20 Best Side Dishes for Pork Chops

May the pork be with you!

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Published 01/02/21

Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes — The Spruce / Diana Rattray

Plenty of families count on pork chops for easy weeknight meals, but the decision about what to serve with them can be a head-scratcher. If you're wondering what to serve with pork chops tonight, this recipe collection will inspire you to think outside the chop. You'll find great ideas here for sides that need minimal prep or hands-on cooking time to deliver plenty of flavors—from smashed potatoes, Southern-fried apples, and one-pan macaroni and cheese, to easy vegetable dishes even picky eaters will like.

01 of 20

Shredded Brussels Sprouts With Bacon

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

Bacon, onion, and garlic are all you need to add massive flavor to nutrient-rich Brussels sprouts. This incredibly tasty vegetable side dish for pork needs only 5 ingredients (plus salt and pepper), and not much cooking time, so it's great when you're rushing to get dinner on the table. Topped with toasted almonds or pecans, it makes a great holiday side dish, too.
02 of 20

Classic Baked Corn Pudding

The Spruce

Corn pudding is a classic, comforting, Southern-style side dish. With its sweet, fluffy, custard-like taste, it is an excellent accompaniment to porky mains. Bake it up in about an hour for your holiday table, or any time of year for your freezer, using canned or thawed frozen corn kernels, milk, eggs, and just a few other simple ingredients.
03 of 20

Potato and Butternut Squash Latkes

The Spruce / Anita Schecter

Latkes are the name for traditional Jewish potato pancakes, but these fried bundles of goodness are not your grandmother's version. With butternut squash, woodsy za'atar seasoning, and a suggested topping of creamy labneh, they are full of fantastic Middle Eastern flavors. Serve them with maple glazed pork chops, for a homey and satisfying autumn meal.
04 of 20

Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

The Spruce

Gorgeously sweet and sticky roasted carrots glazed with brown sugar and butter are a delicious side dish for your weekday skillet pork chops or a holiday pork tenderloin. You could use multi-colored carrots for a fantastic visual appeal if they are available at your local market, but regular orange ones are great, too.

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05 of 20

Instant Pot Scalloped Potatoes

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

The Instant Pot appliance makes the tender, cheesy scalloped potatoes of your dreams so easy to achieve, with minimal effort. Simply layer the simple ingredients in a baking dish sized to fit inside your Instant Pot, and set the timer. After 30 minutes, sprinkle the dish with some extra cheese, and pop it under the broiler briefly, to achieve a beautifully browned crust.
06 of 20

Southern Fried Apples

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

If you enjoy sweet and savory tastes together, you're sure to love the flavors you will experience in a plate of pork and apples. These Southern-style sauteed apples are quick and easy to whip up on busy weeknights, and will magically transform basic pork chops into everything your family wants for dinner.
07 of 20

Roasted Broccoli Rabe

The Spruce / Molly Watson

Broccoli rabe (also called rapini) is loaded with healthy, anti-inflammatory nutrients such as folate and vitamin C, making it a great choice to feed your family. Oven-roasting this cruciferous vegetable at a high temperature, with just a little olive oil and salt, helps to tame its famously bitter taste and adds an appealing crispness around the edges.
08 of 20

Easy French Onion Soup

The Spruce / Cara Cormack

Experience French bistro dining at home when you begin a pork chop dinner with French onion soup. Deep, rich, beefy, tangy, and complex, this traditional French soup matches well with mild-tasting pork chops, for an ultra-comforting meal on colder days. Top bowls with toasted baguette slices smothered in melting gruyere cheese for a truly French experience.

