35 Delicious Summer Cookout Side Dishes {100% Crowdpleasers}

This salad is a delicious mix of orzo, chick peas, feta and summer vegetables! Perfect as a summer side dish!

Quinoa is my grain of choice lately, and this combination of avocados, mangos, peppers and a lime dressing, well...that sounds just amazing.

This is a hearty take on a pasta salad, made with tortellini, pepperoni, cheese cubes, and other summer vegetables! This is a side dish that is filling enough as a stand-alone dish!

This is such a fun spin on traditional macaroni salad. It's made with half and half, mayo, brown sugar, and apple cider vinegar. An absolutely delicious combination of flavors!

Couscous is another one of those forgotten grains that is so good! Here, it's mixed with spinach, tomatoes, and sweetened with a light orange dressing. Soooo good.

This is a pasta salad you might not want to share! Made with ground beef, veggies, creamy chipotle dressing and topped with tortilla chips and cheese, well, you probably don't even need the burgers and hot dogs.

Here's another variety of pasta salad that is sure to please. This one is made with sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, chickpeas, spinach, fresh mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. Wow. Just wow.

This shell pasta salad is served with basil, tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. Easy to put together and just delicious.

This delicious salad has summer squash and corn mixed with a chili-lime vinegarette, Cojita cheese, and cilantro. This is a unique and fantastic way to serve those vegetables.

You can't go wrong with a tomato and cucumber salad! This one is made with a tangy red wine vinaigrette that is sure to please!

Basil is one of my favorite summer flavors, and this salad mixes it with zucchini and tomatoes. It is made with a lemon vinaigrette that adds that citrus zest. So many flavorful ingredients!

If you are looking for another option for a green salad, this spinach salad is paired with strawberries and served with a strawberry balsamic vinaigrette. Outstanding.

I love this as a light option for a cookout! Much more fun than a standard garden salad, this easy salad with walnut and pears is simple to make and delicious to eat!

This one looks so fancy, but it's just so good and so easy to make! Fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, with a balsamic vinegarette is just amazing. Every time.

Chickpea salads are one of my favorite summertime dishes. Made with cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives, you can easily serve this dish with lots of flavor combinations!

This is a fantastic spin on a summer taco salad! All the crunch from Fritos mixed with corn, crunchy peppers, taco seasoning, and sour cream. This will definitely be a fan favorite!

Is there anything more American for a BBQ side than potato salad? This old-fashioned recipe is a stand-by favorite! Mayo free!

If your crowd includes those who are doing Whole30, paleo, or dairy-free, this is a fantastic alternative! Made with avocado and cashew yogurt as opposed to mayo, this will definitely wow the crowd, no matter what diet they eating these days!

What's a cookout with cole slaw? This is a unique spin on an old favorite with orzo, citrus dressing, almond slices, and dried cranberries!

This crunchy coleslaw is made with cabbage, carrots, apples and tossed in a sweet apple cider vinegar dressing. This is another mayo-free version which is great for an outdoor get-together!

Fruit salads are cool, refreshing side for a summer get-together. This recipe mixes apples, oranges, blueberries, bananas along with a coconut milk and Greek yogurt-based dressing. A lovely mixture of flavors!

Watermelon + mint + feta... there's so many amazing flavors here that compliment each other in such a unique way. Brilliant.

This tropical mix of flavors is perfect for a cookout. Fruit is an amazing side dish in the summer. /The recipe includes mangos, pineapples, papayas, and watermelon, mixed with lime juice and chili lime seasoning. Sooo good.

This mango peach salsa is a light and fruity alternative, as opposed to a salty choice, to serve with chips. You can even eat this one as is as a salad.

This is another fruity version of salsa that's made with pineapples! Mixed in lime juice, this is an absolutely delicious choice to go with chips or serve as a side!

I LOVE this one as a sweet side dish. Key lime is perfect for summer and just 5 ingredients later, here you go. Wonderful with graham crackers, pita chips or even fruit.

Please, PLEASE, do not forget the seven-layer dip or under-estimate its importance at a cookout! You can never, ever go wrong serving chips and dip. And this one, well, make sure you take your serving early.

This is a personal favorite, and I bring this to almost every summer get-together (or any time of year, actually). It works great as a side by itself, but you can also serve it with chips. A filling dish with black beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, avocado, red onions, cilantro, served with a lime balsamic vinegarette.

Here's another unique dip that your crew will love. This one is made with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, bacon, ham, and pineapple! Wow. Great combination of flavors!

This take corn up a few levels with mayo, queso fresco, lime juice and garlic. I love that combo for summer!

Grilled vegetable kabobs are an excellent side for a cookout! This is easily customized to your favorite veggies as well!

This is a nice change from a typical salad side dish. These beef sweet potato bites, made with an avocado cream topping, are surprisingly easy to make and feel more like an appetizer or even a meal in itself! I guarantee you'll have no leftovers.

Crockpot beans are a perfect side dish! This one is made with bacon, molasses, spices and so many other ingredients that take this one over the top.

This is a delicious side dish for any occasion and it's super easy to make. It's one of those throw-together dishes that is just perfect.

This is a flavorful version of black beans and rice that is a perfect accompaniment to any main dish for any occasion!