Our Best Barbecue Side Dish Recipes

Barbecue Deviled Eggs

This is the best of both worlds – deviled eggs kissed with smoky chopped pork. One of our favorite make-ahead tips: place yolk filling in a zip-top plastic bag, and the egg white halves in another container (especially handy if taking to barbecue). When you’re ready to fill egg white halves, simply snip a corner of the zip-top plastic bag and pipe away.

Recipe: Barbecue Deviled Eggs

Tomato-and-Onion Salad

We love this recipe for its simple, summer pleasure. Fresh sliced tomatoes paired with sweet Vidalia onions and a little chopped fresh, fragrant basil. This recipe is actually better if prepped a few hours ahead, which allows all the flavors to get cozy.

Recipe: Tomato-and-Onion Salad

Peanutty Coleslaw

This zesty Asian twist on classic slaw is wonderful with smoked chicken and pork. Wasbi paste and fresh grated ginger give this colorful mix a delightful eye-opening kick. And the surprising peanutty crunch takes it right over the edge. Don’t worry about leftovers, it’s even better the next day piled high on a leftover pulled pork sandwich.

Recipe: Peanutty Coleslaw

Watermelon, Mache, and Pecan Salad Recipe

William Dickey/ Styling Rose Nguyen/ Food Styling Vanessa McNeil Rocchio

Watermelon, Mâche, and Pecan Salad

Take two Southern icons, watermelon and toasted pecans, and combine them with slightly sweet, nutty mâche (a tender lettuce), and you have one out-of-this-world salad. And crumbled Gorgonzola adds an unexpected layer of creamy richness. Feel free to substitute your favorite baby lettuce for mâche – it’ll work just fine.

Recipe: Watermelon, Mâche, and Pecan Salad

Ralph Anderson, William Dickey / styling Buffy Hargett, Rose Nguyen / food styling Vanessa McNeil

Bacon Potato Salad

Jazz up your presentation by serving this salad in paprika-rimmed glasses. (Simply dip the rims in lemon or lime juice, then into paprika.) We found this recipe works best with round white potatoes. You can reduce calories from fat by using light mayo and light sour cream.

Recipe: Bacon Potato Salad

Ralph Anderson, William Dickey / styling Buffy Hargett, Rose Nguyen / food styling Vanessa McNeil

Fipps Family Potato Salad

One of the staff’s all-time favorite potato salads. The secret to this 6-ingredient star is Duke’s Mayonnaise (a Greenville, SC culinary institution), a touch of spicy brown mustard, and boiled eggs, which are grated on the largest holes of a cheese grater. The recipe calls for baking potatoes, but we also love it with red-skinned potatoes.

Recipe: Fipps Family Potato Salad

Best Barbecue Coleslaw

The key to this sensational slaw is the dressing. The combo of milk, buttermilk, lemon juice, and a little white vinegar elevate humble shredded cabbage to something truly spectacular. This recipe’s creamy sweetness is the perfect partner to smoky barbecue.

Recipe: Best Barbecue Coleslaw

Mississippi Hush Puppies

While these golden deep-fried gems are often paired with fried fish, Kentuckians and Carolinians think of them as natural partners to any plate of barbecue. These light-as-feather balls start with a combo of self-rising cornmeal and flour (for extra fluffiness) and a chopped jalapeno for a spirited, but not too hot, kick.

Recipe: Mississippi Hush Puppies

Green Barbecue Sauce

This Tex-Mex twist on traditional barbecue sauce combines tangy green tomatoes and crisp tomatillos for a tongue-tingling flavor sensation. You have to try this over your favorite recipe for barbecue chicken or shrimp. Better still, you can make this up to 1 week ahead.

Recipe: Green Barbecue Sauce

Root Beer Baked Beans

This tasty twist on baked beans stirs together in minutes, then bakes just until bubbly and thick. We love the convenience of canned pork and beans, which are kicked up to the next level with a touch of barbecue sauce, dry mustard, and hot sauce, before getting a sweet kiss of flavor from good ol’ root beer.

Recipe: Root Beer Baked Beans

Green Bean, Grape, and Pasta Toss

If you like broccoli salad, you will love this red-and-green salad. Bacon and pecans add texture and saltiness to the creamy-dressing-coated dish.

Recipe: Green Bean, Grape, and Pasta Toss

Heirloom Tomato Salad With Fresh Lady Peas

You can find many hues of heirloom tomatoes from local farmers. Complement the fresh flavor of sliced tomatoes with basil and goat cheese in an herb dressing. Or grill them on skewers and drizzle with vinaigrette.

Recipe: Heirloom Tomato Salad With Fresh Lady Peas

Photo: Beth Dreiling

Big Daddy's Grilled Blue Cheese-and-Bacon Potato Salad

Filled with red onion, blue cheese, bacon, and a sweet-tangy dressing, this reader recipe earned top honors at our test kitchen tastings. Grilling the potatoes in an easy-to-fold aluminum foil packet adds a subtle note of smoky flavor—plus it makes cleanup a breeze.

Recipe: Big Daddy's Grilled Blue Cheese-and-Bacon Potato Salad

Smoked Corn

Make your summer corn about more than just salt and butter. Give it a new spin by smoking over hickory chips and season with thyme butter.

Recipe: Smoked Corn

Easy Vegetable Kabobs

Who says veggies have to be boring? Balsamic vinegar and honey make these a sweet and tangy complement to your main dish.

Recipe: Easy Vegetable Kabobs

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

From-Scratch Oven Fries

These homemade fries are better than the drive-through. Because they are oven-baked, the fries have less fat and calories, and there is no oily mess to clean up.

Dip in ketchup, Blue Cheese Dip, or Easy Marinara Sauce.

Recipe: From-Scratch Oven Fries

Our Best Barbecue Sides