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09 of 20

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad

B2 / Flickr-CC / BY-ND 2.0

Round out a meaty meal with a nutritious, fresh-tasting salad that goes beyond the usual greens. Tender, roasted sweet potatoes top an easy-to-assemble lettuce, cucumber, and radish salad, for a lovely combination of warm and cool elements. It's an easy trick that makes your whole dinner feel more special.
10 of 20

Baked Acorn Squash With Cornbread Stuffing

The Spruce / Victoria Heydt

Turn plain pork chops into a holiday-worthy meal by pairing them with elegant stuffed acorn squash. Filled with a savory cornbread dressing that starts with a prepared mix, including fresh chopped apples and lots of dried pantry spices for extra flavor, it makes a hearty special occasion side dish for pork, or a satisfying vegan and vegetarian entree on its own.
11 of 20

Green Beans with Onions and Za'atar Breadcrumbs

The Spruce / Anita Schecter

Great-tasting green beans are always welcome at the dinner table. Spruced up with crunchy za'atar breadcrumbs, and sweet and tangy caramelized onions, these pan-sauteed string beans have loads of flavor and texture, take just 30 minutes to prepare, and beat plain steamed beans hands-down.
12 of 20

Roasted Celery Root

The Spruce / Elaine Lemm

The humble celery root (aka celeriac) is a much-overlooked root vegetable, possibly because it's not the prettiest. But roasted with just a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, the flesh takes on a lovely, sweet, and creamy flavor. Add it to your dinner plate with pork, whenever you crave a rustic meal.

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13 of 20

Sauteed Collard Greens and Kale

Poppy Barach / E+ / Getty Images

Garlic, olive oil, and simple seasonings are all that's needed to flavor super-nutritious collard greens and kale. Stir-fry them quickly in a pan, finishing with a little lemon juice to add brightness, for a quick and easy side dish that goes great with Southern-style smothered pork chops.
14 of 20

One-Pan Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

You need only one pan, and fewer than ten ingredients, for this easy broccoli macaroni and cheese. Lots of sharp cheddar cheese gives it great flavor, and it won't leave you with a pile of dishes to clean up. Serve it with simply broiled or grilled pork chops, for a delicious weeknight dinner you can pull off in less than 30 minutes.
15 of 20

Baked Vidalia Onions With Parmesan Cheese

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

Soft, buttery, baked sweet onions topped with Parmesan cheese are a mouth-watering side dish for grilled or broiled pork chops and steaks. You won't believe the incredible amount of flavor in these onions that are a cinch to prepare and bake to perfection in about an hour.
16 of 20

Apple Salad With Pecans and Raisins

The Spruce

Apples are a popular pairing for pork chops, and this refreshing salad makes a great first course for any menu that includes pork. Deliciously fresh, creamy, and crunchy, with fabulous autumn flavor from apples, raisins, and pecans, it also makes a great light lunch option piled atop crisp Romaine lettuce leaves.

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17 of 20

Pilaf Rice

Lauri Patterson / Getty Images

When you're hurrying to get dinner out, consider pairing broiled or pan-fried pork chops with this easy pilaf rice. With the pilaf method, you start the rice on the stovetop with chicken broth and aromatics, before transferring it to the oven to finish cooking hands-free. It's much like risotto, but with much less stirring!
18 of 20

Smashed Red Potatoes With Garlic

The Spruce / Diana Rattray

Garlicky side dishes add awesome flavor to milder-tasting mains, from crock pot pork chops to baked chicken breasts. These "smashed" potatoes have name kids love, and you don't even have to peel the potatoes, making this tasty dish one that is sure to find its way into your regular weeknight repertoire.
19 of 20

Creamed Spinach With Parmesan Cheese

The Spruce / Chosen Posture

Frozen spinach makes this creamed spinach dish an absolute cinch to prepare. Creamy and rich-tasting with Parmesan cheese, garlic, and nutmeg, but still ultra-nutritious, it's a side you will make again and again. It may even convert some picky eaters to spinach!
20 of 20

Granny Smith Apple Slaw

Sabrina S. Baksh / Regarding BBQ Inc.

Vibrant and light, with a delicious creamy dressing, this fresh apple and cabbage coleslaw is great for balancing out heavier pork dishes, from chicken-fried pork chops to pulled pork sandwiches. If you don't have Granny Smith apples on hand, use another tart variety, such as Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Empire, or Jonathan apples.