30 Easy Side Dishes For Lasagna

Updated April 30, 2020
Credit: Caitlin Bensel

These easy Italian side dishes perfectly complement classic lasagna. Whether you're in the mood for a light option (like this fresh-tasting Arugula Salad with Lemon and Pine Nuts) or something a bit heartier (these Air-Fried Mozzarella Sticks always impress), this collection of lasagna sides has something for everyone at your table. 

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Copycat Olive Garden Salad

Credit: Time Inc. Video Studio

Copycat Olive Garden Salad Recipe

The secret to your favorite soup, salad, and breadsticks combo is yours for the taking—and enjoying at home, anytime you want. 

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Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks

Credit: Time Inc. Video Studio

Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks Recipe

The secret to your favorite soup, salad, and breadsticks combo is yours for the taking—and enjoying at home, anytime you want. 

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Arugula Salad with Lemon and Pine Nuts

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Arugula Salad with Lemon and Pine Nuts Recipe

Peppery arugula combines with tangy lemon, salty cheese, and sweet toasted pine nuts for a perfectly balanced side salad. Slowly drizzling the olive oil into the lemon juice mixture helps emulsify the dressing. If you add the oil all at once, it’s harder to combine it with the acid, and it ends up looking like the dressing is separated.

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Broccoli-and-Arugula Salad

Credit: Photography: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Anna Hampton; Prop Styling: Thom Driver.

Broccoli-and-Arugula Salad Recipe

Packaged broccoli slaw adds instant crunch and color to this salad. You can also toss it into stir-fries, use it to bulk up chili, or add it to quiche or casseroles for a veggie boost.

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Steamed Broccoli with Garlic and Red Onion

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Claire Spollen

Steamed Broccoli with Garlic and Red Onion Recipe

Broccoli is a go-to veggie side for many families yet is often served very plain. Here we offer 4 great ways to dress it up.

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Prosciutto Green Bean Bundles with Crispy Mushrooms

Credit: Jennifer Causey

Prosciutto Green Bean Bundles with Crispy Mushrooms Recipe

Though it may look complicated, this recipe is quite easy to prepare. To save prep time, look for bags of prewashed, pretrimmed beans in the produce section. If you can’t find the slender haricots verts, you can use regular green beans—they’ll just need to cook a few minutes longer in step 1.

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Baked Zucchini Chips

Credit: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Baked Zucchini Chips Recipe

Opt for oven-baked zucchini chips as a light to fries. This baked zucchini chip recipe is a fun and easy way to use up summer zucchini, and it’s one your family will request time and time again. The high oven temperature will evaporate moisture from inside the zucchini and crisp the breadcrumb coating to a beautiful golden brown.

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Arancini (Cheesy Italian Rice Balls)

Credit: Thomas J. Story

Arancini (Cheesy Italian Rice Balls) Recipe

For perfectly fried, mozzarella Arancini, dip a rice ball into flour and shake off any excess. Dip floured ball into egg, allowing any excess to drip off. Finish by coating completely in breadcrumbs. Repeat.

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Hasselbaguette with Gorgonzola and Garlic Butter

Credit: Aaron Kirk; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Robin Bashinsky

Hasselbaguette with Gorgonzola and Garlic Butter Recipe

There’s no doubt, you know as soon as you tear off a slice of this hasselback beauty that it’s the type of thing you shouldn’t eat more than once in a given calendar year. But that’s exactly why this recipe makes a great appetizer for holiday gatherings.

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Bitter Greens Salad with Lemon and Pecorino

Credit: Photographer: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lauren Smith Ford; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos

Bitter Greens Salad with Lemon and Pecorino Recipe

Some mixed green salads seem like an afterthought. This one definitely does not. Although it may look unassuming, our Bitter Greens Salad with Lemon and Pecorino is bright, tangy, and assertive and just the right thing to serve alongside a hearty main dish like grilled steak, roasted pork, or a rich, cheesy pasta.

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Smoky Brussels Sprouts

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Smoky Brussels Sprouts Recipe

Since there’s a touch of sugar in this recipe, stir the Brussels sprouts often to prevent burning. If you’re feeling extra decadent, top this side with a little grated Manchego cheese.

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Glazed Brussels Sprouts

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Glazed Brussels Sprouts Recipe

Tangy white balsamic vinegar teams up with pomegranate juice to rev up this twist on the classic Thanksgiving side dish.

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Grilled Garlic Bread

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Grilled Garlic Bread Recipe

Homemade garlic bread is a welcome addition to almost any meal, especially when it has a smoky char from the grill. Garlic butter makes the bread extra rich, but you can substitute olive oil if you wish. Sprinkle the cut bread with grated parmesan cheese just before serving if your crowd prefers cheesy garlic bread.

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Baked Italian-Style Cauliflower

Credit: John Autry; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross

Baked Italian-Style Cauliflower Recipe

If you think eggplant is the only veggie that shines in Italian dishes, you may change your mind after you try this. Cauliflower gets tender in marinara and blends into this Italian dish like a charm. An interesting array of ingredients come together in a magnificent way under a baked topping of crispy bread and pecorino Romano cheese.

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Italian-Style Antipasti Platter

Italian-Style Antipasti Platter Recipe

An antipasti platter is probably the most iconic Italian appetizer (which doubles as a side dish), and for good reason: This classic dish is extremely easy to throw together and is always an all-around crowdpleaser.

