17 Best Side Dishes You Can Serve With Halibut

If you’re looking for a delicious fish dish, you’ll struggle to find a better option than halibut. This white fish is flavorful, easy to work with, fresh, and most importantly delicious. 

Whilst preparing halibut is relatively easy, deciding what to serve with it can actually be quite difficult. The main reason for this is because of how many wonderful side dish options we have to choose from.

With a staggering number of side dishes at our disposal, picking the best one can quickly become overwhelming.

Do we go with couscous, coleslaw, or cucumber salad? 

Luckily for you, we’re here to make things easier for you. In this post, we’ve listed 17 of the best side dishes you can serve with halibut.

Today, we’ll show you each one. Our list will make it easier for you to pick out the best sides to serve with your halibut.

Let’s dive in!

1. Roasted Fingerling Potatoes And Shallots

The first side dish on our list is a delicious roasted potato and shallot recipe. This recipe is great for many reasons. First of all, it’s very easy to make. Second of all, it calls for few ingredients, and finally, it tastes wonderful.

The perfect accompaniment for your halibut, these potatoes and shallots are crispy, sweet, and savory. The salt and herbs added offer exquisite flavor, whilst the shallots give the dish sweetness. 

The best thing about the potatoes is that they absorb all the flavors. This creates a flavorful and hearty potato dish that goes nicely with the lightness of the halibut.

2. Lemon Couscous

It’s no secret that zesty flavors such as lemon and lime go perfectly with fish. There’s something magical about this refreshing combination that works well.

In this recipe, those zesty flavors are combined with couscous to create a tangy side dish that is both refreshing and filling. Better still, couscous is quite healthy so you don’t have to worry about calories. 

All you need to make this couscous is lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, parsley, chicken broth, garlic, and couscous. The chicken broth might seem like a strange addition, but it does a great job of balancing the bitterness of the lemon.

3. Cilantro Lime Slaw

Another combination that offers heaps of flavor and refreshing vibes is lime juice, cilantro, and slaw. 

In this recipe, the three are combined perfectly to make a light, tangy, and fragrant side dish that goes nicely with halibut.

Helping you make the most amazing halibut meal, the lime and cilantro bring the halibut to life, complimenting the rich flavors of the fish brilliantly. 

Meanwhile, the slaw provides a delightful crunch that the dish otherwise wouldn’t have. 

4. Cucumber Tomato Salad

If you want a simple side dish that packs a punch, this cucumber tomato salad is perfect. You would think a simple cucumber and tomato salad wouldn’t have much to offer, but how wrong you would be.

This salad calls for refreshing cucumber, rich and juicy tomatoes, and a rich balsamic dressing. What we’re left with is a powerful combination of sweet, savory, and juicy ingredients that taste amazing.

Adding cucumbers to a mixture of balsamic vinegar and tomatoes is a great idea because it calms the bold flavors down a bit.

5. Roasted Vegetables

If you’re pushed for time and you need a quick side dish, you can’t go wrong with roasted vegetables. Vibrant, full of flavor, and versatile, this is one of the quickest and easiest side dishes you can make.

All you have to do to make this side dish is throw all the veggies in a roasting dish, season them, coat them in oil, and let the oven do the rest.

The best thing about this recipe is its versatility. You can use any veggies you like to make this dish. 

6. Autumn Harvest Salad

Next up, we have a tasty autumn harvest salad recipe from Whatcha Cooking Good Looking. If you’re looking for a lighter side dish to go with the softness of your halibut, give this recipe a try.

This recipe combines the citrusy flavors of orange with the saltiness of roasted nuts and the sweet tang of cranberries to create a wonderfully aromatic salad with a refreshing kick.

Aside from the impressive flavors, we personally love the textures of this salad. There’s a lot going on and our taste buds really appreciate it.

7. Rice Pilaf

The next halibut side dish on our list is rice pilaf. Rice pilaf is a simple side dish that usually consists of rice, celery, carrots, and onions.

Together, these ingredients help create a filling side dish that’s full of flavor. This side dish is also very nutrient-rich.

This particular rice pilaf recipe is made using onion, celery, chicken stock, long grain rice, and an array of herbs and spices. Made in less than 30 minutes, the key to making this side dish perfectly is to use long-grain rice.

Whilst other types of rice work well, long-grain rice is king. This is because it has a fantastic nutty flavor.

8. Quinoa

Another very simple side dish that packs a punch is quinoa. Quinoa is a whole grain that’s rich in protein. It’s a great food option for those that struggle with allergies. It’s also gluten-free. 

One of the best things about quinoa is how versatile it is. We can combine it with a huge range of flavors and ingredients to create tasty dishes. Personally, when pairing quinoa with halibut, we love this Mediterranean quinoa from Fit Foodie Finds. 

Offering authentic Mediterranean flair, the vibrance, sweetness, and freshness of this dish go perfectly with the fish. 

