If you’re wondering what to serve with your potato salad, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, I list 45 of the most popular side dishes for potato salad.
In a rush? Here’s the short answer.
The best dishes to serve with potato salad are BBQ ribs, cowboy beans, grilled sirloin steak, and parmesan crusted fish. You can also serve gumbo, grilled hot dogs, hot pastrami sandwiches, or schnitzel. For meatless options, try halloumi kebabs or herbed chickpea burgers.
Ready? Let’s jump right in.
Great flavor pairings for potato salad
Potato salad is creamy and tangy with slightly sweet undertones from the mayo dressing.
It pairs well with:
- Meaty, savory flavors – potato salad is a popular accompaniment for meaty dishes because its creaminess and tang cuts through their salty, savory notes.
- Zesty flavors – adding some heat to your potato salad adds depth to its creaminess and helps offset the richness from the mayo dressing. Try incorporating bold spices like cumin and paprika.
- Fresh flavors – fresh additions like herbs, cucumbers, and lemon brightens the flavor of your potato salad and prevents it from getting too heavy.
Cookout classics
A cookout isn’t complete without potato salad!
I always serve it alongside sticky BBQ ribs, but it’s also great with grilled sausages and burgers.
BBQ ribs
You can’t have a cookout without these sticky BBQ ribs!
This barbecue staple involves baking seasoned ribs in apple juice, then grilling and basting them with barbecue sauce.
The result? Fall-off-the-bone tender ribs slathered with a sticky, finger-licking good sauce.
Pair these ribs with your potato salad to enjoy a classic combination of sweet, savory, and creamy goodness.
Why we love this recipe: these won’t last long.
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Sticky BBQ ribs
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Grandma’s country-style pork and beans
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Asian baked pork ribs
Vinegar coleslaw
Looking for another side dish to go with your potato salad?
You can’t go wrong with vinegar slaw!
It’s light, crisp, and brimming with bright, tangy flavors – just what you need between the bites of your creamy potato salad and meaty main.
Psst… for more convenience, use a pre-packaged coleslaw mix for this dish.
Why we love this recipe: this slaw is even better the next day.
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Vinegar coleslaw
Make it refreshing
Cucumber jicama slaw
Change the flavor
Cilantro lime slaw
Grilled sirloin steak
Grilling is my favorite way to cook steak – it isn’t the most convenient, but you just don’t get that delightful char and smoky flavor with any other cooking method.
Any cut of steak can be grilled, but my go-to is top sirloin.
It won’t break the bank, plus it has a prominent beefy flavor, so a touch of seasoning is all you need.
Why we love this recipe: it’s a highly detailed guide on perfectly cooking steak on the grill. No more burnt-to-a-crisp steaks!
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Grilled sirloin steak with Cajun butter
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Grilled tomahawk steak with chimichurri compound butter
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Marinated grilled hot dogs
Just like with steak and chicken, marinating is one of the best ways to boost your hot dogs’ flavor.
This recipe goes for a sweet, salty, and tangy combo, with Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and mustard in the marinade.
Pro-tip: cut slits on top of your hotdogs so the marinade can seep through.
Serve these jazzed-up hot dogs with warm buns and a creamy potato salad on the side.
Why we love this recipe: your guests will be queuing for seconds of these marinated ‘dogs.
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Marinated grilled hot dogs
Make it different
Grilled beer brats
Make it vegan-friendly
Vegan carrot dogs
Cowboy beans
Got a can of ready-to-eat baked beans?
Transform them into delicious cowboy beans with the help of ground beef and bacon!
They infuse your baked beans with a smoky, savory flavor that’ll leave you wanting more.
These cowboy beans are excellent as a side dish, but you can also treat them as a main and serve them with your potato salad.
Why we love this recipe: leftovers can be frozen for up to six months.
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Cowboy beans
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BBQ vegetarian baked beans
Add a fruity note
Apple butter bourbon baked beans
Spiced corn ribs
Try these corn ribs if you’re looking for another side dish to pair with your potato salad at a cookout.
They’re like corn on the cob, except the cob’s been cut into quarters, making it easier and less messy to eat.
The great thing about these treats is you can season them with any herbs and spices you want – this recipe opts for an elote-inspired seasoning.
Why we love this recipe: it’s a fun and trendy way to serve freshly grilled or roasted corn.
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Spiced corn ribs
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Mexican street corn salad (esquites)
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Grilled corn on the cob
Main dishes
Potato salad isn’t just for BBQ parties, it’s also an excellent accompaniment to any protein dish if you want something extra hearty.
Take inspiration from Southern cuisine and serve it with crispy buttermilk chicken or a piping hot bowl of gumbo.
You can also shake things up and serve it with a meaty sandwich for lunch.
Parmesan rosemary-crusted fish
Potato salads can get pretty calorific, so if you want to indulge responsibly, enjoy your starchy salad with a light crusted fish filet.
Take your favorite white fish (any variety will do), dip it in whisked eggs, then coat it in the seasoned panko and parmesan mixture.
As the fish fries, the coating crisps up, giving you a crunchy bite to contrast your potato salad’s tender textures.
Why we love this recipe: it’s elegant enough for a quick date night dinner.