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Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Toni Brogan

Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad Recipe

A Caprese salad—tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella cheese—is one of the easiest and most delicious ways to show off peak-season Southern-grown tomatoes. Give this salad a fun new look by using a mix of multicolored cherry tomatoes and small fresh mozzarella balls (also called “bocconcini”) tossed in a simple vinaigrette.

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Spice-Crusted Carrots

Credit: Jen Causey; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis

Spice-Crusted Carrots Recipe

Looking for a side that’ll stand out this Thanksgiving? Look no further than these charred, super tender carrots cooked in a spiced harissa oil. Smoky sweet carrots are balanced by brightness from the lemon zest, and the harissa paste mixture helps the carrots achieve a nice spice crust and char in the oven.

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Caprese Tomato Salad

Caprese Tomato Salad Recipe

Make this crisp, fresh tomato salad for your next summer cookout. If you can't find smaller basil leaves, you can gently tear the larger leaves in half.

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Roasted Asparagus with Walnuts, Parmesan, and Cherry Tomatoes

Credit: Jennifer Causey

Roasted Asparagus with Walnuts, Parmesan, and Cherry Tomatoes Recipe

Serve with grilled flank steak or chicken breasts, and you'll have a fantastic weeknight dinner. Use asparagus that are medium-thick for this recipe--not pencil-thin spears. If you'd like to try this with a raw tomato sauce (especially when the fruits are at peak sweetness), just decrease water to 1 tablespoon and process all sauce ingredients together. For a less expensive and equally savory alternative to Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, try sheep's milk pecorino Romano.

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Black Pepper-Parmesan Wedge Salad

Black Pepper-Parmesan Wedge Salad Recipe

We change up the classic wedge with a Caesar-inspired version that pairs well with pasta.

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Air-Fried Mozzarella Sticks

Credit: Time Inc. Video Studio

Air-Fried Mozzarella Sticks Recipe

These homemade mozzarella sticks offer all of the crispy-coated, cheesy goodness you want without the deep-fried mess on your stovetop. We like to call that a “win-win.”  

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Grilled Caesar Salad With Sourdough Breadcrumbs

Credit: Greg DuPree

Grilled Caesar Salad With Sourdough Breadcrumbs Recipe

Greek yogurt and sourdough bread lend a natural dose of probiotics to our riff on Caesar salad. Alliums such as garlic offer prebiotic fuel to help the good bugs thrive. (This is the difference between pre- and probiotic foods.)  Keep the sourdough croutons whole if you don’t want to dirty the food processor, or you can lightly crush them in a ziplock bag.

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Caesar Brussels Sprouts Salad with Almonds

Credit: Jennifer Causey

Caesar Brussels Sprouts Salad with Almonds Recipe

Sturdy shaved Brussels sprouts hold the crunchy almonds and a garlicky Parmesan vinaigrette without wilting. Serve with roast chicken or lamb.

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Shaved Carrot, Asparagus, and Apple Salad

Credit: Antonis Achilleo; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke, Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos

Shaved Carrot, Asparagus, and Apple Salad Recipe

Add sweetness and color to your usual cabbage slaw with this creative side dish that includes green apple, asparagus, basil, and carrots. A vegetable peeler is the best tool to get super thin slices of asparagus. (Buy thicker spears to make this job easier.)

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Asparagus with Avocado-Herb Dressing

Credit: Jennifer Causey

Asparagus with Avocado-Herb Dressing Recipe

This dish is a beautiful celebration of the season. If you can find white asparagus, try using half white and half green. You'll need to boil the white asparagus (which gets its lack of color from being grown in a covered or underground environment so that it doesn’t achieve photosynthesis) for a couple minutes longer.

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Raw Artichoke Salad with Herbs, Almonds, and Parmigiano

Credit: Laura Dart

Raw Artichoke Salad with Herbs, Almonds, and Parmigiano Recipe

"Don't even try this salad unless you have very early artichokes, the first ones to show up in the spring markets," says chef Joshua McFadden of Ava Gene's in Portland. "As with all spring vegetables, the still-cold nights help the artichoke's sugars develop for the best flavor."

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Instant Pot Ratatouille

Credit: Caitlin Bensel; Prop Styling: Christina Daley; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners

Instant Pot Ratatouille Recipe

Our Instant Pot Ratatouille certainly looks like it requires a lot of hard work to make, but the real beauty of this recipe is that it couldn’t be easier. Plus, this speedy take on the classic French dish just happens to be one of the most perfect ways we can imagine to enjoy late summer produce.

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Spicy Eggplant With Plums

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Spicy Eggplant With Plums Recipe

This combo of spicy char, sweet fruit, and creamy yogurt is a surefire hit. For a tasty swap, try halved pitted cherries in place of plums.

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Easy Tomato Salad with Basil Chimichurri and Ricotta

Credit: Sara Tane

Easy Tomato Salad with Basil Chimichurri and Ricotta Recipe

For a simple and elegant way to serve your summer farmers' market tomatoes, this speedy salad is perfect. Dressed in a basil chimichurri and speckled with creamy dollops of ricotta cheese, this show-stopping side is perfect for effortless entertaining.

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Spicy Zucchini Salad

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Spicy Zucchini Salad Recipe

Fiber- and protein-packed chickpeas bulk up this late-summer salad.

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