix it up—literally—and try mashing them instead?

Get the Mashed Sweet Potatoes recipe.

Just when we thought dinner rolls couldn't get any better—we stuffed them with goat cheese. These golden brown beauties are rich, soft, and FULL of honey and herby, creamy cheese.

Get the Goat Cheese-Stuffed Rolls recipe.

This farro and white bean salad has roasted veggies along with crunchy veggies like bell pepper and radicchio (but like the name says, you do you!). It's all tossed in a bright lemony dressing and finished with some goat cheese to add creamy tanginess.

Get the Anything Goes Grain Salad recipe.

With pecans, Parm, green apples, and leafy arugula, this salad is hearty and holds up well—AKA a make-ahead dream. It's got ALL the elements you need: sweet, salty, soft, crunchy, fatty, fresh, but feel free to make it your own with your preferred mix-ins too

Get the Farro Salad recipe.

One of our favorite ways to prepare cabbage is to braise it. This mostly hands-off method produces perfectly crisp-tender cabbage, with a TON of flavor.

Get the Sweet & Sour Braised Red Cabbage recipe.