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If you’re looking for great ideas on what to serve with fried catfish, this roundup of the best sides for catfish is the perfect place to start!
Fried catfish deserves more hype at the table.
The perfectly golden brown and crusted fish is unbelievably tasty.
It has a slightly sweet and mild flavor with a dense and moist texture.
It is less flaky than other types of white fish when deep-fried.
Catfish can also easily absorb the seasonings you rub on it, so you can coat it with cornmeal batter and baking flour for a unique combination of flavors and a more crunchy take.
Just like most fried foods, though, fried catfish can be greasy and heavy, which is why it is better to serve it with a side dish to balance it out.
There are a lot of recipes that you can pair with catfish, from the classic coleslaw and casserole to the sweet cornbread and bread rolls; these dishes are sure to delight your family and friends.
If you are unfamiliar with side dishes and don’t know what to serve with fried catfish, we’ve rounded up our favorites for you to make at home.
They complement the taste of this scrumptious staple in the South, and you can bring them to your next fish fry.
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You can never go wrong with cornbread.
It is light, fluffy, soft, crumbly, and has crisp edges.
It is a bit sweet, and that is what makes it irresistible.
With this recipe, you can add a unique spin to the classic by adding jalapeños and cheddar cheese for a spicy and salty take.
Ingredients include: Cornmeal, flour, baking powder, butter, eggs, and milk.
Potato salad is a side that is always present at picnics and holiday get-togethers, especially if the main course is fried.
The mixture of potatoes and mayonnaise makes for a fantastic contrast to the crispy catfish.
Ingredients include: Potatoes, shallots, dill, mayonnaise, and yogurt.
Level up your mashed potato by making it more buttery and garlicky.
This recipe can increase the flavor of this classic dish tenfold, and it is an excellent comfort food that will undoubtedly be a crowd favorite at barbecues.
Ingredients include: Garlic, potatoes, milk, salt, and butter.
Take a bite from your childhood with this classic pasta salad.
It is overflowing with vegetables and bursting with flavors that everyone will come back to for seconds.
Ingredients include: Pasta spirals, cucumbers, black olives, onions, and mayonnaise.
Give your fried fish a refreshing side by serving it with the classic corn on the cob.
Slather some butter on the corn and season it with salt.
The corn is so tasty and rich that you will be obsessed with it.
Ingredients include: Corn, butter, and salt.
Sauteed Okra, The Fish-Fry Side Without The Fryer
This sauteed okra recipe is so simple that you will find yourself making it as a side dish over and over again. Fried okra was a staple dish at every fish fry that I ever went to as a kid.
Ten-Minute Sauteed Mixed Greens
You can turn handfuls of raw salad greens into a high-fiber, tasty side dish! It is an easy way to get in a whole serving of greens without eating two huge bowls of salad.
Carolina Coleslaw With Zero Mayo
It has an extra flavor punch of celery seeds that perfectly mixes with cabbage, kale leaves, carrots, onions, cider vinegar, and mustard. It’s sweet, tangy, and of course, yummy!
Red Cabbage Slaw That Stays Crunchy
This red cabbage slaw recipe is easy to make. It’s a crunchy side dish that’s satisfying to eat and it’s good for you and your family at the same time.
Crockpot Mac And Cheese, No Velveeta
This crockpot mac and cheese recipe takes just a little bit of work off the table (and the oven and the stove). The noodles go in dry, so they absorb all those creamy ingredients into every bite.
Slow Cooker Cornbread Casserole, Sweet And Spoonable
The slow, steady heat of a slow cooker turns this cornbread casserole into something almost pudding-like — a tender mix of sweet corn, sour cream, and melted butter that steams and sets into a golden, spoonable dish.
Jiffy Corn Casserole Straight From The Pantry
This easy side dish is a simple combination of pantry ingredients, baked and enjoyed at my Thanksgiving table for years.
Skillet Creamed Corn From A Bag Of Frozen
This skillet creamed corn is a rich, comforting dish that comes together right on the stovetop. It’s creamy, full of flavor, and made with just a handful of ingredients.
Popeyes Red Beans And Rice, Made At Home
Popeye’s red beans and rice recipe is hands down a powerhouse of flavors and texture. This red beans and rice recipe is a perfect side dish.
Popeyes Cajun Fries, Copycat
Yes, you can learn how to make Popeye’s Cajun fries recipe right in the comfort of your own kitchen. I went and was flabbergasted with the delicious array of flavors.
Cheddar Bay Biscuits From The Seafood Place
They’re pretty darn close to the real thing. Just don’t skip the garlic-butter dabbed on all the warm biscuit tops at the end; it’s where the magic happens!
Butter Dip Biscuits, No Rolling Pin
These butter dip biscuits offer the comfort of homemade baking with minimal effort. The key is the melted butter poured into the baking dish before the dough goes in.
Cheddar Bacon Ranch Biscuits From Frozen Dough
That’s where these Cheddar Bacon Ranch Biscuits come in—crispy center-cut bacon, shredded cheese and ranch seasoning. Starting with frozen Grands Biscuits, this is truly an easy biscuit recipe for a lazy weekend breakfast or a last-minute brunch.
