26 Best Soul Food Cookout Side Dishes
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What’s a cookout without a side?
Bland.
And what are good soul food sides?
So many soul food meals include side dishes like soul food collard greens, Southern greens beans, Black folks baked macaroni and cheese, black-eyed peas, or candied yams.
What are soul food cookout sides?
From Labor Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, or Juneteenth.
If the soul food cookout is about the main course, then the soul food cookout side dishes are about enhancing the main dish flavors!
What you choose for a side dish depends on the type of meal you’re having. For example, If you’re having a soul food cookout or BBQ, you’ll want soul food cookout side dishes that balance the heat of spicy or grilled meat.
If you’re grilling up a rack of ribs, serve some baked beans to go with it. If you’re grilling a tender pork belly, pair it with a delicious bowl of macaroni salad.
Making the perfect side dish is an art form, and choosing the right soul food cookout sides will help you master the art of side dishes.
Getting ready to fire up the grill?
When summer is here, Americans kick off the season by barbecuing ’til they burst!
It’s all about the grill, the grill, the grill!
Who doesn’t look forward to the smell of summer – the scent of grilled meat with beautiful fresh fruit and vegetables. You can taste the outdoor freshness in a summer meal!
You’re here because you’re ready to fire up your grill! But what’ll it be?
This summer cookout food list and Black BBQ menu will guide you to the best soul food cookout side dishes and cookout recipes to create the most memorable backyard BBQ!
What are good sides to bring to a cookout?
People often ask, what sides go with hamburgers and hot dogs at a cookout? Start with these most common soul food cookout side dishes:
- Black cookout potato salad
- Soul food baked beans
- Black folks coleslaw
- Soul food macaroni salad
- Tomato watermelon salad
- Southern corn salad
- Southern pasta salad with Italian dressing
- Soul food deviled eggs
- Soul food collard greens
- Black folks baked macaroni and cheese
- Grilled corn on the cob
- Soul food homemade cornbread
- Southern fried cabbage
26 best soul food cookout side dishes to make
Short on time and looking for a quick recipe for your next cookout?
This menu of delicious cookout soul food sides consists of warm and savory recipes that will complement a variety of meats from beef, pork, chicken, and seafood courses.
Need easy grilling ideas?
How do you make gravy from scratch?
Use water and the broth from the red kidney beans.
These soul food cookout side dishes will enhance the main course rather than detract from it. While also satisfying hungry guests with a hearty meal.
And since we eat with our eyes first, these summer soul food cookout sides offer a beautiful spread and presentation of colorful fruit, veggies, and pasta!
Soul food cookout drinks
Soul food cookout desserts
What is a good finger food?
Finger food at a cookout? We call that popsicles!
Why buy expensive popsicles when you can just make your own?
Soul food cookout side dishes FAQs
What is Black culture food?
Soul foods are an African American food culture of hearty homecooked meals that you can point out by dishes with plenty of seasoning and rich with flavor!
What is soul food?
Soul food is a legacy of African American cooking.
What is the meaning of soul food?
Soul food is a unique stand-out style of cooking, best known for its heavy use of root vegetables and savory meats full of fantastic flavor created by tried-and-true mixtures of herbs, spices, and seasonings.
Why is it called soul food?
It’s called soul food because of the Southern hospitality and heart-centric feeling cooked into every dish. An attribute akin to only Black people and how we cook, fashion, and create with style and swag.
You know – the favor! Affectionately termed soul food.
What is the most popular soul food?
Many different types of soul food dishes are well-known and commonly consumed worldwide, as soul food is a perfect combination of various aromas and flavors.
One of the most popular soul foods is collard greens and cornbread. Other soul foods include black-eyed peas, hoppin’ john, and chitterlings.
What is the most popular food to put on the grill?
The question should be – what’s not popular to put on a grill?
Because people grill everything! Not just meats. But also fruits and vegetables. I’ve even grilled whole grabs and made homemade apple cider on my grill!
Whether it’s juicy steaks, cheesy hamburgers, spicy hot dogs, crunchy shrimp, or chicken kabobs.
While all of them are popular and delicious, there is nothing better than a seared steak on the grill!
Do you know why?
Because steak is a good source of protein and has no carbohydrates.
Grilled food is very healthy because the cooking method is through exposure to smoke and heat, so you consume a higher percentage of the nutrients in the food.
Grilled steak can be accompanied by a simple side of fresh green salad or maybe a juicy baked potato.
Why is food so important to Black culture?
In Black culture, food is integral to family and social life.
Why is it that eating brings us so much joy?
Food creates memories, traditions, and stories that can be passed down to future generations through recipes and cooking techniques.
