There’s a change within the air on Memorial Day. It marks the beginning of grilling season, the unofficial kickoff to summer season, and, in fact, the prospect to serve up the perfect Memorial Day facet dishes. Whether or not you’re firing up the grill, heading to a potluck, or internet hosting your entire household within the yard, you’ll need to plan a number of Memorial Day sides which might be simply as memorable because the mains. Assume traditional potato salads, crowd-pleasing baked beans, vivid seasonal veggies, and pasta salads that maintain up all afternoon.
Whether or not you are internet hosting or transporting your pre-made dish, this checklist is for you. We’ve rounded up 38 of our favourite Memorial Day sides to serve with burgers, ribs, sizzling canines, and extra. And should you want somewhat one thing for the grill too, don’t miss our favourite grilling recipes, Memorial Day recipe concepts (now we have greater than 50), and our information to the finest pasta salads to pair with absolutely anything. These straightforward sides for a crowd will make your lengthy weekend one to recollect.
1. Early Summer season Panzanella
Panzanella is, inherently, a summer season salad. In any case, it’s a canvas for in-season tomatoes and contemporary basil. This recipe emphasizes early summer season produce like garlic scapes, that are whirred right into a pesto marinade (a lot tastier than a splash of purple wine vinegar, IMO).
2. Prompt Pot Baked Beans With Bacon
Baked beans are a must-make facet dish for Memorial Day gatherings and summer season picnics. These do-it-yourself beans put the canned model to disgrace, however are practically as straightforward to arrange, due to the environment friendly Prompt Pot.
3. Summer season Farro Salad
I’m not saying that I’m metaphorically pushing pasta salad apart in favor of this nuttier, grainer, facet salad…however I’m not not saying that. As a result of farro is a small grain, it actually permits for bigger components like contemporary mozzarella, kalamata olives, and tomatoes to pop.
4. Grilled Eggplant & Peach Caprese Salad
You didn’t hear this from me however you don’t really want heirloom tomatoes to make a scrumptious Caprese salad. This one introduces two seasonal produce all-stars—peaches and eggplants—that are dressed up with the extra conventional fixings of mozzarella and basil.
5. Spicy Watermelon With Tomatoes, Prosciutto & Salted-Lime Yogurt
We stan a no-cook salad: this one is hearty sufficient to function the primary course due to a beneficiant portion of prosciutto, however you’ll be able to simply divide it up amongst a crowd as a Memorial Day facet dish.
6. Cacio e Pepe Panzanella With Corn & Burrata
Don’t inform the opposite Panzanella salad on the checklist however I like this one higher, due to the cacio e pepe croutons (you heard me) and creamy burrata cheese. Certain, contemporary corn isn’t fairly at its peak round Memorial Day, however it is going to be simply as scrumptious with fewer perky cobs.
7. Creamed Corn
Regardless of the identify, there’s truly no cream—or any dairy in any respect—on this “creamed” corn recipe. It will get its milky liquid from the corn liquid that’s scraped straight from the cob.
8. Grilled Romaine With Scorching Canine Crispies & Pickle-Mustard French dressing
Scorching canines clearly have to make an look at your Memorial Day picnic, however guess you by no means anticipated them to come back within the type of a facet dish and particularly in a salad.
9. Creamy Cucumber Salad
We’ve bought a lot of concepts for make-ahead facet dishes—this isn’t one among them. The character of cucumbers wearing a mixture of Greek yogurt and mayonnaise implies that they’ll get soggy shortly, so it’s finest to make simply earlier than serving with the intention to protect the crunch.
10. Grilled Zucchini With Large Beans, Kale & Mustard French dressing
This recipe makes use of a exceptional approach to make sure that the beans don’t separate from the dressing, leaving a far-from-enticing salad on the desk. “Enter: the Spanish approach, escabeche, wherein a heat ingredient cools in a tangy dressing, drawing taste into the middle of the ingredient because it comes down in temperature,” explains recipe developer Abraberens.
11. Garlicky Roasted Potato Salad
Out of all of the potato salad recipes on our website, our readers name this one their very favourite. There’s nonetheless somewhat mayonnaise and somewhat mustard, however there are additionally actually crispy spuds, which makes this Memorial Day facet dish that rather more interesting.
12. Pasta Salad
Everybody has their very own definitions of what does and doesn’t belong in a pasta salad so we paid consideration to the constant remarks: corkscrew-shaped pasta, olives, some aspect of greens, cured meat, and a tangy dressing.
13. Coleslaw
No Memorial Day picnic is full with out our highest coleslaw, which has “a restrained quantity of mayo, plus tangy Greek yogurt and tangier cider vinegar,” in line with recipe developer Josh Cohen.
14. Bread & Butter Salad With Dijon French dressing
The whole lot you like a couple of Parisian ham and cheese sandwich within the type of a crowd-friendly salad. It’s not precisely patriotic, nevertheless it’s too scrumptious to go up.
15. Marcy Ragan’s Grilled Panzanella Caprese
Panzanella, meet grilled cheese. Grilled cheese, met Caprese. These three dishes are so harmonious that we will’t imagine that is the primary time they’ve ever come collectively for a scrumptious summer season salad.
16. Sriracha-Lime Corn Salad
Contemporary corn on the cob is an emblem of summer season, so in fact we’re going to make use of it each which manner. Right here, contemporary corn kernels are sautéed with diced purple bell pepper; in the direction of the top of the cooking course of, Sriracha, chopped cilantro, Cotija cheese, and lime juice are folded in with the greens.
