The Perfect Pair: What Food Complements Broccoli And Cheese?

Broccoli and cheese is a classic combination that can be served in many ways, from soups to casseroles, and is a great way to get your daily dose of vegetables. This dynamic duo is often accompanied by other ingredients to create a well-rounded meal. So, what other sides go well with broccoli and cheese?

Bread

A crusty baguette or loaf of bread is a classic choice to serve with soup. You can also serve bread in the form of a bread bowl, which is both fun and delicious as the bread soaks up the soup. If you're looking for something more hands-on, try making garlic toast or garlic breadsticks.

If you're feeling adventurous, you can make your own bread from scratch. Sourdough is a popular choice and can be used to make toast points or even a sourdough loaf to scoop up your soup.

For a more indulgent option, try making cheesy jalapeno soda bread. This savoury and slightly spicy bread will add a kick to your meal.

Finally, if you're short on time, a simple option is to serve warm bread with melted butter and a sprinkle of garlic or herbs.

With so many bread options to choose from, you're sure to find the perfect side to complement your broccoli and cheese!

Salads

Kale Chickpea Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

This salad features crunchy roasted chickpeas and pistachios, creamy avocado slices, and a tangy lemon vinaigrette dressing. The bitterness of the kale and the tanginess of the dressing can cut through the richness of the broccoli and cheese dish.

Quinoa Chickpea Salad

This salad combines three incredibly nutritious ingredients: quinoa, chickpeas, and spinach. This salad is also a fun way to enjoy these ingredients, as they can be prepared and stored separately, then combined when you're ready to eat.

Balsamic Tomato Basil Salad

This simple salad uses fresh, juicy garden-grown tomatoes and just needs a few minutes to marinate. The freshness of the ingredients and the light, juicy nature of this salad can balance out the heaviness of the broccoli and cheese dish.

Honeycrisp Apple Salad

This lovely fall salad is an excellent lunchtime side dish to serve with broccoli and cheese. The sweetness of the apples and the crispness of the other ingredients in the salad can provide a nice contrast to the broccoli and cheese.

Vegan BLT Salad with Avocado Dressing

This salad features a tempeh version of bacon, marinated in teriyaki sauce and Old Bay seasoning. The refreshing salad is a perfect complement to a broccoli and cheese dish, providing a nice contrast in flavours and textures.

These salad options offer a range of flavours, textures, and ingredients that can enhance and balance out the flavours of a broccoli and cheese dish, providing a well-rounded and satisfying meal.

Chicken

Creamy Tomato Soup

A hot bowl of soup is an excellent way to start a meal, warming you up while leaving room for the rest of the food. Creamy tomato soup is a delicious option, with a rich flavour profile of blended tomatoes, butter, onion, garlic, basil, and cream. It pairs well with the chicken, broccoli, and cheese, and can be easily made at home.

Herbed Dinner Rolls

Bread is a staple in almost every culture, and herbed dinner rolls are a great choice to accompany the main dish. These rolls are small, so they won't fill you up, and you can even make them bite-sized. Adding herbs like dried basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary gives them a savoury taste that will complement the other flavours on the table.

Sautéed Bell Pepper Salad

If you're looking for something light and refreshing, a salad is a perfect choice. A sautéed bell pepper salad adds a kick of spice and flavour to the meal. It's easy to prepare by thinly slicing carrots, onions, and bell peppers, and then sautéing them in garlicky olive oil. You can enhance the flavour with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon.

Grilled Cream Corn

Grilled cream corn is a classic side dish that goes well with casseroles. It provides a nice crunch to balance the smooth and gooey texture of the chicken, broccoli, and cheese. To make it, you'll need butter, flour, milk, cheese, and cream cheese. You can also add spices like salt, pepper, and cilantro, or a minced jalapeño for some spice.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are a nutritious and delicious option, packed with fibre and antioxidants. They can be prepared in various ways, from boiling to grilling, but a simple roasted sweet potato dish is easy to make and sure to please everyone. Slice the sweet potatoes, bake them in the oven with your choice of spices, and you're good to go!

Potato dishes

There are many potato dishes that can be served as a side to accompany broccoli and cheese. Here are some ideas for potato-based sides:

Baked, Roasted, Mashed, or Fried Potatoes

These classic cooking methods for potatoes can make for delicious and versatile sides. For example, roasted potatoes with garlic and herbs or mashed potatoes with butter and cream can complement the flavours of broccoli and cheese well.

Cowboy Butter-Bathed Potatoes

A unique and festive side dish, cowboy butter-bathed potatoes involve slow-roasting potatoes in spiced cowboy butter. Cowboy butter is a compound butter with bold, herby, garlicky, and spicy flavours. It pairs perfectly with roasted Yukon gold potatoes and can be served with other roasted vegetables.

Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

A make-ahead dish that is perfect for busy holidays, instant pot mashed potatoes are super creamy and easy to prepare. With no dicing or draining required, this dish can be a convenient addition to your meal.

Hasselback Potatoes

Dating back to the 1950s, these fancy-looking potatoes are cut into thin slices, left intact at the bottom, and then baked. The thin slices become crisp on the edges and tender in the middle, resembling potato chips. You can add sage leaves between the slices and serve them with garlic butter for extra flavour.

Best Potatoes You'll Ever Taste

This simple recipe involves boiling potatoes, coating them in a mixture of mayonnaise, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper, and then broiling them until tender. These potatoes make a perfect side dish for any meal and can be cooked on the grill as well.

Other vegetables

If you're looking for some other vegetables to serve alongside broccoli and cheese, there are several options that can complement the dish well. Here are some ideas:

• Cauliflower: This vegetable pairs well with broccoli and can be included in the same cheese sauce or baked together.
• Carrots: Carrots can be steamed or cooked alongside broccoli to add some extra colour and nutrients to your meal.
• Mushrooms: Like carrots, mushrooms can be steamed or sautéed as a side dish or added to the broccoli and cheese casserole.
• Corn: Corn and broccoli make a great combination, especially when paired with a cheese sauce.
• Pearl onions: For a mild way to dress up broccoli, try serving it with a creamy white cheese sauce and pearl onions.
• Peppers: Stuffed mini peppers can add a crunch to your meal, or you can try bell peppers in a stir-fry.
• Potatoes: Potatoes go well with broccoli, especially in a cheesy casserole or as potato leek waffles on the side.
• Lemon couscous: Lemon couscous with broccoli is a tasty side dish that combines vegetables and pasta.
• Asparagus: Try serving steamed asparagus as a simple and healthy side dish.
• Spinach: Spinach can be added to a salad or baked into an artichoke and spinach ravioli dish.

These are just a few suggestions, but feel free to get creative and experiment with different combinations of vegetables to find your favourite side dishes to serve with broccoli and cheese!

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