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Home » Side Dish Recipes » What to Serve With

81 Sides for Chicken Fried Steak

Published: Feb 28, 2023 · Updated: Jan 28, 2025 by Marye

A collage of side dishes with a text overlay for Pinterest.

Find the perfect sides to serve with chicken fried steak! Here are 81 ideas to choose from! From creamy mashed potatoes to tangy coleslaw, these ideas will make your meal complete!

This round-up of the best side dishes includes easy, family-favorite recipes (like my creamy jalapeno cheese grits!) that take comfort food to a new level.

A collage of side dish images from this roundup.
Table of Contents
  • ❤️ Why we love it
  • 🥦 Vegetables and Sides
  • Breads
  • Desserts
  • 🍷 Wine and cocktails
  • 🍇 Garnish
  • 💭 Things to know
  • These side dishes also go with...
  • These side dishes DO NOT go with...
  • 💬 Comments

❤️ Why we love it

  • The classic recipe is beyond hearty and easily feeds the whole family
  • It's an affordable piece of steak, but tastes as good as the pricey stuff
  • Creamy gravy is comforting like a big 'ol hug from Mom
  • Bonus: pounding on steaks with a meat mallet is a great stress reliever

Chicken-fried steak is such a classic Southern dish, Texas has a whole day dedicated to its honor! (It's October 26, in case you're wondering.)

Plus, delicious breaded steak and creamy white gravy go great with tons of side dishes, so you have plenty of options.

Overhead view of mashed potatoes in a bowl.

🥦 Vegetables and Sides

A hearty steak recipe tastes great alongside something crunchy and fresh. Plus, these yummy veggies are easy, so it's a win-win situation!

  1. Southern creamed corn
  2. Corn on the cob
  3. Corn pudding
  4. Green beans and potatoes
  5. Southern green beans
  6. Roasted green beans
  7. Maple-roasted carrots
  8. Mashed potatoes
  9. Smashed red-skin potatoes
  10. Baked potatoes
  11. Potato salad
  12. French fries
  13. Hash browns
  14. Crispy fried potatoes
  15. Roasted sweet potatoes
  16. Mashed sweet potatoes
  17. Squash casserole with stuffing
  18. Crockpot collard greens
  19. Creamed cabbage
  20. Steakhouse creamed spinach
  21. Coleslaw
  22. Three-bean salad
  23. Old-fashioned macaroni salad
  24. Baked beans
  25. Black-eyed peas
  26. Succotash
  27. Fried okra
  28. Scalloped tomatoes
Close up of a pile of buttermilk biscuits

Breads

Nothing says "clean plate" like biscuits and homemade white gravy. Serve these bread-based sides with your chicken fried steak and you won't even have to rinse off the dishes!

  1. Easy buttermilk biscuits
  2. Honey-butter biscuits
  3. No-fail Amish white bread
  4. Honey buttermilk bread
  5. Garlic bread
  6. Hatch chile cheese bread
  7. Buttermilk bread sticks
  8. Garlic knots
  9. Homemade potato rolls
  10. Texas toast
  11. Hush puppies
  12. Cornbread
  13. Cornbread casserole
  14. Corn muffins
Two servings of banana pudding in bowls on the table.

Desserts

One of the great things in life is enjoying something sweet after dinner. So, if you're wondering what to serve with chicken fried steaks, you might as well stick to the theme with a traditional Southern dessert.

  1. Pineapple upside-down cake
  2. Red velvet poke cake
  3. Hummingbird card
  4. Vintage buttermilk cake
  5. Pecan pie
  6. Chess pie
  7. Southern buttermilk pie
  8. Coconut creme pie
  9. Lemon meringue pie
  10. Sweet potato pie
  11. Peach cobbler
  12. Blackberry cobbler
  13. Banana pudding pie
  14. Beignets
  15. Honeybuns
  16. Southern fried apples

🍷 Wine and cocktails

Complement your delicious dish with the perfect beverage. These are the best types of wine and cocktails to serve with country gravy and steak.

