When it comes to summer cookouts, the main dish might get all the attention, but let’s be honest, it’s the BBQ side dishes that everyone piles onto their plate. From creamy classics like potato salad and baked beans to fresh, vibrant salads, the right sides turn a good BBQ into an unforgettable one.

Whether you’re hosting a backyard cookout or bringing a dish to share, these are the most popular BBQ side dishes that people actually want to eat.

The Classics (Absolute Must-Haves)

These are the tried-and-true BBQ side dishes that show up at every cookout and for good reason! They’re nostalgic, crowd-pleasing, and basically expected at any summer gathering.

This Crispy Greek Pasta Salad takes everything we love about a classic Greek pasta salad—crisp vegetables, salty feta, briny olives, and a tangy homemade dressing—and adds crispy air-fried pasta for the most incredible crunch. I’m absolutely obsessed! It’s fresh, flavorful, and honestly one of the best pasta salads I’ve made in a long time.

If you’ve been anywhere near social media lately, you’ve probably seen the viral crispy pasta salad trend taking over. And while I love trying a viral recipe, I wanted to make a version I’d actually crave again and again so I used our popular Greek pasta salad as a starting point.

The first time I made it, I couldn’t stop sneaking bites straight from the bowl. The crispy pasta completely changes the texture and somehow makes an already great pasta salad even better.

Ingredients You’ll Need

This crispy Greek pasta salad uses many of the same ingredients as our traditional Greek pasta salad, but with one game-changing addition: crispy air-fried pasta. The combination of fresh vegetables, tangy dressing, salty feta, and crunchy pasta creates the perfect balance of flavors and textures.

For the Greek Dressing:

• Olive Oil: Creates a rich, flavorful base for the dressing.
• Red Wine Vinegar: Adds the classic tangy Greek flavor.
• Garlic: Brings bold savory flavor.
• Tzatziki: Makes the dressing creamy while adding fresh cucumber and herb flavor.
• Lemon Zest: Brightens every bite.
• Dried Oregano: A classic Greek seasoning.
• Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper: Enhances all the flavors.

For the Pasta Salad:

• Rotini Pasta: The spirals hold onto the dressing while crisping beautifully in the air fryer.
• Pesto: Adds fresh herb flavor and helps the pasta crisp up.
• Parmesan Cheese: Creates extra savory flavor and helps develop crispy edges.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Helps the pasta

If you are a pickle lover, this dill pickle pasta salad is about to become your new warm-weather obsession. Creamy, tangy, loaded with fresh dill and chunks of cheddar, it is the kind of side dish that gets talked about long after the plate is empty.

My little sister was absolutely obsessed with pickles growing up. As in wrap-in-a-napkin-and-eat-it-walking-around-the-house obsessed. However, I have always been pretty against them until I realized that I have a husband who loves them so every once in a while, I find a recipe that is perfectly suited for him and this is that recipe.

This pasta salad is everything a summer side dish should be. The pasta gets tossed in pickle juice right after cooking, so it soaks up that bright, briny flavor before the dressing even goes on.
The creamy garlic aioli and sour cream base take it somewhere rich and indulgent, while the fresh dill and chopped pickles keep every bite zippy and fresh. It comes together fast, gets better as it chills, and is always the first bowl emptied.

Ingredients For Dill Pickle Pasta Salad

This is much better than your run-of-the-mill macaroni salad. The dill pickle flavors mesh with the creaminess of the dressing and the real mayonnaise.  Here is what you need and why:

• Rotini Pasta: The spiral shape is perfect here because it catches and holds onto the creamy dressing in every single bite. Other pasta shapes like cavatappi or bowtie pasta would work too, but rotini is my preference.
• Dill Pickle Juice: Tossed with the warm pasta right after cooking so it absorbs directly into the noodles for briny flavor from the inside out.
• Mayonnaise: Adds richness and body to the dressing as the creamy base.
• Garlic Aioli: Brings a bold, garlicky depth to the dressing that takes it well beyond a basic pasta salad.
• Sour Cream: Lightens the dressing slightly while adding a subtle tang that complements the pickle flavor beautifully.
• Salt and Pepper: Season the whole salad and can be adjusted to taste.
• Fresh Dill: The signature herb that ties all the pickle flavors together and adds a bright, fresh finish.
• Pickles: Sweet petite or dill pickles chopped throughout the salad for that satisfying briny crunch in every bite.

This Red, White & Blue Funfetti Dip is the party treat you didn’t know your summer needed. It’s fluffy, creamy, sweet in the best possible way, and it comes together with just 3 ingredients in about 5 minutes flat. No bake. No fuss. Just a bowl, a spoon, and a very exciting amount of sprinkles.

Okay, friends. I need you to stop whatever you’re doing right now, because I have the most festive, most fun, most could-not-be-easier 4th of July recipe for you, and it involves cake batter. Yes. CAKE BATTER. In a dip. This Red, White & Blue Funfetti Dip is the easiest and most festive 4th of July treat you’ll ever make!

We’ve made this for every 4th of July cookout I can remember, and every single time, the bowl gets scraped clean before the fireworks even start. Kids go absolutely wild for it. Adults go right along with them. And honestly? I think that’s the most patriotic thing of all. Grab the graham crackers, we’re celebrating!

Ingredients For Funfetti Dip

Can we talk about how three humble ingredients somehow create the most magical, celebratory dip you’ve ever tasted? It feels like a little kitchen miracle every single time. Here’s what you’ll need, and I promise you can find all of

This pea salad recipe is creamy, cheesy, and topped with crispy bacon, a classic side dish that’s perfect for any occasion. Take it to a potluck, serve it at a BBQ, or make it for a quick and flavorful side for dinner! This salad comes together in minutes and delivers big flavor.

It’s the perfect side dish for Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. I don’t know where English pea salad originated from, or why it’s so dang good considering it’s the world’s shortest list of ingredients, but I do know that any time someone shares a photo of a potluck or church spread, there’s that pea salad!

Last Fourth of July, we had Cade’s mom, brother, and his family and a friend over for a fun day of swimming and eating. Yes, I did wear a red bathing suit. Yes, I did get mistaken for the lifeguard 100 times. We swam, the kids became exhausted, and we headed back to the house where we cooked up classic burgers and a selection of our favorite summer salads including this English pea salad and our tomato cucumber salad. We finished the night off with our gooey Rice Krispie treats! God Bless America!

Ingredients for Pea Salad

• Mayonnaise: Provides a creamy, rich base that binds all the flavors together.
• Sour Cream: Adds tanginess and smooth texture for the perfect balance.
• Cheddar Cheese: Sharp, cubed cheddar adds bold flavor and bite to the salad.
• Red Onion: Gives a mild crunch and subtle sweetness for extra depth.
• Sugar: Balances the tangy dressing and enhances the peas’ natural sweetness.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Adds a bright, tangy note to the creamy dressing.
• Salt: Enhances all the flavors in the salad.
• Bacon: Crispy, crumbled bacon adds smoky, savory flavor and crunch.
• Frozen Peas: Sweet and tender peas form the heart of this classic salad.