If you've spent any time around my kitchen, you already know I believe the sides are what people remember most. Sure, the brisket gets all the attention, but it's the smoked mac and cheese, baked beans, pasta salads, and easy BBQ side dishes that everyone keeps going back for.
Over the years, I've tested these recipes during backyard cookouts, summer dinners, holiday weekends, and long afternoons with the Traeger running in the Texas heat. I always come back to the same kind of recipes: simple ingredients, big flavor, and sides that can hold their own next to whatever's on the grill.
Whether you need easy cookout side dishes, Traeger side dishes, smoker recipes for a BBQ party, or fresh summer sides to bring to a potluck, these are the recipes I'd save first. They're dependable, crowd-friendly, and the kind of dishes people ask about before they leave.
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how To Choose The Right BBQ Side Dish
If you're serving rich mains like brisket or ribs, pair them with something fresh like coleslaw or potato salad. If the main dish is lighter, go for a heartier side like smoked mac and cheese or baked beans. For parties, I like to mix one creamy side, one fresh side, and one warm side so there's something for everyone.
1. Smoked Mac And Cheese
Smoked Mac and Cheese is the side dish that earns its spot at every single cookout - and this version skips the Velveeta in favor of cottage cheese, which somehow makes it even creamier and sneaks in extra protein without sacrificing any of that gooey, melty center. The smoker gives it just the right crust on the outside while keeping everything rich and luscious inside, and the flavor is on a completely different level than anything you'd pull out of a box. Make it ahead, slide it on the smoker, and watch it disappear faster than whatever's on the grill.
2. Traeger Baked Beans
Traeger Baked Beans might just be the side dish that steals the whole show - and once you've had beans slow-smoked on a pellet grill, you'll never go back to the canned stuff. The smoker does all the heavy lifting here, coaxing out a deep, rich, savory flavor that you genuinely can't replicate any other way. Minimal prep, a few hours of smoke, and you've got a pot of beans that'll be scraped clean before the brisket even makes it to the table.
3. High Protein Pasta Salad
Pasta salad is a BBQ spread staple, but this High Protein Pasta Salad takes it somewhere way more interesting. Chicken, ham, chickpeas, and a Greek yogurt dressing pack in serious protein without any of those "healthy swap" vibes - it tastes like the classic you grew up with, just better. Make it ahead of time, and it's one less thing to think about while you're managing the smoker.
4. Turkish Potato Salad
If you've never brought a mayo-free potato salad to a cookout, this Turkish Potato Salad is about to change your whole approach. Tender potatoes dressed in olive oil, lemon, fresh herbs, and sumac - that bright, citrusy spice that makes everything taste more alive - it's light enough to hold up in the heat without a second thought. Thirty minutes, no mayo, and flavors bold enough to hold their own next to whatever's coming off the smoker.
5. Elote Pasta Salad
Elote Pasta Salad is basically everything I love about street corn - that bold chili-lime kick, creamy dressing, fire-roasted corn - turned into a make-ahead side you can scoop onto every plate without the mess. The dressing uses avocado oil mayo and full-fat Greek yogurt instead of the usual heavy stuff, so it's still incredibly creamy but made with real ingredients you can actually feel good about. Make it the night before, pull it out of the fridge when the brisket's resting, and watch it disappear.
6. Smoked Zucchini
Smoked Zucchini is the kind of side that proves you don't need much to make something really good - just a drizzle of oil, a sprinkle of seasoning, and about 45 minutes at the tail end of whatever's already on the smoker. The pellet grill does the heavy lifting, turning fresh zucchini into something buttery, tender, and lightly charred with just enough smoke to make it feel intentional. If your garden's overflowing this summer, this is exactly where those zucchini should be going.
7. Dairy-Free Coleslaw
Dairy Free Coleslaw might sound simple, but this is the recipe that finally converted a self-proclaimed coleslaw skeptic - and if it won over a southern father-in-law, it can win over anyone at your table. It comes together in just 5 minutes with a handful of ingredients, and the result is creamy, crunchy, and anything but the bland, boring slaw you've probably pushed to the side of your plate before. It's the kind of no-fuss side that pairs perfectly with pulled pork, holds up on a crowded cookout table, and somehow always gets more compliments than you'd expect.
8. Potato Salad With Spring Onions
Potato Salad With Spring Onions is the kind of side that quietly becomes everyone's favorite thing on the table - fresh, flavorful, and nothing like the heavy, bland versions that usually show up at cookouts. Spring onions do a lot of work here, bringing a brightness that cuts right through the richness you'd expect from a classic potato salad. It's a make-ahead dream too, which means one less thing to worry about while you're managing the smoker.
9. Smashed Potato Salad
Smashed Potato Salad is what happens when crispy smashed potatoes and classic potato salad collide - and the result is genuinely better than either one on its own. The potatoes get golden and crunchy on the outside while staying creamy in the middle, then get tossed in a tangy, herb-packed dressing that keeps things light without skimping on flavor. It comes together in 30 minutes and hits the table warm, which means it's one of those sides that disappears while people are still figuring out where to sit.
10. Smoked Green Beans
Smoked Green Beans are proof that the smoker can completely transform even the most overlooked vegetable on the table - and this recipe does it with just frozen green beans, onion, avocado oil, and sea salt. The low-and-slow cook pulls out the natural sweetness while layering on that bold, wood-fired flavor you usually only get with the main course. It's the kind of side that cooks right alongside whatever else you've got on the Traeger, takes almost no effort, and genuinely surprises people who thought they didn't care about green beans.
Whether you're planning a summer cookout, feeding friends on the patio, or just trying to round out dinner with something better than chips, these easy BBQ side dishes have you covered. Save this list for your next grill night and come back whenever you need a dependable side that actually gets eaten.
FAQs
Some of the most popular BBQ side dishes include potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, pasta salad, mac and cheese, grilled vegetables, and fresh summer salads. A good mix of creamy, fresh, and hearty sides gives everyone something to enjoy.
Pasta salad, potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, and dips are all great make-ahead options. Many of them taste even better after the flavors have had time to come together in the fridge.
For a small cookout, 3 side dishes are usually enough. For larger gatherings, plan 4 to 6 options depending on the number of guests and whether the meal is buffet-style.
Smoked brisket pairs well with mac and cheese, baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, pasta salad, and fresh vegetable sides. Something creamy plus something bright usually works best with rich BBQ meats.
Smokers are great for more than just meat. You can cook mac and cheese, baked beans, potatoes, green beans, zucchini, queso, casseroles, and even some desserts.
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