27 Luscious Side Dishes For Your Authentic Italian Party

When preparing for an Italian full-course meal, you need to pay close attention to the side dishes. Not only can they elevate your meal course, but these dishes also play a crucial role in determining whether your party is authentic enough.

But how to prepare genuine Italian side dishes in a short time? Well, I’ve got your back! With this article, you have a long list of Italian recipes to cook at any meal. Let’s find out what these dishes are!

My 27 Favorite Italian Side Dishes

Below are 27 Italian side dishes that you should give them a try. They all are easy and taste delicious no matter what twist you decide to add to the dish.

1. Creamy Polenta
2. Caprese Salad
3. Garlic Bread
4. Fried Zucchini Flowers
5. Spicy Parmesan Green Beans and Kale
6. Stuffed Tomatoes
7. Caponata
8. Risotto alla Milanese
9. Marinated Mushrooms
10. Friselle
11. Focaccia Bread
12. Grilled Eggplants
13. Stuffed Artichokes
14. Burrata Salad
15. Italian Giardiniera
16. Cauliflower Parmesan
17. Italian Roasted Potatoes
18. Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus
19. Panzanella Salad
20. Italian Wedding Soup
21. Roasted Tomatoes
22. Italian Breadsticks
23. Pasta Salad
24. Sausage-Stuffed Zucchini
25. Roasted Cauliflower
26. Italian Pinwheels
27. Italian Farro Salad

So, let’s dig in!

27 Simple Yet Delicious Italian Recipes For Your Side Dishes

Before starting our journey to Italian cuisine, I have only one reminder for you. Calm yourself because all the dishes in this part are incredibly delicious!

Creamy Polenta

Polenta is like the Italian version of grits, making it a preferred side to pork tenderloin. However, polenta contains cornmeal, so they are not 100% similar. The cornmeal is ground coarsely and cooked in a seasoned broth with butter and cheese until it looks like mashed potatoes.

Polenta often accompanies meat dishes or works as a perfect combo for pairing with scallops to substitute for pasta. Other than a side dish, it can be fried up and consumed as a cake.

Find out the secrets behind a perfect creamy polenta with this video.

Caprese Salad

There’s hardly any dish as simple yet so elegant as Caprese salad. It only contains several essential ingredients: tomatoes, basil leaves, mozzarella cheese. But at the same time, these very components represent Italy itself.

That’s why simple as they are, every ingredient in Caprese salad requires the finest quality, even the drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar must be one of the best. You can also make some twists to this classic dish by adding grilled zucchini.

Garlic Bread

Garlic bread appears everywhere as a side dish, and Italy is no exception. You can easily spot a basket of garlic on your dining table waiting to be soaked in pasta sauce or any food you want to eat with.

And while it looks almost like any other garlic bread, the Italian version is lighter as it has both butter and olive oil. Some places even use the lemon zest for a fresher flavor.

Fried Zucchini Flowers

This is one kind of side dish that people would hesitate to eat because it looks too beautiful. Zucchini flowers are just slightly dipped in batter and fried for a few minutes to retain their colors.

And when you bite into one of these flowers, a cheese flow containing Parmesan and mozzarella would welcome you. You can also taste the salty flavor of anchovies or prosciutto.

Check it out right now to learn how to fry Zucchini flowers crisply.

Spicy Parmesan Green Beans And Kale

A salad is suitable for a quick side dish. Lightly sautee green beans, so they maintain crunchy. Then, toss the kale and mushrooms with all the necessary spices like pepper flakes, lemon juice.

Grating some parmesan for a finishing touch, and here is your side dish. This salad can be served as the main dish with hard-boiled eggs, chickpeas, or potatoes.

Stuffed Tomatoes

Nothing suits better with a grilled dish on a summer night than stuffed tomatoes. They are primarily stuffed in Southern Italy style, with loads of pine nuts and toasted bread crumbs. Lastly, sprinkle various cheeses as toppings.

You can bake these tomatoes while cooking other foods. With large tomatoes, this dish is even served as a main dish.

Caponata

If French people have ratatouille, Italian cuisine, especially Sicilian one, has caponata. Made from eggplants – a summer plant, caponata is a perfect dish to indulge in the scorching weather. Apart from eggplants, caponata also contains other salty vegetables like capers and olives.

There are numerous versions of caponata. Some have fish, octopus, and other seafood, while others include pine nuts and raisins. Though original caponata is served as a main dish with bread, today, most people see it as a side dish.

Do you know how to make a true Italian Caponata? Click right here to find out!

