Mashed potatoes are such a classic comfort food, but they don’t always have to be served on their own! Here are some ideas to pair with your next batch of mashed potatoes. These recipes are my favorites when I need to figure out what to serve with mashed potatoes. They will elevate your side dish and please even the pickiest of eaters!
Although mashed potatoes are great on their own, they make a delicious side dish for a variety of other meals. It’s no wonder they’re one of America’s favorite comfort foods.
Whether you just finished a big Thanksgiving meal or have had a long day at work, serving these with any of these meals will help you warm up and feel cozy inside.
Whether you are cooking them mashed, smashed, roasted, air fried or stuffed, you’ll want to find main course that works well with the potatoes.
Why You’ll Love These
Meal Prep Friendly | Most of the recipes are meal prep friendly and fit great into your weekly meal planning when you go grocery shopping.
Variety | There are air fried, instant pot, grilled and stove top recipes to go with your spuds.
Opportunities to Try New Dishes | Keep the mashed spuds while trying out how they taste next to Instant Pot Brisket or Instant Pot Ribs is always a fun part of experimenting with recipes.
🐮 Beef
Smoked Chuck Roast
Smoking chuck roast is super simple and produces the most tender and juicy meat. Transform it into a sandwich, serve alongside potatoes, or make with some roasted veggies. This roast is freezer friendly, delicious, and filled with smoky flavors.
You don’t need to spend a lot of money to get a fall-apart delicious meat. The low-and-slow smoking approach will do the trick!
Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs
Beef Short Ribs made in the Instant Pot are fall-off-the-bone-tender, packed with flavor, and easy to make with only 20 minutes of hands-on prep time! Serve them with mashed potatoes for a cozy, delicious meal.
Poor Man’s Burnt Ends
The secret ingredient to these Poor Man’s burnt ends is starting with a chuck roast. Using an inexpensive cut of meat like chuck roast is easier on the pocketbook, but you still end up with an incredible dinner. It’s a great combination of sweet and tangy too.
Nothing goes better with mashed potatoes than a tender meat dish with a light gravy or BBQ sauce. Give this a shot!
Veal Osso Buco
Veal Osso Buco is one of our favorite meals of all time! This Italian classic is braised veal shanks in a hearty wine and vegetable-based sauce. It is saucy and rich and the meat is fall-apart tender. It’s served with a zesty mixture of parsley, lemon zest, and garlic (known as gremolata in Italian) that finishes this dish off perfectly.
Even just looking at this picture, it is screaming for a nice bowl of creamy mashed potatoes, right?
Chicken Fried Steak
Chicken Fried Steak is the ultimate savory comfort food! It goes perfectly with mashed potatoes to make a southern comfort meal! If you love traditional home cooking, you really need to try this chicken fried steak recipe. Gather the family and enjoy this tasty meal idea.
I always save some of the leftover gravy to add to the potatoes!
Beef Bourguignon
Beef Bourguignon is a hearty stew made with a red wine marinade, beef, veggies, and seasonings. Add a spoonful of stew on top of a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes and you’ll have an amazing dinner. This dish is easy to customize and makes an easy dinner.
The red wine sauce is so good, you’ll really be tempted to add some to your mashed potatoes – and you TOTALLY should!
🐔 Poultry
Lemon Herb Turkey Legs
Sink your teeth into these juicy Lemon Herb Turkey Legs. This is a main dish that will go amazing with mashed potatoes. The tender turkey is seasoned perfectly to give you lots of flavor. The white wine elevates the turkey legs even more.
It’s made in the slow cooker and uses just three ingredients, making it a super easy hands-off recipe that will be a huge hit.
Ninja Foodi Grilled Chicken Breast
If you’re looking for the most tender and juicy grilled chicken, you’re in the right place. This Ninja Foodi Grilled Chicken Breast Recipe is SO flavorful, you’ll wonder how you lived without it! Making homemade mashed potatoes to go with it, completes the meal.
Garlic Butter Chicken
Treat your family to some pure comfort food with this Garlic Butter Chicken. It’s sure to become a new family favorite dish and it comes together easily in 15 minutes. It’s full of flavor, and is the perfect protein to add to any meal! Serve with a heaping scoop of mashed potatoes and you can’t go wrong.
Keep the extra drippings for the mashed potatoes! It makes a phenomenal gravy, filled with garlic and butter!
Air Fryer Cornish Hen
Buttery, tender, and oh so juicy cornish hens are exactly what you need for dinner. Made quickly and easily customized, this is a recipe you need to save. It can be cooked in your Instant Pot Duo Crisp or Ninja Foodi.
I love this one as I can fit two hens in the air fryer at once, making it easy to get dinner on the table without having to cook in shifts.
Bruschetta Chicken
With only eight ingredients and easy preparation, this Parmesan Crusted Bruschetta Chicken recipe with mayonnaise can be on your table in just 35 minutes. Try it tonight!
Air Fryer Turkey Breast
A turkey breast should be moist and tender, with a golden-brown skin that crackles when you bite into it. That’s exactly what you get with this air fryer turkey breast! Since an air fryer uses very little oil and works quickly, it’s the perfect cooking appliance to use when you want to prepare turkey breasts at home without having to spend hours in the kitchen over a hot stove.
A nice starch like mashed potatoes works so well with the turkey!
Dutch Oven Chicken Breast & Veggies
Here’s an easy recipe that will have you dancing around the kitchen. This dutch oven chicken breast recipe is juicy, simple, and creamy, too! Grab some boneless chicken breast and make this one-pot dinner!
Make sure to mix some of it in with your potatoes. The creamy goodness works perfectly with them!
🐷 Pork and Lamb
Air Fryer Pork Tenderloin
You’ll be amazed you can make this air fryer pork tenderloin in just 30 minutes. Oh, and it’s wrapped in bacon to provide you with one of the most delicious recipes ever! Feel free to meal prep this tenderloin and enjoy it for multiple meals.
I usually make a double batch of mashed potatoes as they work so well with this tasty recipe.
Air Fryer Rack of Lamb
This succulent and crazy delicious Air Fryer Rack of Lamb is a game changer! Make tender, medium rare lamb chops that melt in your mouth in less than 25 minutes! Impress your friends and family with this fancy meal idea.
Sriracha Honey Garlic Pork Chops
If you love pork, you are going to go wild for these honey sriracha pork chops. Every bite will give a taste of sweet heat that is incredible. Sriracha paired with honey coats these seared pork chops beautifully.
If you don’t have sriracha in the pantry, check to see if you have any of the substitutes that work equally well.
🦞 Seafood
Restaurant Style Pan Seared Salmon
Salmon is one of the best main dishes because it can be served as a low key dinner or it can be fancy. Either way, this flaky salmon is easy and tastes as delicious as what you can get at a classy restaurant.
Fried Salmon Patties
Southern Fried Salmon Patties are made with canned salmon. This recipe is super easy and a great pantry staples meal to have on hand for those emergency dinners.
These just scream for a nice whipped dollop of mashed potatoes with melted butter!
Grilled Red Snapper
I try to serve a bit of a lighter meal periodically, and this grilled red snapper is one of my favorites. It is easy to whip up, but I will usually serve it with fresh vegetables and a bit of mashed potatoes. The lemon garlic butter on the fish mixes really well with the potatoes.
If you are counting carbs, swap it out with mashed rutabaga. It is just as easy to make, but offers a ton of flavor!
Summary
Whether you are mashing or smashing, keeping the skins on or off, or using white or red potatoes, there are several filling comfort foods that work perfect with a nice big serving of mashed potatoes!
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