As the weather warms up, our family instinctively transitions many of our inside activities to the great outdoors.
We play outside, we read outside, we work outside, we hang out outside, we entertain outside, and we eat outside.
Yup… eating outside is one of our family’s favorite things about spring and summer — partially because the mess stays outside, but also because I think food just tastes better when we’re outside (especially if it’s fresh off the grill!)
Backyard BBQs with lots of delicious and easy side dishes are a regular occurrence this time of year — often just for our family, but also for the various neighbors, friends, and extended family members we’ve fed over the last 10 years.
The main part of any BBQ is the meat (at least for our family) but in my opinion, side dishes make or break any meal… and our family loves having lots of side dish options.
If you’re struggling to come up with easy side dishes to serve at your own BBQ or to bring to a friend’s party… let me help!
Click the recipe links below for our favorite easy BBQ side dishes.
DRINKS:
1. Simple Punch — there are many variations of this recipe. Feel free to mix it up.
2. Strawberry lemonade — make it from scratch, make it from a mix, or buy it from the store… you can’t go wrong with strawberry lemonade at your next BBQ.
BREAD:
4. Cornbread
6. Homemade rolls or buns — you can make your own hamburger and hot-dog-shaped buns using your favorite bread recipe or frozen bread dough.
SALADS:
7. Fresh fruit salad — use whatever is in-season
9. Layered Lettuce Salad — you can make this one ahead of time (even with the dressing)
10. Harvest Spinach Salad — this salad works any time of year
11. Coleslaw or Brocoslaw
12. Grilled Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad
NOTE: here’s a link to ALL my salad posts.
POTATOES:
13. Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes — you can easily make these ahead of time in a slow cooker
14. Oven Roasted Red Skin Potatoes
15. Baked Herbed Potato Wedges — or really any type of french fries
16. Baked Potatoes — in the slow cooker or the oven, with a variety of toppings
VEGETABLES:
17. Baked Beans
18. Grilled Veggies — these are SO easy
19. Jalapeno Poppers — not nearly as spicy as they sound
20. Sauteed Mushrooms — mushrooms + butter = delicious!
21. Grilled Corn on the Cob — the leftovers taste great
22. Raw veggies and dip — always a good “stand by” for pickier eaters.
OTHER:
23. Finger Jell-O — a favorite with the 10-and-under crowd!
24. Cowboy Caviar — the perfect dip for almost any type of chip, cracker, pita bread, etc.
25. Guacamole and Salsa with chips or pita crackers
26. Watermelon — here’s a simple trick to quickly slice a watermelon.
27. Pickles — my kids devour these refrigerator dill pickles at almost every meal
28. Homemade BBQ sauce — a great sauce for grilled or roasted meats
DESSERTS:
29. Monster Cookies
30. Brownie Kabobs — you could go “patriotic” with this dessert too!
31. Strawberry Short Cake Cups — the essence of summer
32. S’mores — you can’t make this one ahead of time… but it’s a classic!
33. Pie — everyone loves a thick slice of homemade (or store-bought) pie
Are you hungry yet?
Try a few of these easy side dishes for your next outdoor meal and enjoy the flavors of summer… and less mess in your kitchen!
What are YOUR favorite easy BBQ side dishes??
Visit my virtual recipe box for more simple, delicious, family-friendly, recipes!
JJ says
Now I’m hungry! Great ideas! Where did you get the blue bowls pictured? They look like the perfect size!
Your kids are so precious, and you really capture them well!
My absolute favorite side is a cold pasta salad my grandma made. She used rotini noodles, Hellman’s mayonnaise(living in the South now, Duke’s is my favorite!), any cut up raw vegetables you like(she often did celery and carrots, and green olives–perfect zing!), diced hard-boiled eggs(mixed in), and topped with sliced hard-boiled eggs. She would add extra mayo second day, since noodles absorb it. It’s really a recipe you can make your own(adding seasonings, salt and pepper, etc.).
Andrea says
I actually got the blue bowls from the thrift store, but I linked to similar bowls under the picture — they are handy for larger picnics and gatherings.
I’ve never liked cold pasta salads (or really mayo) so I’m not sure I’ll try your recipe… but I’ll believe you that it’s good 🙂
Jennifer @ Mom Spotted says
Aww. Thanks for including my potatoes!
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles says
That lemon pound cake and a few of those jalapenos would sure help me through today – yum! Thanks so much for including a couple of my recipes in your BBQ roundup – I appreciate it!
Sherri @ The Kitchen Prescription says
Andrea,
Thanks for sharing my Kabob recipe. This is a great article. Certainly applicable to summer fun and eating. I love grilling and summer they go hand in hand.
Rivki Locker (Ordinary Blogger) says
My daughter is obsessed with pickled jalapenos. Will have to try your jalapeno poppers. If for not other reason than that the name is so much fun to say! 🙂
Shari Brooks says
my favorite is a version of coleslaw called the Venezuelan Coleslaw salad. Also, a nice tall pitcher of chilled sangria goes a long way and is always a welcomed addition. Check out these recipes and more at: http://www.myjudythefoodie.com
happy cooking!
Andrea says
Yum…sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing the link Shari!
Lori says
Andrea, Thanks for a great blog and congrats to you and your hubby on your pregnancy! I have a question. Love the post on 30 BBQ sides, but my question is, with SO MANY cookbooks and web recipes, do you just stick with those 30 sides and rotate, or are you constantly looking for new recipes? I find the choices overwhelming and I am trying to “narrow down” my recipes to just my few favorites and choose from those. How do you handle this? Are you continuously looking for “better” recipes or when you need a fruit salad, do you just go with the one you have?
Thanks for your time and love your blog!
Lori M.
Andrea says
Thanks Lori — and GREAT questions!
I definitely do NOT always stick to one specific recipe forever and ever. I’m always looking to try new things and experiment. However, if I’m in a hurry or pressed for time, I usually resort back to my “tried and true” family favorites because I know they will turn out!
Also, it might be worth mentioning that I obviously do NOT make all of these things for every BBQ we have. I try to keep the menu as simple as possible and usually have one potato dish, one salad, one veggie, one fruit, one dessert, and one extra.
When we host BBQ’s we often provide the drinks, buns, side dishes, and paper products and then ask our guests to “bring their own meat”. This significantly cuts down on the cost and assure everyone will get what they want.
Backyard BBQ’s should not be stressful. Just keep things simple, be organized, make a few delicious side dishes, and your party will be a success!
Tara @ Unsophisticook says
Thanks for sharing my Guacamole Salad, Andrea! I see some other recipes I’m gonna have to try.
Marci@OvercomingBusy says
I have been looking for some new side dishes to throw in the mix. We grill almost daily in the summer. These are great! Thanks for sharing!