This article was updated on 28/07/2023 for clarity and freshness.
If you’re wondering what to serve with your seafood boil, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, I list 33 of the most popular side dishes for a seafood boil.
In a rush? Here’s the short answer.
A seafood boil can be served as is, but some great side dishes include mashed potatoes, sourdough bread, mac and cheese, corn on the cob, and popovers. For a nutritious choice, Brussels sprouts, deviled eggs, coleslaw, asparagus, baked beans, or salads are all great.
Mashed potatoes
Mashed potatoes are a regular indulgence at any party or occasion because they’re so easy to make and can feed a huge crowd.
Plus, you can mix things up by using different ingredients like coconut milk instead of regular milk. Or adding extra flavors like pesto or apple cider vinegar. Trust me, so good! For this recipe though, we stuck with a classic roasted garlic mash.
What a way to change up your game!
I love pairing the creaminess of mashed potato with the aromatic flavors of a seafood boil.
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Roasted garlic mashed potatoes
Add an Italian twist
Basil mashed potatoes
Make it healthy
Mashed rutabaga
Sourdough bread
Another side dish to pair with your seafood boil is a loaf of sourdough bread. Sourdough is a healthy bread choice known for its tangy flavor, chewy texture, and crisp, crackly crust.
And it’s just what you need to mop up all the sauce from your plate and make sure nothing goes to waste.
Sourdough bread isn’t as hard as you think to make either, especially if you have a food processor (which means you can skip all the hard and manual kneading).
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French-style round sourdough bread
Make a classic
Sweet brioche buns
Make it easy
Garlic confit toast
Mac and cheese
Why does everyone love macaroni and cheese? I mean, what isn’t to love? It’s creamy, gooey, cheesy, and oh-so-delicious!
It’s the prefect dish for a big party with lots of guests, because everyone will be happy to see it on the table. And homemade mac and cheese is a quick dish to make. You can cook in one pot in 15 minutes or less.
I like the baked version because you get a crunchy topping, but a stovetop mac and cheese would work too.
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Baked mac and cheese
Skip the oven
Broccoli mac and cheese
Skip the pasta
Cauliflower cheese
Corn on the cob
Corn on the cob and seafood boil is a classic combination, in fact the corn is usually inside the seafood boil. But what about adding a little twist and serving the corn on the cob as a side dish instead?
Go the extra mile by grilling your corn with butter and parmesan cheese. Carrie recommends being super generous with the butter, so you can get into every crevice in the corn.
Or get creative and go with chili and lime (my personal favorite).
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Parmesan grilled corn on the cob
Skip the grill
Air fryer corn ribs
Make it fun
Bacon-wrapped corn on the cob
Popovers
Popovers are such a great choice for keeping things simple. A popover (also known as a Yorkshire pudding in the UK) is an airy puffed bread roll made from an egg batter, and baked in a special pan that shares the same name.
No popover pans? A muffin tin works just fine!
Heather generously tops her batter with parmesan, garlic, and dried Italian herb mixture for a flavorful twist. But again, you can play around with the flavors.
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Herb parmesan popovers
Make it surf-and-turf
Ham and gruyere popovers
Go English
Yorskhire pudding
Roasted brussels sprouts
Roasted Brussels sprouts are a fragrant and flavorful side dish usually served as part of a Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner. They have some haters, but those people have just never had a well-cooked sprout.
Forget about soggy boiled Brussels sprouts — imagine a sprout that’s been pan-fried until crispy, and then drizzled with a luxurious balsamic vinegar based glaze. Then to add an extra layer of texture, Julia throws some pine nuts into the mix.
Psst… if you don’t have pine nuts, crispy bacon bits are also a delightful addition.
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Brussels sprouts with balsamic glaze
Keep it simple
Brussels sprouts and mushrooms
Make it different
Smashed brussels sprouts
Avocado deviled eggs
Deviled eggs are a great starter for a seafood boil, or they’ll work as part of a party platter. These days there are so many different deviled egg variations to pick from that it can be overwhelming!
