The Best Side Dishes for Ham – Crowd-Pleasing Ideas

Ham is a delicious main dish that is served year-round but is especially common during holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. No ham dinner is complete without the side dishes – here are some of the best, crowd-pleasing side dishes for a ham that EVERYONE will love!

As much as we enjoy a nice slice of ham – it’s really the side dishes that make ham something to write home about.

Ham Side Dishes

I don’t know about you, but there’s few things I enjoy more than a nice roll filled with ham and potatoes – and maybe a little bit of gravy.

There are just some items that really go well with ham, and below, we are sharing our top five favorite side dishes that go with ham. We’ve found that many lists out there throw tons of recipes (most of which are somewhat complicated) at you.

Instead, we’re keeping it simple and sharing tried and true sides that always go well with ham, no matter what the crowd.

Rolls

Is it any surprise that rolls come first on our list? I think it should be a crime to serve ham without some kind of roll side dish. Here are a couple of rolls recipes we love that you might want to consider:

• Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls Recipe
• Easy Resurrection Rolls with Honey Butter
• The BEST Lion House Rolls Recipe
• Easy Yeast Dinner Rolls – Fluffy and Delicious!
• Homemade Sourdough Rolls Recipe – Super Fluffy!

If you want something that’s bread but maybe a little different than a traditional roll, here are a couple other options:

• Easy Garlic Knots with Frozen Roll Dough
• Easy Twisted Spinach Breadsticks Recipe

Mashed Potatoes

This was a major contender for the first side dish, and I still am trying to decided if potatoes or rolls are my favorite!

• The Easiest Instant Pot Red Skin Mashed Potatoes
• Easy Instant Pot Mashed Cauliflower Recipe
• Copycat Longhorn Steakhouse Mashed Potatoes
• Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
• Easy Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes Recipe
• Easy Colcannon Potatoes Recipe

Glazed Carrots

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE carrots! They are one of my favorite vegetables…especially when they are glazed in sugar or honey 🙂 I think they are the perfect vegetable to pair with a honey glazed ham.

• 5-Ingredient Instant Pot Maple Carrots
• Sweet Instant Pot Carrots
• Maple Carrots (this is one I contributed to another site)

Green Beans

Green beans in any form are a-okay with me, and for some reason, ham dinner doesn’t seem complete without them.

Here are a couple of different ways to cook green beans.

• Easy Instant Pot Green Beans – Crisp and Tasty!
• Instant Pot Green Beans Almondine
• How to Steam Green Beans (and Other Veggies Too)

And if you more on team green bean casserole – don’t worry, we’ve got you covered here, too!

• Creamy Instant Pot Green Bean Casserole with Bacon
• Classic Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Cheesy Potatoes

Not a fan of traditional mashed potatoes? Not a problem. There are a plethora of other potato options out there – and cheesy potatoes are definitely the best. Here are several recipes to consider.

• Easy Instant Pot Funeral Potatoes
• Easy and Cheesy Funeral Potatoes Recipe
• The Best Hash Brown Cheesy Potatoes Casserole
• Easy Crock Pot Cheesy Potatoes Recipe

Mac and Cheese

And last, but certainly not least – mac and cheese. I used to say I wasn’t a mac and cheese fan, but I’m finding that as long as it’s made well…I am actually a huge fan. Here are some of our most popular recipes for mac and cheese!

• Copycat Longhorn Steakhouse Mac and Cheese Recipe
• Easy No-Boil Crock Pot Mac and Cheese Recipe
• Easy Baked White Macaroni and Cheese
• Easy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese – 20 Minutes!
• Copycat Costco Mac and Cheese Recipe
• Classic Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

I hope that this was helpful for you to find some side dishes for ham! Be sure to comment about what your favorite is.