Risotto Alla Milanese

You will fall in love with Risotto alla Milanese right at first sight as its bright golden gold can capture any heart. This signature color comes from the saffron used in the recipe.

Compared with the gorgeous appearance, the dish is quite simple itself, containing nothing but rice, chicken stock, butter, parmesan cheese, and some flavor additions, besides saffron. However, the more simple the dish, the more transparent it shows a chef’s skills.

Marinated Mushrooms

Marinated mushrooms are a both easy-to-make and long-lasting dish. One jar of marinated mushrooms can hold itself in the fridge for up to 6 months, so you can enjoy it anytime you want.

Any mushroom can be used in this recipe, but the most preferable are meaty ones, such as button mushrooms, lobster mushrooms, porcini, etc. Boil them in vinegar and keep them marinated in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, and oregano. Add some chiles for a heat feeling.

Friselle

Another dish comes from Southern Italy. It’s friselle, a double-baked bread with the same appearance as bagels. Containing only yeast, water, and flour, it’s a dish that you can make any time.

People would quickly dip a friselle in water and spread tomatoes, herbs, and olive oils on top in the old times. Today, it’s served as a side dish for various foods. Friselle matches perfectly with salad, salmon, or cream soups.

Focaccia Bread

Originating from Northern areas of Italy, Focaccia bread is a typical side dish. You can find it besides multiple savory dishes like soups, stews, and pasta. Focaccia also tastes delicious on its own as a sandwich with prosciutto, mortadella, salami, or cheese.

Nowadays, people create different types of Focaccia bread. Some are flatter, while others are airier. However, all should be light and fluffy, with a height of 2-3 inches. Olive oil, sea salt, and dried rosemary make an ideal topping for this side dish.

Making focaccia bread is easier than you’ve thought, especially after watch this video.

Grilled Eggplants

Some may think grilled eggplants are bland and tasteless but that only happens without proper flavoring. Feel free to add any spices to your eggplants. Then, before eating, top them with some balsamic vinegar, pesto, romesco, or cheese.

Don’t peel eggplant skin until serving as it helps eggplants retain their shape. Grilled eggplants make a perfect combination in antipasto platters or a substitute for the meat part in burgers.

Stuffed Artichokes

When spring comes, people always crave for something fresh and grassy. And stuffed artichokes are just what you’re looking for. With a whole artichoke right in front of you, there’s no more spring than that.

Just pull off the leaves and have fun scraping all the filling with your teeth to enjoy this dish. You’ll get a whole burst of different flavors from cheese, bread crumbs, lemon, and herb flavors. For extra protein, you can add sausages to this dish.

Burrata Salad

Burrata is an Italian cheese made from mozzarella and cream, so it has a soft texture inside. Burrata is so tasty that Italian people make a trouble-free tomato entree recipe based on its name. Besides burrata cheese, you can use all of your favorite vegetables and fruits.

That’s the reason why this burrata-based recipe is so loved in summer. Add some crostini, artisan bread, baguette, or grilled meats for a more satisfying feeling.

Italian Giardiniera

Basically, Italian giardiniera is a combination of different vegetables pickled with vinegar, oil, and spices. People often make a jar of giardiniera months ahead to get all the flavors blended perfectly. The most common mixture choice is cauliflowers, bell peppers, onions, green beans, carrots, etc.

There are hundreds of ways you can use giardiniera. Make it a part of an antipasto or an accompaniment to a buffet table. Giardiniera can also enhance flavor for grilled meat, pasta, or rice. Even using it as a filling for a sandwich is still a decent choice.

This video will show you every step to make a beautiful giardiniera jar.

Cauliflower Parmesan

Cauliflower parmesan is a healthy replacement for chicken parmesan. The crunchy texture of cauliflowers can totally make up for the crispy roasted chicken, making this dish suitable for your children.

Not to mention, this recipe is really easy to make. Just slice your cauliflowers into thick portions. Roast it slightly and top with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and pecorino cheese. You can make some marinara or buy a ready-made one to go with it.

Italian Roasted Potatoes

It’s time to say goodbye to old baked potatoes and welcome Italian roasted potatoes to your dinner table. Italian people are famous for taking all the simple ingredients and turning them into elegant dishes. These roasted potatoes are an example.

Using only regular red potatoes, with additional herbs, sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, Italian chefs have made a mouthwatering side dish suitable with any meat or fish main course.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus

With only two main elements, this is a simple asparagus-based dish for home cooking. Salty prosciutto is a perfect match with crunchy asparagus. While both of them belong together, you can add another ingredient to enhance the plate, such as lemon zest, goat cheese, butter, etc.

