What To Serve With Duck Breast (20 Side Dishes)

A well-prepared duck breast is often considered a classy chicken substitute. It’s robust, healthy, and exceptionally flavorful, making it a great choice when you’re aiming at a dinner party or just want an additional special meal. 

Many people don’t like cooking with it because they’re not entirely sure what to serve with duck breast, but if you’re ready to take a step outside your culinary safety zone, you’ll absolutely be rewarded for your struggles. 

Side dishes to serve with duck breast are balsamic roasted vegetables, roasted pepper, whipped sweet potatoes, roasted vegetables, mashed pumpkin, roasted beef salad, and lots more.

I’ll show you everything!

What To Serve With Duck Breast (20 Best Side Dishes)

It is essential to evaluate what to serve with duck breast before even cooking it. The proper side dishes choices make all the distinction, so it’s worth taking some time to get to know the various alternatives. 

Let’s take a peek at the most famous choices.

1. Mashed Potatoes And Green Beans

This fast, straightforward side dish works well with the flavor-packed, rich duck breast.

Mashed potatoes with flawlessly cooked and flavored green beans are easy options that don’t need too much preparation.

When making the green beans, sprinkle a sufficient quantity of extra virgin olive oil. This is the freshest and least refined olive oil and has multiple health benefits.

With mashed potatoes, you can utilize butter, milk, or cream, relying on your desired thickness. A serving of creamy mashed potato will make a subtle velvety distinction to the duck meat. 

2. Spinach And Mushroom Salad

This tasty side dish is a wonderful way to bring more veggies into your diet.

Just saute the mushrooms in a pan and position them in a bowl. Put in some chopped spinach, your special dressing, and then serve.

Duck meat can be a vast dish, and supporting it with a lighter side dish would be a bright idea to guarantee the meal isn’t devastating.

Try utilizing sweet dressings for your salad like honey, caramelized sweet onion, or blueberry. These will all level well with the sharp, unique taste of duck. 

3. Balsamic-Roasted Vegetables

Roast your precious vegetables like celery, courgette, or carrots utilizing the highly flavored balsamic vinegar to harmonize your duck breast. This side dish will bring about an excellent supplement to your meat.

To prepare an excellent crispy vegetable dish, roast them at moderate heat and put in some fresh herbs.

4. Duck fat-roasted Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts have a nice crunchy composition, which renders them an excellent contender to be paired with your succulent duck breast.

It is one of the most beneficial side dishes because you can simmer it using the same pan you’re using for your main course. 

You can spice the dish with citrus and cayenne pepper to taste.

The duck fat improves the flavor of your brussels sprouts while providing them a crunchy thickness. 

5. Roasted Pepper Salad with Feta, Pine Nuts & Basil

Duck is delightful, but it’s not the loveliest dish.

Serve it with this brilliant side salad and get an eye-catching plate with all the shades of the rainbow.

And it savors just as great as it looks! Roasted bell peppers are supported by salty olives, toasted pine nuts, tangy feta, and fresh basil.

It’s a mouth-watering assortment of flavors and compositions that’ll make your duck sing!

6. Blood Orange, Fennel, and Avocado Salad with Lemon Citronette

This distinctive salad will make you reconsider your connection with leafy greens.

Ignore limp lettuce. Get your greens together with savory goat cheese, creamy avocado, sweet blood oranges, and shredded almonds to rustle up this heavy side.

Fennel brings in a delicate sweet note, while a flavorful lemon dressing fastens the whole thing up. If you thought salads were tiring, you’d definitely think again.

7. Dauphinoise Potatoes

If you’ve ever taken Dauphinoise potatoes, you’ll realize just how remarkable they are! 

Also identified as potato au gratin, dauphinoise potatoes are a distinct French side. Potatoes are cooked in cream, butter, and cheese to develop an elegant casserole-style side.

You can also prepare this one ahead of time, making it an excellent choice if you’re doing a duck and need to conserve time in the prep stage.

8. Whipped Sweet Potato

Whipping sweet potato changes it into a light, airy mash that’s probably the most excellent way to relish the healthy root veg.

With just seven components, you don’t have to worry over this side. Just cook, mash, and spice up to relish this velvety smooth convenience food.

9. Roasted Vegetables

Nobody likes the bother of fancy sides when you’re arranging a special dinner. 

A good use of energy is to direct efforts on the main and choose simple but filling sides. This roasted vegetable recipe is the side you require for fuss-free dinner prep.

