What To Serve With Neck Bones – 30 Delicious Side Dishes

If you’re wondering what to serve with your neck bones, you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, I list 30 of the most popular side dishes for neck bones

In a rush? Here’s the short answer.

The best side dishes for neckbones include mac and cheese, collard greens, and cornbread. Beans are also a popular side, with options like red beans and rice or southern-style black-eyed peas to pick from. For something a little different, try sauerkraut.

Ready? Let’s jump in.

Starch

Pairing neck bones with a starchy side dish will give you the ultimate comfort meal!

I love a creamy mash that’ll soak up every bit of that delicious sauce, but a slice of cornbread sounds heavenly too. 

Or go with a rice dish if you want something slightly lighter.

Mac and Cheese

Mac and cheese is the epitome of comfort food.

Whether creamy and decadent or chewy and oven-baked, mac and cheese is a perfect side dish for neck bones.

It’s going to be a rich meal, but it will be worth it. Just make sure you don’t have any plans for afterwards!

This one-pot mac and cheese is super easy and delicious.

Featured recipe
One-pot mac and cheese
Preheat the oven
Southern baked mac and cheese
Skip the pasta
Cauliflower cheese

Buttermilk biscuits

Next to neck bones, buttermilk biscuits are a filling, understated side dish that will make sure no one leaves the table hungry.

The dense texture of the biscuits works well with saucy main dishes because they become a sponge for the flavors. 

Psst… cook lots – one is never enough.

And if you have leftovers, you can eat them with jam the next morning.

Featured recipe
Buttermilk biscuits
Make it indulgent
Cheesy garlic drop biscuits
Go Irish
Irish soda bread

Potato Salad

This southern classic is a great partner for neck bones. 

Potato salad has a mild, clean taste that will refresh the palate. And I like to add crisp bites of celery to make it even more fresh-tasting. 

But you can go down any route you want. Bacon also pairs well with neck bones (and with everything really!)

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Potato salad
Another favorite
Herb and garlic mashed potatoes
Keep it simple
Baked potato

Cornbread

Properly made, cornbread is a perfect accompaniment to neck bones.

Soft, moist, and crumbly, cornbread can soak up all the delicious sauce and mean not a single drop is wasted. 

Try adding jalapenos or hunks of cheese for a more memorable cornbread.

This website has loads of different options for customizing your cornbread (as well as a great basic recipe).

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Cornbread
Make it cheesy
Cheddar cornbread muffins
Ditch the oven
Hot water cornbread

Beans and rice

Red beans and rice is a cheap dish that will bulk out neck bones without being boring.

The smoky cajun spiced dish can stand as a main all on its own, but the addition of neck bones makes it even more flavorsome and comforting.  

Tip: if you have any leftovers (which I doubt), it’s the perfect dish for freezing.

Featured recipe
Red beans and rice
A Southern classic
Louisiana dirty rice
Make it healthy
Cuban black beans and cauliflower rice

Vegetables

Neck bones are already loaded with protein, so you only need a nutrient-loaded veggie side to complete the meal. 

Go full Southern with a bowl of classic collard greens or keep it quick and simple with steamed green beans or broccoli florets.

Southern Style Green Beans

Savory, earthy, and complex, southern-style Green Beans pair well with neck bones.

The chunks of bacon make the green beans more robust, and the slow cooking makes them fall-apart-in-your-mouth tender (just like neck bones).

For a show-stopping side dish that your guests will dip back into again and again, Southern-style green beans are the way to go.

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Southern-style green beans
Make it decadent
Green bean casserole
Make it light
Green bean salad with lemon and dill

Collard Greens

Collard greens are a meaty, fiber-filled veg that pair really well with neck bones.

Their bitter flavor helps cut the fattiness of neck bones. 

And they’re also PACKED with nutrients such as calcium, iron, and pretty much any vitamin you can think of.

Jenne from sweet potato soul uses smoked paprika in her collard greens instead of the traditional bacon.

If you like the idea of collard greens – check out mustard greens and turnip greens as well.

All the greens!

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Collard greens
Make it creamy
Creamed collard greens
Keep it fresh
Marinated collard greens salad

Southern Black Eyed Peas

Neck bones are soul food, so any southern side dish will go great with them.

One of my favorite soul food side dishes is black-eyed peas and bacon. 

The two will sauces meld together to make one big pot of deliciousness. Your guests will definitely be asking for more, so make extra. 

(You might be noticing a theme by now… bacon and neck bones go really well together.)

Sandy from simple happy foodie makes her black-eyed peas in an instant pot.

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Black-eyed peas
Make it crispy
Black-eyed peas fritters
Skip the black-eyed peas
Butter bean mash

Sauerkraut

Salty, sour, and crispy-crunchy, sauerkraut adds a fantastic pop of flavor next to neck bones.

You’re probably used to eating it on hot dogs, but that’s not all it’s good for.

Once you try sauerkraut with neck bones, you’ll be looking out for other dishes you can pair it with.

Where is my spoon has a great guide to all things sauerkraut.

Featured recipe
Sauerkraut
Make it different
Cabbage stir-fry
A classic
Buttermilk coleslaw

Creamed Corn

Sweetcorn has to be up there with one of my favorite vegetables. 

I use it in practically everything. 

And creamed corn takes it to a whole new level. 

The sweet, creamy sauce is something else when you mix it with the tender neck bone meat. 

It’s is also super easy to customize. You can add in cayenne pepper to up the spice level, or parmesan to give it a salty edge.

Check out damn delicious’s recipe – she bakes the corn to give it an irresistibly crunchy top.

Featured recipe
Creamed corn
Fire up the grill
Grilled corn on the cob
Add more veg
Succotash

What To Serve With Neck Bones (30 ideas)

In this short recipe, I show exactly what to serve with your neck bones.

5 from 2 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: neck bones, neck bones side dishes, what to serve with neck bones

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 1 person

Calories: 299kcal

Ingredients

• 1 portion mac and cheese
• 1 portion collard greens
• 1 portion buttermilk biscuits
• 1 portion beans and rice
• 1 portion sauerkraut
• 1 portion Southern-style green beans … and more

Instructions

• Prepare your neck bones according to your favorite recipe.
• In the meantime, choose one of the following sides to serve alongside them.
• Sides include: mac and Cheese, southern style green beans, collard greens, potato salad, cornbread, southern black eyed peas, sauerkraut, creamed corn, and beans and rice.
• Serve immediately and enjoy.

Nutrition

Serving: 100g | Calories: 299kcal