20 Easy Meal Train Side Dishes
If you're bringing a meal train dinner, don't forget to add a delicious side dish to round out the menu. This is a great way to help the family get some fresh produce into their meals during a challenging time.
Cooking a meal train dinner for a family is one of the most wonderful ways to spread some love. Whether they are grieving a loss or celebrating the arrival of a new baby, showing up with food in hand helps make the family feel supported in a very tangible way.
The most common meal train mistake when it comes to planning a menu is to deliver your thoughtful casserole or main dish with a bag of prepared salad mix.
Guaranteed: The family will be drowning in salad bags soon enough. Everyone thinks to grab one while grocery shopping as an easy side dish.
Instead, make your meal train dinner truly shine and choose one of these fresh but easy side dishes that will be a welcome relief from the baby spinach.
Help new parents give healthy options to the other kids in the family and choose picky-eater friendly fresh fruits and veggie options that make great snacks in between meals, too!
No-Cook Side Dishes
If you're in a time crunch and you can only make the main dish homemade, there are several great meal train side dishes you don't have to cook yourself that you could still bring to round out the menu:
- Bag of Frozen Fries: The family can bake them easily or store them for later.
- Loaf of Fresh Sourdough: Grab one from the fresh bakery department at the store and deliver it with softened butter.
- Deli Salads: Find a pasta or potato salad from the deli department that has some fresh veggies in the mix.
Fresh Fruit Side Dishes
To encourage kids in the family to eat more fruit, prepare one of these dips and deliver it along with freshly washed and sliced apples, strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, or another seasonal fruit.
Piña Colada Fruit Dip
Stir together a bowl of this creamy piña colada fruit dip or this classic fruit dip and deliver it with already-washed and prepped fresh strawberries and fresh pineapple cubes.
Creamy Peanut Butter Apple Dip
This creamy peanut butter apple dip has a great boost of protein and could be delivered alongside a big bag of already washed and sliced apples tossed with a teaspoon or two of fresh lemon juice to preserve their color.
Add a bag of salted pretzels for dunking, too.
Mango Strawberry Salsa
A container filled with this easy fresh mango strawberry salsa delivered alongside a bag or two of cinnamon pita chips for dunking can work as a side dish, snack, or simple treat.
Fresh Strawberry Bruschetta
Deliver the elements for this strawberry bruschetta in separate containers:
- The Fresh Strawberry Topping
- The Crispy Crostini
Let them assemble it when they are ready to eat it!
Fresh Vegetable Side Dishes
To encourage kids in the family to eat more vegetables, consider making one of these savory dips and delivering it along with washed and prepared raw veggies like baby carrots, celery, bell peppers, broccoli, or pea pods.
Dill Dip with Fresh Veggies
Grab a bag or two of baby carrots, a pint of cherry tomatoes, and slice up a bell pepper. You can stir together this homemade dill dip in minutes and it will taste infinitely better than anything from the store.
Marinated Tomatoes
Homemade Salsa
With a few cans of tomatoes and a few fresh ingredients, you can make homemade salsa in your food processor in just minutes and it tastes so much better than the jarred stuff.
Deliver it in a large mason jar with big bags of chips for dunking. It makes a great side dish or snack.
Chunky Corn Salsa
This veggie-heavy chunky corn salsa works as a scooped side dish on the plate or it is a heartier salsa to be scooped with chips. It makes a great topping for chicken or pulled pork, too.
Cold Spinach Dip
This super easy cold spinach dip sneaks in some dark leafy greens in a way that the kids in the family will still enjoy. Deliver it with crispy bagel chips or pita chips for scooping. It also works as a veggie dip with an easy veggie tray.
Easy Salads
Resist the urge to bring a regular garden salad or Caesar salad. The family is sure to be receiving several salad kits that they won't know what to do with.
If you want to bring a salad, focus on something more unique or bring a pasta salad or potato salad instead.
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Raw Veggie Salad
This easy raw veggie salad is prepped and ready to eat and is such a delicious alternative to a classic leafy salad.
Lemon Orzo Salad
This chilled lemon orzo salad is perfect if you're delivering chicken or shrimp. It also makes an excellent vegetarian main dish in case the family needs that alternative.
Macaroni Salad
My creamy southern macaroni salad has a little pickle-y bite and crunch, it is so refreshing and tasty. If you're doing a meal train in the summer, this is a must-have.
Dill Potato Salad
Potato salads are nice and filling. They make a great side dish but I've been known to snack on them for a light lunch, too. This dill potato salad has just the right amount of dressing and can be made ahead.
Ranch Potato Salad
My super creamy ranch potato salad has a fun zippy taste to it that is more popular with kids.
French Potato Salad
The nice thing about this French potato salad is that it doesn't have mayonnaise which can make the dish spoil faster. It's also a win because some families dislike mayo. I love the crunch the sweet corn adds to the texture, too.
Fresh Breads
Obviously as the author of The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook I'm going to believe that fresh bread makes every meal better.
But baking bread doesn't have to be complicated! Just pop a fresh loaf into the bread machine in minutes or grab something from the fresh bakery department at the grocery store.
Homemade Garlic Bread
Grab a loaf of Italian bread and prep this homemade garlic bread for the family to bake fresh in their oven. This is a great side dish if you're bringing pasta or anything with tomato sauce.
And if they don't want to eat it right now? They can pop it in the freezer for later.
Swiss Cheese Bread
This Swiss cheese bread is a fun alternative to garlic bread that is perfect to bring with a hearty stew or soup.
Breadsticks
I think my whole wheat breadsticks taste just like the ones from Olive Garden!
Homemade Dinner Rolls
I have a whole list of easy dinner roll recipes that use either a bread machine or stand mixer and can be made quickly. Bake them for your family and then deliver them ready to reheat.
More Meal Train Tips
If you want to learn how to feed a grieving family and support them by setting up a meal train, here are some helpful resources you need:
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