Luckily I’ve done a lot of taste testing and can tell you these guacamole deviled eggs are some of the best.
Psst… for a touch of indulgence, try using avocado oil mayonnaise instead of the regular stuff.
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Bacon guacamole deviled eggs
Make it pretty
Pickled beet + avocado deviled eggs
Back to basics
Southern deviled eggs
Coleslaw
If you’re planning to have a sheet pan seafood boil for a family dinner, you can never go wrong with a basic coleslaw on the side. It’s light, sweet, and perfectly crunchy!
This creamy slaw recipe is so good. But if you’re not a fan of creamy sides, you can tweak the recipe by using a different dressing. Try a sesame-ginger dressing for an Asian twist, or the more traditional sweet-vinegar dressing.
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Coleslaw
Make it fruity
Mango slaw
Skip the cabbage
Jicama & green apple slaw
Garlic parmesan asparagus
Oven-roasted asparagus with garlic, parmesan, and lemon is a delightful complement to a classic Southern seafood boil. It’s low-fat, low carb, and packed with nutrients.
And that’s not all. It’s also super quick to make, which is why it’s one of the first sides I think of when I’ve left everything until the last minute.
This recipe from Amy calls for two cloves of garlic, but feel free to double that if you’d like yours to be extra-garlicky! And if asparagus isn’t in season, swap the spears for green beans.
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Roasted asparagus with garlic, parmesan, & lemon
Ditch the oven
Grilled asparagus
Add more veg
Grilled asparagus and zucchini salad
Baked beans
These sweet-but-savory baked beans are made from white beans that have been cooked low and slow. The beans are seasoned with garlic and onion powder, plus some tangy turmeric spice to give them a delicious kick.
Want to customize the dish? Add a squirt of barbecue sauce or add a touch of heat with chili powder or cumin.
Psst… if you serve these you definitely also need the sourdough bread for sauce mopping!
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Homemade slow cooker baked beans
Add heat
Bourbon peach baked BBQ beans
Switch it up
Three-bean salad
Potato salad
Seafood boiled with wedges of corn, lemon, and sausages on a dinner table is already mouth-watering. But serving it with a chilled potato salad on the side will make it remarkable.
Especially a bright and zesty potato salad with lots of lemon flavor to compliment the seafood. the green color really pops too next to all the red seafood shells.
So good!
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Pesto potato salad
Make a classic
Southern potato salad
Go Greek
Tzatziki potato salad
Watermelon salad
Want a side dish for your seafood boil that’s both refreshing and packed with flavor? Try this watermelon salad with pistachios.
This unique version of a classic salad combines sweet watermelon, peppery arugula, tangy feta, and crunchy pistachios, all elevated by a zesty hint of lime and a kick of red pepper flakes.
It will perfectly balance the rich, savory flavors of a seafood boil. I never have a summer party without some watermelon because it really cools me down!
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Watermelon salad
Make it different
Halloumi and grilled watermelon skewers
Skip the fruit
Creamy cucumber salad
S’mores brownies
Seafood boils are a special occasion meal, so you need a special dessert to match.
Enter, S’more brownies! They’re indulgent, festive, and memorable. And they’ll make sure your meal is delicious right up until the very last bite.
Stephanie uses Ghirardelli chocolate caramel squares in her recipe for an extra layer of flavor, but you can also stick with plain Hershey’s. She also suggests trying peanut butter cups. Yum!
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S’mores brownies
Another favorite
Butterscotch blondies
Skip the oven
No-bake peanut butter brownies
What To Serve With Seafood Boil – Coleslaw
Ingredients
For slaw
- 3 cups green cabbage, shredded
- 2 cups red cabbage, shredded
- 1 large carrot, grated or julienned
- 1 green onion, finely chopped
For dressing
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the coleslaw dressing. Mix until well incorporated.
- Combine the all the veggies in another bowl, then add the dressing. Toss until well combined.
- Serve immediately or let cool in the fridge before serving.
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