Last week we talked about side dish pairings and how to choose sides that will complement your main dish.
This week I want to focus on sides that go with pot pies and casseroles. When I asked about recipes that are hard to choose side dishes for, pot pies were at the top of the list.
After all, pot pie already has a meat, vegetable and bread element. It makes it hard to know what to place with it. And yet, it does feel like the meal needs something to round it out.
Here are a few ideas. You may opt for just one side if it’s a simple, weeknight meal. If you’re feeding more people or serving a Sunday dinner, you’ll want to add more than one of these options.
Fruit or Fruit Salad
- A simple bowl of cut fruit
- Apple salad
- Warm Cinnamon Applesauce topped with Toasted Marshmallows
- Homemade Slow Cooker Applesauce
- Cranberries and Oranges
- Vanilla Fruit Salad
Sweet Potatoes
- Baked sweet potatoes
- Easy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Green Veggies
Pot pie and casseroles usually do have vegetables included, but not as many as we should be eating in a meal.
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Steamed broccoli or green beans
Whole Grain Bread or Rolls
We love breads, but they don’t bring a lot of nutrition. Make it whole grain to redeem them a bit.
Mandarin oranges! Drained or not.
I even put them on the Thanksgiving buffet alongside the cranberry sauce, for people who do not like the cranberry sauce. What happens is that people often take both!
Love. Mandarin. Oranges. 🙂
I always make blueberry muffins. It’s what my mom made with pot pie. I know it’s not the most healthy, but it’s comfort food!
I think a green salad goes well with pot pie. but usually i eat it as is.
Yay, YOU! Thank you for this great post. I am always stuck when it comes to this eternal question. I sometimes do rice with chicken pot pie or candied sweet potatoes. But super glad to have some additional suggestions. Pinning on Pinterest now.
Thank you! And thank you to the OP. I have a packet of yellow rice that I will use as a side.
I like salads, but if I buy a bag of or a head of iceberg lettuce it is usually time to toss it when I want to eat it.
Hi LeslieR – Sweet Potatoes. What a great idea! We love them too. Perfect! Thank you so much for that suggestion! Someone else here suggested adding Cranberry too Yum!
Potatoes! I love, love, love potatoes. (Did I mention I love potatoes?).
I love to have cranberry sauce and a green salad. Sounds good. Think I’ll make this for dinner!
Nice green salad and corn bread goes great with chicken pot pie
Garlic bread. …nuff said.
i love pickled beet slices for an extra tang to the taste buds
I am serving chicken pot pie with cucumber & onion salad with sweet, dressing. I also thought about garlic bread because this is just top crust only.
Would some kind of soup work? If so, what kind?
I was thinking about butternut squash soup. With diced apples and toasted walnuts on top.
Cream of Chicken soup. w/Dinner Rolls along side.
Simple jello with fruit with color to balance your potpie.
Apple salad on warmer days, sauteed apples on cooler days, Major Grey’s chutney if that’s up your alley, sauteed swiss chard or other green veggie with shallot and lemon…. You could start with cold minted pea soup. I’d steer away from potatoes, noodles, rice, and bread: redundant.
I like to serve homemade biscuits and a salad with chicken pot pie. Biscuits are great for sopping up gravy and the salad rounds out the meal!
That sounds like a wonderful combination!
I’m gonna make a cranberry fluff and a homeade sweet roll and for desert I’m thinking homeade pumpkin ice cream with a salted Carmel sauce
Sounds like a pretty amazing fall menu!
Ok so sounds great. What is cranberry fluff? Sounds awesome
What is a cranberry fluff
I’m here because I always wonder what to serve with chicken pot pie. Thanks for all the good ideas. If it’s just an informal dinner with my husband, I serve it on its own. However, with company coming, I want something more. I’ve settled on a green salad that has fruit in it–maybe a spinach salad with mandarin oranges and nuts. I must say though, I’ll leave it to the guests to compliment my pie and let the side dish complement it. (Just a little spelling lesson there) 🙂
Fruit is always so refreshing in a salad! And spelling help is always welcome too!
I like to have my pot pie with egg noodles.
Sounds good to me 💖
Thank you for this!
Usually, whatever vegetable I don’t put in my pot pie becomes the side. Such as: Corn (on the cob), green beans, potato (russet or sweet).
I will keep all these suggestions in mind when I make a pot pie and/or casserole in the future.
Carrot salad has always been my side with pot pie.
I’m thinking a slaw with lots of color.. carrots, some beet spirals, not too tangy or sweet.
That sounds like a great option!
I think a beet and apple salad with mayonaisse would really compliment shepherds pie and pot pies. Then toasted garlic bread or soft bread rolls. For dessert I would pick pie and ice cream, or fruit and cream. Yummy!
I love a ruby and jade salad with mixed lettuce, cucumber, red beets, bell pepper topped with a rice vinegar, sugar and salt dressing. It goes with almost any casserole. It’s tangy, sweet, salty and goes so well with savory.
I would serve crackers and chutney with the pot pie…and a meringue/berry roulade for desert
Waldorf salad, green salad, cranberry chutney, winter squash, apple sauce, pickled beets, turnip, dressing(stuffing), or spinach have all been served depending on what we feel like with Beef or Chicken Pot Pie.
When I serve Chicken Pot Pie for dinner, I start with an appetizer (like shrimp salad) and drinks while the pies are in the oven. I make individual pies and have a small plate just to the side of the main dish to hold a hot Baked Apple w/a light drizzle of caramel right from a jar. The sweet and savory tastes really complement each other.
After this hearty meal, we enjoy a light dessert
For us meat pie gets a big green salad with lemon & oil dressing & bits of fruit in it
my favourite: little slices of plums