Nine Perfect Sides to Serve with BBQ Ribs

Our favorite barbeque ribs variety from southern classics like mac and cheese and collard veggies to lighter fare includes crunchy slaw and an unexpected fruity salad. Whatever you pick out to serve with your ribs, make sure to have masses of barbecue sauce—and napkins—reachable.

Ribs, whether or not toddler back or spare (and whether or not grilled, smoked, or baked within the oven), are the kind of element that demand total absorption: eyes down, both fingers getting messy from all the aforementioned BBQ sauce, not coming up for air until that bone’s picked smooth when you do come up for air, although, you want something scrumptious to eat earlier than tackling the subsequent rib inside the pile: Behold, nine of our faves.

1. Slow-Cooker Collard Greens

Collards are frequently cooked with smoked ham hocks, but smoked turkey drumsticks are a notable replacement and yield more meat than ham hocks. Cleaning and trimming five kilos of veggies is the hardest part of this recipe. After that, it’s smooth. Get our Slow Cooker Collard Greens recipe.

2. Classic Macaroni and Cheese

What’s first-rate about this recipe is its versatility. It works fantastically as both a creamy stovetop dish with any mix-ins you want and as a crunchy baked mac ‘n’ cheese sprinkled with panko breadcrumbs. Get our Classic Macaroni and Cheese recipe.

BBQ Ribs

3. Herbed Potato Salad

The tangy herbed dressing (a shallot-and-Dijon vinaigrette with parsley, tarragon, and dill) cuts thru the richness of BBQ ribs like a knife. Get our Herbed Potato Salad recipe. (And find out which potatoes to use for potato salad too.)

4. Crispy Corn Fritters

By using any other name, Hush dogs do taste like candy—as those summertime corn fritters show so well. Fresh kernels off the cob are folded into cornmeal batter with cayenne and scallions, then fried crisp and golden brown (however fluffy and tender interior). Drag them through the BBQ sauce for your plate for a swoon-worthy chunk. Get our Crispy Corn Fritters recipe.

5. Baked Cheese Grits

For something simpler but just as gratifying, brief-cooking grits combine with milk, sharp cheddar cheese, warm sauce, and eggs, then bake in a casserole dish that can move directly onto the table. When the corn’s in season, try folding a few fresh kernels into this dish, too, for pops of juicy sweetness. Get our Baked Cheese Grits recipe.

6. Corn with Basil Butter and Flaky Salt

Grilled corn at the cob is exceptional as-is, but generously unfold this herbed butter on top and sprinkle with flaky sea salt for an easy yet sophisticated dish that clearly epitomizes summer. Get our Corn with Basil Butter and Flaky Salt recipe. (Or, in case you go along with an Asian-inspired fish fry sauce in your ribs, strive our Mirin and Soy Sauce Grilled Corn recipe on the facet.)

7. Corn and Tomato Coleslaw

Green cabbage, clean corn (a habitual topic for a top motive), tart tomatillos, and cherry tomatoes: the ideal summer season coleslaw recipe. A lime, garlic, and mustard dressing finish it off in conjunction with a sprinkling of chopped cilantro. Get our Corn and Tomato Coleslaw recipe. (And if you like more spice, try our Lime and Jalapeño Coleslaw recipe.)

8. Spicy Jicama, Grapefruit, and Mango Salad

Out of the container, for sure, however, this tart, cooling, crisp, and clean salad is the correct go-with for rich beef and multi-layered BBQ sauce. Try it, and you may start a new summer season grilling way of life. Get our Spicy Jicama, Grapefruit, and Mango Salad recipe.

9. Jalapeño-Corn-Beer Bread

Cornbread is the right foil for the richness and complexity of a stack of bones, but this highly spiced shortbread with pickled jalapeños is an interesting cornbread alternative. It has a dense texture that’s first-rate for dipping in BBQ sauce. Get our Jalapeño-Corn-Beer Bread recipe.

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