Tacos are pretty amazing! Whether you have a taco Tuesday tradition in your household or simply enjoy incorporating tacos into your usual meal schedule, sometimes you want to mix things up a little. Get inspired on what to serve with tacos with these creative and delicious taco side dishes the whole family will love.
These taco sides are the perfect way to turn your favourite Mexican inspired dish into a complete meal!
What To Serve With Tacos
Knowing what to serve with tacos is a simple way to feed a crowd or add something extra to your family taco night at home.
These side dish ideas, appetisers and accompaniments with perfectly with your favourite taco recipes.
They also pair well with taco-inspired dishes such as this Mexican potato casserole or non-traditional twists on your go-to recipe, such as these Teriyaki chicken tacos.
Whether you are looking for some crisp salad to pair with your hard taco shells or some added crunch with your soft tortillas, or simply a way to add extra taco recipe ideas to your taco bar party, you are sure to find tasty side dishes to fall in love with.
And of course, if you end up with leftovers, be sure to check out these great ideas for using leftover taco meat too!
Quick and Easy Taco Side Dishes & Appetisers
If you want to know what to serve with tacos in a hurry, these side dishes are quick and easy to make and will take your meal up to that extra level by adding a little something extra to go with your taco main dish.
Each of these easy taco side dishes takes 15 minutes or less to make and can easily be delegated to another member of the family to help at dinner prep time!
- Homemade Refried Black Beans – This homemade refried black beans recipe is ready in just 10 minutes! This makes the perfect filling addition to your family taco nights!
- Guacamole – While guacamole is great inside your tacos, it is also a quick side dish paired with some tortilla chips. This quick & easy guacamole recipe is made with a handful of healthy ingredients and is ready in 5 minutes!
- Air Fryer Tortilla Chips – If you want to add a little extra crunch to your meal, served with additional salsa, these air fryer tortilla chips are made in minutes from soft tortillas.
- Easy Spanish Rice – This easy Spanish Rice is a delicious vegetarian rice recipe. This versatile dish makes a tasty side dish on taco night. It is also a perfect addition to other Mexican entrees like burritos or burrito bowls. Better yet? You probably already have the ingredients you need for it on hand and ready to go in less than 15 minutes.
- 7 Layer Dip with Black Beans – A delicious 7 layer dip with black beans is made with the classic Mexican Flavors and served with tortilla chips. This easy, make-ahead bean dip will become your favourite side to serve with tacos.
- Chipotle Corn Salsa – This easy flavour-loaded copycat Chipotle Corn Salsa recipe is made in just a few minutes with a few simple ingredients. It can be made with either frozen or canned corn, plus you can make it ahead of time to serve at your next backyard BBQ or social gathering! Serve it with tacos, fajitas, or tortilla chips for dipping!
- Black Bean And Corn Salsa – Black bean salsa is always a crowd favourite, with deliciously fresh and vibrant flavours and a great appetiser or side with tortilla chips.
- Roasted Salsa Verde – Homemade Roasted Salsa Verde is so easy to make, made with tomatillos instead of red tomatoes, to give it the zesty flavour! Pair it with some chips for a yummy appetiser or go next level with your taco toppings!
- Frijoles Puercos – Frijoles Puercos (or Piggy Beans) is a tasty side dish that is packed with flavour. Made up of beans, meat and melted cheese. Serve it with tacos or any of your other favourite Mexican dishes.
- Easy Mexican Rice – This Mexican rice dish is ready in under 10 minutes for a quick side dish that will feed a crowd or keep the family happy on cooler nights.
- Black Bean Pineapple Salsa – This Black Bean Pineapple Salsa is fresh, colourful, delicious, and goes great with tacos or tortilla chips. Ready in 10 minutes!
- Mini Mexican Street Corn – These mini Mexican street corn, or Elote, is a quick and easy side dish. The sweet corn pairs well with enchiladas, quesadillas, tacos and more!
- Mango Habanero Salsa – Mango Habanero Salsa is a combination of sweet mango with spicy habanero peppers for a zesty, healthy, no-bake, sweet and spicy salsa dish. Serve the mango salsa on the side or add fresh, sweet flavours to your ground beef tacos.
