Pasta is a beloved dinner staple, known for its versatility and comforting nature. But even the most enthusiastic pasta lover can find themselves in a rut, wondering “What To Serve With Pasta” to create a complete and exciting meal. If you’re looking to elevate your pasta night, you’ve come to the right place. We’re sharing over 30 of the best side dishes for pasta, offering a wide variety of options from fresh salads to crusty breads and flavorful roasted vegetables, ensuring there’s something to perfectly complement every pasta dish.
Whether you’re craving a light and healthy accompaniment or a more indulgent treat, this guide will help you discover the perfect side to round out your pasta dinner. Get ready to transform your pasta from a simple main course into a culinary experience with these delicious pairings.
Enhance Your Pasta Dinner with These Fantastic Side Dishes
To help you navigate the best options, we’ve categorized these side dishes to make it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for to complete your pasta meal.
Fresh and Vibrant Salads
Salads are a fantastic way to add freshness, lightness, and a healthy element to your pasta dinner. They provide a wonderful contrast in texture and flavor, cutting through the richness of pasta sauces and adding a refreshing bite.
Kale Caesar Salad
Elevate the classic Caesar with a nutritious twist. This Kale Caesar Salad offers all the beloved flavors of a traditional Caesar, but with the added benefits of fresh kale. The robust earthiness of kale stands up beautifully to the creamy Caesar dressing, providing a satisfying crunch and a boost of vitamins. It’s a hearty salad that pairs well with richer pasta dishes, offering a balanced and flavorful meal.
A vibrant Kale Caesar Salad with crunchy kale and creamy dressing, a healthy and flavorful side dish for pasta.
Tomato and Mozzarella Caprese Salad
For a taste of summer any time of year, the Tomato and Mozzarella Caprese Salad is an ideal choice. This quick and easy salad highlights the simple perfection of fresh, high-quality ingredients. Ripe tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, and fragrant basil are drizzled with olive oil, creating a light, refreshing, and incredibly flavorful side. Its simplicity makes it a perfect complement to almost any pasta, especially those with tomato-based or pesto sauces.
Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad
Looking for a salad that’s ready in minutes and bursting with freshness? This Simple Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad is your answer. The combination of juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and creamy avocado, tossed in a bright lemon vinaigrette, is both refreshing and satisfying. This salad is incredibly versatile and works wonderfully with lighter pasta dishes or as a vibrant counterpoint to heavier, cream-based sauces.
A refreshing Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad with lemon vinaigrette, a light and easy side dish perfect for pasta.
Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
Don’t underestimate the deliciousness of Brussels sprouts in a salad! This Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad is a delightful fall-inspired dish packed with finely shaved sprouts, sweet apples, dried cranberries, and crunchy seeds, all tossed in a homemade vinaigrette. The textures and flavors are perfectly balanced, offering a sophisticated and healthy side that pairs beautifully with heartier pasta dishes, especially those with meat or cream sauces.
Mediterranean Chickpea Wedge Salad
Bring Mediterranean flavors to your pasta night with this innovative Mediterranean Chickpea Wedge Salad. This salad deconstructs the flavors of falafel, combining chickpeas, crunchy vegetables, and a creamy hummus dressing. It’s a hearty and flavorful salad that provides a satisfying vegetarian option and pairs exceptionally well with pasta dishes that have Mediterranean or Middle Eastern influences.
White Bean Salad
Hearty and flavorful, the Mediterranean White Bean Salad is packed with cannellini beans, fresh vegetables, feta cheese, and aromatic herbs, all tossed in a zesty homemade Greek dressing. This salad is not only delicious but also a great source of protein and fiber. It’s perfect for meal prepping and serves as a substantial and satisfying side dish alongside pasta, especially those with lighter sauces or vegetarian options.
Irresistible Breads
Bread and pasta are a classic pairing for a reason. Crusty, flavorful bread is perfect for soaking up delicious pasta sauces and adding a comforting carbohydrate element to your meal.
Cheesy Garlic Bread
A timeless favorite, Cheesy Garlic Bread is the ultimate comfort side dish for pasta. Toasty and crispy on the outside, yet tender and soft on the inside, this garlic bread is infused with garlic butter and generously topped with melted cheese. Ready in under 20 minutes, it’s a quick and easy way to elevate your pasta dinner and is guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser.
Delicious Cheesy Garlic Bread, crispy and cheesy, the perfect comforting side dish to serve with pasta.
