30 Simply Delicious Side Dishes To Serve With A Burger

It's burger night! Whether enjoying the outdoors and making burgers on the grill or pan-frying patties, burgers offer the kind of everyday decadence of which we can't get enough. But even though you might spend the most time and effort lovingly making your meat mixture, forming perfect patties, and ensuring their exteriors are ideally crisped, that doesn't mean all your focus should only be on the burgers. Every good burger needs a complementary side dish to help round out the meal. Although you could always just throw some frozen fries in the oven, we're here to help you come up with a more creative side for your next burger night.

These recipes range from classic, carb-laden accompaniments to lighter, fresher salads that can create a sense of balance on your plate. Choose one or more to round out your meal, and your standard burger night will turn into a gourmet experience.

Fries may be the most classic burger side dish, but if you're looking for something a step up from the original, try making these Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes. They offer a subtly sweet flavor profile that works especially well with savory seasonings. And since they're effortlessly made in the air fryer, they come together in just a matter of minutes. Don't forget to top them with the fresh accouterments of your choice.

Recipe: Air Fryer Baked Sweet Potatoes

Love the classic potato salad but looking for something just a bit lighter? That's exactly what this Cauliflower Potato Salad is for. It doesn't actually contain any potatoes but rather mimics the flavor and texture of the classic. With plenty of dill, chives, and onion, it's a super flavorful recipe, and the addition of egg makes it more filling and truer to the potato salad you already know and love. Feel free to adjust the mayo and mustard ratios to your liking.

Recipe: Cauliflower Potato Salad

Carrots are an often-overlooked vegetable, regarded as a simple snack instead of the versatile ingredient they have the ability to be. But this Copper Penny Carrots recipe absolutely does them justice by transforming the root veggie into arguably its most delicious form. The secret ingredient here is Campbell's tomato soup, which contributes the right balance of savory and sweet flavors to the dish while providing backbone to the sauce. It may not be the most conventional burger side dish, but it's perfect when you're looking for a slightly lighter option.

Recipe: Copper Penny Carrots

Roasted brussels sprouts shine in all their forms, but this recipe for Easy Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts really highlights balsamic vinegar, which is what makes this recipe truly special. That signature balsamic, along with maple syrup and hot sauce, joins forces to create a deeply flavorful, slightly spicy glaze that makes these sprouts sticky with bold flavor. Honestly, you could eat these Brussels sprouts alone, but they almost make a perfect side dish for burgers.

Recipe: Easy Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

If you've ever felt that traditional mac and cheese recipes are too creamy and bland, then you need to try Green Chili Mac and Cheese. Canned green chiles are a super easy addition to this mac and cheese meal. They completely transform its flavor by lending the dish slight heat and acidity, which creates a nice contrast with the otherwise fatty, creamy consistency of the pasta. Scoop a heaping pile on your plate next to your burger, and you're in for an unforgettable meal.

Recipe: Green Chili Mac and Cheese

Coleslaw is fine and all, but once you've tried one coleslaw recipe, you've had them all. But why not apply those same principles to a whole different veggie? That's exactly what's going on with this Carrot Slaw, and it may just be the fresh side dish your burger needs. A small amount of green cabbage is included in this recipe, but it's the shaved carrot that really shines. Add red onion, scallions, and a bright, fresh sauce, and you'll have an unconventional salad that can be served alongside anything that comes off the grill.

Recipe: Carrot Slaw

The next time you make burgers, skip the fries and make these Greek Lemon Potatoes instead. They have that same slight fattiness you'd expect from traditional fries, but the herby and bright flavor profile really just makes these potatoes pop in an unexpected way. They only require six ingredients, which means you won't have to make an extra trip to the grocery store to get what you need to make them, and as soon as you put them in the oven, you'll start smelling that bold aroma.

Recipe: Greek Lemon Potatoes

Corn fritters are essentially tater tots for people who love corn, which is why they're such a perfect side dish for your next burger night. The best part is that you don't have to buy fresh corn. You can simply use canned creamed corn, making this recipe easy and cost-effective. Drench the corn in a rich, thick batter, then fry them to perfection before serving them alongside your burger. They may just be better than plain old fries.

Recipe: Corn Fritters

Panzanella is the signature salad for bread lovers, and it tastes best when made with picked-at-the-peak-of-freshness tomatoes. For best results, you'll want to use heirloom tomatoes, which you can find at a local farmer's market. Even if you can't find a heirloom variety, any old tomato will do for this hearty salad. And the best part? You can use that loaf of stale sourdough (or any other crusty bread) in this recipe to reduce food waste.