Cold Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
This Hawaiian-style macaroni salad recipe is creamy and served cold. There aren’t a lot of ingredients in this Hawaiian macaroni salad so it is super simple to put together.
Yukon Gold Potato Salad For The Cooler
Yukon gold potatoes make a delicious potato salad. Making a homemade potato salad doesn’t have to be overly complicated.
Cowboy Caviar, Dip It Or Spoon It
It is made with a mix of beans, sweet corn, and crunchy vegetables tossed in a tangy marinade. It can serve as a dip or topping on grilled meat or a side dish.
Elote, Mexican Street Corn
Elote is a Mexican corn dish that is made with sweet corn, spices, mayo, lime, and cotija cheese. The best part is that you can serve this as a side dish or an appetizer.
Grilled Corn, Tested Four Ways
Who knew that how you grill your corn, or if you should even grill corn, would bring out strong feelings in people?? This is why I decided to try grilling corn four ways just to see which way I personally liked the best.
Deviled Eggs With Bacon And White Cheddar
Today’s option is deviled eggs with bacon and white cheddar cheese. It turns out that bacon makes deviled eggs quite a delight.
Homemade Tartar Sauce In Five Minutes
Learning how to make tartar sauce is a fundamental part of cooking. Should we dip our fried fish fillets in tartar sauce or ketchup?
Bang Bang Sauce For Everything Fried
With a light zing, a barely-there pepper bite, and a nice garlic finish, this is the perfect dipping sauce for the fried shrimp we threw in the air fryer. It would be great with onion rings, french fries, hush puppies, fried catfish, drizzled over sushi, over tacos and anything else you can think of.
Lemon Aioli You Whip Up In Two Minutes
You can whip up this lemon aioli in just a couple of minutes. Consequently, you’ll have a scrumptious dipping sauce for your snack, one that’s guaranteed to make you drool for days.
Quick Pickled Cucumbers, No Canning
We love to make quick pickled cucumbers at our house. Pickling cucumbers are a quick and easy way to transform the flavor into something unique and delicious.
Twice-Baked Potatoes Loaded With Bacon
Potatoes are such a wonderful comfort food, and this twice-baked potato recipe is just one way to elevate this simple vegetable to a flavor-packed delight everyone will love. With smoky crumbled bacon, shredded cheddar and more, we think you’ll love it too.
Bacon Cheddar Smashed Potatoes
If you’re craving something cheesy, crispy, and loaded with bacon — but without spending hours in the kitchen — these Bacon Cheddar Smashed Potatoes are about to become your new obsession. They’ve got all the flavor of potato skins but without the hassle.
Air Fryer Baked Potato With Crackly Skin
The fastest way to cook a baked potato that mimics the tender and fluffy potato in a conventional oven is an air fryer baked potato recipe. The crispy potato skins stay intact with easy recipes like this one.
Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole
This loaded mashed potato casserole is rich, decadent, and always the first dish to vanish at potlucks or holiday spreads. It’s a side that steals the show—and the compliments.
Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries With Crisp Edges
Cooking and serving sweet potato fries always feels like such a treat. The secret to getting the fries to crisp up is ensuring they are not crowded on the baking sheet.
Lemon Pepper Sweet Potato Rounds
These sweet potato rounds are a great choice if you are looking for an easy-to-make side dish for dinner tonight. You only need 3 ingredients: Sweet potatoes, olive oil, and seasoning (we use lemon pepper most of the time).
Garlic Cauliflower Mash For The Mashed-Potato Skeptic
Once I took a bite of the fluffy mashed cauliflower, I was sold—and frankly, quite surprised. This is why I was truly surprised when I discovered that mashed cauli changes the flavor quite a bit, and it takes on the flavors it melds with.
Texas Roadhouse Green Beans With Bacon
If you have ever been to Texas Roadhouse you know how divine their green beans are. This recipe starts with cans of cut green beans with a handful of additional ingredients, like cooked bacon, onion, garlic, and a bit of sugar, so it’s just enough cooking time for the flavors to meld.
Roasted Parmesan Green Beans
One reason I love doing green beans in the oven is that the seasoning stays on the beans and bakes in. They come out crisp-tender, and sometimes I add an extra five minutes in the oven to make sure they are done and not tough.
Steakhouse-Style Creamed Spinach
If you are looking for a creamy and delicious spinach side dish, this is the perfect recipe for you. Now we love cheese in this household so we really amped up the cheese in this recipe.
Blackened Broccoli With A Smoky Char
It had a smoky and charred flavor that worked perfectly well with the oily salmon. After tasting that particular dish, it got me thinking: what else would taste good blackened?
Peppery Arugula Salad With Lemon
We can’t get enough of this easy arugula salad recipe. A great feature about this salad is how insanely easy it is to create.
The bottom line
Catfish on its own is already a blast, but eating it with incredible side dishes will make you feel like royalty at a feast.
You can choose from many sides for fried catfish, and you can go with savory, sweet, cheesy, or tangy side pairings.
Whatever it is that your palate craves, there is a recipe for you.
