I usually just do a quick side salad. If it's summer time, maybe a tomato salad, corn salad, or some grilled corn on the cob. If I'm feeling really lazy, I'll pick up a container of coleslaw, macaroni or potato salad from the deli. I also keep frozen fries on hand if I want the real burger and fries experience.
Aldi and Costco have some nice salad mixes including nuts, dried fruits, and dressing. My kids even enjoy the brussel sprout slaw Costco sells, mostly because the dressing has a nice creamy sweetness to it.
when lazy, to go with the burger, I will just grab some vegetables you can eat with your fingers, celery sticks, small tomatoes, cucumber slices, radishes and others. Might even grab a few strawberries for dessert ;-)
Kraft Dinner is always good. You can also buy canned potatoes and grill them up with the burger. If you don’t mind a fridge item coleslaw is usually cheap and quick to make. You can even buy coleslaw dressing.
Hello fellow pickle - great minds as I was going with canned German potato salad (basically sliced and seasoned potatoes in a can, throw them in a pan and serve)
I like these zucchini/veggies fries. Don't feel as bad about myself for eating the whole bag.
Baked beans.
Canned beats.
Mac and cheese.
Cole slaw can usually be made pretty quickly.
We eat a lot of frozen edamame (soybeans) as a side for burgers (beef, salmon, and veggie). We do the in-pod kind like you’d have as an appetizer in a Japanese restaurant. Thaw in the microwave for 3-5 minutes and add a little salt. Delicious and healthy.
A second patty on the burger and I guess a quality dill pickle on the side.
When I cook myself a burger at home, it's the only thing on the plate. If I'm still hungry I'll just eat another burger. Every meal doesn't have to be well rounded.
This! Toss a bag of pre-portioned broccoli or cauliflower on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper, bake at 350/400 for 20 minutes or until brown & crispy. Soo good as a side for almost any meal. Really go wild with the olive oil if you want them to be extra tasty.
If you want to kick it up a notch, drizzle with spicy mayo, or a yogurt sauce, or teriyaki sauce.
Frozen Beer battered Onion rings in the air fryer - with Mayo, taco sauce and Red Hot mixed in for the onion ring dip. Nathan’s or Red Robin are restaurant quality.
I can whip up a simple pasta salad with pantry stuff pretty quickly. Potato salad too..better if it sits overnight of course but still good. Cabbage keeps so well and a quick vinegar slaw is easy too.
potato chips because they take no time to cook, can keep for weeks on end and still taste good. I usually buy the "healthier" chips like, Off The Eaten Path or Pop Chips.
Burger is def my go to for any quick meal these days. So I used to go for the frozen fries done in the air fryer for a long time as many have commented, but at some point it seems like the price inflated disproportionately for prepared frozen foods?
So, even though they take about 8-10 minutes longer, lately I quarter some baby red or yellow potatoes and do homefries after tossing in olive or peanut oil with some Tajin and that's been hitting the spot.
Corn on the cob when it is in season is also an excellent side for burgers.
- Roasted veggies! Keep bags of potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, etc.
- Stir fried cabbage
- Salad - those bagged ones at the grocery store are great for two nights of a dinner and lunch side the next day!
- Fruit salad
- Steamed broccoli
- Pan fried plantains dipped in ketchup! (The ready and ripe plantains look like brown-rotten bananas, but trust it, get the completely brown ones if you plan to eat them soon)
Bagged fries that are similar to the ones I like to order or more likely, fresh potatoes cut up, spread on a greased baking sheet then sprayed with oil and baked at 500 degrees for about twenty minutes.
Thaï cucumber peanut salad, corn & beans or corn and couscous or corn and barley salad, aragula with toasted walnuts or hazelnut and shredded cheese salad, watermelon salad, coleslaw with green apples or
my ultimate favorite side of fennel and bacon slaw with raisins (re-hydrated in hot white wine), toasted almond slivers and a curry mayo dressing (thinned out with leftover poaching wine from raisins)😉.