9. Roasted Brussels Sprouts

As children, most of us hated brussels sprouts. However, as adults, it is one of those foods we just can’t get enough of. If you feel the same, you have to make roasted brussels sprouts to serve with your halibut.

Roasting your brussels sprouts is a great way to unlock their natural sweetness. It’s also a great way to make them extra crunchy.

To make the best-roasted brussels sprouts, season them with salt and pepper, smother them in oil and roast them for 25 minutes.

For extra flavor, try adding lemon juice too. 

10. Sauteed Mushrooms With Spinach And Garlic Sauce

If you want to make a more interesting side dish that your party guests will enjoy, check out this sauteed mushrooms recipe. Served with a divine spicy garlic sauce, the pairing of mushrooms and spinach in this recipe is perfect.

The rice and earthy flavor of the mushrooms go incredibly well with the sweetness of the spinach. The spicy garlic sauce then finishes things off nicely, giving the dish a powerful kick.

All this dish needs to complete it is your freshly grilled halibut. The side dish complements the natural sweetness of the fish beautifully. 

11. Coconut Rice

Those of you that are bored of making the same old rice to serve with your halibut should try this coconut rice recipe instead.

Easy to prepare, coconut rice has a subtle sweetness that makes it much more enjoyable to eat. Its firm texture pairs well with halibut too.

Another thing that makes coconut rice a great side dish for halibut is its color. The white of the rice and the white of the halibut create a visually appealing dish that your guests will love.

All you need to make the rice is desiccated coconut, water, jasmine rice, coconut milk, salt, and green onions.

12. Sauteed Green Beans

Next, we have a delicious sauteed green beans recipe for you. Sauteed in butter, these green beans are sweet, savory, crunchy, and slightly tangy. They are simple to make and offer halibut dishes plenty of flavor.

To give the green beans a stronger flavor, they are packed with lemon and garlic. This ensures they bring more flavor to your halibut. They’ll also bring some vibrance to your halibut dish too. 

The simple, yet strong flavors of this side dish bring sweetness to the fish, whilst the lemon brings those lush zesty flavors. It only takes 5 minutes to make this green bean side dish so give it a go. 

13. Ginger Garlic Bok Choy

This ginger garlic bok choy side dish is one of the most flavorful on our list. Quick and easy to make, this boy choy side dish features garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame seeds, and chili flakes. This gives the dish strong flavors inspired by Asian cuisine.

You’ll also find that this side dish comes packed with healthy vitamins. This could be useful if you need a vitamin boost. 

As if this tasty halibut side dish wasn’t already great, it only requires 5 minutes of cooking so you’ll have the side dish ready to serve with your fish in no time.

14. Oven Roasted Potatoes

Sometimes the simplest side dishes are the best. This oven roasted potatoes recipe from Love And Lemons sums this up perfectly. All you need to make these crispy, soft, and fluffy roasted potatoes is potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, and parsley.

There’s also a delicious dressing you can make if you want to enhance the flavors. The beauty of this simple recipe is that the potatoes absorb all of the flavors. This makes every bite flavorful. 

The flavors and textures of the oven-roasted potatoes go well with the light flavors of halibut too which is handy.

15. Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet potatoes are a great alternative to classic fries. They are also a much more suitable accompaniment for halibut.

Sweet potato fries are orange in color, crispy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside. Compared to normal fries, they are much sweeter. 

It is this sweetness that goes so well with halibut. Another great thing about sweet potato fries is that they are full of essential vitamins that promote healthy skin. 

To keep the sweet potato fries healthy, this recipe shows you how to bake the fries instead of frying them. 

16. Orzo Salad

For those that don’t know, orzo is a short-crust pasta from Italy. Also known as risoni, this pasta is shaped like a large grain of rice. It can be used in a wide range of side dishes and main meals. 

This recipe helps you make a fresh salad using orzo. In this recipe, the orzo is mixed with chickpeas, tomatoes, Italian dressing, and cucumber.

This combination of ingredients leaves us with a light, flavor-packed salad that is both healthy and refreshing. 

This side dish gives your fish better flavor and vibrance.

17. Pesto Roasted Tomatoes

The final side dish on our list is sweet, juicy, garlicky, and slightly spicy. It is a simple dish that can be made quickly and easily.

Despite the simplicity of this recipe, the flavors are quite complex. This makes it a great side dish to serve with your halibut. 

To make the dish even better, a breadcrumb crust is added to each tomato. This gives the side dish a much-needed crunch and a more savory flavor. For us, this works well with the overall juiciness and richness of the sweet tomatoes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Halibut is a beautiful-tasting fish that can be served with a wide range of side dishes. In fact, the overwhelming array of options we have to choose from can make it difficult to choose the best. 

Luckily for you, we showed you the very best halibut side dishes in this post. All you have to do now is narrow the list down and pick out the side dish you want to make. We’re sure you’ll be happy with whichever one you pick as they all taste great.