56 Best BBQ Side Dish Recipes | The Modern Proper (2024)

OK coleslaw is a contender for ultimate side dish, too. You can pile it on top of your burgers, too — yum.

Brimming with bacon, spicy mustard and sausage, these dressed up baked beans take those boring old canned baked beans and make them the star of the cookout.

Watermelon is a joyous fruit, any way you slice it. It signals warm weather and gatherings with loved ones.

Arguably the ultimate BBQ side dish, our classic potato salad recipe wins best in show, every time.

Corn on the cob — I mean, do we even need to say it! Hot tip: you can save room on the grill by boiling it ahead of time, if you need to.

With briny olives, juicy cherry tomatoes, spicy arugula, purple pops of red onion, and creamy feta crumbled throughout, this Mediterranean pasta salad is as bright and sunny as a warm summer day.

Nothing but a classic cornbread recipe. Serve with butter on the side, and no one at the BBQ will complain one bit.

When fresh tomatoes are in season, we eat them at almost every meal, and this juicy, simple marinated tomato salad recipe is one of our favorite ways to enjoy the bounty! Summer sides don't get easier or better than this.

Moist and custardy and studded with pieces of sweet corn kernels, this easy spoon bread recipe can’t be beat! It also takes the summer heat well, and is yummy at room temperature — in other words, it's a killer BBQ side.

Juicy, sweet and oh-so-colorful, there’s nothing like fresh fruit salad! Our favorite fruit salad recipe gets a serious burst of sweetness from a light orange-mint dressing.

Your tortilla chips have never been so happy to see a dip! This classic dip starts with a refried bean layer and piles on the flavor with fresh avocado, cheese, sour cream, and all the toppings.

This baked macaroni and cheese recipe is a throwback to a childhood classic with an extra cheesy, velvety sauce and all the crispy crusty parts everyone will fight over.

A classic, easy macaroni salad for summer entertaining that'll carry you from Memorial Day BBQs right on through to Labor Day.

This 3 bean salad recipe is perfect for making ahead of time. Just pull it out when your cookout guests arrive, and get grilling.

We’re putting a spin on the phrase “as cool as a cucumber” with these crunchy, tangy, homemade dill pickles.

Juicy tomatoes at their summertime peak and milky, tender fresh mozzarella come together in this classic Caprese salad recipe and, friends, it is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Our homemade guacamole recipe shines at its craveable best when scooped up by crunchy, salted homemade corn chips—a bite of paradise, if you ask us.

Take all the greatest Italian salty, briny, tangy, pickly things and toss them with crunchy lettuce and a Parm-lemon dressing and you’ve got the best antipasto salad ever.

This super easy BBQ side dish is as simple as opening a few cans and adding some flavor powerhouses–lime juice, smoked paprika and honey! Gather the crew—it’s time to dig in.

If you're feeling like you need to encourage people to RSVP to your BBQ, just tell them that jalapeño popper mac and cheese will be on the table. The "yes" messages will come flooding in.

This slaw is magic. Red cabbage, tart granny smith apples, the slight heat of jalapeño, a squeeze of bright lime juice and the refreshing flavors of mint and cilantro–it simply cannot be beat!

A little savory and a little sweet with miles of cheesy goodness, our best pimento cheese recipe is an immediate classic. Grab some crackers and get the party started!

Broccoli salad is always a nice, lighter addition to the side dish table. It's a crunchy classic that you can kinda pretend is healthy — who doesn't love that?

Our succotash is the ideal healthy side dish recipe for virtually anything that might come off your grill.

A perfect make-ahead recipe for a BBQ, our cowboy caviar recipe is one we know you’ll be making over and over again, even as the summer winds down.

Bursting with Mediterranean goodness, this summery white bean salad is studded with crispy fried capers and drizzled in a rich and sharp anchovy vinaigrette.

If you love cornbread, our cheesy corn casserole is for you. With creamed and whole kernel corn, sour cream, and cheddar cheese, this is one hot dish.

Forget everything you think you know about cornbread. These cornbread muffins drizzled with spicy jalapeño honey are made with creamed corn and are moist, rich and oh-so-tender.

This whipped feta dip is a super simple, but it really impresses! Make this one when you feel a little tired of the classics and want to mix up your BBQ menu a little.