Take whatever veggies you possess in the fridge, throw in a spiced balsamic dressing, and bake until mouth-watering.

10. Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Some people despise Brussels sprouts, and that is a sad thing. Reclaim the haters with this delicious recipe for caramelized Brussels.

These are so excellently lovely and nutty that you may even forget you’re chewing sprouts. 

11. Orange Sauce

Duck with orange sauce is one of the most famous imports from Chinese cuisine, surpassing its roots to become a worldwide choice.

You don’t have to ask for takeout to relish it either.

You can make a thick, zesty orange sauce at home yourself that provides all that tangy taste.

12. Roasted Beet Salad

Creamy feta and juicy pear pair well with sweet beets in this cheerful side salad. It’s a striking side, excellent for impressing dinner party guests. 

13. Mashed Pumpkin

Intending a fall feast? Integrate the best of the season’s flavors with this pumpkin side.

Sleek and silky smooth, this is particularly good if you take duck with sauce. The coarse mash can then absorb all that tasty juice, substantially upping the yum element.

14. Rosemary Parsnip Fries 

You can change pretty much any root veg into fries. Here, sweet parsnips are covered in rosemary, garlic, and olive oil before being baked until crispy.

If you don’t have any parsnips in the house and have no time to shop, just alternate it with carrots. 

15. Polenta Fries

Duck breast is one of the unique dishes, and taking it with polenta fries will offer your presentation an extraordinary twist.

Polenta is prominent cornmeal in Italy that has a starchy density. It is generally served as an alternative to pasta or rice because it comprises carbohydrates.

If you’re imagining offsetting the deep flavor of your duck breast with fries or fine polenta, you will have a side dish that’s simpler to make. You can bake polenta fries from little to nothing or just acquire a prepared one from the supermarket.

16. Asparagus And Leek Risotto

If you want to partake in a pairing that will make you feel exceptionally satisfied, then asparagus and leek risotto are viable options.

It’s a savory mixture of rice, cheese, asparagus, and leek, and though it’ll need some hands-on attention in the kitchen, it’ll undoubtedly be worth the additional effort! 

17. Honey-Roasted Carrots

Honey-roasted carrots are appetizingly sweet, and they’re also super simple to prepare. 

Warm up a pan on the stove with a bit of oil, and throw in the chopped carrots to stir fry slowly for about 5 minutes. 

Take them out, and roast them in the oven until they get soft. 

To guarantee that they won’t singe, mix through the honey with some freshly ground black pepper for the last five minutes.

18. Stir-fried Pak Choi 

Pak choi delivers a fresh crunch, rendering it an excellent option for what to serve with duck breast when searching for a lighter, summery meal. 

Just pan fry with some garlic and compress some fresh lemon juice on it to really make this side dish outstanding. 

Add some raw herbs when you serve your dish to make them physically pleasant. 

19. Red Cabbage With Shredded Apple 

Red cabbage and apple is an active, colorful side dish that serves exceptionally well in the autumn months. The whole dish can be toasted in one tray, which implies less washing up and less trouble. 

20. Wild Rice With Dried Cherries 

Wild rice is a flawlessly balanced food with a multitude of micronutrients and antioxidants. It’s also moderately low in calories, rendering it a friendly alternative for what to serve with duck breast if you’re trying to lead a healthy lifestyle. 

Set with dried cherries to add a little additional color. It’s well recognized that fruits go so nicely with duck. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What Goes good with roasted duck?

  • Roasted chestnuts with butter and rosemary.
  • Arugula salad with lemon walnut vinaigrette.
  • Bitter greens with fennel, almonds, and blue cheese with quince dressing.
  • Creamy garlic farro with spinach.
  • Burrata blood orange and fennel salad.
  • Stir-fried watercress.

What Flavors Go Best With Duck Meat?

Caramelized onions, balsamic reduction, orange sauce, hoisin, dried and fresh fruit go best with duck meat.

How Long Do You Cook Duck Breasts?

It takes 15-18 minutes to cook duck breast.

Why Does Orange Go With Duck?

Nice bright citrus notes complement the slight sweetness of duck meat.

Conclusion

Radiant, exotic, and sumptuous, a duck breast with flawlessly crisp skin and beautifully made fat brings a tear to the eye and yearning to the heart.

The uninitiated might feel it is more like its plain cousin, chicken, but the duck is entirely poultry that competes against beef for its meaty savoriness and thick red interior. And it gets better when you choose a befitting side.

It is truly a marvel! What to serve with duck breast? You have no problem at all. There are dozens.

Thank you for reading!

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