Summer BBQs just wouldn’t be complete without some standout side dishes. From zesty coleslaws, creamy dips, grilled vegetables and refreshing fruit salads, check out our selection of the best side dishes to impress your guests.
1. Cream Cheese Corn Dip
This cream cheese corn dip is a delicious, easy-to-make appetizer that’s ready in 35 minutes. The combination of sweet corn, spicy peppers, and gooey cheeses baked to perfection makes the ultimate party pleaser! Make it in advance and keep it warm in a slow cooker for easy serving.
Get the recipe: Cream Cheese Corn Dip
2. Vegan Potato Salad
This Vegan Potato Salad is a simple and delicious side dish for picnics or summer gatherings.
Get the recipe: Vegan Potato Salad
3. Easy Creamy Mexican Corn Dip Recipe
Delight your taste buds with this mouthwatering easy Mexican corn dip recipe that’s perfect for any occasion, whether it’s a game day gathering, a family get-together, or simply a night of snacking. Creamy, cheesy, and packed with flavor, this dip is sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Get the recipe: Easy Creamy Mexican Corn Dip Recipe
4. Fresh Corn Salad Recipe
Here is my ‘right-off-the-farm’ fresh corn salad. This nutrient-dense and colorful vegan corn salad requires zero cooking and minimal ingredients. The perfect summer corn salad recipe to make this year!
Get the recipe: Fresh Corn Salad Recipe
5. Grilled Garlic Mushroom Kebabs
It’s grilling season! It’s the time of year that we get outdoors, swim, soak up the sun, garden, hike, and grill. I love this time of year. I wake up in the morning, ready to go, and all the chores get done a little faster so we can get outside as soon as possible. On beautiful days, even my cooking videos get shot outdoors. Today I am making fantastic grilled Garlic Mushroom Kebabs. It’s a great summer meal, quick and easy to make, but more importantly, delicious and good for you.
Get the recipe: Grilled Garlic Mushroom Kebabs
6. Easy Mexican Macaroni Salad with Corn
This Mexican Macaroni Salad is a perfect blend of vibrant colors and refreshing flavors. It features elbow pasta, hearty black beans, sweet corn, crisp red onion, cherry tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and creamy avocado – all mixed with a zesty homemade dressing. Perfect as a tasty side dish or a standout addition to potlucks. Best of all, it’s a breeze to prepare! {Vegetarian & gluten-free-friendly}
Get the recipe: Easy Mexican Macaroni Salad with Corn
7. German Cucumber Salad
German Cucumber Salad is a creamy, refreshing summer salad made with simple ingredients! It’s the perfect side dish for almost any main course – especially when you can use fresh cucumbers in the summertime! With only cucumbers plus a few staple ingredients for the German salad dressing, it’s easy, budget-friendly, low-carb, and delicious!
Get the recipe: German Cucumber Salad
8. Caprese Grilled Asparagus and Lentils
Celebrating fresh summer crops, caprese grilled asparagus and lentils make a perfect side dish or entree.
Get the recipe: Caprese Grilled Asparagus and Lentils
9. Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
10. Cilantro Lime Slaw
This zesty Cilantro Lime Coleslaw makes the perfect crunchy topping or delicious side dish.
Get the recipe: Cilantro Lime Slaw
11. Smoked Gouda Mac And Cheese
Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese is a comforting classic turned gourmet with its rich, smoky flavors and creamy texture that makes it perfect for a cozy evening at home.
Get the recipe: Smoked Gouda Mac And Cheese
12. Vegan Sweet Potato Salad (Dairy-Free Potato Salad)
This dairy-free, vegan sweet potato salad uses vegan mayo and is loaded with veggies and add-ins for a BBQ, potluck, and picnic side dish that’s creamy, sweet, savory, crunchy, and ready to impress!
Get the recipe: Vegan Sweet Potato Salad
13. Mango Black Bean Salad
This Mango Black Bean Salad is hearty, bursting with flavor, and packed with plant-based protein and fiber. Made with 8 low-budget, pantry-friendly ingredients in 15 minutes (not including marinating time)!
