Mild, yet slightly meatier than chicken, turkey is a versatile main dish that can satisfy meals from Thanksgiving to a quick turkey sandwich all year round.
If you are considering to add healthy and filling side dishes, fresh salad, or roasted, sautéed, or stir-fried vegetables are highly recommended. In addition, turkey can be served as sweet or savory dishes based on the recipe, and pairs well with the right cheese, fruit, and vegetables.
What vegetables to serve with turkey? Roasted turkey is an excellent meat to serve with both cooked and raw vegetables.
When serving turkey with sauté or roast vegetables, consider green beans, brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, mashed cauliflower, potatoes, sweet potatoes, kale, mushroom, and spinach.
Serving with fresh chopped salad is also a great alternative to enjoy roast turkey. Coleslaw mixed with fruits, nuts, and cheese, the flavor combinations are endless.
Fall and winter are a common time to prepare and serve turkey, but some have also fallen in love with the classic side dishes available on the table during the meal.
This article will discuss the best choice of vegetables to pair with turkey. Answered below are frequently asked questions about what vegetables go well with turkey when your serving a meal.
Can you serve vegetables with turkey?
Yes, you can served vegetables with turkey. In fact, it gives a delicious taste, more complete meal and a brighter look on the table.
Vegetables are a perfect accompaniment to a cooked turkey. In addition, vegetables served with turkey make the meal healthier and more complete.
Whether the vegetables are cooked or served fresh, the main focus is on how they are prepared and served with the turkey to balance out the dish.
What vegetables do you serve with turkey?
Depending on the recipes, there are specific fall and cold weather friendly vegetables that are best to serve with turkey. Because the list of vegetable is lengthy, the type of vegetable combination is dependent on cooking technique, taste and preference of the people at the meal.
Some of the vegetables to serve with turkey include:
- carrots
- parsnips
- mushrooms
- broccoli
- swiss chard
- green beans
- cauliflower
- potatoes
- sweet potatoes
Does the type of sauce affect the vegetable selection?
Yes, the type of sauce affects the selection of vegetables. Sauces can make the vegetables more satisfying during any meal, or completely saturate the flavor and overwhelm the dish.
Sauces are essential in accompanying turkey with vegetables due to its dry texture that requires moisture like a thick gravy. The perfect sauce will add more richness and flavor to the vegetables.
For instance, vegetables may benefit from a mayonnaise or vinaigrette based sauce when serving.
Oven-baked vegetables can be served while dressed with vinaigrette to add more flavor. Cold vegetables or salad can be dressed with mayonnaise in the form of a versatile dressing.
Turkey benefits from a hot and robust gravy, and the sauce typically gets served with mashed potatoes, but not the other vegetable sides.
Best vegetables to pair with turkey
Roasted vegetables are simple, but typically used as a classic side options to pair with turkey during any meal. They give the meal a lighter and more mouthwatering appeal.
Depending on the preference of the cook or family, the type of vegetables paired with turkey can be adjusted. Note that vegetable flavors are commonly enhanced using vinegars or lemon juice.
The best vegetables to pair with turkey include fresh green beans, cranberry chutney, roasted acorn squash, creamy brussels sprouts, broccoli cheese casserole, or roasted Brussels sprouts and squash.
Here are chefs approved vegetable flavor combination to try on the side with turkey:
- sweet potatoes + brussels sprouts + onion
- butternut squash + rutabaga + parsnips + carrots
- green beans + zucchini + tomatoes
- potatoes + fennel + rosemary
- squash + radicchio + pecans
Vegetables With Turkey: Conclusion
Turkey dinner can be quite a feast, but most people tend to skip the vegetables in favor of turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, which don’t have much to offer when it comes to the nutritional department.
Beautifully roasted turkey pairs well with vegetable side dishes both cooked or fresh. The cooking method includes roasted, sautéed, braised, steamed, and stir-fried to enhance the vegetable flavor and color of the dish.
Vegetables that taste great with turkey include green beans, brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, sweet potatoes, kale, mushrooms, and spinach.
These ingredients blend well with spices and condiment to make cheesy, buttery, and savory side that saturate your mouth with flavor.
In addition, freshly chopped salads with fennel, kale, spinach, or cabbage tossed with nuts, dried fruit and cheese can make a healthy option to add-on the side of a turkey dish.
Food can give a good or bad feeling if the right choices are not made, this could be the difference between energizing versus bloating. Making use of seasonal vegetables with turkey to give the best taste while minding the family’s budget at the same time.