30+ BBQ Side Dishes You Need

We absolutely love a good backyard BBQ here at Mom’s Dinner! We are located in Kansas City, which in our minds, is the heart of BBQ culture! We love Grilled Burgers, BBQ Pork Tenderloin, or Grilled Steak… makes my mouth water just thinking about it. Some say the best part of a backyard BBQ are the side dishes. I might agree! Everything from potato salad and baked beans to creamed corn and pasta salad.

close up of a grill with a man holding tongs

We are sharing REAL side dishes you can use for your menu…. I’m not including crazy recipes like pizza roll ups or pigs in a blanket just to fill this list. These are REAL BBQ SIDE DISH RECIPES that actually go with any BBQ main dish you are serving.

Choose any three to add to your main dish and your menu will be amazing, promise. Browse through the list of 30 BBQ side dishes that will make your backyard bbq dinner even better!

Then message me in the comments below and let me know which side dishes you chose and what main dish you served them with!

Amazing BBQ Side Dish Recipes

The Best Potato Salad

The very best potato salad recipe that uses plenty of hard boiled eggs. The dressing is the perfect combo of creamy, tangy, salt and sweet. This potato salad is perfect with literally any BBQ!

Potato Salad Recipe

an oval baking dish with a Baked Bean Casserole and a spoon

Baked Bean Casserole Recipe

An old fashioned multiple bean side dish that is baked in the oven. Baked beans, green beans, butter beans and kidney beans are mixed with onions and bacon, seasoned with vinegar, brown sugar and dry mustard and baked. Super simple to make!!

Baked Bean Casserole Recipe

Cucumbers and Onions Salad in a bowl with a fork

Cucumber and Onion Salad Recipe

Cucumber and Onion Salad is a great side dish to add to ANY dinner. It is similar to a quick pickle and is simply cucumbers and onions in a vinegar mixture. It makes a great "vinegary crunch" addition to your BBQ dinner. Very fresh and light.

Cucumber and Onion Recipe

Easy Jiffy Corn Casserole

Jiffy Corn Casserole is an easy side dish that can be made ahead. Sweet corn is mixed with cheese, sour cream, onions, green peppers, and Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. This makes a great side dish for barbecues, holidays, or Sunday family dinner.

Corn Casserole Recipe

a plate of Steak House Mushrooms with a fork

Steakhouse Mushroom Recipe

Delicious savory mushrooms sautéed and browned in a skillet and seasoned with garlic, Worcestershire, butter and red wine. Perfect side dish for a grilled steak! You will feel like you are at a fancy steakhouse!

Steakhouse Mushroom Recipes

ears of corn on the cob cooked and stacked with butter on top

How To Cook Corn on the Cob

If your BBQ is in July, August or September then sweet corn is the perfectly in season! Boil it up just right so it is juicy, tender and sweet.

Perfect Corn on the Cob

Cheese Tortellini Pasta Salad Recipe

A delicious cheese tortellini pasta salad filled with veggies; tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives, red onions and peppers. Plus an easy-to-make dressing. This side dish can be pulled together in under 25 minutes!

Tortellini Pasta Salad Recipe

Top view of a large serving bowl that has chopped chives sprinkled over German potato salad with serving spoons resting inside.

Warm German Potato Salad Recipe

An authentic recipe for German Potato Salad that is served warm. Small potatoes are mixed with thick and crispy bacon and tossed in a tart and tangy vinegar based dressing with mustard, parsley and chives.

Perfect cook out side dish!

German Potato Salad Recipe

cheesy potatoes being served out of a casserole dish

Ultimate Cheesy Potato Casserole recipe

A family recipe for Cheesy Potato Casserole. This is a hash brown potato casserole full of cheese, green onions, and lots of seasonings. It is a super easy potato casserole to make. Perfect for when you have a large menu and you need some easy side item recipes.

This Cheesy Potato Casserole is a staple side dish on our holiday tables!

Cheesy Potato Casserole

a plate of potato skins with one being dipped in sour cream dip

Loaded Potato Skins Recipe

Potato Skins might not be a side dish you would think of but I promise everyone will be so excited to have potato skins on the menu.

Crispy baked potato skins are filled with fresh shredded cheese and crispy bacon. The cheese is melted in the oven and then they are served topped with green onions and a side of Roasted Garlic Sour Cream Dip.

Potato Skin Recipe

CLASSIC DEVILED EGGS

Every time I make these Deviled Eggs for a BBQ, everyone says, with full excitement "who brought the Deviled Eggs??!!!".

These are a traditional recipe for classic deviled eggs using mayonnaise and mustard . A super easy recipe with tips for piping the filling into the eggs.

Deviled Egg Recipe

Broccoli Bacon Salad Recipe

This is a MUST MAKE any time we have a BBQ dinner!

It is a classic Broccoli Bacon Salad recipe that has raw broccoli, crispy bacon, sweet raisins and sunflower seeds with a sweet and tangy dressing. All the ingredients can be prepped a day ahead then stirred together before your BBQ!!

Broccoli Bacon Salad Recipe

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

Mashed potatoes that are loaded with sour cream, cream cheese, butter and cheese and then topped with bacon and green onions. This is the ultimate side dish!

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

cooked haricot verts on a plate with a pat of butter

Fresh Green Beans

Just like corn on the cob, fresh green beans scream summer flavor! In this post I share four ways to cook green beans that result in a nice crisp tender texture. Top them with a little butter and kosher salt for an amazing BBQ side dish.