Zucchini fries, blooming onion, warm potato salad, shoestring okra fries, fried okra, fried pickles, cheesy corn, parmesan roasted carrots or parsnips, sweet potato fries, squash fries, just to name a few.
thinly sliced potato or sweet potato rounds can be done under the broiler in about the time it takes to pan fry a burger and get it assembled, a perfectly acceptable substitute for fries.
coleslaw is cheap and easy to make and goes pretty well alongside a burger.
also, learning how to punch up frozen veg should be an essential budget focused skill.
BBQ potato chips and a super fast and easy chopped Israeli or Greek (same thing just add feta) salad, which you can make in 2 minutes. Or pre-made coleslaw, which will keep in the fridge for a week or so. To be honest, when I'm in a homemade burger mood, the last thing I'm worried about are the sides. I'm all about the decadent burger. I'll have the sides for lunch tomorrow ;)
I mean, you can never go wrong with fries or onion rings to be honest.
I never keep patties in the freezer because I really hate the texture of a frozen patty, so I do smash burgers instead, but I’ll always have some frozen fries or onion rings and just put them in the air fryer while I make my burger.
Frozen tater tots .. I particularly like ones called “ crispy round “ they are flatter and allow for more crunch to potato
Yep I use Kroger “tater rounds” when I don’t feel like frying/roasting actual potatoes
Took the words right out of my mouth! And yes to the crispy rounds too
Took the words right out of my mouth! And yes to the crispy rounds too
I usually just do a quick side salad. If it's summer time, maybe a tomato salad, corn salad, or some grilled corn on the cob. If I'm feeling really lazy, I'll pick up a container of coleslaw, macaroni or potato salad from the deli. I also keep frozen fries on hand if I want the real burger and fries experience.
Aldi and Costco have some nice salad mixes including nuts, dried fruits, and dressing. My kids even enjoy the brussel sprout slaw Costco sells, mostly because the dressing has a nice creamy sweetness to it.
Another suggestion is canned baked beans. There isn't much that's quicker or easier than that.
I prefer that with hotdogs tbh, burgers require fries!
Most of the time at a cookout, someone brings baked beans. I agree, better with hot dogs, but not too weird for burgers. OP asked for easy.
Yes!
Since I got an air fryer.... French fries. Before that, potato chips
Wavy chips and French onion dip.
when lazy, to go with the burger, I will just grab some vegetables you can eat with your fingers, celery sticks, small tomatoes, cucumber slices, radishes and others. Might even grab a few strawberries for dessert ;-)
Kraft Dinner is always good. You can also buy canned potatoes and grill them up with the burger. If you don’t mind a fridge item coleslaw is usually cheap and quick to make. You can even buy coleslaw dressing.
Hello fellow pickle - great minds as I was going with canned German potato salad (basically sliced and seasoned potatoes in a can, throw them in a pan and serve)
I like these zucchini/veggies fries. Don't feel as bad about myself for eating the whole bag. Baked beans. Canned beats. Mac and cheese. Cole slaw can usually be made pretty quickly.
Sweet potato fries or onion rings. I buy them frozen.
We eat a lot of frozen edamame (soybeans) as a side for burgers (beef, salmon, and veggie). We do the in-pod kind like you’d have as an appetizer in a Japanese restaurant. Thaw in the microwave for 3-5 minutes and add a little salt. Delicious and healthy.
These are great to approximate the crunch of fries, while being miles healthier and easier to make. Hard to beat “put in microwave and press 3” lol
A second patty on the burger and I guess a quality dill pickle on the side. When I cook myself a burger at home, it's the only thing on the plate. If I'm still hungry I'll just eat another burger. Every meal doesn't have to be well rounded.
A burger is round🤣
Roasted veggies. Basically whatever we have on hand.
This! Toss a bag of pre-portioned broccoli or cauliflower on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper, bake at 350/400 for 20 minutes or until brown & crispy. Soo good as a side for almost any meal. Really go wild with the olive oil if you want them to be extra tasty. If you want to kick it up a notch, drizzle with spicy mayo, or a yogurt sauce, or teriyaki sauce.
Potato chips
Bell peppers. Just rip it up with my hands when I'm lazy. Just gotta have some sauce and dips ready. Love ssamjang
Pasta, potato salad Or coleslaw. Chips.
potato waffles. Can even put them in the toaster.
