15 Summery Salads for a BBQ

Pair these easy salads—including red-and-green coleslaw, sesame-ginger chicken pasta salad and arugula salad with potatoes and green beans—with your favorite BBQ dish.

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Red-and-Green Coleslaw

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This classic coleslaw dressed with mayo and sour cream is excellent on its own or piled onto pulled pork, brisket or smoked-meat sandwiches.

Asian Coleslaw with Miso-Ginger Dressing

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Grilled Okra, Corn, and Tomato Salad

Victor Protasio

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This next-level summer salad turns heads with its punchy charred jalapeño–and-herb-spiked dressing and a palate-perking topping of toasted crunchy coriander and cumin seeds.

Watermelon and Charred-Tomato Salad

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Roasted Carrot and Red Quinoa Salad

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Anna Zepaltas grew up preparing tamales in her mother's Southern California kitchen, but she also loves Indian and Middle Eastern dishes. Cumin, coriander and cardamom punch up this salad, inspired by a favorite dish at Chloe's French Cafe in Santa Rosa, California.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

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Sesame–Ginger Chicken Pasta Salad

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This quick-prep, creamy, Asian-inspired pasta salad is a meal in itself or a great BBQ or picnic side dish.

Spicy Asian-Chicken-Salad Lettuce Cups

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Arugula Salad With Potatoes and Green Beans

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Use fingerling, Yellow Finn or Yukon Gold potatoes in this salad and toss them gently with the vinaigrette so they keep their shape.

Mixed Citrus and Arugula Salad

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Creamy Cucumber and Grilled Potato Salad

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"When I was a kid, my mom would marinate cucumbers, red onions and canned potatoes in jarred creamy Italian dressing," says Jamie Bissonnette. "I'm not saying she was a great cook, but creamy Italian dressing is still my favorite. I make a version of it for this salad."

Grilled Potato Salad with Mustard Seeds

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Green Bean Slaw

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In this salad, tender haricots verts get tossed with crunchy strips of carrot, red pepper and parsnip. When TV personality Rachael Ray (who is originally from upstate New York) visited the Beekman farm, Lee Woolver made a version of this salad with bacon, but it's just as delicious without.

Summer Bulgur and Green Bean Salad

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Macaroni Salad with Chorizo and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

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This macaroni salad can be served hot or cold, either way it is delicious.

Classic Macaroni Salad

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Corn, Basil, and Quinoa Salad

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This dairy-free and vegetarian salad serves as the perfect side or lunch.

Raw Corn and Radish Salad with Spicy Lime Dressing

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Two-Tone Potato Salad

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Pickled onions and cucumber relish add a tangy kick to Emilee Gettle's blue-and-gold potato salad. Because she and Jere Gettle don't eat eggs, they opt for vegan mayonnaise.

Potato, Snap Pea and Pickle Salad

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Grilled Squash, Corn and Kale Salad with Sunflower Seed Vinaigrette

Adrian Gaut

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The creamy sunflower seed dressing for this hearty summer salad is flavored with za'atar, the classic Middle Eastern spice mix that often includes thyme, oregano or marjoram, sesame seeds, tangy sumac and often salt.

Grilled Summer Squash with Blue Cheese and Pecans

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Classic Potato Salad

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Baby potatoes have a naturally sweet flavor and creamy texture that's delicious in this classic potato salad recipe. Make it as a simple side for your next backyard bbq or summer picnic.

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Greens Pasta Salad

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Justin Chapple set out to improve pasta salad, which is often bland, thick and laden with mayonnaise. Here, he dresses pasta with a tangy and creamy mix of buttermilk, vinegar and mayo, then mixes in plenty of greens to add a fresh, bright flavor. It’s the best pasta salad ever.

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Avocado-and-Cabbage Slaw

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When Suvir Saran’s mother tried this spicy, crunchy cabbage slaw at his restaurant Tapestry in New York City, she said, “Baba, this is the best chaat I’ve ever eaten!” While Saran didn’t intend to make over the traditional Indian snack, a dish with chickpeas, potatoes, yogurt and chutney, the crunch, spice and tang immediately elicit an iconic chaat. “There is nothing Indian about it, and yet, it’s entirely Indian,” says Saran.

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Collard Greens, Blue Potato, and Bacon Salad

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Kale isn't the only green that's delicious raw: The thinly sliced collard greens in this salad are a delicious vehicle for all the goodies tossed with them, including roasted blue potatoes, bacon, crumbled Stilton cheese, toasted walnuts and hard-boiled quail eggs. Hard-boiled chicken eggs that are cut into smaller pieces would be a fine substitute.

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15 Summery Salads for a BBQ

1 of 15

Red-and-Green Coleslaw

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Grilled Okra, Corn, and Tomato Salad

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Roasted Carrot and Red Quinoa Salad

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Sesame–Ginger Chicken Pasta Salad

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Arugula Salad With Potatoes and Green Beans

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Creamy Cucumber and Grilled Potato Salad

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Green Bean Slaw

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Macaroni Salad with Chorizo and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

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Corn, Basil, and Quinoa Salad

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Two-Tone Potato Salad

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Grilled Squash, Corn and Kale Salad with Sunflower Seed Vinaigrette

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Classic Potato Salad

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Greens Pasta Salad

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Avocado-and-Cabbage Slaw

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Collard Greens, Blue Potato, and Bacon Salad

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