Get the recipe: Mango Black Bean Salad
14. Elotes Style Corn with Furikake
Elotes Style Corn with Furikake is a delicious umami dish inspired by Mexican street corn and flavored with Japanese ingredients. There are a few ways to enjoy this corn, including on the cob, cut into smaller servings, or cut off the cob and served as a salad.
Get the recipe: Elotes Style Corn with Furikake
15. Asian Coleslaw with Honey Sesame Dressing
Asian Coleslaw with Honey Sesame Dressing is tangy, sweet, and the perfect addition to fried chicken sliders, BBQ, and more. Simply toss the colorful ingredients in the umami-packed dressing and add some crunch to your plate!
Get the recipe: Asian Coleslaw with Honey Sesame Dressing
16. 15-Min Broccoli Cauliflower Salad with Yogurt Dressing (No Mayo)
17. 5 Ingredient Tortellini Salad
This quick and easy cold tortellini salad is perfect for summer! With mozzarella, tomatoes, pesto, and arugula for a simple pasta salad side dish. Vegetarian.
Get the recipe: 5 Ingredient Tortellini Salad
18. Crunchy Lemon Roasted Crack Broccoli (DF)
This addictively delicious Crunchy Lemon Roasted Crack Broccoli is full of tangy, cheesy flavour yet is dairy-free, vegan and keto-friendly!
Get the recipe: Crunchy Lemon Roasted Crack Broccoli
19. Grilled Vegetables
Simply the best way to enjoy your veggies in the summer, these Grilled Vegetables are so easy to make! You can make a large platter filled with mixed grilled veggies, or grill 1-3 kinds for a simple family dinner. They’re perfect served on their own lightly scented with garlic and seasoned with sea salt. But they’re also incredible with my Basil Aioli and all the other sauces linked down below. This guide for grilling veggies will give you everything you need to confidently grill veggies from the first asparagus right through corn on the cob season.
Get the recipe: Grilled Vegetables
20. Grilled Potatoes
Simple to make and the perfect side dish to anything off the grill, these Grilled Potatoes are my go-to recipe! They’re great served straight off the grill, or tossed with the optional butter and green onions. We make these both ways several times per week to go along with protein and veggies on the grill. This side dish is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free if you choose dairy-free butter, or the plain version. Either way you go, I know you’re going to love these potatoes as much as we do.
Get the recipe: Grilled Potatoes
21. Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad
Easy 5-ingredient Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad takes just minutes to make and is packed with flavor.
Get the recipe: Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad
22. Raw Carrot Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette
This Raw Carrot Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette will transform the humble carrot into your favorite side dish. Made from paper-thin but still crunchy slices of carrots coated in a light dressing, this side salad works with grilled favorites or with a light lunch.
Get the recipe: Raw Carrot Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette
23. Grilled Baby Potatoes on Skewers (No Foil)
This super yummy recipe for Grilled Baby Potatoes on Skewers is the perfect side dish for BBQs, cookouts and grilling! It’s one of my favorite side dishes to serve up at summer gatherings because it’s so simple, but very flavorful.
Get the recipe: Grilled Baby Potatoes on Skewers
24. Creamed Corn
This delicious homemade creamed corn recipe is way better than the canned version and only takes minutes to prepare! A simple side dish that is perfect for Sunday dinner, holiday tables like Thanksgiving, Christmas, a family gathering, or any weeknight meal.
Get the recipe: Creamed Corn
25. Easy Taboule Salad
A delicious twist on the original taboule salad (tabouli) with juicy cherry tomatoes, cucumber, hemp seeds, and loads of fresh herbs. This gluten-free and wheat-free taboule will be a firm favorite!
Get the recipe: Easy Taboule Salad
26. Mexican Street Corn Salad
This Mexican street corn salad is fresh and lightly creamy with a spicy kick. Charred corn, sour cream, cotija cheese, and lime zest come together for a refreshing burst of flavor. This delicious summer salad is ready in 30 minutes and can be made ahead, making it perfect for cookouts and gatherings!
Get the recipe: Mexican Street Corn Salad