  1. Vodka strawberry lemonade
  2. Mint Julep cocktail
  3. Merlot
  4. Gin Fizz cocktail
  5. Zinfandel (if you prefer sweeter wine)
  6. Beaujolais
  7. Alabama Slammer cocktail
  8. Texas Mule cocktail
  9. Rum Runner cocktail
  10. IRA Whiskey shot
  11. Peach Whiskey Mule
  12. Pinot Noir
  13. Mississippi Bourbon punch
  14. Wine coolers
  15. Bourbon peach tea
  16. Spiked sweet tea
  17. Cava or champagne (goes surprisingly well with hearty fried steak)

🍇 Garnish

Chicken fried steak dinners might be classic, but they're never boring—especially when served with the proper garnish!

  1. Tabasco sauce
  2. Fresh-cracked black pepper
  3. Panera pickled onions
  4. Fresh herbs, like parsley, chives, or dill
  5. Cowboy Candy (candied jalapenos)
  6. Extra gravy (everyone always wants more of it!)

💭 Things to know

For the best chicken fried steaks, start with a good recipe (this Texas-style chicken fried steak recipe is my favorite.) Then, be sure to follow these authentically-Southern, tried-and-tested tips.

  • First things, first: safety! Don't get distracted when cooking with hot oil—and, make sure to kick the kids and pets out of the kitchen while you're frying, just in case.
  • For extra tender steaks, pound them out with a mallet to break down the tough, muscle-y fibers. If you don't have a mallet, use a rolling pin.
  • I like to use a baking sheet or two as my breading station to keep things organized and neat. Shallow bowls or plates also work fine.
  • My favorite frying oil is peanut, but you can use any kind that has a relatively high smoke point.
  • Use a large skillet and only fry as many pieces as you can fit without crowding or overlapping them.
  • Experiment using an air fryer or deep fryer, if you have one.
  • Set cooked steaks on a wire rack. Place the rack in the oven at a low temperature to keep them warm while the rest cook.
  • Chicken fried steak is best enjoyed hot and fresh, but you can store leftovers in an airtight container for three or four days.
  • When making gravy, room-temperature (or warmer) milk works best. I prefer whole milk because it adds richness, but any milk is fine.
  • Don't wipe out all of your pan drippings—they make really flavorful gravy!
Overhead view of a plate of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and corn.

These side dishes also go with...

The best sides are versatile! Try them with these other main dishes, and your weekly meal planning will be over in a jiffy.

  • Buttermilk Brined Roast Chicken isn't fried, but its crisp skin and juicy, tender meat goes great with these Southern sides.
  • Fried Pork Chops and Gravy are cooked to a delicious golden brown and make a great Southern main dish.
  • Cracker Barrel Hamburger Steaks (sometimes called Salisbury steaks) are hearty, filling, and so flavorful.
  • Crockpot Salisbury Steaks are my super easy version of the diner special!

These side dishes DO NOT go with...

  • Beef Burrito Casserole
  • Frito Chicken Casserole
  • Million Dollar Chicken Casserole

What's your favorite thing to serve with chicken fried steak? Leave a comment and let me know.

More What to Serve With

  • Collage of Texas side dishes including biscuits, cheese grits, beans, and pickled okra.
    Best Texas Side Dishes
  • Overhead view of a skillet of baked beans with a spoon in it.
    29 Best Cookout Side Dishes
  • Collage of side dishes showing what to serve with quiche.
    What to Serve with Quiche
  • Collage of side dishes that go well with kielbasa and sauerkraut.
    Best Sides for Kielbasa & Sauerkraut

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About Marye

Meet Marye Audet, a wizard in the kitchen and a storyteller at heart. Marye is like your eccentric but fun aunt who knows all the secret recipes and isn't afraid to spill them.

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Marye Audet-White, founder of Restless Chipotle Media

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NY Times bestselling author. 10 cookbooks. Mom of 8 kids. Homeschooling mom for 22 years. Addicted to Hallmark Christmas Movies. Collector of old cookbooks.

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