- Grilled Shishito Peppers Recipe – Grilled shishito peppers and corn is an easy and healthy recipe brimming with sweet and spicy flavours, as either a side or an appetiser.
- Easy Lemon Garlic Prawns Recipe – These zesty, lemon garlic prawns are quick and easy in a skillet and will be a hit with the whole family!
Salad Side Dishes For Tacos
Salad is a simple and easy choice to serve on the side, adding fresh flavours and a lighter, healthy choice of sides and there are salads for every season.
Check out some of these classic side dish ideas and new recipes to inspire your next taco night.
- Creamy Mexican Street Corn Salad – This Mexican street corn is so easy to make and can be ready in under 20 minutes. Use fresh corn, frozen corn or canned corn to make this kid-friendly side for your next Taco Tuesday!
- Southwestern Quinoa Salad – This Southwestern Quinoa Salad is a simple and colourful side dish that’s topped with a zesty salsa lime dressing.
- Cowboy Caviar (Texas Caviar) – This budget salad dish is full of colourful fresh vegetables and black beans, dressed with a tangy, spicy homemade dressing. It is a perfect side dish with your favourite tacos recipe or as an appetiser served with tortilla chips before your main course.
- 3 Bean Salad – An easy, no-cook, side dish recipe that can be made for a weeknight dinner, or for a potluck dinner at an event! It Goes amazing with tacos or as a side with any meal!
- Cilantro Lime Broccoli Slaw – This Cilantro Lime Broccoli Slaw is a flavourful side dish to pair with any Mexican inspired meal. It uses shredded broccoli, carrots, red cabbage, all tossed with jalapeño, lime, red onion, and red bell pepper for a refreshing side salad idea.
- Grilled Corn Avocado Salad – This grilled corn, feta and avocado salad with zesty lime dressing is perfect when planning what to serve with tacos as a healthy side dish.
- Cilantro Lime Salad – This cilantro lime salad is the perfect blend of creamy avocado, crisp greens, juicy tomato, and herbal cilantro all tossed with a delightful lime dressing. It pairs well with any kind of tacos you can dream up!
- Kohlrabi Slaw Salad – This raw Kohlrabi salad is healthy and quick to make! A coleslaw side salad tossed with a creamy cilantro lime dressing.
- Carrot Salad with Sesame Maple Vinaigrette – This bright, crunchy salad is, uniquely grated with Sesame Maple Vinaigrette to transform a few simple ingredients into a quick side dish or appetiser for Taco Tuesday.
- Mexican Cabbage Slaw (Fish Taco Slaw) – The tangy cabbage slaw with a Mexican-spiced apple cider vinaigrette can be served as a side or on top of fish tacos, pulled pork sandwiches or as a BBQ side salad.
Healthy Recipes To Serve With Tacos
If you’re looking for healthy side dishes to serve with tacos, but want something a little more hearty than salad.
Or you want hot side dishes to serve during the colder months, these recipe ideas are the perfect healthy sides and appetisers to add to your menu.
- Mexican Cauliflower Rice – This easy dish is a Whole 30 low carb Mexican side dish. This keto Mexican cauliflower rice can be made with fresh or frozen riced cauliflower in around 20 minutes.
- Easy Coconut Cauliflower Rice – This simple coconut cauliflower rice is made with just five ingredients. It is a versatile side dish that pairs with a variety of mains and it is easy to make, cooked in a skillet and toasted to perfection with a load of flavour!
- Calabacitas con Queso – This quick Mexican sauté features fresh zucchini, corn, tomatoes and mild chiles. Topped with a generous sprinkle of cheese, it’s a delicious vegetable side dish for your favourite tacos!
- Roasted Peach Tomatillo Salsa – This Peach Tomatillo Salsa is great for when you are craving some new and delicious Mexican food. It works well as a dip with tortillas for an appetiser or side or as extra taco fillings.
Instant Pot Side Dish Ideas
If you are hosting a taco party or short on time and want an easy side to serve up for a crowd, the instant pot is a great option.
Get your pressure cooker working for you with one of these easy to make hot side dishes to incorporate into your regular meal plan.