Dill dip is a great reason to eat veggies (or an entire package of club crackers). This zesty classic is brimming with fresh dill, onion and garlic, and is the perfect creamy dip to go with all that heavy BBQ fare.

Bright and cheery, this easy, creamy carrot dip recipe gets a savory supercharge from a secret store-bought ingredient.

This jewel-hued roasted beet hummus is an instant mood booster. Serve it with raw or roasted veg, some pita for dipping or alongside smoky meat from the grill.

This is a bit of a corn on the cob upgrade! Yes, even a perfect ear of corn can be made more perfect with this recipe.

In the summertime our favorite expression is, if it grows together, it goes together. That’s especially true of this corn, cucumber, and tomato salad with a honey lime dressing. Summer in a bowl!

Quick, easy and just as delicious piping hot as they are at room temperature, these simple, classic crispy corn fritters are a sweetly summery side everyone will adore.

This Mexican corn salad recipe (esquites) takes the flavors of elote—fresh sweet corn, lime juice, cotija cheese, and a mayo-based chipotle crema—and turns them into a beautiful summer salad.

An elegant riff on classic tomato salads, if you want your summer BBQ to have a bit of a sophisticated vibe.

Rustic and soaked with flavor, this tomato panzanella recipe is just the kind of recipe we love to learn by heart. It makes a nice, hearty side dish and it does pretty well left at room temperature for a few hours — key for BBQ side dishes!

This colorful, hearty spinach orzo salad tastes like a garden at its summertime best—juicy tomatoes, fragrant basil, garlic and plenty of sunshine-y lemon.

Can creamy, cheesy stovetop mac and cheese perfection be achieved with just four ingredients? You bet your buttons—and this easy macaroni and cheese recipe proves it.

It’s easier—and way better—than box mac and cheese. One of our favorite make ahead BBQ side dish tricks.

These bread & butter pickles are reliably delicious – a briny sweet pickle that’s easy to add to sandwiches and salads, or to pop directly into your mouth from the jar.

This bright green potato salad is an herbaceous and garlicky version of the classic. Simply made with pesto (fresh or from the store), cucumber, and hard-boiled eggs, you’ll be making this on repeat.

A humble, flavorful, fresh, vibrant pico de gallo, made extra-crunchy thanks to the genius addition of shredded cabbage.

An effortless and fresh melon and avocado salad for hot summer days.

Meet burrata, mozzarella’s cool sibling who makes any recipe they show up to that much more delicious. Add fresh summer berries and pistachios and you’ve got the best burrata salad in town.

Fresh, juicy peaches make for a sweet twist on this classic tomato and fresh mozzarella caprese salad. A tangy white balsamic vinaigrette ties everything together!

A classic wedge salad is a favorite way to eat iceberg lettuce. It's crispy and fresh with the best salad dressing, and it'll be a nice, refreshing counter to all the meat from the grill.

Nostalgic, no-nonsense, Mad Men-era steakhouse food at its very finest—we give you, the classic wedge salad! If you've got steak on the grill, make this side dish.

This stunningly beautiful, twisty-twirly pesto zoodle salad with fresh mozzarella, chicken and toasted pine nuts is a colorful study in how to make the most of the late-summer harvest.

A hearty mountain of roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, black beans and raw kale are tossed in a creamy lime-cashew-cilantro dressing in this brightly flavorful, vegan sweet potato salad recipe.

Cooked-til-crisp ground pork, and creamy Thai peanut dressing add a hint of heft to fragrant fresh mint, basil, cooling cucumber and delicate rice noodles in this lively cold Thai noodle salad.

Salty fish sauce, zingy lime, a touch of creamy mayo, a drizzle of honey. Add some bright, vibrant veggies and voila! A simple, beautiful Asian slaw that perks up any BBQ.

This fresh, crunchy chopped salad is studded with bacon, dates and feta then doused in a yogurty, herby salad dressing. If you make it to bring to a BBQ potluck, just be warned: you might have a hard time not eating the whole bowl yourself.

Salty salami, creamy mozzarella, olives, Parm, fresh basil and—oh yeah—some lettuce make this Italian chopped salad recipe truly crush-worthy.

BBQ potluck-ready and brimming with crunchy vegetables, this easy Asian chopped salad recipe makes a colorful, brightly-flavored accompaniment to almost any meal.