Here are all the best side dishes for salmon! From fresh salads to sautéed vegetables, these dishes go great with the flaky fish.
When it comes to healthy dinner ideas, salmon is one of the easiest ones. It’s great for quick meals during the week. But sometimes it’s hard to find a fast side dish that can compete with the speed of salmon. Here are our favorite salmon side dishes, ranked by how long they take to cook. If you need something quick, start at the top and keep scrolling down if you have more time.
Salmon is one of the most versatile and nutritious fish you can eat Rich in protein and heart-healthy omega-3s, it’s a diet staple for many. However, salmon on its own can get boring night after night That’s where veggies come in!
The right vegetable sides can bring out the best in salmon by adding color, nutrition, and most importantly, flavor contrast. Not sure what vegetables to serve with salmon? Read on for 24 suggestions that go perfectly with salmon.
Best Veggies for Salmon Based on Flavor Profile
Salmon’s rich, fatty texture can handle a range of vegetable tastes and textures. Here are some top veggie pairings for salmon based on complementary flavors:
For mild salmon flavored gently:
- Peas – Sweet burst of spring
- Carrots – Subtle sweetness
- Leeks – Mellow onion flavor
For robust salmon seared or grilled:
- Broccoli – Earthy, green flavor
- Kale – Hearty and crisp
- Asparagus – Grassiness cuts the richness
For smoked salmon:
- Tomatoes – Bright acidity balances smoky flavor
- Cucumbers – Cooling and crisp
- Beets – Earthy sweetness
For poached or baked salmon:
- Zucchini – Softens and pairs well
- Spinach – Gentle flavor won’t overpower
- Cauliflower – Soaks up baked-on flavors
24 Best Veggies to Serve with Salmon
Here are some more ways that these 24 vegetables can go with salmon to make a complete and tasty meal:
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Asparagus – Classic pairing! Roasted or grilled asparagus pairs beautifully.
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Broccoli – Roast or sauté florets for an easy, hearty side
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Brussels sprouts – Roast with olive oil for sweet caramelized flavor.
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Green beans – Blanch or sauté briefly to retain crispness.
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Peas – Fresh or frozen, peas lend a pop of sweetness.
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Carrots – Roast carrots to bring out their natural sweetness.
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Cabbage – Red or green cabbage wedges pair well when roasted.
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Kale – Massage raw kale with lemon and olive oil for a salad.
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Spinach – Quick-cooking and pairs well when lightly wilted.
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Arugula – Peppery note offsets salmon’s richness.
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Bok choy – Blanch briefly for a crisp, fresh pairing.
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Leeks – Caramelize slowly in butter for sweet oniony flavor.
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Fennel – Shave raw over salmon or braise wedges gently.
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Beets – Roast or pickle for a tangy, earthy side.
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Corn – Grill simply with olive oil and salt for a summery duo.
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Tomatoes – Roast cherry tomatoes for sweet burst of flavor.
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Zucchini – Pan-fry zucchini ribbons or roast cubes.
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Eggplant – Grill slices brushed with olive oil for smoky flavor.
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Potatoes – Roast cubes or slices drizzled with oil for crispy edges.
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Sweet potatoes – Roast halves or mash for creamy texture.
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Cucumber – Refreshing paired with hot smoked salmon.
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Mushrooms – Sauté any variety in garlic and olive oil.
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Cauliflower – Roast florets lightly until golden and tender.
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Bell peppers – Grill or roast slices for sweet pop of color.
Cooking Methods for Salmon and Veggie Sides
How you cook the salmon and vegetables affects how well they pair together. Here are some top cooking methods to try:
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Roast – High dry heat caramelizes and concentrates flavors. Matches well intensity-wise.
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Sauté – Quick cooking maintains crisp-tender texture with light browning.
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Grill – Imparts delicious char while allowing veggies to caramelize.
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Steam – Keeps vegetables and fish light, healthy and moist.
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Bake – Gentle ambient heat thoroughly cooks fish and vegetables.
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Broil – Salmon cooks quickly under high direct heat while veggies roast below.
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Poach – Delicate moist cooking method keeps ingredients tender.
Vegetable Cooking Times for Salmon
Aim to have the vegetables and salmon finish cooking at the same time for perfect doneness. Here are approximate cooking times:
Vegetable | Cooking Time
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And now, our top salmon side dishes!
Guess what? Frozen peas can taste amazing in 5 minutes. Indeed, these frozen green balls can be turned into a simple side dish that everyone at the table will love. The secret? A little olive oil, butter, garlic and lemon.
Total time: 5 minutes
Here is our favorite side dish to go with salmon: lemon green beans! These beans are so simple to make and only take 10 minutes to put together, so they’re great for a quick meal during the week. They come out crisp tender and flavored with zesty lemon. Even though theyre quick, they look beautiful and dress up any meal. If youve got an Instant Pot, try Instant Pot Green Beans with Lemon.
