Food & Cooking Recipes Dinner Recipes Summer Dinner Ideas 32 Cookout Sides for Your Next Summer Gathering Scene-stealing salads, slaws, breads, and grilled vegetables turn even a casual menu into a memorable meal. By Kelly Vaughan Kelly Vaughan Kelly is a former associate digital food editor for MarthaStewart.com. Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 3, 2024 Close Photo: Ryan Liebe Everyone knows the side dishes are the real stars of a summer meal: A perfectly cooked steak or fish filet may look like the centerpiece of your menu, but the right vegetables, salads, breads, and slaws steal the show every time. We're sharing our secrets to a perfectly grilled ear of corn, delicious riffs on coleslaw, and savory-sweet cornbread to round up your summer menu. For a speedy approach, toss any in-season fruit or vegetable, charred over an open flame, with an easy vinaigrette for a quick and tasty side. Or, you can also opt for more elaborate dishes that elevate flavor profiles or provide complementary textures. Whether you're grilling an entire rack of barbecue ribs for a crowd or throwing marinated chicken thighs on a hot grill for a weeknight dinner, find a side that pairs well with your main. 9 Summer Menus to Inspire Your Next Dinner Party 01 of 32 Three-Pepper Corn Casserole Mike Krautter Chipotle chiles and pepper jack cheese bring up the perfect amount of heat in this creamy side. Save time by using good-quality frozen corn, and serve with salsa, cilantro, and sour cream for a Mexican-inspired flavor. View Recipe 02 of 32 Green Beans With Crispy Oven-Fried Onions Mikkel Vang This zesty side dish recipe calls for a vibrant combination of green beans and crispy oven-fried onions, delicately drizzled with lemon juice. Crunchy, flavorful, and light—the perfect companion for any summer meal. View Recipe 03 of 32 Pomegranate-Bulgur Salad Golden raisins, parsley leaves, and pomegranate seeds add flavor, color, and crunchiness to this bulgur salad. You can serve it as is, hot, or make it ahead and offer it cold for a refreshing side dish. View Recipe 04 of 32 Watercress, Strawberry, and Toasted-Sesame Salad Gentl and Hyers If you think greens are boring, this side dish will make you think again. Peppered watercress and slightly sweet strawberries collide to create a unanimous hit—and to wow your guests even more, don't forget to add feta cheese, toasted sesame seeds, and roasted tamari almonds for a savory crunch. View Recipe 05 of 32 Mexican Street Corn David E. Steele Summer is the only time we want to eat fresh corn on the cob. However, this Elote recipe (also known as Mexican Street Corn) takes it to a new level. The flavor combo from the mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, and queso fresco will be like no other, and its zesty bite is the perfect complement to any grilled meat. View Recipe 06 of 32 Celery-and-Cucumber Salad With Herbs This make-ahead green salad offers freshness and crunch to lighten up heavy steaks or tenderloins. Toss together cucumbers, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and fresh tender herbs for a breezy side dish. View Recipe 07 of 32 Harissa-Roasted Green Beans Kate Sears In this 30-minute recipe, roasted green beans are tossed with harissa paste and topped with toasted sesame seeds. View Recipe 08 of 32 White Bean-and-Tomato Salad This simple side dish recipe uses canned white beans to make preparation even easier. Pair them with one of summer's best, tomatoes, and scallions for a tasty, immune-boosting, fiber-rich salad. View Recipe 09 of 32 Braised Green Beans Simmered in chicken broth, these braised green beans are simple enough to make in minutes, yet flavorful enough to make the best companion to any chicken, steak, or shrimp. View Recipe 10 of 32 Green Bean, Shell Bean, and Sweet Onion Fattoush NGOC MINH NGO How beautiful is this array of veggies? Our refreshing Middle Eastern bread-and-vegetable salad has a crunch thanks to the green beans and shell beans, while the sweet onion and the feta cheese simply round up the flavor combo. View Recipe 11 of 32 Grilled Asparagus and Farro Salad Chris Simpson Bring flavor to your backyard barbecue with this light and bright side dish recipe. Asparagus is grilled, then mixed with farro, salty-sweet Marcona almonds, lemon juice, and feta cheese. View Recipe 12 of 32 Green Salad With Pickled-Shallot Vinaigrette Paola + Murray When summer comes, we're all about embracing vibrant colors and flavors—so this big-batch salad, featuring pink watermelon radishes, sliced carrots, and mixed greens, is just the right recipe. View Recipe 13 of 32 Spicy Pineapple Slaw We can't get enough of the unique combination of pineapple, carrots, and cabbage. It's spicy, sweet, and tangy... all at once! View Recipe 14 of 32 Test Kitchen's Favorite Potato Salad Ren Fuller There are a few key steps to our food editors' favorite potato salad: evenly cutting your potatoes so they cook at the same rate; placing the potatoes in cold water, then boiling; and using a starchy, creamy spud like russets or Yukon golds. The result is a creamy, flavorful potato salad. View Recipe 15 of 32 Shredded-Carrot-and-Cabbage