30 Best BBQ Side Dishes for Memorial Day: Cookout Recipes + Shopping List

Make-ahead recipes for ribs, burgers, brisket, and grilled chicken — plus a Memorial Day shopping list that builds your Instacart cart in one tap

The best cookout sides are make-ahead, crowd-pleasing, and built for sharing — a vinegar-forward coleslaw next to the ribs, an icy potato salad that holds for hours on the buffet, sweet-smoky baked beans that finish in the slow cooker while you tend the grill. Below are 30 reader-tested sides curated from the AislePrompt catalog, plus a one-tap Memorial Day shopping list (serves 10) and a pairing chart that tells you exactly which sides belong next to ribs, burgers, brisket, and grilled chicken.

Why sides make or break a cookout

A great cookout isn't won at the grill — it's won on the side table. Most home cooks spend 90% of their planning time on the protein and 10% on the supporting cast, which is backwards. The ribs and burgers anchor the meal, but the sides determine whether guests linger for second plates or drift back to the cooler. Three things move a side dish from "fine" to "the bowl everyone scrapes empty":

1. Temperature contrast. Cold-crunchy slaw next to hot, sticky ribs hits the same comfort note as ice cream on warm pie. Aim for at least one cold side, one hot side, and one room-temp side per spread.

2. Acid balance. Smoked meats and rich sauces drag the palate toward heavy and sweet — vinegar in the coleslaw, lemon in the cucumber salad, and balsamic on grilled vegetables cut through and reset every bite.

3. Make-ahead engineering. Sides that hold for 24 hours free you up to focus on the grill the day-of. Coleslaw, baked beans, and pasta salad actually taste better after a night in the fridge while the dressing soaks in.

The 30 recipes below are organized by category so you can build a balanced lineup in five minutes, then jump to the Memorial Day shopping list at the bottom to load your Instacart cart in one tap.

The 5 must-have BBQ side categories

Every great cookout spread covers five distinct flavor and texture lanes. Pick one from each and you have a complete menu — no more "should I make another salad?" second-guessing.

1. Creamy salads (potato, macaroni, egg)

The mayo-bound, cold-from-the-cooler bowl that sets the cookout tone. Classic Potato Salad is the safest crowd-pleaser; for a sharper, dill-pickle-forward version readers love, see the Layered Macaroni Salad with Tangy Mustard Dressing. Egg-based: Green Goddess Deviled Eggs with Avocado skip the harsh paprika dust of supermarket trays and bring a fresh-herb green that photographs beautifully on the buffet.

2. Crisp slaws (cabbage, broccoli, slaw with lime)

The "knife and fork" side that resets your palate between bites of brisket. Spicy Avocado Lime Coleslaw brings creaminess and citrus together without the supermarket-cole-mayo heaviness. For something more substantial and grain-bowl-adjacent, the Miso-Roasted Carrot and Broccoli Salad holds for the entire afternoon at room temperature and shows up at every reader-cookout request thread.

3. Beans (the sweet-smoky workhorse)

Beans are the cookout's secret weapon — they finish low and slow with zero attention while you mind the fire. The all-time MVP is Slow-Cooked Baked Beans with Smoked Bacon: 8 hours in the slow cooker, sweetened with brown sugar and molasses, smoky from the bacon, and ready to scoop straight from the crock into the serving bowl. Make a double batch — they vanish faster than the ribs.

4. Grilled vegetables

The healthy side that doesn't read as the healthy side. Mediterranean Herb-Grilled Vegetable Skewers cover zucchini, peppers, red onion, and eggplant with a lemon-oregano marinade. For a more polished version that reads like a restaurant appetizer platter, the Patio-Style Grilled Vegetable Skewers with Balsamic Glaze get tossed in a thick balsamic reduction right after coming off the grill. Don't sleep on grilled corn either — the Reptile Gardens Spiced Grilled Corn on the Cob is the side that everyone over-orders.

5. Breads & cornbread

Cornbread or skillet bread closes the loop on a Southern-leaning spread and gives kids something to actually eat when the main dishes are spicy. Spiced Cornbread with Chive and Buttermilk is the workhorse — slightly savory, holds for 24 hours wrapped in foil, and reheats well in a 300°F oven for 8 minutes. For a smokier riff that pairs hard with brisket, try Smoky Chipotle Cornbread with Fresh Herbs.

Make-ahead sides that hold for 24-48 hours

Memorial Day is a one-shot event — you don't get to redo the morning if the potato salad runs out at 1pm because you started prep too late. The fix: make every side that can be made ahead the day before. Five sides hold beautifully for 24-48 hours in the fridge, with most actually improving as the flavors marry overnight:

Make these five the night before, leave the grilled corn, vegetable skewers, and tomato-cucumber salad for the day-of, and you'll have 90 minutes of breathing room on Memorial Day morning instead of zero. A few essentials make day-before prep dramatically less painful: stock a Stasher Reusable Silicone Storage Bag set for the shredded cabbage, chopped onions, and herb mixes (they seal flat and stack in the fridge); and run your prep through a John Boos Maple Cutting Board wide enough to hold a full head of cabbage without spillover. These two tools cut your make-ahead time by about a third.

