What To Serve With Margarita Chicken: 12 Best Sides!
Got margarita chicken on your meal plan this week, but not sure what to serve it with?
You’re in the right place for grabbing the most delicious ideas for sides and accompaniments!
I create this dish at least once every few weeks, and you really can’t beat juicy, flavoursome chicken breasts, smothered in a rich tomato and basil sauce, and topped with gooey, melty mozzarella cheese.
Changing up your sides helps to keep things interesting and exciting. I’ve done a lot of experimentation, and this is what works best…
What to serve with margarita chicken
The tastiest choices for what to serve with margarita chicken include boiled white rice, avocado salad, roasted veggie couscous, herby garlic bread, veggie pasta salad, sweetcorn salsa, garlic roasted broccoli, and sweet potato wedges.
Read on to discover the best tried and tested recipes for creating these side dishes, plus some extra bonus ideas that will be popular with your whole family!
1. Boiled white rice
Let’s kick things off with one of the simplest and easiest to prepare sides for margarita chicken.
Boiled rice is budget friendly, healthy, and suitable for the whole family.
I like to pile it in the middle of the plate, then add my chicken breasts on top, alongside some green veggies.
It creates a balanced meal with protein, carbs, and some of your 5-a-day, and it’s also totally delicious.
Cooking rice may seem like a fairly basic kitchen skill, but it’s one that even fairly experienced home cooks can struggle to get quite right.
I recommend following this guide to cooking rice. It’s a foolproof way to get perfectly fluffy and tender rice every single time!
2. Avocado salad
Creamy avocado is always a treat, and incorporating it into a colourful salad makes for a wonderful side dish for your margarita chicken.
Instead of heading to the supermarket, shop your own fridge and try to use up anything you already have in there. I like to add chopped tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and bell peppers.
You can make your own simple dressing by combining olive oil, mustard, and some fresh lime juice.
This accompaniment is super simple but brings plenty to your plate in terms of both colour and flavour!
3. Roasted veggie couscous
Couscous is such an underrated side dish, and it’s one of my go-to favourites when I’m making any kind of chicken dish.
This recipe for roasted vegetable couscous is easy to make, and has some beautifully smoky and caramelised flavours.
Add any veggies you like, such as aubergine, squash, mushrooms, and broccoli.
If you plan to add root veg, just make sure that you cut them into smaller chunks as they’ll typically take longer to become tender.
4. Herby garlic bread
If you’re in the mood for comfort food, you can’t beat a side of herby garlic bread.
This recipe incorporates lemon thyme, fresh rosemary, and parsley, and I promise it’s so much better than the ready prepared varieties that you’ll often find in the chilled aisle at your local supermarket!
I often like to prepare communal style evening meals, where I’ll add all the sides to the middle of the table and invite everyone to dig in and take whatever they fancy.
Garlic bread is a good choice if you’re going for that kind of vibe.
Just add a big bowl of salad, and you’re good to go.
5. Marinated veggie pasta salad
If you’ve got some random veggies sitting in the bottom of your fridge and you’re not quite sure what to do with them, you really need to try this marinaded veggie pasta salad.
It’s the kind of dish that even the most committed veg dodgers will absolutely love, and leftovers are super handy for lunch boxes the next day!
To ensure all the lovely flavours are given the chance to shine, this side is best served when still slightly warm, or at room temperature.
If you like to be prepared, you can make it the day before, store in the fridge, and bring it out to the table whilst you’re busy cooking your margarita chicken.
6. Creamy potato salad
Potato salad is a good choice for what to serve with margarita chicken during the summer months, or when you’re looking for sides that you can make in advance to save yourself time and stress.
You might think that you need to get fancy ingredients like creme fraiche and lemon zest, but this really isn’t the case.
This simple potato salad recipe calls for just a few everyday items including mayonnaise and salad cream, and it’s one of those sides that you’re likely to want to make over and over again.
7. Sweetcorn salsa
Take a tin of sweetcorn, fresh coriander, red onion, chilli, peanuts, and lime, and make this vibrant, crowd pleasing sweetcorn salsa recipe.
It’s a brilliant way to get in some extra veggies if you’re a little tired of green salads.
It’s a fantastic side for margarita chicken, but also a wide range of other dishes, so consider making a batch of it and saving it for serving alongside other meals you’ve got planned over the coming days.
It pairs fabulously with grilled fish and meats.
(If you love chicken based meals, take a look at sides for marry me chicken for more inspiration!)
8. French fries
Pizza and chips is a classic combination that you just can’t beat! Channel those pizza night vibes by serving your margarita chicken with a portion of hot, crispy French fries.
You can make your own if you like, though if you’re short on time, you’ll find that many frozen offerings at the supermarket can be just as good as what you could make from scratch in your own kitchen.
I’ve found the secret to the very best fries is to cook them in an air fryer, and this method will also typically use less energy than using a traditional oven.
9. Cauliflower rice
If you’re following a keto diet, trying to cut down on carbs, or you’re just in the mood for something a little lighter, why not try a side of cauliflower rice?
You’ve almost certainly heard of this creation before, but you might be interested to learn that it’s a fairly new kitchen trend. It rose to popularity back in 2012 when it became something of an internet sensation, and it’s been popular with passionate healthy eaters and veggie lovers ever since.
If you find it a little on the bland side, there are plenty of choices for jazzing it up. Options include adding a knob of salted butter, some extra virgin olive oil, crushed garlic, chilli flakes, lemon juice, or your favourite fresh herbs.
10. Corn on the cob
Corn on the cob is nutritious, and it’s also really fun to eat! It’s usually popular with kids, and that makes it a good choice for the whole family.
Make a butter by mashing together butter, garlic, chopped parsley, and seasoning, and spread it all over your corn on the cobs before covering with foil and baking in the oven for around 30 minutes or until tender.
11. Garlic roasted broccoli
It’s often a real challenge to get everyone to eat their greens, but when you create a side dish like garlic roasted broccoli, it definitely becomes much easier!
Roasting your veggies is such a wonderful way to cook them. It avoids them becoming overcooked mush like you can sometimes get when you boil them, and the process lends itself really well to creating deliciously golden and caramelised pieces of veg, that retain their crunch and flavour.
If you enjoy your food with a little bit of a kick, throw in some red chilli flakes halfway through cooking for a pleasant hit of heat!
12. Sweet potato wedges
Sweet potato wedges bring a splash of deep orange colour to your plate, and they’re a good option if you feel like you’ve had regular potatoes a lot recently.
Simply chop your potatoes into wedges, toss with oil and seasoning, and bake in the oven for around 30 minutes or until tender and slightly charred on the outside.
You can experiment with different dried herbs to season if you like. My personal favourites are rosemary and sage, and the result is a beautifully earthy side dish!
The best side dishes for margarita chicken
To recap, some of the most delicious sides for margarita chicken are:
- Boiled white rice
- Avocado salad
- Roasted veggie couscous
- Herby garlic bread
- Veggie pasta salad
- Sweetcorn salsa
- Garlic roasted broccoli
- Sweet potato wedges
Which do you plan to try first?
If you’re looking for more ways to take your dinners to the next level, head over to the best sides for chicken parmesan.