And since asparagus is a spring vegetable, you’d better serve it for a spring party like Easter dinner or Mother’s Day lunch. Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus can go with multiple dishes like chicken, steak, fish, or even eggs.

Panzanella Salad

Coming to life as a cooking solution for all the stale bread, Panzanella salad has become a well-known side dish throughout Italy. In the original recipe, there are no tomatoes, but time has changed it. And now, tomatoes have become an irreplaceable part of this salad.

Just like other salads, apart from the essential ingredients like bread (toasted or stale), tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, red onions, and basil, you can change the recipe to your preferences. For example, adding mozzarella or bocconcini cheese is a beautiful idea.

Italian Wedding Soup

Despite its name, this soup is not served at any Italian wedding. People just named it like this because all the ingredients are perfect with each other, just like an ideal marriage. Since Italian wedding soup is quite light on its own, it makes a decent side dish for winter meals.

This soup commonly consists of pasta, meatballs, kale, and other vegetables like carrots, spinach, etc. Make sure you use tiny pasta like orzo so that it can quickly soak in the soup broth.

Roasted Tomatoes

Although tomatoes appear in numerous dishes, you hardly see them as the star ingredient. But that changes with these roasted tomatoes. With only tomatoes, I swear you’ll get a mouthful of their flavor.

The process is really simple: Dress these tomatoes with garlic, onions, olive oil, and other seasonings before roasting them in the oven at low temperatures for nearly an hour. And this recipe can go with various dishes like pasta, stew, broiled chicken, etc.

Italian Breadsticks

Bread is a typical side dish you can find in any restaurant. And I’ll show you another variation of it: Italian breadsticks. While they can be baked crispy, most people prefer the soft version.

It takes only about one hour to make these breadsticks from scratch. Make sure to use bread flour or an all-purpose one for a fluffy texture. And like bread, they match well with soups and salads. You can also use this dish with pasta.

With this, you can make Italian breadsticks from scratch.

Pasta Salad

When thinking of Italy, of course, most people will say “pasta”. But have you ever imagined it as a side dish? If no, then now you know it can be used to combine main courses called “pasta salad”.

There’s no concrete recipe to make a pasta salad. You can add or replace any ingredients you want, even the pasta. I mainly use tri-color rotini noodles, but the decision’s up to you. The same goes for other components.

Sausage-Stuffed Zucchini

Sausage-stuffed zucchini is satisfying on its own but can still make a good side dish with pasta or rice. You don’t even need giant zucchinis to make this. Normal-sized ones are enough. Just slice them in half and scrape out their flesh.

And for the filling, in this recipe, I’ll use Italian sausages. But of course, you can change it based on your palates, such as hamburger patty, beans, cheese, and other options.

Roasted Cauliflower

You want a low-carb, healthy dish but are tired of chicken breast and eggplant? Well, you have cauliflowers as a proper replacement for them. While boiling them plainly doesn’t do these cauliflowers any better, roasting can.

Top them with herbs, spices, and a bit of cheese. Then you put the cauliflowers in the oven for a quick roast so they remain crispy. Parsley sauce or capers and almonds can go with this dish as a topping.

Take a look at this video and try to replicate this simple recipe now!

Italian Pinwheels

These pinwheels are like a mini pizza with a tortilla replacing the pizza dough. And as its name suggests, you make this dish by rolling all the ingredients in the tortilla: Salami, pepperoni, ham, and all types of cheese.

You can eat pinwheels as they are and fry them a bit. When baked, all the cheese will melt, making pinwheels gooey and creamy. This recipe suits the best with big parties when you need to prepare numerous dishes with little time.

Italian Farro Salad

Eating homemade farro salad is like opening a secret treasure box. You can never know what its ingredients are beforehand, except for farro. That’s because people often make farro salad with any vegetables in season or in their fridge.

For me, I’d like to start with cherry tomatoes, peppery radishes, and red onions. And then, add whatever I want to eat, from cucumber, artichokes to peppers, grilled vegetables, and cheese. Farro salad is a decent partner for fish or grilled chicken.

Let’s check one version of this farro salad in this video!

So, What Is Your Choice Now?

It has been a long adventure, and thank you so much for following me to the very end. With all these recipes, I believe you don’t have to worry about Italian meals for a while. Just remember, since Italian recipes are pretty simple, they show clearly the quality of ingredients.

If any of your friends need these ideas, feel free to share this with them. And I’m looking forward to reading your comments about other recipes you have or the results you make.