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46 Side Dishes That Pair Perfectly with Lamb

Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen
Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories
Jan Valdez
Jan ValdezAssistant Recipe Producer
I cover recipe content on The Kitchn, write and update recipes and recipe roundups, and test recipes for the team. I have 10 years of experience working in R&D test kitchens, testing products and recipes, and at publishers including Serious Eats and EatingWell.
updated Mar 20, 2024
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overhead shot of baked alfredo asparagus on a baking sheet.
Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: James Park

Whether you plan to serve roasted leg of lamb, pan-seared lamb chops, or grilled lamb chops for a special dinner, you’ll want to choose some sides. The beauty of serving lamb as the main is that you can serve it with a wide variety of sides and the meal will taste great. Hearty potatoes dishes pair just as well as bright snappy veggies like green beans.

Keep the menu feeling classic with mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus, or take things in an entirely different direction with minty snap pea salad and miso butter glazed carrots. Or include both classic and less traditional recipes for serving with your lamb.

Here are 46 side dishes for lamb — whether you choose a whole roast or stick with simple chops.

Potato Side Dishes

When you’re serving lamb for dinner, classic sides like mashed potatoes or baked potatoes are family faves. If you have time, try fancier sides like Dauphinoise potatoes or garlic confit mashed potatoes to level up your meal.

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Photo: Ghazalle Badiozamani; Food Styling: Brett Regot"
Dauphinoise Potatoes

Creamy, cheesy, and crowd pleasing dauphinoise potatoes are practically impossible to dislike. This classic French dish is simple yet indulgent, and pairs perfectly with rack of lamb.

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Joe Lingeman
Classic Mashed Potatoes

Is there nothing more comforting and delicious than mashed potatoes? This creamy side dish is the perfect pairing for roasted leg of lamb.

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Photo: Justin Bridges | Food Stylist: Tyna Hoang
Crispiest Skillet-Fried Potatoes

The secret to these impossibly crispy potatoes? Not baking or boiling. All you need is a skillet and a lid (yes, really) to pull off these perfect spuds. Serve them with pan-seared lamb chops for a meal the whole family will love.

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Photo: Ryan Liebe; Food Styling: Rachel Perlmutter
Garlic Confit Mashed Potatoes

Garlic confit improves just about everything, including these buttery mashed potatoes. Serve them with hearty and comforting braised lamb shanks.

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Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: James Park
Lemon Butter Melting Potatoes

Inspired by melting potatoes, thick slices of potatoes get tossed with a lemony herb butter and cooked in a hot oven, creating a crispy, snappy crust on the outside. Pair them with lamb meatballs for a hearty meal.

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Photo: Chris Simpson; Food Styling: Jessie YuChen
Cheesy Skillet Domino Potatoes

Thin slices of potatoes are doused in a cheese-bolstered cream mixture and baked in a skillet until it becomes a crispy and tender gratin-like dish that everyone will love.

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Joe Lingeman
Scalloped Potatoes

You want starchy potatoes for this dish — it’s that starch that helps the cream thicken up into a velvety sauce during cooking. Go for Russet potatoes or Yukon Golds.

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Ivy Manning
Greek Lemon Potatoes

These lemony roasted potatoes boast browned crispy edges and insides so moist they'll melt in your mouth. One surprising ingredient makes them the best you'll ever have.

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Joe Lingeman
3-Ingredient Garlicky Red Potatoes

Thick chunks of red potatoes are tossed with a generous dusting of garlic powder, then finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon before they hit the table.

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Joe Lingeman
Cheesy Baked Mashed Potatoes

These creamy baked mashed potatoes are loaded with two kinds of cheese and are make-ahead-friendly.

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Kelli Foster
Lemony Greek Potato Salad

Inspired by Greek lemon potatoes, this easy potato salad is packed with bright, tangy flavors.

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Fondant Potatoes

An easy, impressive recipe for restaurant-quality fondant potatoes made with just five staple ingredients.

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Photo: Ryan Liebe; Food Styling: Rachel Perlmutter
Cacio e Pepe Potato Gratin

Thinly sliced potatoes get tossed with a flavorful cream sauce, layered with plenty of Pecorino Romano, and baked until browned and bubbly.

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Vegetable Side Dishes

Colorful vegetable sides, like green beans, asparagus, and glazed carrots, are a must for any lamb dinner.

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Kelli Foster
Green Beans Almondine

Snappy blanched green beans served with sautéed shallots and buttery sliced almonds.

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Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: Rachel Perlmutter
Melting Cauliflower

If you love roasted cauliflower, you must try melting your cauliflower. Melting cauliflower takes inspiration from the brilliant technique used for melting potatoes.

