Side Dish

From fresh salads to comforting casseroles, these side dish recipes help round out any meal with flavor, ease, and a Southern touch. Here you’ll find easy side dishes for weeknight dinners, holiday menus, cookouts, and family gatherings—plus trusted tips from my years in the kitchen to help you build a meal people will remember.

Reader Favorites Include: Crushed Potatoes With Ranch Dressing, Couscous Salad With Tomatoes And Feta, Air Fryer Roasted Carrots, and Southern Fried Squash.

Overhead view of creamy macaroni salad 9 in a glass bowl with wooden spoon, topped with fresh parsley, celery, and diced ham

Mom’s Macaroni Salad

Featured Reader Comment OMG, this was delicious! My husband is super picky about his macaroni salad (he only likes the...

Golden sour cream cornbread in glass baking dish with one square piece lifted on spatula, showing moist crumb texture

Sour Cream Cornbread

5 Star Featured Comment This is my new go to for cornbread! I made these for my family and they...

Potato salad scooped out of a bowl with a wooden spoon.

Southern Potato Salad

5 Star Reader Comment I always made it with chopped dill pickles — that's how my mama made it and...

Spoon lifting golden pineapple casserole with crushed cracker topping from glass baking dish

Easy Southern Pineapple Casserole

The Casserole Nobody Sees Coming I know pineapple casserole can raise an eyebrow if you’ve never had it before. Pineapple,...

Roasted asparagus topped with grated Parmesan cheese and lemon on a white plated.

Easy Oven Roasted Asparagus

A 15-Minute Side Dish Stunner Sometimes, simple is best. That’s definitely how I feel about asparagus. I think those beautiful...

Crispy bacon-topped green beans on white plate with fork, cp maple greenbeans 14 side dish recipe

Crock Pot Maple Bacon Green Beans

5 Star Reader Comment This is a really good recipe for green beans. My grandsons and granddaughter ask for these...

Oven roasted asparagus spears topped with crumbled feta cheese on a serving platter

Roasted Asparagus with Lemon, Panko and Feta

I’ll never make asparagus any other way! This recipe is absolutely delicious. It’s impressive yet easy enough for a family...

Creamy Southern baked cheese grits in a casserole dish with a golden cheesy top, a classic brunch side.

Cheese Grits Casserole

5 Star Reader Comment Even my relatives from up North absolutely LOVED this!!! Seconds for all. Will be served many...

Creamy mushroom rice casserole served in a bowl with a spoon

One Pot Mushroom Rice

5 Star Featured Comment Made a couple modifications using poultry seasoning and garlic powder for seasoning as I didn’t have...

Bowl of Black Eyed Peas served with corn bread muffins.

Black Eyed Peas: Easy 2-Way Guide (Instant Pot or Slow Cooker)

My Two Favorite Ways to Cook A Southern Classic Here in the South, we don’t treat black eyed peas like...

Creamy boursin cheese mashed potatoes in a serving bowl

Boursin Mashed Potatoes

How This Viral Recipe Won Me Over Every now and then, a recipe blows up on social media and makes...

stuffed sweet potatoes from Roasted Asparagus with Lemon, Panko and Feta

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

5 Star Reader Comment Oh my..these twice baked were delicious! My husband and the whole thing skin and all..Will be...

Wooden spoon serving crock pot creamed corn from a black crock pot.

Crock Pot Creamed Corn

5-Star Reader Comment "When ever I make one of your recipes I get rave reviews and this one did not...

Grape Salad in a white bowl with a handle.

Southern Grape Salad

5 Star Reader Comment INCREDIBLE!!! Made this for the family and it disappeared. This goes beyond anything else! Cheryl B....

Brown butter butternut squash topped with crackers and baked in a white rectangle baking dish served with a wooden spoon.

Brown Butter Butternut Squash Casserole

5-Star Reader Comment Very easy to make and delicious. New Thanksgiving side dish for sure. Thank you! Kathie My Kind...

Gray stock pot with mushroom soup and fresh thyme.

Healthy Mushroom Soup

5-Star Reader Comment This recipe produces an awesome soup with intense flavor. I love that it’s not a “cream of”...

Wooden spoon serving cheesy hash brown casserole.

Cheesy Hashbrown Potato Casserole: No Canned Soup

5-Star Reader Comment This is the perfect recipe! Made this and it’s delicious Melossa How I Learned That Fresh Beats...

Mediterranean pasta salad 5 with penne, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and feta cheese in a decorative white bowl on dark wood

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

5 Star Reader Comment This was absolutely delicious and easy!!! Your salad dressings are the best and this pasta salad...

Wooden spoon lifting creamy Cranberry Pecan Slaw from a wooden bowl, topped with shredded cabbage, dried cranberries, pecans, and green onio

Cranberry Pecan Slaw

5-Star Comment I made this recipe for my bookclub. I asked my husband to try it, and he wanted me...

Southern Fried Corn made in a cast iron skillet with butter, a little bacon grease, salt and pepper.

Southern Fried Corn Recipe

5-Star Reader Comment This recipe takes me way back to my childhood. My dad was a pastor at a small...

Slow Cooker Cheese Grits topped with sautéed yellow peppers and black pepper in a blue and white bowl

Slow Cooker Cheese Grits

When it comes to grits, I’m all about the cheese - it’s what turns this Southern staple into something rich...

Baked potatoes topped with sour cream cheese bacon bits and chives ontop of a nice blue plate.

Classic Southern Vegetable Dinners That Feel Like Home

Southern Vegetable Dinners That Feel Like Home aren’t just about what’s on the plate — they’re about the memories that...

Pineapple Cucumber Salad in wooden bowl with yellow pineapple chunks, green cucumber slices, red onion, fresh mint, and chili flakes

Pineapple Cucumber Salad

This salad is a staple in my house, and like any good Southern recipe, I keep the ingredients simple but...

Creamed squash and onions 10 in a white bowl with fresh parsley and black pepper garnish, served with a silver spoon

Southern Squash and Onions

Squash and Onions is a classic Southern dish that perfectly captures summer flavors. Tender yellow squash and sweet Vidalia onions...

Plate of golden fried squash with crispy edges and black pepper seasoning, served with creamy tan dipping sauce on white dish

Southern Fried Squash

All Southern recipes have my heart, but this one has a little piece of my soul, too! I learned how...

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