Pizza is a worldwide favorite. Thus, it’s no surprise that many flavor versions of it were developed. Its popularity is spurred further by the many ways you can have it. You can have one slice or a box, eat it as a snack or meal, or even turn it into a dessert!
Moreover, you can eat pizza alone or serve it with tasty side dishes. Choices range from meats to salads; thus, you can pair it with practically anything. Still not sure what to serve with pizza? This article compiles 19 delicious and easy pizza sides for you to choose from, so you won’t have to experiment.
1. Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings
Pizza houses often agree on this duo: pizza and chicken. Thus, many menus have classic fried chicken with gravy on the side. However, you can also have chicken tenders, strips, or wings! With the latter, there’s even greater variety, as you can coat wings with many dips and seasonings. For instance, these lemon pepper chicken wings taste zippy, spicy, and buttery because of the sauce and coating.
2. Mozzarella Sticks
Who can’t get enough of that satisfying cheese pull? If you and your crowd say “aye” to that question, grab this recipe for mozzarella sticks. You can also make mozzarella balls or bites for more unique shapes. These cheese goodies are extra gooey, savory, creamy, and crunchy. They’re best served with marinara, which you can use for other purposes like pizza sauce, pasta base, or dip for other side dishes.
3. Mojo Potatoes
Shakey’s Pizza has taught us one thing: you need mojo potatoes with your delectable pizzas. However, that doesn’t mean you’d have to scramble for the nearest branch to get them. You can make these crisp-tender potato circles at home, using only russet potatoes, egg white, milk, flour, cornstarch, salt, and various spices. The make-or-break element of this recipe is the breading mix, so try your best to complete the ingredients!
4. Homemade Tater Tots
Besides mojo potatoes, there are other potato sides that are great with pizza, like tater tots! Tater tots are bite-sized potato pillows that melt in your mouth. There are many frozen packs of these, which you can fry or bake to cook and crisp. But if you can’t access those, try this homemade recipe. It’s as good as the real deal, maybe even better, as you can customize it!
5. Puff Pastry Sausage Bites
Another treat you can serve with pizza and pop into your mouth is sausage bites. There are many versions, but you’ll like these puff pastry sausage bites best. Flaky, golden pastry rings surround juicy, savory, and smoky meat. They’re perfect for pizza parties because you can make many of them, put them into a large container, and let guests grab as much as they like!
6. Spinach Artichoke Dip
Although spinach artichoke dip is often associated with chips, biscuits, or bread, it’s also frequently served with pizza. Most dip the crust into it, which is great for added flavor. However, others go for a more bizarre route: they take a significant helping of the dip and spread it across the pizza. Thus, they incorporate the flavors better and get more greens into their pizza! Impressive, right?
7. Hot Pepper Hot Sauce
Spicy lovers pour hot sauce on everything, even on their pizza slices. Thus, place a bottle of this hot pepper hot sauce on the table when hosting a pizza party. Those who want their pizzas to be hot and spicy can quickly grab the condiment and add as much as they want. Of course, you can buy bottled hot sauce, too, but they don’t give the same heat and kick.
8. Ranch Dressing
Others may find this weird, but some people love to dip their pizza, especially crusts, into ranch dressing. If you’re intrigued by it, give it a try! You can use bottled ranch, but nothing beats homemade. You control the taste profile, so you can make it as tangy, creamy, or decadent as you wish. Also, you can mix up as much as you need or even have extra.
9. Baked Zucchini Fries
Some find pairing pizza with carb-based treats, like potatoes, to be a carb overload. It doesn’t suit specific diets, but many great alternatives have emerged, including these baked zucchini fries. It’s not entirely carb-free because you’re coating the zucchini sticks with panko. But it’s considerably lighter and is much less oily because the recipe bakes them instead of frying them! You can serve it with dips like marinara or aioli.
10. Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
Chicken wings can be too dense or oily at times; thus, make these buffalo cauliflower bites as alternatives instead. It still has crisp-tender textures, albeit in a different way from chicken. But you’ll hardly mind that difference because the flavors are similar. You’ll use the same spicy, buttery, and tangy buffalo sauce for chicken. In fact, you can make both wings and cauliflower bites for more party treats!
11. Fried Mushrooms
These fried mushrooms are often prepared as party appetizers, but you can also turn them into side dishes for pizzas. Compared to classic mushroom recipes, which are grilled, sauteed, or stuffed, they’re much quicker and easier to make. Indeed, thirty minutes would be enough time to make these crunchy golden balls. They’re also fun to eat, with every bite revealing the tender, umami core.
12. Jalapeno Poppers with Bacon
Like fried mushrooms, these jalapeno poppers are one-of-a-kind. You’ll clean jalapeno peppers and scrape the seeds off to make them. Then, you’ll fill the hollow shell with cream cheese and bacon filling before baking. The resulting treats are an exciting combination of spicy, savory, and cheesy flavors that match wide pizza varieties. You can also serve them with dips like ranch dressing to combat the intense heat these poppers bring.
13. Prosciutto Wrapped Avocado Bites
There are many prosciutto-wrapped appetizers: melons, asparagus, mozzarella, arugula, and more. You can serve your pizza with any of those. But if you want something that stands out, choose prosciutto-wrapped avocado bites. Firstly, the avocado’s sweet and creamy flavors accentuate the deep flavors of prosciutto. Such contrast of tastes makes these treats taste and feel elegant. Lastly, it’s a unique use for fruit, so they’re great for making an impression.
14. Spaghetti Bolognese
If carbs with carbs don’t bother you much, you can go for this popular tandem: pizza with pasta. Indeed, you’ll find many pizza restaurants offering such a combo. You have many options for a pasta dish, such as lasagna, ziti, carbonara, and more. However, you can also stick to the most classic spaghetti bolognese. It’s rich, beefy, and has a tomato-based sauce to match most pizzas.
15. Cheesy Pizza Dough Breadsticks
If you’re making your pizza from scratch, you might end up with some extra dough. Instead of wasting that, make cheesy breadsticks! This recipe is extra gooey because it tops the pizza or breadstick dough with shredded mozzarella. But you can use any cheese, such as your favorite or the type you topped your pizza with. In following the latter, your breadsticks can match the pizza upon serving!
16. Tomato Soup
There’s hardly a meal not made hearty and homey by a bowl of soup. The most recommended soup for pizza is tomato to complement the main course’s prominent flavors. Tomato soup is bright and velvety, both in taste and appearance. However, if you’re not a fan of it, don’t fret. There are more options, such as cream of mushroom or French onion! Either of those two is incredible with pizza.
17. Kale Salad
Many love serving their pizzas with salads so the veggies and fruits can fill the nutritional gaps. Most recommended are the leafy ones, like this kale salad or arugula salad. It’s not just the flavors that make them popular with pizza. It’s more on because some people discovered they could also use the salad as a topping! It’s a genius idea that you can try.
18. Fresh Peach Salad with Basil
Juicy and sweet peaches make the best summer salads; hence, many recipes include them as an ingredient. But if you want to emphasize their flavors, follow this recipe for fresh peach salad. There are only five ingredients: peaches, honey, basil leaves, lemon chevre, and salt. Thus, the fruits don’t play second fiddle to other elements. Instead, they are elevated, so these are perfect for sophisticated pizzas.
19. Italian Salad
Despite the many variations, pizza is still primarily associated with Italy. Thus, serve it with an excellent Italian salad. Granted, the pairing may not be truly Italian, but if you go for artisan or authentic pizzas, the two dishes’ flavor palettes will match beautifully. Moreover, Italian salad alone is incredible with its many flavors and textures, including zesty pepperoncini, crisp veggies, and tangy, juicy tomatoes.