A significant part of Black American history is the soul food recipes created by our ancestors that have shaped American food culture as a whole.
A compelling piece of our culture, Black cookouts and other social events continue to share Black history and our legacy through food.
What are some traditional African American foods?
Collard greens, cornbread, macaroni and cheese, chicken and dressing, candied yams, sweet potato pie, and banana pudding are just a few soul foods menu favorites.
What is the difference in Southern food and soul food?
Soul food often gets lost in translation and grouped in with Southern food.
While most soul food is Southern. Not all Southern food is soul food.
That’s why it’s important to distinguish when a recipe or dish is Black folks’ soul food – made the African-American way.
Hosting a big barbecue blowout?
Or maybe you’re going to one and need to know what you should bring to a Southern cookout?
What do you serve at a Southern BBQ?
The answer to this question depends on the region of the US you’re talking about.
It also depends on what kind of BBQ event.
If it’s a family event, the essentials are ribs, collards, potato salad, baked beans, chicken, cornbread, and corn on the cob.a
If it is a larger BBQ, you can include more delicacies such as a seafood boil, pig roast, Cajun food, BBQ chicken wings, and so on.
What is a BBQ without potato salad?
Simply bland. And definitely not a soul food cookout!
If you had a cookout without potato salad, did you really have a cookout?
Maybe you’re not familiar with Black cookout rules. But it’s important to point out the one mandatory main dish to show up at every potluck, party, and on every Black BBQ menu – The Black potato salad recipe!
What kind of potatoes are best for Southern potato salad?
Use waxy potatoes like russet or Yukon gold. They’re high in moisture and starch and have a floury and crunchy texture ideal for this recipe.
How long do you boil potatoes to make potato salad?
With an Instant Pot, close the lid and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes.
How do you make healthy coleslaw from scratch without mayo?
At what temperature do you cook soul food fried chicken?
The temperature to maintain the hot oil when deep-frying this Black folks’ soul food Southern fried chicken recipe is 350 degrees F.
What is the use of a deep fryer?
Deep fryers are a wonderful invention that can make your life so much easier!
You can quickly and easily use them indoors or outdoors to fry foods like Southern fried chicken in deep oils at high temperatures.
What is the secret to good fried chicken?
The answer is soul food Southern fried chicken. A recipe that Black folks created and perfected!
Do air fryers work for soul food Southern fried chicken?
The answer is yes, and you won’t believe how good and crispy chicken can taste when it’s made in an air fryer!
What fried fish do you prefer?
Whether fried catfish or fried flounder, both are acceptable choices for a soul food cookout!
Do you have to make collards with pork fat?
Not when you have the smoky flavor of turkey legs!
How did a traditional English country dish become one of the most beloved soul food recipes and Southern dishes?
Banana pudding has a Southern identity that stretches back over half a century.
Black Southern banana pudding is an elevated version of the Americanized English trifle. African-American cooks in the South reimagined this layered homemade custard dish to perfection!
What can you cook on a lazy Sunday?
Serve any dish from this list of recipes on a lazy Sunday, at brunch with your loved ones, or whip it up for a special date night.
How do you get your grits creamy?
For the creamiest soul food Southern grits, use the Instant Pot!
What can you make for a tailgate party or cookout in the fall?
How do you make a Southern comfort food chicken pot pie?
What are some good recipes for Memorial Day parties?
What is the most popular food for Memorial Day?
The answer is simple. Anything with BBQ!
Love easy Instant Pot recipes?
Try these soul food favorites in the pressure cooker!
(Pro tip: You can also use Instant Pot as a slow cooker!)
With so many African American recipes, which one will you try first?
Comment below and lemme know.
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Equipment
- Chef’s knife or food processor
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 4 cups green cabbage shredded
- 4 cups red cabbage shredded (same as purple cabbage)
- ½ cup carrots shredded
- ½ cup celery diced
- ½ cup onion diced
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon dill weed
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional for you – but we always include it!)
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2-3 sprigs thyme fresh
Instructions
- Use a chef’s knife or food processor to shred the cabbage and carrots. I like to coarsely shred the green cabbage and finely shred the red.
- Use the knife or food processor to dice the celery and onion.
- Add the shredded cabbage to a large bowl, and then add the carrots, celery, and onion.
- Next, sprinkle in the sugar, dill, thyme, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.
- Then add the mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar to the cabbage mixture.
- Stir and fold the ingredients into each other until thoroughly combined.
- Serve Black folks soul food Southern coleslaw right away, or for cold coleslaw, cover and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.
- Garnish with fresh sprigs of thyme, serve, and enjoy!