Buttered noodles are exceptionally delicious even if it’s such a simple dish. To make your buttered noodles experience even more fun, we’ve put together a list of vegetables that go well with it. These vegetables will complement the buttered noodles and the main dish it’ll be served whether it is steak, stroganoff, Swedish meatballs, or even stew!
What is not to love about buttered noodles? Buttered noodles are an awesome side dish that gets us full with the presence of our favorite kind of dairy, butter. What more can you ask for?
Buttered noodles are noodles that are simply cooked in boiling water then finished off with a slab of butter to season them. It is usually a side paired with strong mains like steak, roasts, stews, grilled food, deep-fried food, and basically we mean all kinds of food.
There’s nothing more inviting than a shiny sheen glazing each piece of noodle while you have your steak. To make this side dish even better, we’ve come up with a list of vegetables that go well with it. We have vegetables that go into the buttered noodles and it then creates a different kind of pasta dish. We also threw in some vegetable side dishes that would complement the buttered noodles themselves.
Table of Contents
1. Green Beans
Green beans, particularly French beans, are neutral in flavor and packed with texture. We love the crunch from French beans because it gives us so much without changing the flavor of our main dishes. Buttered noodles taste great with the classic green bean casserole because the mushroom soup shines through the starchy noodles. It’s a great mix all in all. You can also serve deep-fried beer-battered green beans with buttered noodles.
2. Arugula
Arugula is commonly eaten separately from pasta dishes. However, we do like adding some small arugula rocket leaves into our buttered noodles. This adds freshness and crunch to the pasta dish. To make things even more interesting, add some slices of prosciutto or salami into the buttered noodles with the arugula.
3. Carrots
Buttered noodles are often served with soupy mains like beef stroganoff or beef stew. As you know, beef stew tastes amazing with carrots in it. The carrots add sweetness to the rich and hearty stew. When eaten with buttered noodles, the carrots actually compliments the taste of the simple side.
4. Eggplant
Eggplant is part of the pasta primavera recipe, which is actually very similar to buttered noodles, except that we make use of butter here and pasta primavera makes use of olive oil. Eggplant is also commonly used in penne melanzane, which is another delicious and simple Italian pasta. Buttered noodles taste great with chargrilled eggplant slices topped with some sheep cheese.
5. Zucchini
Zucchini is a nice addition to buttered noodles because of its texture and slight bitterness. We love adding sauteed zucchini to buttered noodles with some saffron because it creates a mildly spicy side dish. This concoction is great to eat with surf and turf mains like scallops and hanger steak.
6. Tomatoes
Tomatoes obviously taste great with pasta. However, with buttered noodles, we love adding tomato concasse on top. The addition of something slightly acidic (we say slightly because the tomato is still fresh so the acidity isn’t so strong) adds character to the buttered noodles. If you’re feeling a little extra, try adding some slices of fresh mozzarella. It turns out to be like a caprese pasta.
7. Basil
Basil is actually an herb that not only tastes amazing and perfumes a dish but it has many health benefits attached to it. Basil promotes oral health, eases inflammation, alkalizes the body, and nourishes the skin. Adding basil into food perfumes the food and enhances the aroma and flavor of other ingredients. This is a simple yet impacting addition to buttered noodles.
8. Mushrooms
We all know that mushrooms add deliciousness to a dish. Its strong flavor and texture adds character to a dish. To a side dish as humble as buttered noodles, it’s nice to add some sauteed herb mushrooms on top to enhance the entire dish. We suggest using portobello mushrooms for a more pungent flavor and aroma.
9. Spinach
Spinach is a healthy leafy green packed with vitamins and minerals. It’s nice to add something creamy and light in texture with buttered noodles. It dresses your mouth with more flavors all the while keeping things simple. The cheese in the spinach adds up to the buttery noodles. You can also prepare a side salad of spinach together with the buttered noodles.
10. Leeks
Leeks are highly underrated, we feel. Leeks are part of the onion family and they’re slightly more subtle compared to the other kinds of onions. Add some fresh chopped leeks into buttered noodles and you have yourself a strongly tasting yet simple side. You can also opt to chargrill your leeks and mix them with some olive oil and roasted garlic. This kind of concoction is nice to top your buttered noodles with.
