What to Serve with Stuffed Peppers

Stuffed peppers are basically an entire dinner crammed into a vegetable, which makes figuring out what to serve with them surprisingly annoying. Do you add another vegetable? Bread? Potatoes? Just put the pepper on a plate and declare your work here done? These easy side dishes for stuffed peppers give you plenty of delicious options that actually belong together, without turning Tuesday night dinner into a traumatizing event you'll want to add to your memoir.

Table of Contents

• Easy sides for stuffed peppers
• Southern green beans
• Southern Fried Cabbage
• Southern Cucumber Salad
• Oven Roasted Asparagus
• Crispy Fried Potatoes in a Cast Iron Skillet
• Brussels Sprouts With Hot Bacon Dressing
• Maple Roasted Carrots
• Green Bean Salad
• Carrot Salad With Pineapple
• French Onion Garlic Bread
• Quick Dinner Rolls In 30 Minutes
• Garlic Breadsticks Recipe
• Now you just need the stuffed peppers
• 💬 Comments

Easy sides for stuffed peppers

Stuffed peppers already bring plenty to the table, so the best sides don't need to compete for attention. Think crisp vegetables, tangy salads, and warm bread for chasing down that last bit of tomato sauce. Here are some of my favorite easy ways to round out the meal.

If you're still deciding what's for dinner, start with my stuffed bell peppers for that old-fashioned beef-and-rice version we all know and love.

Southern green beans

Southern sweet and sour green beans are tangy, a little sweet, and exactly the kind of side dish that works with a hearty stuffed pepper. The sweet-and-sour flavor is a nice contrast to the savory beef, rice, and tomato sauce, while bacon adds a smoky finish. Even better, they're easy enough for a weeknight dinner.

Southern Fried Cabbage

Southern fried cabbage is quick, easy, and loaded with crispy bacon, sweet onions, garlic, and plenty of savory flavor. The smoky bacon and tender cabbage are especially good with beef and rice stuffed peppers, and it all comes together fast on the stovetop while the peppers finish cooking. Save time by using chopped cabbage or cole slaw mix from the produce section.

Southern Cucumber Salad

Southern cucumber salad is cool, crisp, and tangy with just the right touch of sweetness. The simple cider vinegar dressing makes it a refreshing side for rich, saucy stuffed peppers, especially when you want something light on the plate instead of another heavy side dish.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Oven roasted asparagus needs just three ingredients and a few minutes of prep, so it's an easy side to make while the stuffed peppers are in the oven. Roasting gives the asparagus crisp edges and plenty of flavor, while keeping things light enough to balance a hearty beef-and-rice filling.

Crispy Fried Potatoes in a Cast Iron Skillet

Crispy fried potatoes are golden and crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, and especially good with stuffed peppers. Cooked the old-fashioned way in a cast-iron skillet, they're perfect for scooping up any tomato sauce left behind on the plate. Not that you needed another reason to eat fried potatoes.

Brussels Sprouts With Hot Bacon Dressing

Brussels sprouts with hot bacon dressing bring plenty of sweet, smoky, and tangy flavor to the plate. Crispy bacon, brown sugar, and Dijon mustard balance the slight bitterness of the sprouts, making them especially good alongside savory stuffed peppers and tomato sauce. Plus, bacon. We could probably stop there.

Maple Roasted Carrots

Maple roasted carrots are buttery and lightly sweet with a little smoky heat to keep them from wandering into dessert territory. Roasting caramelizes the edges and brings out their natural sweetness, making them a delicious contrast to savory stuffed peppers and tangy tomato sauce. Plus, they're easy, which is always welcome when the main dish already requires stuffing vegetables like tiny edible suitcases.

Green Bean Salad

Italian green bean salad combines tender green beans, baby potatoes, and juicy cherry tomatoes in a light, tangy dressing. It's fresh and colorful with enough potato to make it satisfying, but not so much that it feels heavy next to beef-and-rice stuffed peppers. Serve it warm, chilled, or at room temperature.

Carrot Salad With Pineapple

Carrot salad with pineapple is an old-fashioned favorite with sweet carrots, juicy pineapple, raisins, and crunchy pecans tossed in a creamy dressing. It's cool and slightly sweet, making it a nice contrast to savory stuffed peppers and tangy tomato sauce. Best of all, you can make it ahead of time and have one less thing to think about when dinner rolls around.

French Onion Garlic Bread

French onion garlic bread is buttery and crisp with plenty of savory onion and garlic flavor. It takes just four ingredients and is an easy addition to stuffed peppers when you want a little bread on the side. And, of course, it's perfect for mopping up the last of the tomato sauce on your plate.

Quick Dinner Rolls In 30 Minutes

30-minute dinner rolls are soft, buttery, and ready in about half an hour, because apparently yeast can cooperate when properly threatened. They're delicious alongside stuffed peppers and easy enough to make on a weeknight. Nobody needs to know you weren't kneading dough at dawn like a frontier woman.

Garlic Breadsticks Recipe

Copycat Fazoli's garlic breadsticks are pillowy, chewy, and slathered with plenty of garlic butter, which is really all the information a reasonable person needs. Set a basket next to the stuffed peppers and use them to swipe up every last bit of tomato sauce. They freeze well, too, so make a double batch and congratulate your future self on being unusually prepared.

Now you just need the stuffed peppers

You've got plenty of side dishes to choose from, so all that's left is deciding what to stuff inside those peppers. Here are a few of my favorite recipes to get dinner started.