Recipe: Heirloom Tomato Panzanella

Not a big fan of cabbage? No worries. Get your greens in a different way by making this simple and easy Kale Slaw recipe. It's a bit less crunchy than classic coleslaw, but the softer kale leaves make it easier to take big bites of this salad between your bites of burger. Red cabbage provides an almost peppery flavor, and carrots provide a pop of color that makes this salad as pretty as it is delicious. You'll just want to serve it while it's fresh so that kale doesn't wilt too much.

Recipe: Kale Slaw

Sure, you probably don't need another source of protein in a side dish when you're eating a burger, but we still can't help loving this Chicken Macaroni Salad as a burger side dish. It's a slightly heartier version of the classic, but it also provides plenty of lightness in every bite thanks to the inclusion of cherry tomatoes and lots of herbs. Feel free to omit the chicken entirely if you're looking for something a bit lighter, or keep the recipe as is and enjoy the extras for lunch tomorrow.

Recipe: Chicken Macaroni Salad

Sometimes, you just need a crisp salad on the side of your burger, which is exactly where this Refreshing Cucumber Kimchi Salad comes into play. Both the cucumbers and the kimchi contribute a hearty crunch to this salad, which is part of what makes it so appealing. You won't ferment the cabbage in this recipe, but it still capitalizes on those spicy, acidic flavors you know and love from fermented kimchi.

Recipe: Refreshing Cucumber Kimchi Salad

Skip the fries and enjoy your potatoes in a different form the next time you make burgers by trying this recipe for Easy Hasselback Sweet Potatoes. Cutting the sweet potatoes so thinly does take a bit of time (and some decent knife skills), but other than that, this recipe is as easy as can be. The result is a textural experience you didn't even know was possible from a potato, with a subtle sweetness that plays well with the deeply savory flavors of a beef burger.

Recipe: Easy Hasselback Sweet Potatoes

Red kidney beans get their moment in the limelight with this Creamy Kidney Bean Salad recipe. All you need are a few cans of red kidney beans, chopped celery, red onion, shredded carrots, and a big plop of mayonnaise. Mix everything, and you'll have a nutrient-dense salad that seems indulgent, making for a decadent and perfectly crunchy side dish for your burgers.

Recipe: Creamy Kidney Bean Salad

Some people like their fries on the softer side with a little bit of heft to them. Others, though, like them as crispy as can be. This recipe for Crispy Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries is for those in the latter camp. Instead of deep-frying these sweet potato fries, place them in the air fryer long enough for them to crisp to perfection. The arrowroot powder this recipe calls for enhances the potatoes' natural crispiness even more than usual, and the red chili flakes offer just the right amount of heat.

Recipe: Crispy Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries

We love a good savory-sweet combo, and that's just what you'll get when you make this recipe for Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts. Coating those halved Brussels in a generous drizzle of maple syrup highlights their complexity and counteracts some of the bitterness Brussels sprouts are known for. But once you add that salty, crispy bacon, you'll get a much-needed dose of meaty, fatty deliciousness that really ties all the other ingredients together.

Recipe: Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts

On their own, potatoes can taste quite bland, which is why you have to find ways to infuse them with lots of flavor when you prepare them. In the case of this recipe for The Best Parsley Potatoes, that flavor is coming from — you guessed it — parsley. We love this recipe because these boiled potatoes allow the freshness from that parsley to shine, resulting in a deliciously herbaceous side dish that pairs exceptionally well with burgers.

Recipe: The Best Parsley Potatoes

This may not be the most popular take, but we firmly believe that pasta salad is one of the all-time best side dishes for burgers. And if you're looking for a deeply flavorful pasta salad recipe, you've found it with this Southwest Pasta Salad. It calls for black beans, cilantro, tomatoes, red onion, and a slew of other ingredients you might associate with Southwest cuisine. It's very veggie-forward, making it an ideal accompaniment to a meaty main dish.

Recipe: Southwest Pasta Salad

We love cabbage in all its forms, but the texture of Napa cabbage makes it particularly appealing. This Napa Cabbage Salad recipe features a relatively simple combo of vegetables, including that signature Napa cabbage, carrots, red bell pepper, and scallions. However, the deeply flavorful sauce is what makes it shine. It's light, fresh, and ideal for summer nights when making burgers on the grill.

