18 Easy Side Dishes Perfect To Pair With Pork Chops

When pork chops are on the menu, you've got to have some worthy side dishes to complete your dinner. Cooking up pork chops sounds fussy and time-consuming, but it's actually easier than you think. Insanely versatile, pork chops can go in so many directions flavor-wise, which means nearly infinite options for where you can take your sides.

There's no shame in going with the classics, like roasted fingerling potatoes, mac and cheese (like our copycat Panera mac and cheese), or homemade Instant Pot applesauce. Generally speaking, you can never go wrong with potatoes as a side dish, and we love shaking things up with baked sweet potatoes and even fluffy potato rolls on occasion too. In a rush? Check out our easy microwave mashed potatoes, and you'll be well on your way to a complete dinner.

If you're looking for side dishes on the lighter side, you can't beat pairing juicy pork chops with your favorite vegetables. Sweet and sour braised red cabbage, creamed spinach, and sweet potato salad always get us excited about eating our vegetables. Craving carrots? Steamed carrots with hot honey butter and miso roasted carrots make the humble root veg something extraordinary.

No matter what you're craving, you can marinate pork chops to suit so many different cuisines. In the mood for Chinese food? Try our honey-soy pork chops with fried rice. Need some Italian? Creamy polenta and rosemary garlic oven baked pork chops are a match made in heaven. Want some Southern-style comfort food? You can never go wrong with cooking up pan-fried pork chops with baked corn casserole or Southern-style cornbread.

For these roasted fingerling potatoes, we add a surprise ingredient to get them crazy crispy: cornstarch! Admittedly this slurry of cornstarch will look a little weird, less like something delicious and more like slime you'd make with your kids. BUT we promise it cooks down and helps to create a crisp exterior that will knock your socks off.

Get the Roasted Fingerling Potatoes recipe.

No standing over the stove and stirring with this insanely easy applesauce! We like ours on the less-sweet side, but if you're finding yours a little too tart, you can always stir in more sugar after they've been cooked. Serve these alongside some freshly fried latkes or a juicy pork chop.

Get the Instant Pot Applesauce recipe.

To us, green bean casserole is not just for the Thanksgiving table. Any time we can load on as many fried onions as we choose, we're going to do it.

Get the Classic Green Bean Casserole recipe.

Mashed potatoes are one of the all-time best side dishes. But getting a whole pot of boiling water to cook potatoes for almost an hour? Why not steam them? Better yet: Why not use the microwave to steam the potatoes in a fraction of the time?

Get the Microwave Mashed Potatoes recipe.

We love this healthy salad warm, straight from the oven. But it's also very good at room temperature, too. You can bulk this up with leafy greens like baby spinach, put it in a wrap, or even top your leftovers with a fried egg. This sweet potato salad is truly your oyster.

Get the Sweet Potato Salad recipe.

We’ve never met a cornbread we didn’t love. But for some people, there’s hot debate over which is the best: Northern (which is sweet and muffin-like) or Southern (which uses bacon fat and is typically baked in a cast-iron skillet). Personally, we usually prefer the Southern-style cornbread as a dinner side with plenty of salted butter.

Get the Southern-Style Cornbread recipe.

Fried rice is a quick and delicious way to transform leftovers into something even better than the sum of its parts. We also love how well it pairs with honey soy pork chips.

Get the Fried Rice recipe.

Steaming is one of the healthiest ways to prepare vegetables, and carrots are no exception. To make this delicious vegetarian side dish, you'll toss a pound of steamed carrots in a slightly spicy honey-butter glaze. Want something more savory? Swap out the honey for freshly chopped dill or parsley.

Get the Steamed Carrots With Hot Honey Butter recipe.

Newsflash: That super-creamy, cheesy mac & cheese that everyone loves at Panera can easily be replicated in your own kitchen. The key is a combination of white cheddar for that deep cheesiness and white American cheese to impart a silky texture.

Get the Copycat Panera Mac & Cheese recipe.

When it comes to biscuits and other bread products, potatoes are a magical addition that yields softer and fluffier results. This recipe is just as easy as preparing traditional buttermilk biscuits and goes super well with raspberry jam or hot honey to add a bit of kick.

Get the Sweet Potato Biscuits recipe.

One of our favorite ways to prepare cabbage is to braise it. The best part about braising? You can impart a TON of flavor into your cabbage. We love pairing this sweet and sour cabbage alongside creamy mashed potatoes and a pork chop.

Get the Sweet & Sour Braised Red Cabbage recipe.

Baking sweet potatoes an easy and delicious side when you're trying to eat healthy—the vegetable is a total superfood, packed with vitamin C and fiber. Don't forget the butter, though! It's called balance. after all.

Get the Perfect Baked Sweet Potato recipe.

Fluffiest. Dinner. Rolls. Ever. Fresh out of the oven, each roll has a crispy bottom, buttery top, and unbelievably soft center.

Get the Fluffy Potato Rolls recipe.

Don’t overlook the humble cabbage! This straight cabbage braise (without meat!) is the perfect way to experience cabbage in all its vegetal glory.

Get the Beer Braised Cabbage recipe.

Creamy, sweet polenta is one of our favorite accompaniments for richer meats like pork or saucy vegetable dishes like ratatouille. If you're looking for more ways to spruce up your polenta, try topping with pesto or roasted butternut squash.

Get the Creamy Parmesan Polenta recipe.

These sweet-savory carrots are topped with the MOST delicious mix of crunchy nuts and spices. Pulse the nuts and coriander seeds in a spice grinder or food processor if you've got one, but no sweat if not—it's easy enough to chop the nuts on the cutting board and smash the coriander seeds with the back of a knife.

Get the Miso Roasted Carrots recipe.

Creamed spinach is a simple side dish that is also the perfect way to use up any leftover spinach. The creaminess will make you forget you're eating spinach and turn anyone into a fan of leafy greens.

Get the Creamed Spinach recipe.

This classic Southern side is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. If you don't have any frozen corn, drained and rinsed canned corn can be used as well. Got leftovers? We love topping this with a fried egg or some sautéed shrimp.

Get the Baked Corn Casserole recipe.