15 Irresistible Side Dishes That Go Perfectly with Fried Shrimp

Quick & Easy Dinner

Is fried shrimp on the menu tonight?

If that is a yes in our house, it typically means we are trying to make dinner easy to make, whether that is because we are busy, tired, or its hot outside – often all three at once!

Of course we want to serve more than just friend shrimp for dinner. We need some sides. I want to share with you the kinds of side dishes we like to make with fried shrimp and all of them have the requirement of being easy to prep and cook.

When we buy frozen fried shrimp for dinner, we like to either get the Kirkand Panko Fried Shrimp or the Kirkland Tempura Shrimp from Costco. Sometimes we serve a combo of both as some of many kids dont love the tempura shrimp.

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Easy to Make Sides

So what sides go well with Panko fried shrimp? Here are some recommendations.

Baked potato – It really doesnt get much easier than making baked potatoes. You throw them in the oven and dont even have to dirty any dishes. I have switched recently to using my air fryer instead because it doesnt need to be preheated and I dont warm up my kitchen when using it. If you want the most stunning baked potatoes, you need to try out my Purple Baked Potatoes, made with purple potatoes are purple inside and out.

️ Recipe – Purple Baked Potatoes in the Oven or Air Fryer.

Baked Potato Fries – Did you know that you can bake potatoes and then turn them into fries? If you are ok with adding one more step, you can bake your potatoes ahead of time. Then when its dinner time, cut them into fries and cook them in your air fryer.

️ Recipe – Fries from Baked Potatoes

Crinkle Cut Fries – Another option is to use a crinkle cutter to cut fries and air fry them for about 20 minutes after tossing them in some oil. My daughter does this all the time, so its an easy option your kids can help do.

Leeks & Potatoes – We typically think of leeks and potatoes in soup, but you dont have to limit them to just that. I love to cut up some leeks and potatoes and throw them together in the air fryer. Leeks dont make me cry like onions do, so that definitely helps make prepping this dish easier.

️ Recipe – How to Air Fry Leeks (including with potatoes)

Asparagus – Asparagus is easy to throw into the oven and roast but if you want asparagus even quicker there is a way to cook it in the microwave in just a few minutes. You wrap the asparagus in a slightly wet paper towel and cook it that way.

️ Recipe – Microwave Asparagus in Paper Towel

Carrots – Any easy, hands-off way to make carrots is to slice them up, put them on a sheet pan, and throw in a whole stick of butter. The carrots will come out filled with flavor.

️ Recipe – Buttery Roast Carrots

Corn – An easy option is just taking some frozen corn and cooking it in a pan with butter. If you top it off with some smoked salt or smoked paprika, it can be really good without barely any work on your part.

If you want to try something a little more fancy and involved, I have a great recipe for Elote/Mexican Street Corn style creamed corn. It doesnt take very long to make so it can be thrown together while you are cooking your fried shrimp.

️ Recipe – Elote or Mexican Street Style Creamed Corn

Grits – One of my daughters favorite foods is homemade grits. And they arent as hard to make as one might think. Shrimp & grits is a popular dish in the south. You can also pair fried shrimp with grits as well.

Instant grits will come together fast, but you are much better off taking the time to make grits from stone ground grits with way more flavor. My method for making grits involves:

• Cooking 1 cup of grits with 2 cups of whole milk and 2 cups of water over medium heat.
• Whisk them often until they are thicken.
• It takes about 15-20 minutes, so its still a quick side dish to pair with shrimp.

Salad – Why not pair a good old salad with your fried food We love to make our own salad dressings because they are easy to make and taste better. My wife and I love a good Cesar and my oldest is obsessed with any salad with blue cheese dressing that we make in our food processor. This can be done well ahead of the meal, so you arent doing that while trying to get dinner on the table.

️ Recipe – Homemade Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

Coleslaw – You could call this a salad as well. Best if you can make it yourself. Pretty much every grocery store carries bags of pre-cut cabbage and carrots. Then you can make a sauce for it that is perfect to your liking. My daughter will eat coleslaw if its not too sweet, which you find that a lot of ready made coleslaw is because they add sugar.

Broccoli – Whether steamed, roasted, or air fried broccoli is a cheap, easy choice to pair with fried shrimp. Did you know that you can take frozen broccoli right from the freezer and put it into your air fryer and cook it? It actually works better with frozen as the stems are softer to start so the broccoli ends up being more evenly cooked.

️ Recipe – Air Fry Frozen Broccoli

Cauliflower – I am obsessed with multicolored cauliflower. They are so attractive, and even though the flavor isnt different, its still very fun to serve up a mix of purple, orange, and white cauliflower. I always either roast or air fry my cauliflower. If you want to dress it up, I have a recipe for roast cauliflower that uses a Tahini sauce. The sauce can ne made right when the cauliflower comes out and it simple involves mixing together some Tahini with honey, salt, and water.

️ Recipe – Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce

Snap Peas – Last but not least, I wanted to talk about using snap peas as a side. I think they are extremely underrated. They are so good, just roasted in the oven and finished with a touch of honey. You can use snow peas as well but I prefer those for stir-fry and the snap peas for roasting.

️ Recipe – Roasted Snap Peas with Honey «

Phil Robertson’s Quick & Tasty Fried Shrimp Recipe | Phil Robertson

FAQ

What is a good side for fried shrimp?

What meal goes well with shrimp?

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