Coleslaw Ren Fuller A coleslaw that's as light and vinegary as we're used to but with a whole lot more color? Yes, please! Spiralized carrots and shredded cabbage are a welcome summer upgrade to a cookout staple. View Recipe 16 of 32 Dill, Potato, and Egg Salad Petrina Tinslay Summer cookouts and potato salad go hand in hand. Here, we updated the creamy mayo version by adding pickled shallots, tangy sliced cornichons, and just a couple tablespoons of Dijon mustard. It's lighter, zestier, and more colorful than the classic. View Recipe 17 of 32 Grilled Corn With Chile-Lime Salt Lauren Ross Instead of boiling corn on the cob, why not grill it? The subtle smoky flavor and charred crisp are a delicious contrast to the sweet, milky kernels. Serve it with homemade chile-lime salt and grated Parmesan sprinkled on top. View Recipe 18 of 32 Greek-Taverna Salad Petrina Tinslay Help yourself to this chopped, deconstructed Greek salad. By keeping the dressing on the side, you prevent the ingredients from getting too soggy. This way, no one has to pick around the ingredients they don't like. Win-win! View Recipe 19 of 32 Classic Cornbread This buttermilk cornbread recipe is made with a simple combination of butter, cornmeal, all-purpose flour, sugar, and eggs: easy to make and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. View Recipe 20 of 32 Cucumbers With Lemon and Basil We could snack on crisp, raw cucumber slices all day, but they're so much better when tossed with tomatoes and basil—ingredients that are the epitome of summer goodness. Good-quality, fresh picks are essential when creating simple, tasteful salads like this one. View Recipe 21 of 32 Mango-Mozzarella Salad Nico Schinco Add mango—also in season—to this sweet and salty salad for a summer vegetable extravaganza. Make sure to use burrata or fresh salted mozzarella, not the low-moisture one. View Recipe 22 of 32 Soba Salad With Grilled Eggplant and Tomato Marcus Nilsson Here's a genius way to use those summer tomatoes and eggplants: grill them and mix them with soba noodles for an unexpectedly delicious, vegetarian take on the classic pasta salads. View Recipe 23 of 32 Dry-Fried Snow Peas and Scallions Nico Schinco Dry-fried with no oil or water, this side dish is bursting with bold flavors thanks to the toasted sesame oil, chili-garlic sauce, soy sauce, and scallions. It's nutritious, low-calorie, and more importantly, a speedy cookout companion that'll be gone in seconds. Guaranteed! View Recipe 24 of 32 Tomato and Avocado Salad Make an elegant and simple salad by pairing rich avocado and juicy, multicolored tomatoes. A drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and pepper is all the seasoning this easy salad needs. Serve with grilled steak or chicken for a delicious summer meal. View Recipe 25 of 32 Tabbouleh This traditional Middle Eastern side dish is filling and tasty, and it comes together with easily available ingredients like tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions, parsley, and mint mixed with bulgur. For a summery spin, add watermelon for a burst of sweetness and goat cheese for a creamy contrast. View Recipe 26 of 32 Peppery Greens With Meyer-Lemon Dressing Lennart Weibull Green salads don't get much simpler than this recipe. Choose any greens you like, such as a blend of peppery arugula and bitter frisée, then toss in a simple vinaigrette made with lemon juice, olive oil, and Dijon mustard. View Recipe 27 of 32 Creamy Edamame Dip CHELSEA CAVANAUGH No summer cookout would be complete without a creamy dip to serve alongside crudites, crostinis, or—why not—grilled meats. The secret behind ours is shelled edamame and cottage cheese blended together to create a protein-rich velvety smooth dip, perfect to share or to eat by the spoonful. View Recipe 28 of 32 Grilled Cauliflower With Spiced Yogurt Sauce Yuki Sugiura Olive oil seasoned with garam masala, paprika, and garlic gives this grilled head of cauliflower its rich, reddish-brown char; serve with a simple dressing of yogurt and lemon juice. View Recipe 29 of 32 Grilled Zucchini With Miso Dana Gallagher In-season zucchini, thickly sliced and grilled with a miso-soy glaze, cooks in about 15 minutes on the grill—and adds a rich, savory complement to the rest of your cookout menu. View Recipe 30 of 32 California Cobb Salad Classics are classics for a reason. This deconstructed variation of the California Cobb Salad is colorful, nutrient-packed, and extremely tasty—not to mention that, when served this way, picky eaters can mix and match to their liking. View Recipe 31 of 32 Grilled Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers Armando Rafael Grilled bell peppers filled with raisins, couscous, or bulgur, and crumbled feta are a lighter alternative to the classic beef-filled version and make a pretty presentation alongside grilled steak or fish. View Recipe 32 of 32 Grilled-Vegetable Agrodolce Ryan Liebe This antipasti dish matches grilled eggplant and squash, marinated in a sweet-and-sour sauce, with cured meats, goat cheese, and burrata—plus toasted sesame bread for serving. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit