Delicious side dish recipe ideas for your grilled steak. From sweet potatoes to smoked mac and cheese, these sides will take your BBQ dinner to the next level.
Steak is the perfect meal for celebrating something special or when you want to feel indulgent for dinner. The meat you serve will focus on your meal, but the right side dish can balance out the steak and enhance its flavor.
Here are the best ideas for serving along with steak, from traditional sides to modern vegetable dishes. Any of these pairings could make your steak dinner a very special occasion.
Scalloped Potatoes
Skip the mash and head straight for scalloped potatoes. Made with thinly sliced potatoes baked in a creamy, buttery sauce, and caramelized onions, there aren’t many sides that offer as much flavor and texture as this one.
Best of all, they can be made on your grill just with the use of a cast iron skillet. This allows us to add some light smoke and charr flavor to the potatoes, making them the perfect grilled side dish.
Our grilled scalloped potatoes take creamy, buttery potatoes and grill them until tender and lightly smoked, giving us a mouthwatering side dish perfect for grilled steak.
Grilled Asparagus
Asparagus pairs beautifully not only with beef steak, but also works as one of our favorite grilled sides for any meat. And it’s easy to why.
Vegetables help cut through the indulgent fattiness of a good cut of steak and balance the umami flavors. With its hint of bitterness, grilled asparagus is one of the best pairings for steak in season. Its early spring freshness brightens up what would be a heavy meal.
You can prepare asparagus in a variety of ways, but grilling it is one of the easiest. Grilled asparagus also adds a hint of char to the dish for more complexity.
Sweet Potato Fries
Sweet potatoes pair well with steak for similar reasons that regular potatoes do, and are an excellent base for any extra flavors you want to add to your meal. However, sweet potatoes add a bit more flavor and sweetness. For a variation on traditional steak fries, which you can find in most steakhouses, make sweet potato fries.
You can bake sweet potato fries in the oven for a healthier alternative or deep fry them as you would regular fries. However, the best way to enjoy them is with our grilled sweet potato fries recipe. Sprinkle the fries with salt and pepper, or add a pinch of cumin or chili for an extra punch.
Grilled Cauliflower Steaks
A popular vegetarian alternative to steak as a main dish, grilled cauliflower steaks make an excellent side dish for a traditional cut of steak.
Cauliflower steak is a slice of cauliflower roasted or grilled just like a steak. It’s called a steak because the piece of cauliflower resembles a cut of steak with a central bone and because most of the seasonings used are very similar.
Cauliflower steak pairs well with meat because it uses similar seasonings but does not overpower the main act, the cut of steak. It also provides a filling alternative for any vegetarians joining your meal.
Green Beans & Potatoes
Green beans and potatoes are an excellent steak side dish that presents traditional sides (green vegetables and potatoes) in a new way. To make this dish, cube potatoes, season them and the green beans, then bake them.
Serving green beans & potatoes as one dish is a unique combination that also saves you time. It also gives you the benefit of a filling starch and healthy vegetable to serve alongside steak.
Roasted Potatoes
Sometimes, traditional side dishes are the best choice. You can’t go wrong with roasted potatoes, a staple at many steakhouses and popular restaurants.
To roast potatoes, cut them into small pieces, parboil them, and then roast them in an oven with fat and your choice of seasoning. Roasted potatoes can be as plain or as flavorful as you want, making this an excellent side dish for expressing your creativity. Top them with cheese, or stick to more traditional herbs.
Roasted Carrots
Roasted carrots are the perfect complement to steak, thanks to their sweet and smoky flavor. Roasted carrots are also the perfect vegetable to serve if you have people at your table who don’t like vegetables because they have none of the bitterness of other veggies.
To make roasted carrots, toss carrots in olive oil and seasoning, then put them on a baking sheet. Roast them for a little over half an hour. Like roasted potatoes, roasted carrots can be a vehicle for any seasoning that you would like to highlight.
Smoked Mac & Cheese
Mac & cheese is another steakhouse favorite that you can serve at home. It pairs well with steak because the contrast of the rich sauce and sharp cheese flavor balances out the savory cut of meat.
For additional complexity of flavor, make smoked mac and cheese. Add a smoked cheese such as gouda and bacon bits. The charred undertones make this mac & cheese far from the boxed versions that were a staple of your childhood.
Garlic Butter Tuscan Mushrooms
Garlic butter Tuscan mushrooms make up a creamy side dish that serves as a rich complement to steak. The dish combines garlic and butter, two common toppings for steak, with savory mushrooms that serve as a vehicle for the sauce without overpowering the steak.
To make garlic butter Tuscan mushrooms, sauté Italian mushrooms such as cremini or portobello in butter and garlic, then finish the dish off with seasonings and herbs of your choice.
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Together, steak and grilled corn on the cob make up the perfect summer barbecue, no matter what time of year you are preparing them.
Put the cobs on the grill and finish with butter. For an extra twist, you can add sour cream, mayonnaise, seasonings, and a squeeze of lime juice to make Mexican street corn.
Cauliflower Gratin
Replace your favorite potato side dish with cauliflower gratin for a cheesy, comforting dish that still keeps the carb content low. Cauliflower gratin is just as comforting as your favorite potato dish but healthier.
To make cauliflower gratin, cut up boiled cauliflower and put it in a baking dish with cheesy bechamel sauce.
Whether you plan a celebration or want to make any meal special, these side dishes will take your steak to the next level.