Total time: 10 minutes
Here’s a great recipe for orzo that you can keep in your pantry for quick weeknight meals. This rice-shaped pasta cooks very quickly, making it perfect for nights when you need to do something quickly. This orzo recipe is very easy, but the soft grains, butter, and hint of lemon make it taste comforting and nostalgic.
Total time: 10 minutes
Another easy side dish we make to go with salmon is the best broccoli! It’s bright green, crisp, and soft, and it’s served with red onion, olive oil, and feta cheese crumbles. If you prefer, try Sauteed Broccoli, Instant Pot Broccoli, or Roasted Broccoli instead. Or go for broccolis elegant cousin: this Perfect Roasted Broccolini!.
Total time: 10 minutes
This tiny pasta is fluffy, flavorful, and takes just 10 minutes to whip up with no cooking required. Yes, all you have to do is boil water! This traditional Berber dish has become popular all over the world. It’s easy to make and has a great, light texture that makes it a great side dish for salmon.
Total time: 10 minutes
When it comes to easy side dishes: this one takes the cake! Introducing: the simplest arugula salad. It’s quite possibly the easiest salad you’ll make. You don’t even need to make a dressing for the salad. It’s ready in 5 to 10 minutes and goes great with salmon.
The meaty flavor goes great with salmon, and these are the best sautéed mushrooms I’ve ever had. They’re soft and juicy, and the finish is bright. Fresh thyme and oregano give an herby punch. Take one bite and youll exclaim “Wow!”.
Total time: 10 minutes
This sautéed broccoli may be the easiest and most impressive side dish you can make in a hurry. The long stems of this green vegetable make it look fancy, but there’s a secret. You can cook it up in just 5 minutes in a hot skillet. If you add some garlic and lemon to these huge spears, you won’t be able to finish them. Here’s how to make it in a flash: and a bit more about this unique vegetable.
Total time: 10 minutes
Sautéed chard is a quick and elegant side dish for salmon. To add a nutty flavor, we suggest serving it with toasted pine nuts and Parmesan cheese.
Total time: 10 minutes
White Bean Salad is a quick and easy side dish for salmon that tastes like the Mediterranean. It has a crunch from the bell pepper, a herbaceous bite from the parsley, and a zing of acidity from the red wine vinegar. Top with a sprinkle of feta, and it’s irresistibly tasty with minimal effort.
Total time: 10 minutes
Our Italian-style chopped salad is a favorite side dish that goes well with salmon or any other meal. It features crunchy romaine, colorful veggies, Parmesan cheese, and our zesty Homemade Italian Dressing. The kicker? Jarred pepperoncini, which bring a tang and crunch. Another option? Radish Chopped Salad Recipe with blue cheese dressing.
Total time: 15 minutes
This steamed cauliflower in lemon and herbs tastes great with salmon and only takes minutes to make. You won’t want to stop eating it! The lemon zest makes it bright, and the olive oil and Italian seasoning give it a savory touch. Even better: it takes only 10 minutes to cook. (Got a pressure cooker? Try our Instant Pot Cauliflower. ).
Total time: 15 minutes
Salmon goes great with this salad: Goat Cheese Salad with Arugula and Apples! It’s easy to make and doesn’t take long, but boy does it taste great! The crunchy apples, creamy goat cheese, and fluffy arugula go great with the tangy sweet dressing.
Total time: 15 minutes
This delicious fennel salad is a classy side dish for salmon. It has shaved raw fennel, sweet apple, zingy lemon, and salty Parmesan cheese. Delicate fennel fronds make a feathery garnish, and each bite is irresistibly crunchy with a pop of acidity. We’d like to introduce you to our new favorite side dish. It goes well with fish, chicken, or vegetarian mains.
This is one of our favorite side dishes for salmon. It’s easy to make and tastes great with almost any diet. The vinegar-based dressing gives it a tangy, sweet, and salty flavor. This side dish is great for summer cookouts or pitch-ins, lunch, or as an easy make-ahead side dish you can keep in the fridge for dinners all week.
Total time: 15 minutes
Craving sprouts? There’s nothing better than a crispy Brussels sprouts, or tender shaved into a Brussels sprout salad. But sometimes, during the week, we need something quick that doesn’t need the oven to be heated up or a knife to be used for thin shaving. Here are some quick Sautéed Brussels Sprouts! They’re very easy to make and taste great: caramelized on the outside and crisp and tender on the inside.
Total time: 15 minutes
If you want to serve fresh green beans with salmon in a fancy way, try Green Beans Almondine! This dish is great because the beans are bright green and soft, and it’s made with butter, garlic, toasted almonds, and lemon zest.
Total time: 15 minutes
This easy kale salad recipe goes great with salmon! The lemony and garlicky Parmesan dressing on the green leaves makes the salad taste only one thing: delicious!
Total time: 15 minutes
Here’s the fastest way to get colorful veggies to jump onto your plate: the Ultimate Sautéed Vegetables recipe. These sauteed vegetables are beautifully colored, bursting with flavor and crisp tender in texture. They’re the perfect side dish for salmon!.
