40+ Side Dishes to Serve with Roast Chicken

Kristin Appenbrink

updated Nov 23, 2021

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Carrot and fennel gratin — Credit: Photo: Jenny Bravo | Food Stylist: Catrine Kelty
Fennel, Carrot, and Leek Gratin

Roast chicken is a timeless classic that never ceases to leave us feeling comforted and totally satisfied. And hey, you don’t even need to roast it yourself — picking up a rotisserie chicken on the way home from work totally counts! Whether you’re making your own Zuni chicken at home, or letting your favorite restaurant or store handle business, roast chicken is the perfect center piece to any meal.

No matter how you serve it, roast chicken doesn’t need a lot to turn it into a meal. You can keep it really simple with quick-cooking broccolini or flavorful, crisp green beans, or you can kick things up just a notch with butter roasted sweet potatoes or delicious elote rice. From smashed potatoes to simple salads, here are 40+ side dishes to round out your roast chicken dinner.

Veggie Sides

It’s never a bad idea to add some vegetables to your plate. Something green like cooked broccoli or spinach is always a nice way to round out a roast chicken dinner, as are classics like carrots and green beans.

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Squash Casserole

This cheesy summer squash casserole is topped with buttery crackers — what more is there to say?

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Easy 10-Minute Garlic Broccolini

The best part about broccolini is how simple it is to prep. Just rinse it under cool water, trim the stems by about a half inch, and it's ready to be cooked.

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Light & Easy Broccoli Salad

Sometimes you don't want something overly heavy or rich alongside your roast chicken, and that's when this broccoli salad comes in handy. It's almost slaw-like in texture.

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Sheet Pan Roasted Tomatoes & Mushrooms

Since the oven's already fired up, this sheet pan side feels like a natural fit. The tomatoes soften enough to make them a little bit saucy, which is perfect for dragging your chicken through.

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Salt and Vinegar Cucumbers

It's hard to beat this simple side with roast chicken. Pull it together as soon as the chicken goes in the oven, so the cukes have plenty of time to soak up some tang.

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Perfect Green Beans

For perfectly cooked green beans that are flavorful, crisp, and tender, you have to employ a quick two-step technique. Here's how to do it.

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The Creamiest Mashed Cauliflower

Mashed cauliflower isn't just a replacement for mashed potatoes — try this hearty side with merits all its own.

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Irish Creamed Kale

Kale sometimes elicits an eye roll since it's such a trendy ingredient, but if you've had your fill of it in salads or grain bowls, try it in this rich, buttery incarnation.

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Radishes Braised with Shallots and Vinegar

If you've only eaten radishes raw, you're in for a treat. Braising them tempers their heat and brings out a bit of sweetness.

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Oven-Roasted Frozen Broccoli

Not only can you roast broccoli straight from the freezer, but it is down right delicious and irresistibly crispy. Top it with a shower of grated Parm and finish with a squeeze of lemon for good measure.

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Sometimes the best meals are the simplest. This glazed carrot recipe is foolproof, and is a great one to have in your back pocket on a busy weeknight.

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Easy Lemon-Ginger Spinach

The key to nailing this simple side is to always start with more spinach than you think you need. If it seems like too much, it's probably just about right.

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How To Make Creamed Spinach

Tender cooked spinach in a gentle, creamy sauce of aromatics and fresh spices.

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Fennel, Carrot, and Leek Gratin Recipe

Fennel, carrots, and leek are mixed with an aromatic Parmesan cream sauce and topped with pecan breadcrumbs for the ultimate veggie gratin.

Staub Ceramic Stoneware Rectangular Baking Dish

Williams Sonoma

Potato Sides

It’s hard to talk about roast chicken without talking about potatoes. The two are a classic, well-loved match for good reason. Whether it’s regular spuds or sweet potatoes, you can’t go wrong.

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Sour Cream Smashed Potatoes with Fried Shallots

Inspired by potato stuffed pierogi, these sour cream and onion mashed potatoes definitely deserve a spot at your table.

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Crispy Salt & Vinegar Fingerling Potatoes

For anyone who enjoys salt and vinegar chips, this is how to add that same flavor to your dinner table. The sharpness of the vinegar cuts through and balances the richness of the chicken.

