What to Serve with Osso Buco? 10 BEST Side Dishes

Dishes with bone marrow are rich, delicious, and filling.

Osso buco is one such dish where the marrow of the veal shank is the main feature.

It’s an Italian dish and a specialty of Lombard cuisine.

The delicacy usually has vegetables, broth, and white wine.

There are two main variants where the original version doesn’t use tomatoes.

But both are equally delicious and versatile, so you can serve them with multiple items.

Don’t look elsewhere if you’re wondering what to serve with osso buco.

Today, we’ll mention some of the best dishes to enjoy with osso buco, like risotto alla Milanese, Italian gremolata, potato salad, and crusty bread rolls.

Why Consider Serving Side Dishes with Osso Buco?

Most meat dishes are relatively heavy, and you can get overloaded quickly.

Side dishes help to remove that feeling and keep your palate fresh.

Though osso buco is yummy, consuming large portions of meat is not a good idea as it can cause health issues.

Various side dishes can create a balance and fill you up without overwhelming you.

If osso buco is the main dish at an event, you’ll need some extra items to serve alongside, or the meal won’t be enjoyable.

Besides, there won’t be sufficient food for everyone if you serve only osso buco.

What to Serve with Osso Buco? 10 BEST Side Dishes

The following are the best items to eat with osso buco in random order.

1 – Risotto Alla Milanese

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We’ll begin the list with the most popular side dish served with osso buco; the creamy and yummy risotto alla Milanese.

It’s an Italian rice dish you can cook quickly using only a few ingredients.

Risotto is a hearty dish that matches perfectly with osso buco; hence, it’s frequently served with a meat dish.

It’s typically made with Arborio rice, a variety of short-grain rice, white wine, beef broth, shallots, and saffron powder.

You can also include beef bone marrow and Parmesan cheese to get an even creamier texture.

When served with osso buco, you’ll have a full meal and wonderful flavors.

2 – Italian Gremolata

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It’s also one of the most widely served items with osso buco.

Gremolata is made with fresh parsley, garlic, and lemon.

It’s tangy and herby and offers that much-needed new element.

When combined with osso buco, the richness of the meat goes down and you have well-balanced flavors.

The green sauce also cleanses your palate nicely and prevents the feeling of being overloaded.

While the three ingredients are typically used to make the sauce, you can switch the items if you like.

However, if you wish to keep it authentic, it’s best to use the same items used in the original sauce.

3 – Mixed fruit Salad

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A salad is another way of creating a balance of flavors with osso buco.

Along with veggie salads, you can also add a fruit salad.

You’ll have a fresh element that will also cleanse your palate.

Mixed fruit salad is delicious, healthy, and convenient because you can use different fruits for the dish.

Fruits are available all year round, so you have plenty of choices.

Pineapples, kiwi fruit, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, grapes, and oranges are ideal for salads.

You can also include nuts and cheese for extra flavors.

Honey or sugar with lemon juice or vinegar can make the salad even more flavorful.

4 – Creamy Polenta

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It’s yet another Italian dish that pairs nicely with osso buco.

Polenta is made from coarsely ground cornmeal, a staple not only in Italy but in several places in Europe.

Polenta isn’t tricky to make, but you must pay constant attention until it’s cooked and removed from the flame.

It also doesn’t need many ingredients, but you can add items according to preference.

Cheese is one of the main items added to polenta.

It enhances the creaminess of the dish and makes it more flavorful.

Polenta is a comfort food, so when combined with osso buco, you’ll feel full and stay full for a while.

5 – Sautéed Spinach

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Spinach may not be everybody’s favorite veggie, but it’s delicious either on its own or in other dishes.

You can eat it cooked or raw, and it’s also nutritious.

Sautéed spinach is yummy and complements osso buco nicely.

The dish is easy to make and doesn’t need too many ingredients to make it delicious.

Spinach also cooks very fast, so you can make several portions if you have plenty of guests.

You’ll need baby spinach, salt, olive oil, pepper, garlic, unsalted butter, and a little lemon juice to make it slightly tangy.

6 – Potato Salad

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Spuds and meat are a great combo, no matter how you cook them.

With osso buco, a potato salad would be the perfect side dish.

A potato salad is also filling, so when combined with the veal shank dish, you’ll feel full but not overloaded.

It will be a complete and well-balanced meal if you have one or two veggie dishes.

You have many choices when it comes to potatoes.

But the waxy variety is the ideal type for salads as they hold their shape even after they’re cooked.

New, red, and fingerling varieties are top options for salads.

7 – Crusty Bread Rolls

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Bread also matches nicely with rich stews like osso buco. Hence, it’s only fair to add it.

While there are wide varieties, crusty bread rolls make an ideal combo with the veal shank dish.

Bread rolls are readily available at most grocery stores, so you won’t have any trouble finding them.

However, if you love to make bread, homemade variety often tastes the best.

Besides, crusty bread rolls are easy to make, so you won’t have much trouble making them.

But if you don’t have much time to spare, you can grab freshly-made bread from the bakery.

8 – Cauliflower Rice

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If you don’t want to add rice to your menu, cauliflower rice is a good substitute.

It’s delicious and healthy, and yes, it makes a yummy pairing with osso buco.

Cauliflower rice is a simple dish that doesn’t need too many ingredients.

Olive oil, onion, salt, lemon juice, parsley, and cauliflower florets are the only items you need for the dish.

However, you should use fresh veggie florets.

The best cauliflower should be very pale with no dark “sunburned” spots.

Avoid any veggie that has a soft spot because it’s a sign of the cauliflower starting to spoil.

9 – Gnocchi with Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

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It’s fun to add variety to a menu, and what can be more exciting than gnocchi? It’s yummy and complements the veal shank dish very well.

Simple gnocchi is delicious, but it becomes even more flavorful when you add spinach and sun-dried tomatoes.

Heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, and butter make the dish creamy, and you’ll have the yummiest gnocchi.

Making gnocchi from scratch is fun, and it can satisfy you greatly.

But if you can’t make it or don’t have enough time, you can also get fresh gnocchi from various places.

10 – Grilled Vegetables

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When serving a heavy meat dish, it’s nice to have a light item to create a balance.

You can cook vegetables in multiple ways, but there’s nothing like mixed grilled veggies.

It’s also a convenient dish to cook because you can choose from multiple vegetables.

All veggies taste good when grilled, so you have plenty of options.

Grilling vegetables is also simple as you don’t have to use many seasonings.

Salt, pepper, vinegar, and olive oil are all you need besides the veggies.

Bell pepper, yellow squash, mushrooms, asparagus, eggplant, onion, and zucchini make an excellent combination for the dish.

They not only taste delicious but also looks pretty colorful.

Conclusion

It will be fun serving osso buco from now onwards because you have so many side dishes to choose from.

There are raw and cooked dishes, so you’ll have a lovely combo each time.

You can try different dishes whenever you serve the osso buco, so it doesn’t feel monotonous.

When you rotate the dishes, you’ll feel like eating a new dish each time.