What To Serve With BBQ Ribs – 37 Delicious Side Dishes

What should you serve with BBQ ribs? The best sides are classic cookout favorites like potato salad, coleslaw, baked beans, corn on the cob and pasta salad, along with fresh salads and easy vegetable sides.

When ribs are the star of the meal, I like to choose 2–3 simple sides with different flavors and textures. Pair something creamy or hearty with something fresh and crunchy, add your favorite homemade BBQ sauce and you’ve got an easy summer meal that feels complete without creating a ton of extra work.

What to Serve With BBQ Ribs

Potato Sides

1. Potato salad
2. Homemade potato chips
3. Sweet potato fries
4. Twice baked potatoes
5. Loaded baked potato rounds
6. Roasted sweet potatoes
7. Feta mashed potatoes

Salads and Fresh Sides

8. Coleslaw
9. Chopped salad
10. Pasta salad with sun-dried tomatoes
11. Fruit salad with lemon pudding mix
12. Broccoli salad
13. Edamame corn salad
14. Black bean salad
15. Cucumber salad
16. Deli macaroni salad
17. Caprese pasta salad

Classic BBQ Sides

18. Crockpot baked beans
19. Corn on the cob (cook from frozen)
20. Slow cooker mac and cheese
21. Cornbread
22. Hush puppies
23. Deviled eggs
24. Biscuits
25. Sweet dinner rolls

Vegetable Sides

26. Roasted Brussels sprouts
27. Instant Pot green beans
28. Grilled vegetables
29. Roasted broccoli
30. Instant Pot creamed corn
31. Baked asparagus
32. Zucchini fritters

Easy Extras

33. Chips and salsa
34. Refrigerator sweet pickles
35. Jalapeño poppers
36. Onion rings
37. Veggie tray with dip

How to Build a BBQ Ribs Menu

For an easy summer meal, choose 2–3 sides from different categories to serve with your ribs. I like pairing a hearty side such as potato salad, baked beans or mac and cheese with something fresh like coleslaw, chopped salad or fruit salad.

For a bigger gathering, add corn on the cob, dinner rolls or a simple appetizer to round out the spread. Don’t overthink it! Ribs are the star, so the sides can stay simple.