Meatloaf is a delicious and easy-to-make dish that’s a familiar taste for many of us. The smell of freshly baked meatloaf is a wonderful thing to come home to, but what to eat with it?
In this article, we’re going to list several great options for a perfect side dish for meatloaf. Whatever your tastes are, you should be able to find something on this list to suit you, so let’s get into it!
Homemade Garlic Bread
Since you’re making meatloaf, it makes sense to make another kind of loaf as well. While you can make the bread from scratch as well if you like, that’s not necessary in this case.
If you’re buying a loaf, Italian bread or baguettes are both good. The butter, olive oil, and garlic add serious and delicious flavor to this bread, while the parsley is there to round out the taste and serve as a great garnish to boot.
It tastes even better with meatloaf, and you can dip it into the juices or even have little pieces of meatloaf on top of it. Mmmm-mmm.
Mashed Potatoes
Now, there are an endless number of ways that you can make mashed potatoes, but this one is ideal for serving with meatloaf.
It uses a 50-50 mixture of Yukon gold and russet potatoes to get the best of both worlds and supplements them with butter, milk, and cream cheese to make them wonderfully rich and creamy.
The green onions and black pepper on top round out the flavors perfectly, and the only problem might be that you won’t be able to decide which should be the main event – the potatoes or the meatloaf!
Creamed Spinach
Just as meatloaf is a classic dish, creamed spinach is a classic side dish. For that reason, they go perfectly together. It’s also a way of preparing vegetables so that even kids won’t refuse them.
Needless to say, it’s wonderfully cheesy and creamy and the addition of cayenne pepper and Parmesan makes for a delicious and compelling flavor.
It’s also very easy to make, so even if you’re not in the mood to make anything tricky, this dish will be a reliable go-to.
Roasted Asparagus
Here’s a recipe if you’re looking for something a little more green and healthy. Sure, spinach might be a vegetable technically, but when it has cream and cheese piled on top of it, it doesn’t quite win out in the healthy stakes.
Anyway, this is a recipe that’s both healthy and simple, yet one that’s also easy to add extra details and flourishes to if you want. If not, then some salt and lemon juice are all you’ll need to make these asparagus spears sing.
Mac And Cheese
Why not make one great classic comfort food to go with another? Mac and cheese is universally loved, so you’ll be able to serve it as a side dish to just about anybody, notably kids, who always love it as well.
This recipe includes an alternate version which includes five(!) different kinds of cheese, but don’t worry, because you can keep it simple if you like and still end up with a perfect, creamy bowl of great mac and cheese.
Garlic Cilantro Lime Rice
Just from the title, you can probably tell what the driving forces of the flavor in this dish are going to be, and boy do they make a great combination.
That’s not all, though, as you’ll also be using chicken broth to add an even deeper, richer flavor to this wonderful rice. The sharpness of the lime can cut through the taste of the meatloaf and set it off perfectly.
Copycat KFC Coleslaw
Coleslaw is another great and classic side dish – it goes with just about anything, and can be made in so many ways. This one is a pretty good copy of the one you can get in KFC, and it tastes lovely.
The recipe also does mention that while the recipe includes mayonnaise, you can sub it out for some Greek yogurt if you want to make things healthier – it doesn’t make much of a difference to the taste, but it will cut the calorie count substantially.
Cream Of Mushroom Soup
Making this soup is so simple that you’ll never want to buy it from the store ever again. Aside from being rich and creamy (of course!), it’s packed with flavor as well.
You’ll be eating it as a soup this time, but do remember that this is also ideal as a base for sauces and gravies as well. The creaminess is a great match to the meatiness of the meatloaf, and the texture of the soup is a nice contrast to the more solid meatloaf as well.
Of course, dipping bits of meatloaf into the soup is strongly encouraged.
Roasted Vegetables
One of the great things about this recipe is that you can eat more or less whatever vegetables you like. This means you can pick your favorites, or just clear out whatever you have hanging around in your fridge.
Anything will work, from kale to carrots and from broccoli to butternut squash. It’s also easy to mix and match seasonings to your own personal tastes, as there are all kinds of combinations that can work well.
Honey Glazed Carrots
We round off this list with some delicious honey-glazed carrots. Carrots have a certain natural sweetness to them already, and this makes them perfect candidates to get some love from a helping of honey.
The inclusion of orange juice is an inspired step, as the citrus edge that it brings is perfect for balancing the rest of the flavors. The sweet crunch is the perfect side to the softer meatloaf.
Conclusion
These 10 recipes should provide plenty of inspiration for you when planning your next meal.
After all, nothing says “comfort” quite like a warm, soft piece of meatloaf oozing with gravy… so why mess around with perfection, right? Pair it up properly and enjoy!
