What is better than one meatloaf dish? Let me tell you: a meatloaf dish and a delicious side dish to go along with it.
As far as traditional household meals go, the meatloaf is an indispensable and very regular dinner item on so many dinner tables.
There is nothing more mind relaxing than coming home and meeting a freshly baked meatloaf in addition to the beautiful and nostrils teasing aroma emanating from spicy seasonings.
Meatloaf is just simply a dish that is made from ground meat. The ground meat is mixed with a couple of other ingredients and materials and then made to take a loaf shape.
The loaf is then smoked or cooked. A lot of people give it a final touch by shaping it up after it has been baked.
The most popular way of forming a meatloaf is baking it in a pan or baking tray that has the form of a loaf.
Meatloaf is mainly made from beef, but occasionally, venison, lamb, and pork can be used as improvised alternatives.
If you are a meatloaf lover and are looking for ways to enjoy it with a side dish, a couple of side dishes fit this description, ranging from delicious and creamy mac and cheese to cornbread.
We are going to look at several side dishes that can be served with meatloaf in no particular order;
1. Dinner rolls
You have taken the first step by deciding to bake meatloaf, and it is only typical and pertinent that you bake some nice bread to go with it.
Baking some sweet-smelling and fresh hot bread rolls just makes this combo excellent.
Whatever sauce or dipper is on your meatloaf plate, the bread can always soak up a little of it; the flavor this combo brings is better experienced than imagined.
When you have a burger, the feeling you get is doubled up here due to the richness of the spices and ingredients mixed in the meatloaf, coupled with the balancing sweet taste of bread.
Follow this link to get the recipe for these fresh rolls.
2. Garlic bread
You might start drooling at the thought of having garlic mixed with your bread rolls and meatloaf.
Well, I wouldn’t blame you; I mean, who doesn’t find this rich flavorful bread irresistible?
Garlic bread is straightforward and quick to prepare and brings that oriental and scintillating garlic feels to the dinner table.
The aroma of garlic and spices is second to none. The simple way to make this work is to slather cheese and butter on the garlic bread slices and then place them in an oven until the cheese melts into the bread.
You can even add some anchovies and breadfruits to your bread.
You can click here to get the recipe for this tasty side dish.
3. Mashed potatoes
On a general note, whether they are served whole or as chips or fries, potatoes are the magic wonder and celebrities of the side dishes world.
There are many ways to prepare potatoes, and they are easy and quick to prepare. Their neutral taste ensures that they fit as side dishes to almost any meal.
Yet, with popular opinion and from a lot of research, it has been found that mashed potatoes are the best form of potatoes to serve with meatloaf. A lot of people say they never tire of this combo.
You can serve your mashed potatoes with a mixture of garlic, cheese, butter, and chili. They are best served hot.
You can get the recipe for this dish on this blog.
4. Mashed cauliflower
How do you add cauliflower to a meal, mainly when it involves serving it when kids are involved? Simple.
Mashing. Mashed cauliflowers have a delicious taste and are a healthy addition to your meal, and the kids won’t even have an idea they are chumming up vegetables.
They have many nutritional benefits and are just natural complementary food items to a calorie and condiment-filled meatloaf. The mashed cauliflower is mixed with some paprika and cream.
You can check out this recipe if you are interested in a homemade mashed cauliflower meal.
5. Creamed spinach
When you speak of a classy food combination, spinach and meatloaf are a perfect fit. The creamed spinach is made to be creamy due to the addition of mayonnaise. It is cheesy and has an all-around feel of goodness.
The meatloaf’s spicy flavor blended with the creamed spinach’s smooth flavor just makes this side dish an essential side dish for meatloaf.
Click here to get the recipe.
6. Sweet potato fries
Sweet potatoes may not have general popularity like their Irish counterparts, but there is no doubt that they pack a powerful punch when it comes to sweetening up meals.
Sweet potato fries afford you the opportunities to tilt away from conventional French fries.
Sweet potato chips are easy to prepare and, for the most part, are amazingly crispy and delicious when baked too.
They bring a delicate balance to their addition with meatloaf by their sweet and savory taste.
Click here to get the recipe.
7. Cauliflower tots
Cauliflowers will always be readily available as an alternative to a lot of veggies. Instead of using tater tots, cauliflowers can do the job perfectly. You can mix them with salad cream and olives.
Click here to get the recipe.
8. Potato wedges
This is also another fantastic potato meal that will add more flair and excitement to your meatloaf dinner.
They have filling qualities and are easy to prepare. They are usually fried until they are crispy, then coated with mozzarella cheese and spices like garlic powder to make them wholesome. Click here to get the recipe.
9. Asparagus
Asparagus is a popular vegetable that is very nutritious and easy to taste. It is crunchy and allows its flavor to be enhanced and tweaked.
An asparagus side dish would typically contain a seasoning of green onions and butter, cheese, and if you want to go all out, you can add pieces of bacon to it as well. It is easy to make and just as easy for its flavors to be tweaked.