- Instant Pot Pinto Beans – With this simple no-soak Instant Pot Pinto Beans Recipe, you can make the perfect, creamy, comforting side dish.
- Instant Pot Borracho Beans – This instant pot borracho beans recipe, or drunken beans, as they are cooked in Mexican beer, is a perfect side dish for any Mexican meal. Or you can serve them on their own over rice for a cheap and easy dinner idea.
- Dump and Start Instant Pot Mexican Black Beans Stew – This stew is so easy to make and full of your favourite Mexican flavours! Make from scratch in the Instant Pot in less than an hour, with no soaking required.
- Instant Pot Chili Lime Black Beans – Chilli lime black beans make the perfect side dish for taco night (or a perfect meatless taco filling) Warm chili powder spice and tangy lime make these beans amazingly delicious.
- Instant Pot Refried Beans – These vegan refried beans made in the Instant Pot transform dry pinto beans into flavour-packed refried beans. The dish is seasoned with jalapeños, onions, and spices.
Air Fryer Recipes That Pair With Tacos
For quick and simple recipe ideas, these air fryer dishes make great side dishes or appetisers to pair with your Mexican dishes.
Enjoy some of your favourite sides without needing to deep fry them. The best part, they require a short amount of prep before letting your air fryer do all the work.
Check out these air fryer recipes for beginners if you need even more inspiration!
- Sweet Potato Fries – These air fried sweet potato fries are so simple to make, with a light seasoning to make them kid-friendly. They are delicious with the complimentary Greek yogurt dipping sauce too.
- Salt & Pepper Calamari – Add a side or appetiser of seafood with these air fryer calamari rings. So crisp and tasty!
- Onion Rings – Make the quickest and easiest onion rings at home from scratch and cook them to crispy perfection without a deep fryer! No more fast food stops to get your onion rings fix.
- Crispy Coconut Shrimp – These coconut prawns are a great alternative to fish tacos as a taco filling or add a few on the side for a seafood appetiser or side.
- Baked Sweet Potatoes – These stuffed air fryer baked sweet potatoes can be loaded up with your favourite toppings – bacon, sour cream, salsa and anything else you like.
More Ideas For What To Serve With Tacos
In case that wasn’t enough ideas, here are a few more recipes to serve on the side that don’t quite fit in the other categories but are still definitely worth adding into your rotation!
- Pico de Gallo – The perfect Taco Tuesday topping! A super simple salsa recipe with tomatoes, red pepper, onions, cilantro, and lime juice.
- Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread – Add a filling side dish the whole family will enjoy for something different for your Cinco de Mayo celebration and Taco Tuesday dinners. An easy cornbread recipe with lots of flavours.
- Roasted Sweet Potato Chunks – These roasted sweet potato chunks are generously flavoured with homemade taco seasoning and are served alongside a simple avocado sauce for dipping. So yummy with tacos!
- Arroz Rojo (Mexican Red Rice) – This crowd-pleasing Spanish Red Rice, also known as Mexican Red Rice, is ideal alongside chicken, steak or as part of any Mexican meal, like tacos. Plenty of flavours and easy to make.
- Crockpot Borracho Beans – This easy recipe for slow cooker Borracho Beans yields a pot full of creamy, spicy, and delicious pinto beans. While you could eat a whole bowlful all on their own, they also make an excellent side for any gathering.
- Feta Olive Pasta – The famous Tiktok pasta with a few little twists for extra flavour makes a great side serving for anyone who loves pasta night as much as tacos. Baked with feta cheese.
- Lemon Garlic Prawns – These quick skillet prawns taste amazing and are so quick to make. You could even put them on your tacos.
Start planning your epic dinner fiesta now you have plenty of inspiration on what to serve with tacos, with appetiser, side dish and taco filling ideas to take your meal to the next level. These recipes are perfect for feeding a crowd or for adding some new flavours to your family taco night.
I hope these ideas help you plan what goes with tacos and what to serve with tacos for a party if you’re entertaining!
Have you got a ‘bring a plate’ party coming up? Here are more than 70 ideas for share plates and pot luck party food ideas!
Need more side dishes or leftover ideas? Check these out:
