The Absolute Best Side Dish Pairings For Classic Prime Rib

When you have an impeccable entree, it's only right to serve it with sides that mirror its excellence. Prime rib is a premium cut of beef fit for dinner parties, events, and anytime you're in the mood for a quality dish. To do the meal justice, we spoke to an expert for ideas on the best sides to pair with classic prime rib.

Prime rib is rife with marbling, making it soft and supple while giving it a rich, savory taste. Whether you like to roast it low and slow or speed things up by making Instant Pot prime rib, executive chef Matthew Kreider of Steak 954 thinks the prized meat is perfect with cozy side dishes. "Everyone loves their creamed spinach and mashed potatoes, they are classics," he says. Rather than going with a mundane side salad, a classic creamed spinach recipe amps up the vegetable, giving it a tangy, creamy spin that complements prime rib's buttery flavor.

Mashed potatoes are another excellent choice for prime rib, especially due to their versatility. You can keep things simple with salt and pepper or give the side a nutty effect by making creamy garlic mashed red potatoes. Really, any flavored mashed potatoes make the perfect match for tender prime rib. For Kreider, he gives his a fiery boost. "I like to add a nice horseradish cream to the mashed potatoes for something special," he says.

Although the prime rib is certainly the main event, it's still nice to maintain a sense of cohesiveness with the sides. An easy way to do this is to use the same seasonings on the rib as you do for the sides. This method works well with one of chef Kreider's favorite sides for the beef. "If you want something different, try a hasselback potato; it's a crispy potato cooked in butter and they are to die for," he explains.

Plain butter is the perfect fat for the spuds, but compound butter for both the potatoes and the beef is on an entirely different level. A garlic herb compound butter with parsley and basil will elevate the potatoes while rounding out the richness of the prime rib. As the fat melts into each, the herbs will add depth of flavor, giving off an earthy deliciousness in every bite.

It's common to cook prime rib with wine, so if that's the route you're taking, make sure you pick herbs that go well with the vino. Pinot noir, a fruit-forward and earthy red, is excellent for prime rib. Pair it with woodsy picks, like rosemary and thyme, to complement both the wine's tasting notes and the intense flavor of the prime rib.