Fresh Green Beans

raspberry jello fluff salad in a stemmed glass with a raspberry garnish

Raspberry Jello Salad Recipe

Let's bring back the Jell-O Salad! They were so popular back in the 70's but I think people took them too far then, adding tuna, nuts and celery. 😝

This Raspberry Jell-O Salad Recipe is the best of those classic recipes. It is sweet and fruity with great texture. It can add a sweet note to your very savory BBQ menu!

Jell-O Salad Recipe

mac and cheese being stirred with a spoon

Skillet Mac and Cheese Recipe

Classic Macaroni & Cheese made in one skillet, in under 30 minutes with only 5 ingredients + water and salt. No cooking and draining pasta. Traditional macaroni & cheese flavors- cheese, pasta, milk, butter, and salt.

Creamy Mac and Cheese

Cilantro Lime Slaw Recipe

This Cilantro Lime Slaw is a bright and refreshing vinegar based coleslaw that comes together in just about 15 minutes! It is a great side dish or topping for grilled fish tacos!

Cilantro Lime Slaw Recipe

Street Corn Salad

If you are doing a Mexican BBQ like steak tacos, grilled fish tacos, barbacoa or carnitas, this Elote Corn Salad is going to be PERFECT!

Fresh grilled corn is coated in a tangy mayo and sour cream sauce with spices like chili powder, then it gets mixed with cilantro, lime juice and a tangy cheese like Cotija or Feta.

Street Corn Salad Recipe

cornbread with a sliced turned to the side and covered in honey

Homemade Buttermilk Cornbread

Cornbread is the table bread of BBQ! Add some honey butter and you will receive high praise for sure.

This Homemade Buttermilk Cornbread is like traditional Southern Style Cornbread that has weight and texture, yet it is still moist and flavorful.

Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe

a bowl of Asian Style Coleslaw with two forks

Asian Slaw Recipe with Crispy Ramen

A flavorful Asian Slaw recipe that has a fun pop out ingredient of crispy ramen noodles! It is a refreshing and colorful side salad that combines shredded cabbage, almonds, crispy ramen noodles and green onion with a tangy, sweet, and savory dressing that is easy to whisk together.

Asian Style Slaw

creamed corn in a serving bowl with a pat of butter

Homemade Creamed Corn

Leave the canned creamed corn in the pantry (use it for Corn Casserole). This Homemade Creamed Corn uses fresh corn on the cob, buttermilk, butter, salt and pepper!

Creamed Corn Recipe

a large cast iron skillet full of cooked crispy little potatoes

Cast Iron Skillet Potatoes (Crispy)

Ooooooo, if you need a potato for your BBQ dinner this is it! Make these super crispy and crunchy potatoes in your oven or on the grill with just 4 ingredients and a cast iron skillet.

Crispy Cast Iron Potatoes

Homemade Instant Pot Applesauce in a white bowl

Instant Pot Chunky Apple Sauce

Summer and Fall apples are so delicious! Make this homemade chunky applesauce made in your Instant Pot. It adds a wonderful sweetness to your very savory BBQ menu.

This recipe is a great way to use up softer or older apples.

Homemade Chunky Apple Sauce

a loaded baked potato on a cutting board

Loaded Baked Potato Recipe

Baked russet potatoes are mixed with cheese, sour cream, bacon, garlic and butter and then piled high into the potato shells and baked with cheese on top. This makes a super deluxe side dish!

Twice Baked Potato Recipe

a plate of ears of corn with butter and salt

Instant Pot Corn on the Cob Recipe

A really easy way to cook corn on the cob in your electric pressure cooker. Just set the pot for 2 minutes for perfectly crisp tender corn.

Corn on the Cob

Oven Roasted Asparagus

I grew up picking wild asparagus in Iowa, so it holds a special place in my heart and at my BBQ table!

By roasting the asparagus in the oven you end up with crisp tender spears. Exactly what you want! Add a little parmesan cheese or lemon zest to dress up your Oven Roasted Asparagus.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Potato salad topped with green onions in a white bowl

Instant Pot Potato Salad

When you want to make potato salad for your BBQ side dish, but you also want to use your Instant Pot. This is the perfect classic potato salad recipe!

Instant Pot Potato Salad

grilled zucchini topped with herb and garlic butter

Zucchini with Garlic Herb Butter

Zucchini is cut in half and scored with a cross hatch pattern. Then cooked soft and buttery on a grill finish it with a Garlic Herb Butter is spooned over top for amazing flavor.

Grilled Zucchini with Garlic Butter

pasta salad with lots of veggies that has been all stirred together in a white bowl

Easy Pasta Salad with Tons of Veggies

This is a super easy Pasta Salad recipe that is loaded with tons of veggies and dressed with a store bought salad dressing! It makes a great cold side dish for a bbq or cookout!

Pasta Salad Recipe

roasted brussels sprouts in a black bowl

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon & Cranberries

Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with crispy bacon and sweet dried cranberries. It is all cooked in the oven on one sheet pan. This is an easy side dish to make.

Roasted Brussels with Bacon

a bowl of lemon rice pilaf with dill and lemon on top

Lemon Rice Pilaf Recipe

Amazing recipe for Lemon Rice Pilaf that is filled w/ shallots, garlic, lemon, dill and parsley. Delicious every time with the tips included to cook perfect rice. This is a great side dish for anything grilled, especially fish or seafood!

Lemon and Dill Rice Pilaf

A tortilla chip scooping black bean salsa

The Best Black Bean Salsa Recipe

A fresh Black Bean Salsa made with canned black beans, frozen corn, fresh tomatoes, white onion, and cilantro, flavored with a lime and garlic marinade. Just add tortilla chips!

Black Bean and Avocado Salsa

More Menu Planning Resources

One thing we do really well here at Mom’s Dinner is help you plan menus! Here are a couple helpful resources you can use next time you need to plan a large menu:

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