The 24-hour timeline that actually works

• Friday evening (day before): Coleslaw, potato salad (boil potatoes, dress lightly), pasta salad, baked beans start in slow cooker.
• Saturday morning: Deviled egg filling, herb the cornbread batter, prep vegetable skewers (no oil yet — that goes on grill-side).
• Saturday 11am: Light the chimney starter, get the grill hot, dress the salads with their final pour of dressing/oil, slice the watermelon.
• Saturday noon: Sides hit the table. Hot stuff (corn, skewers, beans) goes out last so it lands warm.

Quick last-minute sides under 20 minutes

When guests text "we're bringing friends — is that okay?" at 11:30am, you need 20-minute fallback sides that don't require a grocery run. Three categories work:

Watermelon-feta salad. Cube ¼ of a seedless watermelon, crumble 4 oz feta over it, tear a handful of basil leaves, drizzle balsamic. Done. The Watermelon-Feta Salad with Basil and Balsamic is the most-requested last-minute side at reader cookouts — it's so visually striking that guests assume it took an hour and won't notice you put it together in eight minutes.

Cucumber-tomato salad. Cucumber-Tomato Salad with Crumbled Feta and Oregano needs 12 minutes flat — slice, dress, salt, rest 5 minutes. If you want a brighter, dill-forward variant, the Lemon-Dill Tomato and Cucumber Salad trades feta for dill and reads cleaner. Either holds for 90 minutes uncovered on the buffet.

Grilled corn salad. If you already have corn on the grill, transform it into a side salad: cut kernels off two grilled ears, toss with diced red pepper, lime, and cilantro. The Grilled Corn & Pepper Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette was designed exactly for this scenario.

For the quick-side scenario you absolutely need a fast, reliable utensil set — fumbling with a wobbly serving spoon at the buffet kills the dinner rhythm. The OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Silicone Spatula Set is the one we reach for on every reader-cookout walkthrough: heat-safe to 600°F, dishwasher-safe handles, and the silicone heads won't scratch nonstick prep pans.

30 curated cookout side recipes from the AislePrompt catalog

Here's the full hit list, organized by category. Tap any title to open the recipe in AislePrompt with built-in serving stepper and one-tap Instacart cart.

Cold creamy salads (4)

1. Classic Potato Salad — the safe-pick MVP, dill + pickle + Dijon

2. Layered Macaroni Salad with Tangy Mustard Dressing — picnic stalwart, vinegar-forward

3. Heiress's Cross-Country Pasta Salad — Italian-leaning, olives + salami optional

4. Green Goddess Deviled Eggs with Avocado — herb-green filling, no paprika dust

Slaws & cabbage (3)

5. Spicy Avocado Lime Coleslaw — creamy without being heavy

6. Vanderbilt Victory Coleslaw — vinegar-forward, sharp finish

7. Miso-Roasted Carrot and Broccoli Salad — modern, room-temp, holds forever

Hot beans (1, but make a double)

8. Slow-Cooked Baked Beans with Smoked Bacon — the all-day workhorse

Grilled vegetables (4)

9. Mediterranean Herb-Grilled Vegetable Skewers

10. Patio-Style Grilled Vegetable Skewers with Balsamic Glaze

11. Reptile Gardens Spiced Grilled Corn on the Cob

12. Grilled Corn & Pepper Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette — eat-from-a-bowl version

Fresh / cold (4)

13. Watermelon-Feta Salad with Basil and Balsamic — the photo side

14. Cucumber-Tomato Salad with Crumbled Feta and Oregano

15. Lemon-Dill Tomato and Cucumber Salad

16. Quick Cucumber Tomato Salad with Dill Vinaigrette — 12 minutes flat

Breads & cornbread (2)

17. Spiced Cornbread with Chive and Buttermilk

18. Smoky Chipotle Cornbread with Fresh Herbs — pairs hard with brisket

The remaining 12 sides — chip-and-dip pairings, brined pickles, broiled garlic-bread halves, smashed cucumber salads, lemon-herb couscous, three-bean variations, charred shishitos, watermelon-cucumber gazpacho cups, smoked mac-and-cheese skillet wedges, grilled romaine Caesar wedges, charred scallion salsa verde, and quick refrigerator slaw — are catalogued in our Memorial Day Cookout Meal Plan (which covers the mains too). Build the lineup that fits your guest count and dietary mix.

Memorial Day shopping list (serves 10)

Here's the literal grocery list to pull off a 10-person Memorial Day cookout with five sides (potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, grilled corn, watermelon-feta salad) plus mains (ribs + burgers). Open AislePrompt on your phone, tap "Build cart from shopping list" on this article, and the entire list lands in Instacart in one tap — or substitute brands as preferred.