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Photo: Jason Rampe; Food Styling: Amelia Rampe
Roasted Parmesan Asparagus

Roasted asparagus is a quick and easy side dish for any night of the week. We add a little Parmesan and garlic for some serious crave-worthy veggies.

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Ghazalle Badiozamani; Food Styling: Jesse Szewcyzk
Blistered Green Beans with Pickled Shallots and Toasted Breadcrumbs

Fresh green beans are stir-fried until blistered, then tossed with tangy pickled shallots and topped with crunchy, salty breadcrumbs.

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Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Stylist: Cyd McDowell
Fried Cabbage

Cabbage, bacon, and a couple of spices join forces for a quick and easy, smoky-sweet vegetable side dish that will forever change the way you think about cabbage.

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Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: James Park
Cheesy Baked Asparagus

Tender spring asparagus baked under creamy Alfredo sauce until bubbly and browned is the ultimate spring side.

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Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: James Park
Miso Butter Glazed Carrots

Miso is a fantastic ingredient that makes simple roasted carrots into something magical.

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Photo: Alex Lepe ; Food Stylist: James Park
Creamed Spinach

Tender baby spinach, mixed in a flavorful cream sauce, makes one of the best and easiest side dishes for holiday dinners.

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Shelly Westerhausen
Easy 10-Minute Garlic Broccolini

The vegetable, often called baby broccoli, isn’t just immature broccoli — instead it’s a hybrid of broccoli and Chinese broccoli.

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Ghazalle Badiozamani
Easy Sautéed Kale

If you have yet to master sautéed kale, here's your recipe.

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Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Anna Stockwell
Caesar Roasted Broccoli

Toss roasted broccoli with homemade Caesar dressing, then shower it with toasted breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese for the ultimate side dish.

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Photo: Joe Lingeman | Food Stylist: Cyd McDowell
Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

These perfect Brussels sprouts have a little bit of char and are perfectly crisp-tender: cooked all the way through with a little crunch remaining.

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Kelli Foster
Melted Cabbage

Cabbage wedges are seared, then baked until the leaves become meltingly tender and caramelized just enough around the edges.

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Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Stylist: Cyd McDowell
Sautéed Broccoli Rabe

This step-by-step recipe for easy sautéed broccoli rabe involves quickly blanching to reduce bitterness.

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Lauren Volo
Bourbon-Glazed Carrots

Buttery, brown sugar- and bourbon-glazed carrots are what you pair with your lamb dinner when you’re going for something fast and fancy. The bourbon and brown sugar bring out the natural sweetness of the carrots.

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Salad Recipes

Serving a big salad is an fantastic way to add greens to the dinner table, whether it’s a Caesar salad or a hearty kale salad.

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Joe Lingeman
Minty Snap Pea Salad

This refreshing snap pea salad features fresh mozzarella, radishes, and lots of fresh mint.

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Shelly Westerhausen/Kitchn
Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

This twist on classic Caesar salad features shredded Brussels sprouts and homemade croutons.

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Meleyna Nomura
Green Bean Salad with Farro and Crispy Shallots

This green bean salad pairs snappy green beans with nutty farro and purple radicchio. Finish the salad with buttery toasted hazelnuts, crispy fried shallots, and a dressing that’s so good you’ll want to eat with a spoon.

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Photo: Christopher Testani; Food Styling: Jesse Szewczyk
Triple Pea Salad with Radishes and Cheddar

A creamy salad with fresh sweet peas, snow peas, snap peas, and radishes tossed with cheddar & bright dressing.

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Laura Manzano
Asparagus Salad

This vibrant salad takes full advantage of sweet spring asparagus. It’s a celebration of the season’s bounty: crisp asparagus, sweet green peas, tender leeks, and lots of fresh herbs.

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Sour Cream and Dill Cucumber Salad

This classic cucumber dill salad is made creamy thanks to a tangy sour cream dressing.

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Shelly Westerhausen
Marinated Chickpea and Feta Salad with Spring Veggies

This star of this crunchy, veggie-packed salad is a tangy Greek-inspired dressing, which doubles as a marinade for the feta and chickpeas.

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Photo: Vicky Wasik ; Food Stylist: Rachel Perlmutter
Sheet Pan Salad With Crispy Chickpeas and Feta

Roast sweet potatoes, chickpeas, and croutons, then build a flavorful, satisfying salad — directly on top!

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Kelli Foster
Pea Salad

Put together this potluck-friendly salad in just 20 minutes.

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Laura Rege
Spanakopita Kale Salad

With briny feta crumbles, crunchy toasted walnuts, and zippy herbs, this chopped kale salad tastes just like spanakopita, the iconic Greek savory pie.

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Joe Lingeman
Marinated Feta-Beet Salad

These sweet roasted beets are loaded with fresh herbs and feta cheese.

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