Garlic Breadsticks
Soft Garlic Breadsticks offer a fluffy, airy, and buttery alternative to traditional garlic bread. These breadsticks are incredibly delicious and surprisingly easy to make, even for beginner bakers. Their soft texture and savory garlic flavor make them ideal for dipping in pasta sauces or enjoying alongside a simple pasta dish.
Soft and fluffy Garlic Breadsticks, a buttery and delicious bread side to pair with pasta.
Garlic Knots
For a fun and flavorful twist on garlic bread, try Garlic Knots. These knots are fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and generously coated with a savory garlic herb butter. Their irresistible flavor and texture will have everyone reaching for more, making them a fantastic side for family pasta dinners.
Pull Apart Garlic Bread
Take sharing to the next level with Pull Apart Garlic Bread. This bread is fluffy, buttery, incredibly flavorful, and melts in your mouth. Designed for sharing, it tears apart easily, making it a fun and interactive side dish that eliminates the need for any other bread on the table.
Mouthwatering Pull Apart Garlic Bread, fluffy and buttery, perfect for sharing alongside pasta.
Ciabatta Rolls
For a more rustic bread option, Easy Small Batch Ciabatta Rolls are an excellent choice. These rolls are fluffy and airy with a perfectly crunchy, crackly crust. Requiring only 10 minutes of prep and no kneading, they are surprisingly simple to make and offer a delightful textural contrast to softer pasta dishes.
Crusty and airy Ciabatta Rolls, an easy-to-make bread with a perfect texture for pasta meals.
Flavorful Roasted and Sautéed Vegetables
Vegetables are essential for a balanced meal, and roasting or sautéing them brings out their natural sweetness and adds a delightful caramelized flavor that complements pasta beautifully.
Lemon Parmesan Asparagus
Elevate simple asparagus with bright flavors in this Lemon Parmesan Asparagus recipe. This side dish is quick and easy to make in under 20 minutes, featuring tender asparagus spears roasted to perfection and enhanced with lemon and parmesan cheese. The combination of zesty lemon and salty parmesan creates a delicious and sophisticated vegetable side that pairs wonderfully with lighter pasta dishes or seafood pasta.
Air Fryer Broccoli
For a fast and healthy vegetable side, Air Fryer Broccoli is the way to go. Ready in just six minutes in the air fryer, this broccoli is crispy, flavorful, and perfectly cooked. Air frying gives the broccoli a wonderful texture that’s both tender and slightly charred, making it a delicious and nutritious addition to any pasta meal.
Sautéed Brussels Sprouts
Quick and easy, Sautéed Brussels Sprouts are made with just 5 ingredients and ready in only 15 minutes. These Brussels sprouts are vegan and keto-friendly, making them a versatile option for various dietary needs. Sautéing brings out their slightly sweet and nutty flavor, creating a simple yet satisfying vegetable side.
Delicious Sautéed Brussels Sprouts, a quick and easy vegan and keto-friendly side for pasta.
Parmesan Crusted Brussels Sprouts
Take Brussels sprouts to the next level with Parmesan Crusted Brussels Sprouts. This side dish is quick, easy, and delivers perfectly crispy outsides and tender insides. The parmesan crust adds a savory and cheesy element that enhances the natural flavor of the Brussels sprouts, creating a truly addictive vegetable side.
Savory Parmesan Crusted Brussels Sprouts, a crispy and flavorful vegetable side dish to serve with pasta.
Green Beans Almondine
Add a touch of French elegance to your pasta dinner with Green Beans Almondine. This classic side dish is buttery, garlicky, and nutty, loaded with flavor and delightful texture from the toasted almonds. Quick and easy to make, it’s a sophisticated yet simple vegetable side that pairs beautifully with a variety of pasta dishes.
Classic Green Beans Almondine, a buttery, garlicky, and nutty French side dish perfect with pasta.
Pesto Green Beans
For a burst of fresh flavor, Pesto Green Beans are an excellent choice. This simple side dish is quick and easy to make in under 10 minutes, featuring green beans tossed in buttery toasted walnuts and vibrant pesto. The combination of pesto and walnuts adds a rich and herbaceous flavor that complements pasta wonderfully.
Sautéed Garlic Mushrooms
Earthy and savory, Buttery Sautéed Garlic Mushrooms are a simple side dish ready in under 15 minutes. These mushrooms are silky smooth with incredible caramelization and a rich, umami flavor. Sautéed with garlic and butter, they offer a classic and comforting vegetable side that pairs well with many pasta dishes, especially creamy or meaty sauces.
Savory Sautéed Garlic Mushrooms, buttery and caramelized, a quick side dish to serve with pasta.
