Wondering What to Serve with Lobster? Try One of These 21 Tasty Side Dishes
No summer picnic is complete without a towering plate of lobster rolls. Now that you’ve boiled, cracked and prepared the shellfish salad for those iconic sammies, you’re likely wondering what to serve with lobster. Depending on the application—like a grilled lobster tail drenched in butter or lobster mac and cheese—the perfect side varies. But generally speaking, lobster pairs well with crunchy slaws and salads, lemon-kissed pastas, roasted potatoes and vegetables, cheesy breads and biscuits and, best of all, juicy seared steak. Read on for 21 of our favorite side dishes for the fancy seafood main.
RELATED: The 29 Best Lobster Recipes to Impress with All Summer Long (or Whenever)
1. Easy Homemade Potato Chips
Time Commitment: 1 hour
Why We Love It: beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients, make ahead
Let’s start with the most essential, shall we? If you’re making lobster rolls, potato chips are a no-brainer, but they’re also a great match for seafood salad and broiled lobster tail.
2. One-Pot, 15-Minute Pasta Limone
Time Commitment: 15 minutes
Why We Love It: <30 minutes, one pot, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
Toss a few chunks of lobster meat in garlicky lemon butter, then make them the crowning glory atop this super simple pasta dish.
3. Skillet Salad Pizza
Time Commitment: 35 minutes
Why We Love It: one pan, beginner-friendly, vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
This skillet pie covers your veggie and carb sides in one fell swoop. It’s prime for serving with grilled lobster at an alfresco dinner party (with a bottle of Pinot Grigio, obvi).
4. Bacon Cheddar Biscuits
Time Commitment: 45 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
Just like the ones from Red Lobster, only loaded with crispy crumbled bacon bits. (In other words, better than the ones from Red Lobster, but don’t tell the chain that.) Zhuzh them up by adding sliced scallions to the dough.
5. Light and Tangy Coleslaw
Time Commitment: 30 minutes
Why We Love It: no cook, vegetarian, crowd-pleaser, make ahead
Pulled pork, salmon burgers, hot dogs, brisket—this catch-all side pairs seamlessly with just about every protein, lobster included. Did we mention it’s made with rice vinegar and Greek yogurt instead of gloppy mayo?
6. Grilled Corn with Spicy Aioli
Time Commitment: 30 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, crowd-pleaser
The lobster is already drowning in butter, so why give your corn on the cob the same treatment? Opt for garlicky sriracha mayo instead (and a spritz of lime, if you’re fancy).
7. Zucchini Rice
Time Commitment: 30 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, vegetarian, beginner-friendly
Cauliflower who? Use summer squash instead, which is grated, drained, sautéed and seasoned until tender and flavorful. (Thanks, Parmesan cheese.)
8. Herby Shoestring Fries
Time Commitment: 40 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, kid-friendly, crowd-pleaser, vegan
Simple, satisfying and shareable, though we wouldn’t blame you for scarfing them down all by yourself. Frying them in olive oil instead of vegetable oil gives them a major flavor boost.
9. 15-Minute Gazpacho with Cucumber, Red Pepper and Basil
Time Commitment: 15 minutes
Why We Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, vegan
For when it’s too damn hot out to turn on the stove. (To go the no-cook route with lobster, buy it precooked at the grocery store, so all you’ll need to do is dress it in melted butter or pile it onto lobster roll buns.)
10. Mango Guacamole
Time Commitment: 10 minutes
Why We Love It: <30 minutes, no cook, <10 ingredients, make ahead
Buttery avocado and tart-sweet mango are just the match for mild lobster meat. Dare we suggest using the guac instead of mayo on a lobster roll?
11. 15-Minute Lemony Broccolini Pasta
Time Commitment: 15 minutes
Why We Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy
Thanks to the toothsome pine nuts, fresh basil and grated Parm, your guests will have no idea how little effort the pasta took. Serve it with all the buttery lobster claw you can handle.
12. Ranch Potato Salad
Time Commitment: 30 minutes
Why We Love It: make ahead, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly, vegetarian
The homemade ranch is equal parts tangy, herbaceous and creamy. We’re betting it’d taste divine used as the dressing in a lobster roll or on a seafood salad.
13. Corn and Tomato Salad with Feta and Lime
Time Commitment: 20 minutes
Why We Love It: <30 minutes, beginner-friendly
Bring your roomiest tote bag to the farmers market—we’re going to fill it to the brim. Substitute frozen or canned kernels in the off-season, but spring for fresh in the summertime.
14. Cold Lemon Zoodles
Time Commitment: 20 minutes
Why We Love It: no cook, <30 minutes, <10 ingredients
If you thought lemon pasta was a solid match for broiled lobster, wait until you try this zucchini alternative. Thyme adds a punch of herby goodness, while radishes offer both crunch and color. Plus, if you’re trying to eat low-carb (er, lower-carb), this dish makes for one satisfying way to round out your meal.
15. Tomato and Yellow Zucchini Risotto
Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Why We Love It: vegan, special occasion-worthy, dairy free
Believe it or not, this decadent dish doesn’t contain any cream, butter or cheese. Here, cooked-down zucchini is the secret to its rich texture.
16. Caesar Pasta Salad
Time Commitment: 20 minutes
Why We Love It: <30 minutes, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
Zingy, light and crisp—it’s everything you want in a seafood side, and it keeps you from having to choose between tender pasta and leafy greens. Win-win.
17. Gluten-Free Cheese and Cauliflower ‘Breadsticks’
Time Commitment: 50 minutes
Why We Love It: gluten free, kid-friendly, sheet pan recipe, <10 ingredients
Who knew a head of cauliflower could do all *this*? The key to creating the “dough” is eggs and two types of cheese.
18. Cheese and Bacon Baked Potatoes
Time Commitment: 40 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
File this one under Side Dishes That Never Get Old. Instead of piling on a slew of extra ingredients, we serve ’em Hasselback-style (aka cut like an accordion) to spice things up.
19. Zoodles with Summer Vegetables
Time Commitment: 30 minutes
Why We Love It: <10 ingredients, vegan, beginner-friendly, one pan
Teeming with summer corn, tomatoes, peppers and zucchini, this dish is a shoo-in for your next alfresco gathering. Buy premade zoodles to save yourself the spiralizing.
20. 15-Minute Cucumber-Avocado Blender Soup
Time Commitment: 15 minutes
Why We Love It: <30 minutes, vegetarian, beginner-friendly
We love clam chowder just as much as the next guy, but we love no-cook cold soups that come together in our blender just a little bit more. Don’t skip the crusty Asiago baguette.
21. Grilled Flank Steak with Lemon-Herb Sauce
Time Commitment: 2 hours
Why We Love It: special occasion-worthy, high protein, crowd-pleaser
Whether the main event is decadent lobster mac and cheese or buttery lobster tail, you can never go wrong with surf and turf. Consider the steak’s marinating time a built-in cocktail hour.
RELATED: The 20 Very Best Lobster Rolls in NYC
For even more great recipes, check out our first cookbook, Only the Good Stuff.
Taryn Pire is PureWow’s associate food editor. A former bartender and barista, she’s been writing about all things delicious since 2016, developing recipes, reviewing restaurants and investigating food trends at Food52, New Jersey Family Magazine and Taste Talks. When she isn’t testing TikTok’s latest viral recipe, she’s having popcorn for dinner and posting about it on Instagram @cookingwithpire.
