What To Serve With Ham Balls? (13 Best Side Dishes)

What To Serve With Ham Balls

When making your holiday special, ham balls play an essential role. Apart from being common at weddings, many people also love to have it on different occasions.

Just like it’s your choice about what should be filled inside ham balls, like cheese or mushroom or beef, etc., what goes on the side is also a choice of great responsibility.

So there are many options you can go for in the form of side dishes! And we have chosen the best 13 side dishes for you! Happy reading!

Best Side Dishes To Serve With Ham Balls

1. Scalloped Potatoes

Scalloped potatoes 

Apart from being a trendy side dish to enjoy on Christmas Eve and Easter, it is effortless to make! This means you can have it whenever you want, despite the occasion.

The main ingredients are Yukon gold potatoes or red potatoes, and they don’t require peeling as they have very tender skin, onions, creamy sauce, and seasoning. If you are someone who craves to have a cheesy and creamy feel, these make a perfect side dish with ham balls.

The key to making it shine is to season it with garlic and cilantro if you wish to! If you have guests at your place, dress it up a little with red or white wine, don’t worry; both would gel along like wonder!

2. Green Beans with Almonds

Green Beans with Almonds

The classic french recipe we have selected due to the public opinion!

Choosing the perfect side dish is always a task, especially when you have put all your efforts into making the main dish(ham balls); you don’t want your side dish to overpower the main dish, nor do you want it to be incredibly dull!

With ham balls, this side dish is simple yet elegant and savory.

Green beans with almonds are the perfect option to save you from this jeopardy. It is fancier, and on top of that, it balances flavors!

Did you know the French love to add almonds to everything? The green beans are tossed in butter and garnished with almonds; bravo, that’s it! You would find them a lot on many dishes.

Now you can make variations to it by adding:

  1. Sautéed shallots
  2. Freshly grated lemon zest
  3. Garlic
  4. Few drops of lemon juice

So the bottom line here is green bean almond is a combination of bitterness, natural sweetness, nutty flavor that comes from almonds, and the right amount of acidity from lemon zest.

3. Garlic Bread

Garlic bread

Garlic bread (also known as garlic toast) is made of bread (usually a baguette or sourdough like ciabatta) that has been topped with garlic, olive oil, butter, and additional herbs such as oregano or chives. After that, it’s roasted on the grill or baked in a conventional or special bread oven.

If you want to enhance the flavor of ham balls, you should go for garlic bread; the savory taste of garlic helps a lot.

4. Cornbread

Cornbread

You’ve got a call from your relatives all of a sudden they are about to show up in an hour or so, and it’s almost dinner time; you have ham balls, but you are freaking out about what to serve as a side dish with it because it’s not! Cornbread is all you were looking for!

You can easily create this super fluffy cornered side dish at home; let us help you with it:

Ingredients 
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup buttermilk shake before measuring
Half a teaspoon of salt
Baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 tbs sugar
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup unsalted butter

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C | 400°F and position a rack in the center. Preheat the oven to 350°F and gently butter a 9-inch cast iron pan or a 9-inch square baking dish.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder (if using), baking soda, and salt.
  3. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk and eggs. Mix until all ingredients are ‘just’ combined. (do not overmix). Toss everything together thoroughly, then add the somewhat cooled melted butter.
  4. Put your hands on oven mitts and carefully remove the ‘hot’ pan or dish from the oven. Carefully pour the batter into the hot pan or dish. Pay attention to the sizzling! That’s precisely what you’re looking for.
  5. The cornbread is done when it is browned on top, and a toothpick comes out clean after you insert one to check; once it is done, remove it from the oven.

Cornbread goes so well with ham balls because it’s very filling. Plus, you can top it with butter or honey as per your choice, giving your taste buds a good booster.

5. Honey-Glazed Carrots

Honey-Glazed Carrots

Suppose you are on a diet and eat a healthy side dish with ham balls. With honey-glazed carrots, you can have a sweet and sticky glaze with a caramelized taste, definitely a transformation of those boring carrots into a fancy and addictive side dish.

Do you want to add a twist?

  • Bake them in the oven without the honey. Then toss them in the pan with honey later, high heat for about 30s. That way, the honey won’t burn while the carrots taste more charred and smoky from the pan.
  • You can also sprinkle sesame seeds at the end or add dried oregano and parsley.

Apart from eating them with ham balls, you can also try them with chicken dishes, mac n cheese, potatoes, etc. This is a versatile side dish.

6. Homemade Baked Beans

Homemade Baked Beans

Whatever the occasion is, a barbecue, thanksgiving, or Christmas dinner, baked beans know how to rock as a side dish!

The best part is that they are high in protein,  fiber, and other nutrients, which means no guest would complain about a stomach upset the next day!

Suppose you want to have a smokey flavor with your ham balls, thumbs up to baked beans! The deal with baked beans is they have different meanings in different countries, some like to add bacon and sausage, tomato sauce, extremely sweet sauce with a barbecue flavor, and the list would go on.