Recipe: Napa Cabbage Salad

Shirazi salad may be perfect for those who love chopped veggies but aren't fond of super leafy, green salads. This classic recipe calls for cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, lemon juice, and olive oil, but if you ask us, the star of the show is the fresh mint, which lends the salad a unique freshness that you can't achieve with any other type of herb. It's quick and easy to make, which makes it a good option for those nights when you need to make a last-minute side.

Recipe: Shirazi Salad

Can you easily buy canned cream corn at the grocery store? Sure. But it won't taste nearly as delicious as this homemade Easy Crockpot Cream Corn. Milk and cream cheese make this a decadently creamy veggie side dish and generous sprinklings of salt and pepper give it a classic, versatile flavor that can be enhanced with a variety of ingredients. Serve a scoop of the side dish with a burger, and your meal will be taken to decadent new heights.

Recipe: Easy Crockpot Cream Corn

Burgers call for a fried side, but if you want to switch things up, you can forgo the fries entirely and instead make these Easy Fried Plantains. They still have that same rich starchiness that makes for a filling side, and frying them in vegetable oil makes them crispy and caramelized in the most delicious way. These plantains are incredibly simple to make; they'll come together just as quickly (if not quicker) than fries.

Recipe: Easy Fried Plantains

Brussels sprouts are often served cooked, but did you know they're also incredibly delicious when served raw? This recipe for Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad allows them to shine in all their raw glory, and other ingredients, like sticky, sweet dates, only enhance their natural flavor even more. That sweetness from the fruit plays off the bitterness of the vegetable, and the red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard provide just enough acidity and bite to keep things interesting.

Recipe: Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad

Fries might be the most popular burger side dish, but onion rings seem like they'd come in as a close second. Store-bought frozen onion rings are always an option, but these crispy treats taste so much better when made fresh. Give them a try with this Beer-Battered Onion Rings recipe. That beer batter gives these rings a super crispy texture, which contrasts nicely with the inner softened onion. Dip them in ketchup, mustard, or aioli to enhance their deliciousness even more.

Recipe: Beer-Battered Onion Rings

Elote, or Mexican street corn, may just be the most delicious way to eat corn. But you don't have to venture to a Mexico City food truck just to get your hands on some good elote. You can easily make this Grilled Mexican Street Corn at home for a similar flavor profile. Make sure to use plenty of Tajin, lime, and cilantro for the boldest possible flavor. And since you're already using the grill for your burgers, this side dish should come together in just a matter of minutes.

Recipe: Grilled Mexican Street Corn

Fennel may be one of the most overlooked vegetables, but you have to eat more of it if you want to increase your veggie game. This recipe for Sauteed Fennel with Garlic is a great place to start. It really highlights the herbal qualities of the fennel, while the process of sautéing brings out some lovely sweet notes as well. A punch of intensity from the garlic brings it all together in one coherent dish.

Recipe: Sauteed Fennel with Garlic

A comfort food main dish calls for a comfort food side, and this Simple Mac and Cheese (with Crunchy Topping) absolutely fits the bill. It's not a complicated recipe, so even if it's your first time making mac and cheese, you should be able to pull it off. The ingredient that really makes this dish shine, though, is the crushed crackers, which you'll use as a crunchy topping to give the dish a more interesting texture.

Recipe: Simple Mac and Cheese (with Crunchy Topping)

When making burgers on the grill on a particularly hot summer day, you probably don't want a super heavy fried side to pair with your main. Instead, you should opt for something fresh, light, and flavorful, like this Refreshing Watermelon Salsa. Watermelon joins forces with yellow bell pepper, red onion, diced cucumber, mint, cilantro, lime juice, and a generous sprinkling of salt to yield a crunchy, snackable salad that will have everyone asking for seconds.

Recipe: Refreshing Watermelon Salsa

Some potato salads are just so-so, and others pack so much flavor that they taste like they could be the main dish all on their own. This Bacon and Egg Ranch Potato Salad is so creamy and decadent that it belongs in the second group. Those eggs and bacon join forces to create a hearty, filling base for the salad, and the ranch adds an extra bit of decadence while imparting a lighter flavor into the dish.

Recipe: Bacon and Egg Ranch Potato Salad

This Grapefruit and Arugula Salad with Quinoa is perfect for those who love a touch of bitterness in their salads. The juiciness of the grapefruit creates a sort of natural dressing for the arugula, and the addition of quinoa makes the whole dish more filling. Enjoy it with a burger when you want a healthier-feeling side dish — just make sure not to skimp on the avocado for the creamiest results. Burger night just got a bit more sophisticated.

Recipe: Grapefruit and Arugula Salad with Quinoa