Pizza is the most popular food to eat in America and is beloved worldwide — and we can’t blame them!
Cheese, tomato sauce, crunchy crusts, and an unlimited list of potential types of pizza toppings make pizza a go-to staple as a dinner for any party or special event. Yet, it cannot be the only food that you can offer. In that manner, finding the right sides to go with it can improve the meal and bring more variety?
Do you need to figure out what to eat with pizza? If so, read on to get some ideas.
A Delicious Salad
Having pizza as a carb-filled meal is great, but maybe you or another party guest want a healthy option as a side dish. Adding a salad will help balance out and lessen the extra calories you might have eaten otherwise.
Having a Caesar salad, for example, is one of the most likely items you will be able to find at a pizza shop, such as Wise Guy Pizza Pie in Idaho. (You can view a menu for them at https://wiseguypizzapie.com/hailey-ketchum-menu/.) Another salad choice recommended by pizza shops could also be mixed greens or spinach salad.
Mozzarella Sticks
What is one of the best appetizers to share with a large group of people with herbs and spices, a lot of stretchy cheese, and can get served with a side of marinara sauce? Mozzarella sticks check all of those boxes and are a common appetizer or side dish to serve with a few slices of pizza.
No matter what other appetizers you put on the table, you can rest assured that mozzarella sticks will be the item that guests will keep coming back for more until the plate is gone. Add this to your menu and see some happy faces.
A Hearty Soup
No matter what meal you might have, it is a guarantee that making soup as an appetizer will be a great choice. Whether served hot or cold, whatever ingredients you put in should match the meal you will have on the table.
To complement your hefty pizza, you can make or buy a creamy tomato soup. If you are looking for another soup option for other Italian dishes you might have, then go for a Pasta e Fagioli or Italian wedding soup. If it is hot outside and you crave a colder soup, then serve some refreshing gazpacho soup.
Garlic Bread
Bread is a common appetizer to eat before eating Italian food. Yet another type of bread that is especially popular is garlic bread. If you have extra dough from the different types of pizza crust you tried to make on your own; you can use some of that dough and brush garlic and butter on it.
You can also use the types of cheese for pizza that you would otherwise put on if you want to make some cheesy garlic bread. Guests will be happy with both options. Yet, let’s face it, anything with cheese and garlic will make their stomachs very happy and fulfilled.
Roasted Veggies
If you are still looking for a healthy option during dinner but do not want to invest in a large salad that you are not sure everyone will eat, then use some of the veggies you have in your fridge and roast them in the oven.
Unlike salad, which can wilt in just a manner of a few days, roasting vegetables are more versatile, can make the veggie more delicious than its raw form, and can be incorporated into other special meals you may have for the rest of the week. Some great vegetables to roast include Brussel sprouts, carrots, and any colored pepper.
Meatballs (Without Spaghetti)
Spaghetti and meatballs are a classic Italian dish. But pasta and pizza together sound like a carb overload waiting to happen.
The solution? Make just the meatballs your side or appetizer!
What’s great about this option is that you can incorporate any flavor profile you want into the fillings of the meatball — and there are many recipes out there that could help you get an idea. Try serving them as finger food for guests to nosh on while waiting for the pizza to get served.
A Refreshing Sorbet
You and your guests have finished your pizza meal but want a dessert that will serve as a good palate cleanser to finish the night. In keeping with the Italian theme, go to a store and serve your guests some sorbet or gelato.
Sorbet is a refreshing type of ice cream that can incorporate any fruit you want. Go with a classic lemon or raspberry sorbet, or make your own in an ice cream maker. If you are looking for a dairy and fat-free dessert, this is a great path to take, unlike gelato.
Try These Items When Thinking of What to Eat with Pizza
Pizza is a great meal all on its own, thanks to the dough and awesome variety of fillings you can pile on top of it. Yet if you are still looking for ideas on what to eat with pizza or need a wide menu for the next time you have a pizza party, keep the ideas listed above in mind.
No matter the case, you can always wash pizza down with a nice, cold glass of beer. Take a look at our Food and Beer section for more great food articles.