So, keeping our readers’ versatility in mind, we have used the word“ homemade” to precise one recipe that would taste like heaven with ham balls!

Interesting facts: despite using the word baked, there’s no baking involved! It takes 30 minutes to prepare the baked beans on the stovetop.

Let’s get started with the recipe:

Ingredients
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 spoon of olive oil
1-2 spoons Smoked Paprika
⅓ cup pasta
1 tbsp tomato paste
60ml (1/4 cup) Chicken / Vegetable Stock
300 grams beans

Instructions:

  1. On a medium flame, heat the pan and add oil.
  2. Reduce the flames, add smoked paprika, and stir.
  3.  Gently add the garlic to it; make sure you don’t let it burn or turn brown.
  4. Add tomato paste and pasta, and simmer it for 20 minutes.
  5. Add beans and then simmer for 10 minutes.

7. Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs

Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs

Historically, pimento cheese was known as “pâté of the south,” “Carolina caviar,” and “the caviar of the south.” like salsa, they are great for dipping. It will not ruin the spotlight of your main dish with unwanted flavors.

You can mix bits of pimento and a generous amount of mayonnaise for a sandwich spread or dip. You can also spread it neatly on crackers and top it with olives.

Just compliment your meatballs with the fun toppings of pimento cheese-deviled eggs.

8. Crispy Parmesan Potatoes

Parmesan Potatoes

Anytime anyone serves ham balls, it goes without saying that potatoes, our natural partners, should be there on the table. What makes these crispy Parmesan potatoes a perfect side dish with ham balls?

Many things, firstly the garlicky taste, the roasted feel, and the filling nature of these potatoes. What’s great is that you can season it with the oil of your choice and with whatever herbs and spices you want.

That means you have the complete freedom to choose which taste you want to drool over. The Parmesan cheese gives a highly delicious topping to those crispy potatoes. Usually, small and raw potatoes are ideal for this recipe.

9. The Best Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

The Best Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

Satisfy your crunch with croutons and homemade creamy Parmesan dressing.

This is a vegetarian salad for those who like to balance a high-calorie food like ham balls with a Since Brussels, low-calorie or healthy salad is packed with fiber, vitamins, and amino acids. And yes, they do have a flavor similar to that of cabbage and broccoli.

So if you want to enjoy a sweet taste, nutty and smoky flavor, cook the Brussels in butter or olive oil.

A nice crunchy exterior with a soft interior is hard to resist with ham balls.

10. Baked Mac and Cheese 

baked mac and cheese 

Ham balls can sometimes feel dry; isn’t it best to accompany them with creamy mac and cheese? If you are preparing this recipe at home, don’t forget to use a combination of Gruyère and sharp cheddar. It is a real-time saver and a complete meal!

The combination of Gruyère and sharp cheddar melts very well without getting burnt or sticking here and there, and that’s the essential aspect of mac and cheese.

You can switch to any shape or size of macaroni from the traditional elbow macaroni. Freshly grated cheese and not overcooking the pasta is the key to your yummy meal!

11. Lemon Asparagus Risotto

Lemon Asparagus Risotto

Do you want to balance the richness of ham balls with a zesty taste? Creamy risotto and tender asparagus are here to help you! Plus, this lemon asparagus risotto is much lighter than many other risottos around the globe.

Excellent! Mellow but balanced flavor, colorful, and a beautiful side dish, you can add lemon according to your needs; if you like it lemony, go for it, and if you don’t, then a few drops are delicate.

12. Black-Eyed Peas

Black-eyed peas

This salad is filled with a lot of fresh ingredients. Black-eyed peas and ham go together like peas and carrots.

Salads like this one have just the right amount of spice to satisfy spice lovers but not overwhelm those who are more cautious. If you are having a potluck party at your place, this dish is a brilliant idea to go for.

A fun way to pair up with ham balls!

Apart from ham balls, you can have it with chips, an appetizer with tortilla chips, and even in fajita tortillas for a light meal.

To make it a healthier option, you can use low-fat Italian dressing instead of olive oil and vinegar and omit the bacon.

Note: With black-eyed peas selling at $1.49 a can, if you decide to make your peas in the slow cooker the day before, it will save you a lot (they were $1.49 a bag!). Put them in the refrigerator overnight and drain them the next day to make the salad. To switch things up, cilantro can be used in place of parsley.

13. Roasted Parsnips

Roasted Parsnips

These don’t get the attention they deserve, but we are here to do justice to this recipe and include it in our list. It takes 45 minutes with a total of 10 minutes to be prepared.

So if you are looking for a simple yet elegant side dish with ham balls, you should do roasted parsnips.

If you love a slightly sweet and tender taste, you should go for it.

Well, that’s a wrap!

Serve it as an appetizer or a main course ham balls will rock it; also, you will never get bored from pairing them with our best side dishes. We hope you enjoyed reading our article, do let us know your personal favorite from the following 13 side dishes in the comment section.

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