Its form can also be enhanced by wrapping each asparagus with a long slice of bacon and then placed in an oven.
Your guests will thank you one too many times before leaving. Click here to get the recipe.
10. Honey glazed carrots
I cannot begin to imagine how marvelous you will feel if you have to have this combination of carrot and honey and meatloaf for the first time.
As you already know, carrots already have a sweetness and are pretty crunchy; now, having to coat them with honey and serve them with a meat entrée just leaves the senses in a thrill that might last during and after dinner.
The crunchy feel of the glazed honey carrots balances the tender and spicy, rich meatloaf. The honey-glazed carrots dish is easy to make.
To do this, you can cut your carrots into whichever shape you desire, melt some butter in a pan, add brown sugar, and then honey.
The next step is adding some lemon juice and then the carrots into the pan and then cooking them until the carrots acquire your desired tenderness. Click here to get a more detailed recipe.
11. Mac and cheese
Everybody loves mac and cheese, especially kids. It is an excellent addition to the dinner table when you are serving meatloaf.
The mouth-watering imagery that comes to mind when you think of mac and cheese with meatloaf only comes with being an ardent lover of mac and cheese together with meatloaf.
Mac and cheese recipes are everywhere and can be conveniently made at home and enjoyed just how you love your meatloaf. The cheesy goodness and flavor balance out the hot tasty spice in the meatloaf.
Several adults may not like this combination, especially those hoping to lose some weight by avoiding oil and cheese-rich foods. Check out this blog for a lovely recipe for this dish.
12. Brussel sprouts
Some dishes require that you pay apt attention to them while cooking them, as overcooking them can lead to an undesired result.
As Brussel sprouts, they are easy to overcook, and when they are overcooked, they become pretty bitter.
On the brighter side, when cooked just right, you are rewarded with a sweet-tasting, flavor-rich and nutritious side dish that will go very well with meatloaf.
Many cookbooks advise that you coat the Brussel sprouts with maple syrup to deepen their flavor.
Mustard sauce is also an excellent addition to reduce the bitterness of the sprouts. Serving Brussel sprouts with meatloaf is a darling of older adults who love a taste of meaty goodness with a more mature feel of the sprouts. Click this link to get the recipe.
13. Broccolini
Broccolini is a distant cousin of broccoli. Although it is not as popular and widely used as broccoli, it provides meals with just the same nutritious and delicious value. A broccolini dish can be prepared by the broccolini being sauteed in garlic and olive oil.
The best seasonings that can be used with it are salt, red pepper, and lemon juice. It is easy to prepare and doesn’t take up time.
After spending some time preparing the meatloaf for dinner, it is only suitable that this simple and easy to prepare side dish is served with it.
Its health benefits are just the same as broccoli and have very few calories and many vitamins.
You can click here to get the recipe.
14. Spaghetti
As far as eating a balanced diet goes, adding a plate of spaghetti to your meatloaf dinner brings a carbohydrates balance to the protein-packed meatloaf dish.
Additionally, the spaghetti ensures that your dinner is filling.
Having a spaghetti dish alongside your meatloaf allows you to have tomato sauce on your plate.
The king of all sauces and soups, that sweet-sour taste of tomato mixed with the meaty and spicy flavor of the meatloaf is foodgasmic.
You can follow this link to get the recipe.
15. Rice
When cooking plain rice, you have an idea that the taste is bland; this makes it a perfect go with for the meatloaf, as rice readily absorbs the spices and sweetness of the meatloaf and the extra spices that are added to the rice.
Rice is also starchy and offers you carbs as a way of balancing your meal. Rice is easily customizable.
It can be cooked like fried rice, plain with a sauce, or cooked as Jollof (a west African style of mixing all spices and ingredients in plain rice and cooking them together.)
You can check this link for the recipe for this delicious food.
16. Coleslaw
Coleslaw is known worldwide as a perfect and natural side dish for a meatloaf meal.
It is perfect for people who want to balance the high-calorie and protein-filled meatloaf with a side dish of low-calorie content, light, fresh and nutritious.
Coleslaws are usually dressed using mayonnaise or yogurts. They can be prepared overnight and stored in the refrigerator—the ingredients used in making them include shredded cabbage, peas, lettuce, and mayonnaise.
Follow this link to get the recipe.
Finally
A meatloaf might not be as sophisticated or as classy as all the dishes available to you or the ones you can make, but you cannot take away that it remains a favorite in many households during dinner.
Its protein-filled essence and the wonderful spices mixed into it ensure that your palates are expressively satisfied.
You cannot wake up and decide to eat meatloaf, then have it along with just anything that goes. That is why this article was committed to giving you some of the best options of side dishes that you can try with meatloaf.
This affords you the ultimate dining experience, whether you are eating from the comfort of your dinner table or a well-lit, comfortable restaurant.