From refreshing salads to easy dips, these 20 easy and delicious summer side dishes are perfect for any outdoor gathering or BBQ.
Summer cooking is all about keeping things simple, light, and fresh. This collection of 20 easy and delicious summer sides is designed for just that. You are looking at minimal time in the kitchen and maximum enjoyment in the sunshine. Many of these summer recipes are no-cook or require very little prep, so you can spend less time over a hot stove and more time relaxing with friends and family.
These dishes are our go-to for a reason. They’re vibrant, flavorful, and pair really well with all your favorite summer mains, from classic burgers and juicy grilled chicken to veggie burgers, brats, hot dogs, and ribs.
20 Summer Sides We Make on Repeat
Scroll down for all 20 recipes. To get to each recipe, click on the link below the photos (or the photos themselves) for the full recipe. Happy cooking! You can also see all of our side dish recipes here!
Fresh Peach Burrata Salad
Packed with flavor and texture, this peach burrata salad has become my number one summer salad! It’s perfect for a light summer meal or as a fresh, summery side dish.
Since peaches came into season this year, I’ve been making this fresh peach salad on repeat. You know I love our salad recipes, but this peach and burrata salad has quickly become the salad of the summer, to the point where I’m begging you to stop what you are doing and get fresh peaches right now so you can make it!
Recipe: Fresh Peach Burrata Salad
Easy Chickpea Salad
I can’t get enough of this easy chickpea salad with lemon juice and dill. I’ve been making this delicious salad with chickpeas for years and fall in love all over again every time I do.
Thanks to the dill and lemon vinaigrette, this chickpea salad has the most delicious Mediterranean vibe. It’s super fresh, incredibly flavorful, and perfectly filling as a healthy, speedy lunch or dinner (thanks to those hearty chickpeas!). Perfect for a summer picnic!
Recipe: Easy Chickpea Salad
Easy Napa Cabbage Salad
Since sharing it, we’ve been making this Napa cabbage salad on repeat. It’s remarkably tasty for how easy it is to throw together, and the sesame in the dressing will have you going back for more!
I’ve fallen so hard for this cabbage salad, and I think you will, too. I’m always on the hunt for super simple, quick-to-prepare sides, and this Napa cabbage salad with garlic and sesame is hitting it out of the park. For more of a classic summer cabbage recipe, see our favorite creamy coleslaw.
Recipe: Easy Napa Cabbage Salad
Quick Tomato Salad with Mozzarella
This is my favorite tomato salad recipe! Simply seasoned tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and olive oil. It doesn’t get much simpler than this fresh salad. I could eat this salad almost every day, especially when juicy summer tomatoes are in season! Use cherry tomatoes or larger tomatoes, cut into pieces.
Recipe: Quick Tomato Salad with Mozzarella
The Best Caprese Salad
Caprese salad with tomatoes, salt, mozzarella, and basil is a summer classic for a reason. This is truly one of my favorite recipes on Inspired Taste. It might also be the simplest.
I know I’m not the only one who gets weak at the knees at the sight of fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. This authentic caprese salad, or “Insalata Caprese” as it’s known in Italy, is a classic summer dish that never disappoints. This salad is quick. All you need is about 15 minutes, and it’s ready to eat.
Recipe: Caprese Salad
Fresh Corn Salad
This is the most flavorful corn salad I’ve ever made! It’s incredibly simple to prepare yet tastes amazing. I love the sweet crunch of the corn with the tangy lime juice and briny feta cheese. This salad is perfect for barbecues!
You’ll use fresh, raw corn to make it, which makes it quick and simple to prepare. Plus, the fresh corn stays crisp and sweet in the salad. It’s seriously delicious. I’ve served this salad to friends on a few occasions, and everyone is always amazed at how good it is. I also love this corn and black bean salad.
Recipe: The Best Corn Salad
Green Bean Potato Salad
Briny Kalamata olives and a vinegar feta cheese dressing make this potato salad with green beans extra delicious. It’s perfect as a side dish or top it with some protein like grilled chicken or grilled halloumi cheese for a main meal.
Recipe: Green Bean Potato Salad
Easy Cucumber Salad
Here’s an unbelievably simple cucumber salad recipe that I genuinely can’t stop eating. The simple vinegar dressing is perfect with thinly sliced, crisp cucumbers!
The secret to my favorite cucumber salad is salting the cucumbers for 30 minutes before tossing them with our dressing. Cucumbers have a lot of water, and my salting step makes sure that your cucumber salad stays crisp and never soggy. No watery bowls of cucumber salad for you here!
Recipe: Easy Cucumber Salad
Easy Creamy Potato Salad
This is hands down our family’s favorite potato salad recipe, and for good reason! It’s incredibly easy to make, uses simple ingredients, and features a classic three-ingredient mayo dressing that’s so good you’ll be licking the bowl clean.
We’ve been making this classic potato salad recipe for years, and honestly, I haven’t found anything that beats its perfect balance of creaminess and flavor. We love this dressing so much that we even use it for our more herby red potato salad!
Recipe: Easy Creamy Potato Salad
Strawberry Fruit Salad
For my strawberry fruit salad, we toss strawberries and red fruit in a 2-ingredient dressing made with orange juice and a bit of sugar. This fruit salad is simple, gorgeous, and tastes incredible.