Produce

• 5 lbs Yukon gold potatoes
• 1 large head green cabbage
• 1 small head red cabbage
• 4 large carrots
• 1 bunch fresh dill
• 1 bunch fresh basil
• 1 bunch fresh chives
• 1 bunch green onions
• 4 limes
• 3 lemons
• 2 medium yellow onions
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 seedless watermelon (~12 lbs)
• 10 ears sweet corn
• 4 large red bell peppers
• 4 large zucchini
• 1 lb cherry tomatoes
• 3 English cucumbers

Dairy & eggs

• 18-count large eggs (deviled eggs + potato salad)
• 1 lb crumbled feta
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 quart whole milk (cornbread)
• 1 small carton buttermilk

Meat & deli

• 4 racks pork ribs (St. Louis-cut)
• 5 lbs ground chuck 80/20 (burgers)
• 1 lb thick-cut bacon (for baked beans)
• 10 burger buns

Pantry

• 1 (28 oz) jar baked beans starter OR dry navy beans + molasses
• 1 jar Dijon mustard
• 1 jar yellow mustard
• 1 jar mayo (Duke's or Hellmann's)
• 1 bottle apple cider vinegar
• 1 bottle balsamic vinegar
• 1 bottle olive oil
• 1 jar dill pickles + brine
• 1 box elbow macaroni
• 1 box short pasta (rotini or fusilli)
• 1 cornmeal (yellow, medium grind)
• All-purpose flour
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• Smoked paprika
• Chili powder

Beverages

• 2 cases sparkling water
• 1 case beer of choice
• 1 large pitcher iced tea

Pairing chart: which sides go with which mains

The rule that holds across every column: the anchor side mirrors the protein's weight, the bright cutter resets the palate, and the bread or starch fills out the plate. Keep a thermometer like the ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE on hand — it's not glamorous, but pulling ribs at exactly 195°F or burgers at 160°F instead of dial-thermometer guesswork is the single biggest upgrade most home grillers can make.

FAQ

Which BBQ side dishes can I make the day before?

Coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, slow-cooker baked beans, and pasta salad all hold up overnight in the fridge — the flavors actually improve as the dressing soaks in. Plan to make these 24 hours ahead, then save grilled vegetables, corn on the cob, and anything dressed with vinaigrette for the day of the cookout to keep textures crisp.

How many side dishes should I make per guest?

The cookout rule of thumb is 4-5 small portions of sides per guest spread across 3-4 dishes — that's roughly half a cup of each side per person. For 10 guests, plan on about 5 pounds of potato salad, 4 pounds of coleslaw, one full tray of baked beans, and a dozen ears of corn. AislePrompt's serving stepper rescales any recipe to your guest count automatically, so you don't have to do per-portion math on each individual ingredient list.

What sides go best with ribs and burgers?

Classic cookout pairings: ribs love a vinegar-forward coleslaw and baked beans for sweet-tangy balance, while burgers want crisp potato salad, grilled corn, and a fresh tomato-cucumber salad to cut the richness. Add a watermelon-feta salad for color and a cool contrast — it's the most-requested side at our reader cookouts and takes ten minutes to throw together. See the pairing table above for matchups across brisket, chicken, and hot dogs as well.

Can I make these side dishes vegan or gluten-free?

Yes — most BBQ classics adapt easily. Use vegan mayo (Just Mayo or homemade aquafaba) for potato and macaroni salads, swap the macaroni for gluten-free pasta or quinoa, and use coconut aminos in place of Worcestershire sauce in baked beans. The AislePrompt /chat tool will rebuild the entire side menu around any allergy or preference in seconds without changing your timing — paste this article's URL and ask "make this menu gluten-free for 10 people" and it'll regenerate the shopping list automatically.

How do I keep cold sides safe outdoors all afternoon?

Mayo-based salads should stay below 40°F — set serving bowls inside larger bowls of ice, refresh the ice every hour, and don't leave anything in direct sun for more than 2 hours (cut to 1 hour if it's above 90°F). Pre-portion sides into smaller bowls and rotate fresh ones from the cooler rather than putting one giant bowl on the table. The USDA's grilling food safety guide has the exact temperature windows and contamination thresholds if you want the deep-cut science.

Related reading

• Memorial Day Cookout Meal Plan — full mains-and-sides plan for 10
• Best Grilling Tools and BBQ Gadgets for 2026 — companion buying guide
• Serious Eats has the canonical grilling side dish hall of fame — overlap with our list is ~60% (we both love vinegar-slaw and good cornbread); their bias runs more toward classic Southern, ours toward make-ahead-friendly modern.
• Bon Appétit's annual Memorial Day recipe roundup is the other source we cross-check for trending sides each season — worth a scroll for the upmarket riffs.

Sides are where the cookout becomes memorable. Build a lineup that covers all five categories above, prep what you can the day before, and you'll spend Memorial Day at the grill instead of in the kitchen. Happy cookout.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• fsis.usda.gov
• seriouseats.com
• bonappetit.com