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3-Ingredient Roasted Dijon Potatoes

Not only do these potatoes have the ultra-crispy, crackly edges you love, but they also have a little added tang and go with everything.

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Au Gratin Potatoes

Au gratin potatoes are one of the greatest casseroles of all time. Tender, fluffy potatoes are bathed in a rich and creamy cheese sauce, then baked in a hot oven until bubbly and crisp.

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Parmesan Pesto Roasted Potatoes

If you're on Team Pasta, these are the potatoes for you.

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Lyonnaise Potatoes Recipe

Do yourself a favor and file this recipe under side dishes that are better than the main course. It will hold true no matter what you’re serving.

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Smashed Sweet Potatoes

These smashed sweet potatoes are just as delightful. As they roast, the naturally sweet vegetable — slicked with olive oil and tossed in garlic, dried herbs, and plenty of salt and pepper — begins to caramelize and brown.

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Sour Cream Balsamic Sweet Potatoes

Balsamic and sour cream lend just the right amount to tang to make this sweet mash taste perfectly balanced.

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Butter-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Truthfully, after you've made sweet potatoes this way, you make never make them another way again.

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Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

Who says regular potatoes are the only ones that should receive the scalloped treatment?

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Garlicky Parmesan Sweet Potatoes

Thick chunks of sweet potato are roasted, then dusted with a snowy layer of nutty Parmesan cheese that crisps up under the broiler.

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Crispy, Cheesy Potato Stacks

We're always looking for ways to take our potato game up a notch. One of our favorite potato creations comes in the form of these cheesy potato stacks.

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Cheesy Ranch Potato Gratin

By adding sour cream and freshly chopped herbs to the cream mixture, this new twist on potatoes au gratin is packed with zesty ranch flavor.

Lodge Chef Collection Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet

Williams Sonoma

Rice & Grain Sides

Don’t forget about rice, though. Usually there are plenty of drippings from your roast chicken that would be happy to get soaked up in a side of rice or another grain.

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Easy Buttery Garlic Rice

This easy rice is extra flavorful, thanks to the addition of browned, garlic-infused butter and crispy garlic chips.

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Instant Pot Rice

We all know and love the Instant Pot for its electric pressure-cooking capabilities, but let us not forget its multitude of other functions. Just to name a few, your Instant Pot can make yogurt, sauté, slow cook, and, yes, cook rice!

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Slow Cooker Elote Rice

This recipe transforms a delicious snack into a yummy side dish with all of the delicious flavors of Mexico.

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Stovetop Brown Rice

Forget the crunchy or mushy stuff that you may have suffered through in the past — we've got our method locked down.

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Portuguese-Style Mint Rice

Have an abundance of mint on your hands? Make this bright, fresh mint rice.

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Cheesy Lentil, Mushroom & Rice Bake

Adding lentils to the dinner roster is a good way to eat meat-free, but all too often they can be boring. This recipe — which adds cheese, meaty mushrooms, nutty brown rice, and plenty of fresh parsley to the mix — solves this.

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Simple Rice Pilaf

Think of rice pilaf as an upgrade to your everyday rice. It’s like rice that puts on a nice dress and some earrings — not much extra work, but the payoff is a side dish that feels just a little bit fancy.

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Brown Rice in the Slow Cooker

Need a set-it-and-forget-it method for making rice while your oven is busy? Here's how to cook brown rice in the slow cooker.

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Mushroom Rice Pilaf

This creamy mushroom and herb-flecked skillet makes the perfect side to anything you're cooking for dinner, especially roast chicken.

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Tomato Rice with Crispy Cheddar

Cheesy rice. Need we say more? No one will ever refuse cheesy rice.

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Antipasto Grain Salad

This no-wilt farro salad, which is packed with buttery olives, peppadew peppers, fresh mozzarella, and more, gets even better as it sits.

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Lemon Quinoa with Currants, Dill, and Zucchini

This quinoa salad is a cross between a comforting rice pilaf and a refreshing grain salad. Best of all, it comes together effortlessly. While your grain simmers, prep the other ingredients — then stir it all together.

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This Persian lentil-and-rice dish is mixed with plump raisins and sweet dates and cooked until a crispy bottom forms. It's the perfect pairing for a delicious roast chicken.

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Jollof Rice Recipe

Jollof rice is a smoky, spicy tomato and pepper-based rice dish that's a staple throughout West Africa.

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