Cheesy Baked Zucchini with Marinara
Get your vegetables in with a kid-friendly and delicious side dish – Cheesy Baked Zucchini with Marinara. This recipe is not only vegetarian, gluten-free, and keto-friendly, but also a great way to use zucchini. Baked with marinara sauce and cheese, it’s a comforting and flavorful side that’s sure to be a hit with the whole family.
Delicious Appetizers & More
Beyond salads, breads, and roasted vegetables, there are many other fantastic side dishes that can elevate your pasta meal and offer variety in flavor and texture.
Easy Tomato Bruschetta with Balsamic Glaze
Start your pasta dinner with a classic Italian appetizer – Tomato Bruschetta with Balsamic Glaze. This easy-to-make bruschetta is topped with fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, and olive oil, then drizzled with a sweet balsamic glaze. Delicious, fresh, and simple, it’s a perfect way to whet your appetite before the main course.
Classic Tomato Bruschetta with Balsamic Glaze, a fresh and simple Italian appetizer perfect before pasta.
Antipasto Skewers
For a fun and interactive appetizer, Antipasto Skewers with tortellini are a great choice. These skewers capture the best elements of a traditional antipasto platter in an easy-to-eat format. Loaded with cheese tortellini, olives, cured meats, and vegetables, they are a flavorful and satisfying starter that’s perfect for sharing.
Colorful Antipasto Skewers with tortellini, a fun and easy appetizer to serve before pasta.
Stuffed Eggplants
For a more substantial and vegetarian side dish, consider Mediterranean Stuffed Eggplant. This dish is delicious, filling, and healthy, loaded with vegetables and topped with bubbly cheese. It’s a hearty and flavorful option that can even serve as a light vegetarian main course alongside a smaller portion of pasta.
Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms
Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms are another excellent appetizer or side dish option. These mushrooms are flavorful, healthy, and nutritious, packed with savory fillings. Quick and easy to make in under 30 minutes, they are a crowd-pleasing choice that adds an elegant touch to your pasta dinner.
Whipped Ricotta Crostini
Impress your guests with Whipped Ricotta Crostini, a fancy yet easy appetizer. Whipped ricotta cheese spread on toasted crostini creates a creamy and delightful base, perfect for various toppings. It’s a versatile appetizer that can be prepared in advance and assembled just before serving, making it ideal for entertaining.
Whipped Feta Crostini
Another delightful crostini option is Whipped Feta Crostini with a herby olive topping. Whipped feta cheese creates a tangy and creamy base, topped with a flavorful olive mixture. Ready in less than 20 minutes (or even 10 if you’re quick!), it’s a fast and flavorful appetizer that’s perfect for a casual or elegant pasta dinner.
Savory Sautéed Garlic Mushrooms, buttery and caramelized, a quick side dish to serve with pasta.
Creamed Spinach
For a rich and decadent side dish, Creamed Spinach is a classic choice. This creamy and flavorful side is perfect for fall and holiday dinners. Easy to make ahead and reheats well, it’s a convenient and indulgent option that adds a touch of luxury to your pasta meal, especially when paired with richer pasta sauces.
Rich and creamy Creamed Spinach, a decadent side dish perfect for fall and holiday pasta dinners.
Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus and Melon
For a sophisticated and flavorful appetizer, try Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus and Melon. The combination of salty prosciutto, sweet melon, and tender asparagus creates a delightful balance of flavors and textures. These bundles are easy to make and can be cooked on the grill, adding a touch of elegance to your pasta dinner.
Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts
Elevate Brussels sprouts with bacon in this irresistible Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts appetizer. The combination of sweet, savory, and salty flavors makes these a crowd-pleasing choice for holiday gatherings or any pasta dinner. Simple and easy to make, they are a guaranteed hit for bacon lovers and Brussels sprout skeptics alike.
Savory Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts, a sweet and salty appetizer perfect for serving before pasta.
Caesar Salad
Sometimes, the classics are best. A Classic Caesar Salad is always a welcome addition to any pasta meal. Fresh, crisp, delicious, and flavorful, it’s made with just a few simple ingredients tossed in a creamy Caesar dressing. Ready in minutes, it’s a timeless and versatile salad that complements a wide range of pasta dishes.
Ready to Complete Your Pasta Meal?
With over 30 delicious side dishes to choose from, you’re now equipped to create exciting and satisfying pasta dinners every time. From fresh salads and crusty breads to flavorful vegetables and appetizers, these pairings offer something for every taste and occasion. So next time you’re wondering “what to serve with pasta,” remember this guide and explore the endless possibilities to elevate your meal. Enjoy!