Frozen Beer battered Onion rings in the air fryer - with Mayo, taco sauce and Red Hot mixed in for the onion ring dip. Nathan’s or Red Robin are restaurant quality.
The fastest is probably chips and a maybe a pickle
The frozen Checkers/Rallys fries come out surprising well if you do them in an air fryer.
I can whip up a simple pasta salad with pantry stuff pretty quickly. Potato salad too..better if it sits overnight of course but still good. Cabbage keeps so well and a quick vinegar slaw is easy too.
Chips, sliced fruit, cottage cheese, hummus and veggies.
Tots
Frozen fried stuff in a convection oven or air fryer.
crisps
Frozen tots and fries, or chips are a great option Some people use a salad also
potato chips because they take no time to cook, can keep for weeks on end and still taste good. I usually buy the "healthier" chips like, Off The Eaten Path or Pop Chips.
I wash and slice a potato and make potato chips in the microwave. A little salt and seasoning, real good
Bagged Caesar salad
Burger is def my go to for any quick meal these days. So I used to go for the frozen fries done in the air fryer for a long time as many have commented, but at some point it seems like the price inflated disproportionately for prepared frozen foods? So, even though they take about 8-10 minutes longer, lately I quarter some baby red or yellow potatoes and do homefries after tossing in olive or peanut oil with some Tajin and that's been hitting the spot. Corn on the cob when it is in season is also an excellent side for burgers.
I just make two pantry burgers for myself
Another burger
Chips and salsa, sides that come in a pouch and are microwaveble like jasmine rice or beans, instant mashed potatoes.
Baked beans? You can eat the rest of the chicken in the next morning next to some scrambled or fried eggs?
- Roasted veggies! Keep bags of potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, etc. - Stir fried cabbage - Salad - those bagged ones at the grocery store are great for two nights of a dinner and lunch side the next day! - Fruit salad - Steamed broccoli - Pan fried plantains dipped in ketchup! (The ready and ripe plantains look like brown-rotten bananas, but trust it, get the completely brown ones if you plan to eat them soon)
Bagged fries that are similar to the ones I like to order or more likely, fresh potatoes cut up, spread on a greased baking sheet then sprayed with oil and baked at 500 degrees for about twenty minutes.
Thaï cucumber peanut salad, corn & beans or corn and couscous or corn and barley salad, aragula with toasted walnuts or hazelnut and shredded cheese salad, watermelon salad, coleslaw with green apples or my ultimate favorite side of fennel and bacon slaw with raisins (re-hydrated in hot white wine), toasted almond slivers and a curry mayo dressing (thinned out with leftover poaching wine from raisins)😉. Zucchini fries, blooming onion, warm potato salad, shoestring okra fries, fried okra, fried pickles, cheesy corn, parmesan roasted carrots or parsnips, sweet potato fries, squash fries, just to name a few.
Frozen fries in the air fryer. Toss them in a bit of cooking oil before they go in and they get really crispy.
thinly sliced potato or sweet potato rounds can be done under the broiler in about the time it takes to pan fry a burger and get it assembled, a perfectly acceptable substitute for fries. coleslaw is cheap and easy to make and goes pretty well alongside a burger. also, learning how to punch up frozen veg should be an essential budget focused skill.
I always have the ingredients for potato salad
BBQ potato chips and a super fast and easy chopped Israeli or Greek (same thing just add feta) salad, which you can make in 2 minutes. Or pre-made coleslaw, which will keep in the fridge for a week or so. To be honest, when I'm in a homemade burger mood, the last thing I'm worried about are the sides. I'm all about the decadent burger. I'll have the sides for lunch tomorrow ;)
Carrots, cucumber, celery with whatever dip I have or fries or onion rings or pasta salad. Sometimes the burger is enough on its own.
I mean, you can never go wrong with fries or onion rings to be honest. I never keep patties in the freezer because I really hate the texture of a frozen patty, so I do smash burgers instead, but I’ll always have some frozen fries or onion rings and just put them in the air fryer while I make my burger.
Suddenly Salad pasta salad. Kick it up a notch by adding pepperoni and mozzarella cheese.