Side Dishes and Salads for Entertaining

By Southern Living
Photo: Hector Sanchez

Complement main entrées with appetizing side dishes and salads at your next party.

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Field Pea and Pasta Salad

Greg DuPree

Recipe: Field Pea and Pasta Salad

Farfalle and fresh veggies make a delicious summer side. Mix the dressing up to three days in advance; then toss when ready to serve. We like using mini farfalle in this recipe so that all of the ingredients are about the same size, but swap in any pasta shape you like.

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2 of 25

Green Bean Potato Salad with Lemon-Soy Vinaigrette

Photo: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Green Bean Potato Salad with Lemon-Soy Vinaigrette

Potato salad gets a fresh and crunchy twist with bright flavors and lots of yummy texture. Make the Lemon-Soy Vinaigrette ahead of time for an easier assembly. 

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Spinach-and-Romaine Salad with Cucumbers, Radishes, and Creamy Mint Dressing

Photo: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Spinach-and-Romaine Salad with Cucumbers, Radishes, and Creamy Mint Dressing

This cool and creamy salad is the perfect side for any spring or summer meal. Dress it up for Easter brunch, but keep the recipe on file for a quick summertime side to bring to a last-minute cookout.

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Lemon-Herb Potatoes

Photo: John Kernick

Recipe: Lemon-Herb Potatoes

Assorted herbs, lemon juice, and garlic is all you'll need to make this zippy side dish. It's great served warm, chilled, or at room temperature.

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Spinach-Apple Salad With Maple-Cider Vinaigrette

Photo: Beau Gustafson

Recipe: Spinach-Apple Salad With Maple-Cider Vinaigrette

This deluxe version of spinach salad features a tangy sweet maple syrup vinaigrette, sliced apple, onion and and goat cheese and is topped with sweet curried pecans.

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Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes

Photo: Oxmoor House

Recipe: Browned Butter Mashed Potatoes

Everyone loves the simplicity of mashed potatoes, so make it a tradition to always have some on your Thanksgiving table.  Crafting delicious mashed mashed potatoes is not easy, but this recipe shows you how it’s done. It also brings the rich flavor of browned butter—those nutty taste you simply can’t get any other way—into the bowl. You’ll love the rich buttermilk, which adds fluff and creaminess to the mashed Yukon gold potatoes. Once you’ve whipped your potatoes to the perfect texture, you can garnish them with parsley, rosemary, or thyme. Once you sample the flavor of these potatoes, you’ll want them on the table every night of the week.

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Carrot Orzo

Photo: Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Carrot Orzo

Though made with orzo rather than rice, this colorful dish is similar to risotto.

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Green Beans With Mushrooms and Bacon

Recipe: Green Beans With Mushrooms and Bacon

We loved the dash of dried crushed red pepper—it made the flavor lively, not hot.

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Hurry-Up Homemade Crescent Rolls

Photo: Beau Gustafson

Recipe: Hurry-Up Homemade Crescent Rolls

This from-scratch recipe is suited for any level of cook—even first timers. Tip: Brush unbaked rolls with lightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and fennel seeds. Or, brush unbaked rolls with melted butter; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, kosher salt, coarsely ground pepper, and dried Italian seasoning.
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Simple Beet Salad

Photo: Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Simple Beet Salad

Fresh herbs and chopped walnuts dress up Simple Beet Salad. For a twist, add crumbled goat cheese.

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Mushroom, Apple, and Goat Cheese Salad

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipe: Mushroom, Apple, and Goat Cheese Salad

This elegant but easy salad is a favorite for casual entertaining. It’s especially good with Molasses-Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Two-Color Rosemary Roasted Potatoes.

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Potato Cobb Salad

Jennifer Davick / Styling: Buffy Hargett / Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns

Recipe: Potato Cobb Salad

Instead of being tossed together in a bowl, the colorful ingredients for Potato Cobb Salad are arranged on a plate. To save time, the potatoes can be cooked overnight so they are ready to assemble just before serving.

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Green Bean-and-Red Bell Pepper Toss

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipe: Green Bean-and-Red Bell Pepper Toss

Combine French green beans and red bell pepper strips with shallots and garlic for a delicious side dish that's far from boring.

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Golden Macaroni and Cheese

Southern Living

Recipe: Golden Macaroni and Cheese

This homemade baked macaroni and cheese recipe beats the boxed kind any day of the week.  For a divine main dish, stir in chopped cooked ham before baking, and then sprinkle top with chopped cooked bacon before serving.

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Sweet Onion 'n' Fruit Salad

Jennifer Davick

Recipe: Sweet Onion 'n' Fruit Salad

In Sweet Onion 'n' Fruit Salad, tangy mango and papaya offer the perfect complement to caramelized onions for a flavorful side salad.

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Crowder Pea Succotash

Recipe: Crowder Pea Succotash

Move over, butter beans. Crowder Pea Succotash, jazzed up with fresh thyme and red bell pepper, is set to become a new classic Southern side.

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Grits Bar

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Lisa Powell Bailey; Food Styling: Vanessa McNeil Rocchio

Recipe: Tomato Gravy

Recipe: Parmesan Grits

Feature grits the next time you entertain. Offer both plain and cheese, and keep them hot in slow cookers or chafing dishes. Choose quick-cooking, regular, or white or yellow stone-ground grits. (We don't recommend instant here.)

Serve several toppings, such as Tomato Gravy featured in the photo, so guests can mix in their favorite flavors. Here's some great ideas:

  • Gravies and pestos
  • Shredded cheeses
  • Roasted vegetables
  • Crumbled bacon
  • Grilled corn kernels

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Kentucky Bluegrass Salad

Charles Walton IV / Styling: Buffy Hargett / Food Styling: Angela Sellers

Recipe: Kentucky Bluegrass Salad

A scattering of dried cranberries teams up with fresh pears and asparagus for an impressively easy salad.

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Easy Three-Seed Pan Rolls

Jennifer Davick / Styling: Lisa Powell Bailey / Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns

Recipe: Easy Three-Seed Pan Rolls

These rolls start with frozen bread dough but taste as if they're made from scratch--perfect for no-fuss entertaining. You'll get a spectacular look and big flavor while saving time.

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Baked Onions

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipe: Baked Onions

Sweet, caramelized pearl onions make an elegant side dish. This version is flavored with butter, white wine, and brown sugar and then baked for less than an hour.

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Thai Noodle Salad

Jennifer Davick / Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine / Food Styling: Marian Cooper Cairns

Recipe: Thai Noodle Salad

Add some Asian flair to your menu with the sweet, sour, salty and spicy flavors that make up Thai Noodle Salad.

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Melon-and-Mozzarella Salad

Photo: Lauren Rubinstein

Recipe: Melon-and-Mozzarella Salad

This rainbow of summer fruit makes for an elegant presentation and a refreshing side for a luncheon, brunch, or dinner. 

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Marian's Apple-Fennel Salad

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas

Recipes: Marian's Apple-Fennel Salad

Raw fennel is crisp and tasty, a perfect complement to apples and arugula. Test kitchen professional Marian Cooper Cairns recommends using a handheld mandoline for ultrathin apple slices.

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Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Photo: Hector Sanchez

Recipe: Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

These perfectly creamy mashed potatoes are the perfect match for our Shepherd's Pot Roast Pies, but we won't blame you if you serve them with just about anything. 

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