Strawberries and other red fruit come together for what might be the prettiest fruit salad ever. I love this as a snack, summer side dish, or dessert. When feeling feisty, I love making a batch of whipped cream or this vegan whipped cream to serve alongside it.
Recipe: Strawberry Fruit Salad
Perfect Guacamole
My family swears by this guacamole recipe! The best, most authentic guacamole starts with fresh ingredients and a few simple tricks that guarantee perfect texture and flavor. All you need are avocados, onion, cilantro, lime, tomato, and salt. It’s so simple, and so good!
I’m not kidding when I say this homemade guacamole recipe does not last long in my house. The whole family loves it so much my teenage niece has even made it her special dish for years (and that’s how you know it’s good!). An absolute classic for cookouts! Don’t forget the homemade tortilla chips!
Recipe: Perfect Guacamole
Quick and Easy Pasta Salad
I’ve made this fresh, easy pasta salad recipe so many times I’ve lost count. It’s so flavorful thanks to fresh veggies (like zucchini), olives, fresh herbs, mozzarella, and a peppy homemade dressing. You’ll love it!
My favorite pasta salad is ready in under 20 minutes. Better yet, it actually gets better over time, making this a perfect make-ahead salad for cookouts, picnics, and summer gatherings.
Recipe: Quick and Easy Pasta Salad
Watermelon Feta Salad
My watermelon feta salad is light and fresh with an almost addictive salty-sweet combination of flavors. The moment you see how easy it is to make, you’ll make it all summer long.
When watermelons are at their peak in the summer, my family loves to buy as many as we can eat. Besides enjoying juicy watermelon wedges, we also love turning them into a refreshing salad with feta cheese and fresh parsley!
Recipe: Watermelon Salad
Broccoli Salad
We love this easy broccoli salad recipe with crisp broccoli, smoky bacon, and a tangy, creamy dressing. It’s quick to make, simple, and outrageously delicious!
This broccoli salad recipe started with a faint memory of something my Mom would make when I was a child: raw broccoli, red onion, a mayo-based dressing, and bacon. I wasn’t the biggest fan of vegetables back then, but I remember loving her broccoli salad. For a slaw-style salad, try our easy broccoli slaw.
Recipe: Easy Broccoli Salad
Easy Couscous Salad
We’ve been obsessed with this easy couscous salad for years! It’s truly one of our all-time favorite recipes. Everyone loves the simple lemon dressing, crisp veggies, and fresh dill!
Try this recipe once, and I think you’ll be as obsessed with it as we are. The dressing for this couscous salad is SO GOOD that I use it all the time (see it used in our chickpea salad and this arugula couscous salad).
Recipe: Easy Couscous Salad
Easy Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
Learn how to make the easiest, most delicious jalapeño poppers! With my recipe, you’ll have perfect, bacon-wrapped poppers in no time. Make an extra batch because these fly off the plate!
These bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers are shockingly good. I’ll take a few of these over the store-bought fried poppers sold in grocery stores any day! Thin bacon is the secret to these incredible cream cheese stuffed poppers. Its fat renders down into the filling and over the peppers. So good!
Recipe: Easy Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers
Roasted Tomatoes with Ricotta and Mint
These roasted tomatoes with ricotta are perfect when served as a summer appetizer or on the side to other summer dishes. As they roast in the oven, the tomatoes release their juices, which taste incredible with creamy ricotta cheese.
This is the kind of summer recipe we LOVE — easy, fast, and perfect to serve to friends or family. Start with a big oven-safe dish — assume this will be the same dish you’ll serve the tomatoes in, so if you have a pretty one, use it.
Recipe: Roasted Tomatoes with Ricotta and Mint
Tomato Basil Stuffed Peppers
My family has been making a version of these vegetarian stuffed peppers for years! You will fill bell pepper halves with a simple but delicious combination of tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and basil, then roast until tender and sweet. They are incredible!
These easy stuffed peppers, bursting with juicy tomatoes, sweet garlic, and fresh basil, are perfect for a light, fresh, healthy meal. Just make sure you have something to soak up all the lovely, garlicky juices left inside each pepper (some goat cheese sprinkled over each pepper is a good idea, too). I always serve these with bread (try a country loaf or homemade focaccia bread).
Recipe: Tomato Basil Stuffed Peppers
Cajun Butter Corn
My family loves this buttery Cajun corn so much! We cook the corn in foil packets, guaranteeing the corn stays tender and juicy. Use the grill or oven!
Take full advantage of corn season with this incredibly tasty Cajun corn on the cob made with outrageously delicious Cajun butter. Once corn season hits, we jump at the chance to make this corn recipe. It’s easy and fast, and you can use the same Cajun butter to make other recipes like this Cajun shrimp!
Recipe: Cajun Butter Corn
Perfect Baked Mac and Cheese
Our family’s favorite baked mac and cheese recipe has the perfect sauce-to-pasta ratio, guaranteeing a creamy center, all topped with a layer of golden, bubbling cheese. This is the macaroni and cheese recipe we come back to again and again!
Mounds of cheese melted into a velvety, creamy sauce and tossed with pasta. Yes, please! This incredible baked mac and cheese is high on my favorites list. I love the easy cheese sauce! Serve this alongside summer potluck favorites like slow cooker pulled pork, smash burgers, and grilled wings!
Recipe: Baked Mac and Cheese
And, there you have it. 20 easy and delicious summer side dishes our family can’t stop making. Happy cooking!
