It’s all about the sides – 10 great BBQ side dishes

Anyone that knows me, knows I love a side dish. I’m incapable of ordering in a restaurant without ordering at least 3 side dishes. I expect that’s how I got so fat 😂 well that and the wine…and the crisps, and the cake 😂😂

It’s pretty shitty weather at the minute for June, but I’m certain the sun will come out soon. And when the sun comes out, the BBQ comes out. We love a BBQ in our house, and during the summer we slap some meat on the grill most nights. (I just realised that sounds like a weird sexual euphemism 😂) man cannot live on meat alone though, or something like that, so I’ve collected all my favourite side dishes for you to easily produce the perfect meal.

Like most people, time is precious to me. Add into that mix the fact that you don’t get in from work/school run until gone 5pm, and you’ve got the hungriest child in the world that screams at you until you feed her, dinner has to be quick. I tend to make up a few of these dishes in one go in big bowls, and just keep them in the fridge for a few days. Then all I’ve got to do is light the barbie, and get grilling. I’m not going to lie, this is where a gas bbq comes into its own. Sadly, my dog decided that his favourite spot to pee was up the legs of the bbq, so our gas delight went to bbq heaven a few years ago and I’m now making do with a camping one until we do our garden properly (hopefully this year) but it hold coals, it gets hot, and I can cook on it, so it will do for now.

• Potato salad

We’ll start with the ultimate side, the humble potato salad. This one adds a few extra ingredients though that take it to the next level. Gone are the days of slapping some mayo on some leftover potatoes and sprinkling some chives on top. This one from Fool Proof Living is the real deal. It’s the only potato salad recipes you’ll ever need. the ultimate potato salad from fool proof living

• Buffalo cucumbers

One of my absolute favourite things to eat is buffalo wings with blue cheese dip. This gives me all the flavours of that, and I can pretend it’s a bit healthier for me (clearly the butter in the sauce means it isn’t, but cucumber is good for you right?)

Buffalo cucumbers

• Roasted vegetable couscous

My sister in law is Moroccan, so is a couscous purist. Even she likes this 😂 Any leftovers are great for lunchboxes too. Roasted veg and feta couscous

• Pasta salad

The list wouldn’t be complete without a pasta salad. In the past I was a bit of a one for chucking in a load of salad veg and slapping on some mayonnaise. I say in the past, the very recent past. I made that last week 😂 there’s nothing wrong with that, but this one uses an Italian dressing so it’s a bit lighter. Also, if I’m short of time I use dressing from a jar. If I’m not short of time, I still use dressing from a jar 😂 Italian potato salad

• Greek salad

This is my favourite recipe for Greek salad. It’s definitely one of my summer go to recipes, it works perfectly with grilled meat and it’s super easy. Greek salad

• Coleslaw

No BBQ would be complete without coleslaw. And once you’ve tasted homemade, You’ll never go back to buying that sloppy mess from the supermarket ever again. I particularly love it because I’ve got one of those mandolin slicer jobbies. However, as I’m really accident prone and have previously sliced the top off off one of my fingers, my husband won’t let me use it 😂 so if we want coleslaw, he has to do the slicing. You can of course just use a knife and slice it by hand, by he doesn’t know that so we’ll let him carry on. All I have to do is mix the dressing and pour it on. coleslaw

• Cobb salad

I love a cobb salad, it’s a meal in itself. All I do here is leave out the chicken, then it’s good to go with freshly griddled chicken breast. I buy the packs of cooked bacon to make it easier (so unlike me to cheat 😂) Cobb Salad

• Russian salad

I recently shared some pictures of my children’s party on Instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/nosuchthinguk/ if you want to follow me ) and this russian salad got a lot of attention. My sister in law makes it, and like everything else she makes, there’s no recipe written down, it’s just passed down through the family. However, having watched her a few times, the recipe I’ve found here is the closest to what she does. I leave out the beets and use mayonnaise from a jar. The most important thing seems to be to boil the potatoes whole, in their skins. It stops moisture going in apparently. Russian Salad

• Mexican corn

My kids love corn on the cob, and it features at every bbq we do. This recipe just adds a little extra something, although there’s nothing wrong with corn just griddled with a bit of butter. I put the corn on the bbq instead of boiling it so you get those little charred bits, but other than that, I do everything else the same. Mexican corn from My Fussy Easter

• Watermelon salad

This is a bit of an odd one, but trust me, it really works. I like it best on a really hot day (so maybe once a year in the uk) It’s so refreshing and works brilliantly with grilled chicken or fish. Watermelon salad

So there you have it, enough side dishes to get you through every BBQ this summer. If it ever stops bloody raining…