17. Do-it-yourself Potato Chips
If there aren’t potato chips at your Memorial Day picnic, I don’t need to be there.
18. Easy Oven-Roasted Corn on the Cob With Husks
Grill is somewhat crowded? This easy, mess-free approach transforms corn on the cob right into a candy facet dish with out taking on any valuable grill house.
19. Roasted & Uncooked Broccoli Salad With Creamy Miso Dressing
Each the crowns and stems of broccoli are utilized on this facet salad. If you happen to’re frightened about utilizing broccoli stems, peel the outer layer from them first—that exposes the extra tender a part of the stalk.
20. Grilled Tomatoes With Bracing French dressing
Grilling tomatoes looks as if a recipe for catastrophe however the reality is, should you simply grill them on one facet, it’s far much less possible that they’ll fully collapse by the grates.
21. Smoky Eggplant With Whipped Ricotta & Pistachios
It is a loosely outlined Memorial Day facet dish (that means that it may simply as simply be an appetizer or somebody’s lunch throughout the summer season), however the mixture of grilled eggplant and creamy ricotta is so scrumptious that nobody will query whether or not or to not eat it.
22. Maricel E. Presilla’s Cuban Avocado, Watercress & Pineapple Salad
Uncooked pineapple? Don’t know her. Broiled pineapple, nevertheless, is my new favourite sweet-smoky salad topping.
23. Garlickiest Garlic Bread
Nobody will complain after they spot a platter of garlic bread on a desk crammed with different Memorial Day mains and sides.
24. Michel Richard’s Glazed & Glistening Haricots Verts
Haricot verts are nonetheless in season round Memorial Day (however not for for much longer!) so take advantage of them. By cooking them in a mixture of rooster inventory, butter, and garlic, you’ll impart them with a lot taste.
25. Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi’s Fundamental Hummus
Hummus is so a lot better whenever you make it your self, nevertheless it’s at all times manner extra time-consuming. Ottolenghi and Tamimi share a fast trick for soaking the chickpeas shortly so you will get to dipping.
26. Watermelon Tomato Salad With Cumin & Fennel
Food52 founder Amanda Hesser loves serving this juicy salad as a facet dish and we will’t advocate it sufficient for Memorial Day.
27. Orzo With Blistered Inexperienced Beans, Burst Tomatoes & Feta
Our brightest pasta salad ever! We love how the pasta—on this case, orzo—takes a again seat to summer season greens like contemporary inexperienced beans and cherry tomatoes.
28. Cornbread
If there are burgers, ribs, and pulled pork round, there’s gotta be cornbread too. “Utilizing half cornmeal and half all-purpose flour, our recipe ensures corny taste with a lightweight, tender crumb,” writes recipe developer Emma Laperruque.
29. Totally Grilled Caesar Salad
Memorial Day is the unofficial begin of summer season, which implies that we’re grilling something and all the things in sight. Romaine hearts are brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt, and grilled till charred.
30. Grilled Peach & Apricot Salad
Don’t reserve stone fruit for dessert. Allow them to come to the occasion early with this savory salad that additionally invitations prosciutto, feta cheese, and kale.
31. The Chunkiest, Herbiest, Greenest Guacamole
If you happen to want your guacamole to have a chunky texture somewhat than an excellent clean one, you’ll love the style of this model. It has all of the traditional call-outs—avocado, cilantro, lime juice, and jalapeño peppers—plus tomatillos and a contact of garlic.
32. Absurdly Addictive Asparagus
One among our hottest recipes of all time, neighborhood member KayKay combines pancetta, garlic, pine nuts, and citrus to create a vivid, savory facet that pairs nicely with something grilled. Bonus: This comes collectively in beneath half-hour.
33. Grilled Chicory Salad With Chile-Fennel Dressing
Recipe developer Asha Loupy writes “One thing actually magical occurs whenever you grill chicories.” We particularly agree whenever you heed her recommendation and pair your freshly charred chicories with a dressing “bolstered by spicy serrano chiles, a hearty dose of garlic, and fragrant fennel seeds.”
34. Grilled Eggplant With Miso & Doenjang
Grilled eggplant lacquered in miso and doenjang belongs at your barbecue for 2 causes. One, its candy and savory notes make it the right counterpart for decent canines and sausages. Two, the subsequent day, you’ll be able to repurpose your leftovers right into a snackable eggplant dip by mixing them with tahini and olive oil.
35. Ignacio Mattos’ Grilled Favas
Charred, entire favas spiced by chili, brightened with lemon, and boosted with anchovy—these snackable, grilled beans are what you’ve at all times needed from a plate of Memorial Day sides.
36. Bitter Cream & Chive Smoked Herring Dip
Based on our Check Kitchen professional, Noah, this recipe is flexible and could be simply as scrumptious with one other canned, smoked, or flaked fish. This is among the best make-ahead sides as a result of it depends on canned fish and pantry staples.
37. Steakhouse Wedge Salad
This salad is impressed by a steakhouse traditional, however is straightforward sufficient to make at house. The key to actually impressing lies throughout the do-it-yourself Blue Cheese dressing recipe to go along with.
38. Burrata With Roasted Asparagus, Brown Butter & Hazelnuts
That is the kind of appetizer that look fancy, however comes collectively in little or no time and with little or no effort. If you do not have burrata, you might simply whip up some feta with somewhat greek yogurt for a similar impact.
Editor’s Be aware: This story was up to date in Could 2025 to incorporate much more scrumptious Memorial Day facet dishes
What are your go-to facet dishes to serve on Memorial Day?
