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.