Total time: 20 minutes
Serve this cool Romaine salad with salmon. The bright green romaine leaves, soft pink radishes, and pastel dressing give it a clean, monochromatic look. It tastes just as good as it looks. The Green Goddess Dressing smothers it all in herbaceous creaminess. Take it over the top with a sprinkle of crunchy breadcrumbs.
Farro is a chewy, tender whole grains thats a unique variation to rice. It’s easy to make and tastes great with garlic and fresh herbs like these: sage, thyme, and oregano If you want to dress it up for entertaining, try Farro with Mushrooms & Parmesan.
Total time: 20 minutes
Salmon goes great with asparagus. To make this healthy vegetable taste out of this world, bake it in a hot oven until it’s soft and then spray it with lemon juice. The finishing touch: gooey melted Parmesan cheese. For plant based, try Roasted Asparagus or Sauteed Asparagus. Or, make it into a salad: Asparagus Salad with Feta.
Total time: 20 minutes
What goes better with salmon than crispy Brussels sprouts? This is the best way to make classic Brussels sprouts: roast them over very high heat until they are crispy and perfectly salted.
Total time: 25 minutes
Someone might surprise you with this way to cook everyone’s favorite root vegetable: steamed sweet potatoes! This quick and easy method makes the best moist and tender flesh. Don’t get us wrong: we love the oven for vegetables, like these Baked Sweet Potatoes. But steaming this orange vegetable makes it so moist, it might become your new best method.
Total time: 30 minutes
Try this Parmesan broccoli if you want to make broccoli very tasty. It’s crispy and crunchy, and you can’t help but take another bite. Roasting broccoli brings a sweetness and lightly charred edges to this healthy green vegetable. Combine that with savory Parmesan cheese, and it’s got rock star status.
Total time: 30 minutes
Lentils are a perfect protein-packed side to go with salmon! This Mediterranean-style lentil salad is full of flavor. Its fresh and healthy, mixed with crunchy veggies and feta cheese. It’s a tasty way to add plant based protein alongside fish.
Total time: 30 minutes
Cornbread is easy, is a great side dish for salmon and it always, always satisfies. You can use any oven-safe skillet you have on hand to make this Skillet Cornbread recipe. It tastes great in a cast iron skillet. When you bake it, it has the right amount of thickness, moist crumb, and salty sweetness that you want in a great cornbread.
Total time: 35 minutes
When you eat salmon, these roasted sweet potatoes go really well with it. The potatoes’ slight sweetness goes well with the salty salmon. Adding a little garlic powder to these sweet potatoes and roasting them in a hot oven until they turn caramelized makes them so tasty. Dont want to dice? Try our Quick Baked Sweet Potato.
Other options: try Mashed Red Potatoes, Instant Pot Mashed Sweet Potatoes or Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes.
Total time: 35 minutes
Why mash potatoes when you can roast them until they’re golden brown? We’ve always liked potatoes that are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. To us, the mushy stuff just doesn’t compare. (But these Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes are pretty close!) These red potatoes are baked with garlic powder until they are crispy, and then they are tossed with fresh herbs.
Total time: 40 minutes
For a classic steak fry, try these thick wedges that are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Steak fries are usually deep-fried, but they’re easy to make at home by baking them in the oven. They’re even more delicious, in our opinion! Enjoy them as an easy side dish to go with salmon.
Total time: 45 minutes
You may want more salmon recipes now that you know what goes with it. We couldn’t just give you sides, so here are our favorite salmon recipes:
The Tastiest Sides To Go With Grilled Salmon, Ranked
FAQ
What is salmon usually served with?
What does Gordon Ramsay serve with salmon?
What vegetables go well with salmon?
Some of the best vegetables to pair with salmon are asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, artichokes, peas, and green beans. For a quick side dish, you can make a quick vegetable soup that will go well with salmon. Salmon is a delicious fish that is often paired with other foods. For example, salmon can go well with broccoli, asparagus, and avocado.
What vegetables go well with celery?
Celery is a vegetable with several therapeutic properties and can be used in salads, soups or even eaten on its own. It can be prepared alone or accompanied by onions, nettles, parsley or cabbage.
What are the best side dishes for salmon?
The best side dishes for salmon should be simple enough to make while the salmon cooks, and deliver plenty of flavor without outshining the beautiful fish. Basics like rice, vegetables, or salad work well with salmon, but we have much more too. Here are 55 side dishes to serve with salmon, no matter how you plan on cooking it.
What goes well with baked salmon?
Broccolini’s mild flavor (accented with garlic and lemon juice in this recipe) makes it the perfect side to pair with a show-stealing main, like Alaska Salmon Bake with Pecan Crunch Coating . Sprinkled with Parmesan and rosemary, crispy new potatoes would complement Baked Dijon Salmon . Browse Top-Rated Salmon Recipes.