17 Best Cajun Side Dishes

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If you are looking to add some spice and a bit of Southern comfort to your meals, consider adding a delicious Cajun side dish to your menu.

Cajun side dishes often come with a unique blend of flavors and ingredients which make them a great choice for a variety of different meals.

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17 Best Cajun Side Dishes

Traditional Cajun cooking comes from a wide range of influences including spices native to the southern United States and French cuisine from early colonial settlers. This makes Cajun food extremely unique in style and flavor, so each dish has a distinct, delicious taste not found in any other culinary culture.

1. Cajun Crawfish Dressing

Crawfish are a staple of Cajun cooking and this side dish makes great use of the crustaceans as the filling in a cornbread-based, baked stuffing recipe.

Not only is this a simple recipe to make, but it combines the sweet taste of cornbread with the hot and savory flavors of crawfish and Cajun spices.

https://www.seductioninthekitchen.com/cajun-crawfish-dressing-recipe/

2. Cajun Maque Choux Corn

Maque Choux corn is a delicious combination of succotash and cream corn that combines the sweet taste of corn with a variety of tasty spices and peppers.

Maque Choux is a Cajun and Creole take on a Native American corn-based dish, meaning people have been enjoying this delicious and creamy recipe for generations.

https://thegingeredwhisk.com/cajun-maque-choux-corn-recipe/

3. Cajun-Style Stuffing

In Cajun cooking, dressing and stuffing refer to any side dish based on croutons, regardless of whether you use that dish as dressing or stuffing for the main course.

This particular recipe combines a tasty base of lightly fried vegetables with croutons, eggs, and seafood to create a delicious side dish with a distinctly Cajun flavor.

https://blog.arousingappetites.com/cajun-stuffing/

4. Cajun Grilled Potato Wedges

This recipe does not come directly from Cajun cuisine but it is influenced by Cajun cooking, particularly in the special spice blend rubbed into the potatoes as they are grilled.

Grilled potato wedges are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, so when you combine them with savory Cajun spices you create a unique and delicious side dish.

https://www.pookspantry.com/cajun-grilled-potato-wedges/

5. Cajun Roasted Vegetables

Not only are roasted Cajun-style vegetables easy to make, but the special blend of spices, oils, and peppers mixed into the veggies give it a strong flavor.

While this recipe is delicious on its own, there are dozens of variations you can make on this recipe, like sprinkling parmesan over the veggies or adding sliced Brussel sprouts.

https://easyfamilyrecipes.com/cajun-roasted-veggies/

6. Cajun Cauliflower Salad

Most Cajun side dishes tended to be heavily spiced, but cauliflower salad is a mild and creamy option for those looking to take the edge off a hot meal.

This recipe combines chopped or riced cauliflower with a smooth, homemade dressing that is cool and creamy with just a hint of mustard spice for flavor.

https://asprinklingofcayenne.com/creamy-cajun-cauliflower-salad/

7. Cajun Cucumber Salad

Another smooth and mild Cajun side dish is creamy cucumber salad, which combines crispy cucumber slices with a cool and smooth yogurt-based dressing into one dish.

While this would be delicious on its own, a few pinches of spice and lemon juice add just enough zest to enhance the flavor without making the dish to hot.

https://blog.memeinge.com/creamy-cajun-cucumber-salad/

8. Cajun Potato Salad

This Cajun take on potato salad uses a special green onion dressing to add some strong, savory flavors to the salad to help balance out its natural creaminess.

By adding a mixture of onions, seasonings, and vinegar to potato salad, this recipe creates an even more delicious side dish through these contrasting flavors.

https://thatrecipe.com/blog/cajun-potato-salad/

9. Cajun Black Beans and Rice

Most Cajun recipes have a little bite to them since spices are common in the American South, but this dish adds some extra heat with a shot of hot sauce.

Besides hot sauce, this deliciously spice Cajun side dish also uses garlic and onions to enhance the already potent flavor of the beans and rice.

https://www.carriesexperimentalkitchen.com/cajun-black-beans-and-rice/

10. Cajun Corn Salad

This recipe can be considered a simpler, milder variant on the classic Maque Choux corn recipe common in Cajun cuisine, making it great for those looking to experiment with Cajun food.

Besides the sweet and savory taste of the vegetables in the mix already, the combination of oils and spices enhances the natural flavor of the meal to create a rich dish.

https://www.willcookforsmiles.com/cajun-corn-salad/

11. Cajun Easy Fried Cabbage

Originally an Irish dish, fried cabbage has become a staple side dish of the American South, and Cajun-style fried cabbage is perhaps the most delicious.

This recipe involves frying cabbage in a mixture of oil, vinegar, and Cajun seasonings to cook a unique and powerful flavor into the shredded cabbage.

https://www.glitterandgraze.com/easy-cajun-fried-cabbage/

12. Roasted Cajun Okra

Okra is somewhat infamous for having a slimy taste and texture, but when roasted and seasoned with Cajun spices, it becomes a tender and delicious side dish.

In order to make the most delicious Cajun okra, it is important to roast the vegetable on high so that it cooks into a more tender texture.

https://www.babaganosh.org/roasted-cajun-okra/

13. Easy Cajun Rice

Easy Cajun rice truly lives up to its name, since this fantastic recipe takes less than half an hour to prepare but still creates a delicious side dish to enjoy.

The key to this Cajun side dish is to cook the rice in a mixture of oils, sauces, and spices to make sure these rich flavors soak into the rice.

https://www.themountainkitchen.com/easy-cajun-rice/

14. Creole Green Beans

This recipe may be called Creole Green Beans, this fantastic side dish is a classic across the Cajun and Creole communities for its savory and spicy flavor.

This recipe involves skillet frying green beans in a mixture of oils, sauces, spices, and herbs to create a rich, flavorful dish with a soft and tender texture.

https://flavormosaic.com/creole-green-beans/

15. Hush Puppy Corndogs with Cajun Sauce

Hush puppies are delicious on their own before you thin cut sausage in them and dip them in a creamy Cajun seasoned sauce, so this recipe only makes them more flavorful.

If you are looking for an especially tasty dipping sauce, or a more authentic Cajun experience, consider adding the optional cayenne pepper from the recipe to the sauce.

https://taoofspice.com/hush-puppy-corn-dog-bites-w-cajun-dipping-sauce/

16. Cajun Cornbread

Cornbread is a classic side dish all across the American South, but Cajun cornbread is unique because it is baked with a special blend of herbs and spices.

By adding some spice to the cornbread, the heat of the ingredients contrasts and highlights the sweetness of the cornbread to create a more delicious meal.

https://www.mizhelenscountrycottage.com/2020/02/cajun-cornbread.html

17. Cajun Dirty Rice

While its name might not sound appetizing, dirty rice is actually a delicious combination of rice and sausage cooked in a mix of beef broth and spices.

The name of this recipe comes from the brown color of the cooked rice once it has soaked in the tasty blend of broth, sauce, herbs, and vegetables.

http://www.catheryngrivna.com/cajun-dirty-rice/

Wrap Up

Cajun cuisine has a wide range of historical influences, giving it a rich and diverse range of side dishes to choose from when planning a meal.

Classic Cajun side dishes range from spicy dressing mixes to cool and creamy salads, all with unique and rich flavors based on a variety of Southern ingredients.

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