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Parmesan rosemary-crusted fish
Keep it simple
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Make it Southern-inspired
Southern fried catfish
Sourdough hot pastrami sandwich
Potato salads aren’t just good with meaty main dishes – they’re a fabulous accompaniment for sandwiches. Enter this hot pastrami sandwich.
The creaminess of your spud salad is great for balancing out the smoky pastrami, sweet Swiss cheese, and tangy mustard.
A quick heads up, though – you might need a nap after this meal.
Why we love this recipe: it tastes exactly like what you’d get at your local deli.
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Sourdough hot pastrami sandwich
Make it Italian-inspired
Hot Italian sub sliders
Make it BBQ-style
Pulled pork sandwich
Oven-fried Nashville hot chicken
With this recipe, you won’t need to plan a trip to Nashville to taste their infamous fiery chicken.
As the name suggests, this dish is HOT – thanks to that fiery glaze and hot sauce-laced buttermilk marinade.
Pickles are usually served as a side to cool things down, but I like going all in with a cold potato salad.
Why we love this recipe: it’s baked but has a delightfully crisp bite. Same crunchy goodness without the guilt.
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Oven-fried Nashville hot chicken
Make it plant-based
Nashville hot tofu nuggets
Fire up the grill
Grilled spicy BBQ chicken thighs
New Orleans gumbo
Gumbo is traditionally served with rice, but potato salad is an excellent option too.
This pairing is quite controversial, but when you think it over, it’s a combination that makes sense.
Your potato salad’s creamy, slightly tangy flavor is just what you need in between bites of your rich, savory gumbo. Especially if you like a spicy gumbo.
Why we love this recipe: it’s super authentic and boasts a massive 4.90 rating from 657 readers.
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Authentic New Orleans gumbo
Skip the seafood
Cajun chicken and sausage gumbo
Make another favorite
Crawfish etouffee
Veal schnitzel
Take some tasty inspiration from Eastern European cuisine and whip up veal schnitzel for a quick meal.
This dish involves breading and coating thin meat cutlets, then frying them until golden and crunchy.
Veal schnitzel is usually served with a German-style potato salad, but I won’t tell if you go for the classic mayo-based version instead!
Why we love this recipe: you can also use it to make chicken or pork schnitzel.
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Veal schnitzel
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Tonkatsu
Meatless options
Don’t let all the meat-eaters have the fun!
Enjoy your dairy-free potato salad with a side of saucy vegan meatballs or a herby chickpea burger.
It’s also great with a slice of lentil loaf for the ultimate comfort meal.
Herbed chickpea burgers
Whether you’re a fully-fledged vegan or looking to try something meat-free, these chickpea burgers are the way to go.
They’re super healthy and full of flavor, thanks to the abundance of fresh herbs in the patties.
And the best part? These patties won’t fall apart, thanks to their thoroughly tested binder (this is an issue with a lot of plant based patties).
Why we love this recipe: these patties are great for prepping ahead.
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Herbed chickpea burgers
Another vegan option
Portobello mushroom burger
Make it meaty
Smash burger
Halloumi kebabs
These halloumi kebabs are the perfect meatless main dish to serve alongside potato salad.
The veggies and halloumi pieces are soaked in a lemon and parsley marinade for at least 30 minutes before being threaded into skewers and grilled.
This gives them a bright, zesty flavor with a subtle smokey note to contrast your creamy potato salad.
Why we love this recipe: they’re low-carb, gluten-free, and naturally vegetarian.
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Halloumi kebabs
Keep it simple
Balsamic garlic grilled mushroom skewers
Make it meaty
Steak kebabs
Teriyaki tempeh meatballs
These faux meatballs are a must-try for everyone.
They won’t taste exactly like a traditional beef meatballs, but they’re moist, tender, and brimming with garlicky, sweet-savory goodness.
Pro tip: remember to mash the tempeh until it has a super fine texture so your ‘meatballs’ won’t fall apart!
Enjoy them alongside a creamy potato salad for a satisfying meal.
Why we love this recipe: each serving has over 30 g of protein.
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Teriyaki tempeh meatballs
Skip the teriyaki
Vegan BBQ meatballs
Skip the tempeh
Mushroom meatballs
Vegan lentil loaf
Most people shy away from vegan meatloaves because they tend to be mushy, but not this recipe!
It still uses lentils, but the trick is to drain the lentils well and to avoid over blending them to yield a perfectly “meaty” texture.
Yummy Mummy Kitchen uses pre-cooked lentils to save time, but you can also start from scratch – just remember to use black or brown lentils!
Why we love this recipe: it’s just as good as the traditional meatloaf.
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Vegan lentil loaf
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Chickpea meatloaf
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The best side dishes for potato salad
- BBQ ribs
- Vinegar coleslaw
- Grilled sirloin steak
- Marinated grilled hot dogs
- Cowboy beans
- Spiced corn ribs
- Parmesan rosemary-crusted fish
- Sourdough hot pastrami sandwich
- Oven-fried Nashville hot chicken
- New Orleans gumbo
- Veal schnitzel
- Herbed chickpea burgers
- Halloumi kebabs
- Teriyaki tempeh meatballs
- Vegan lentil loaf
What To Serve With Potato Salad – Marinated Grilled Hotdogs
Ingredients
- 8 hotdogs
- 8 hot dog buns
- ½ cup chili sauce
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ tbsp mustard
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp pepper
Instructions
- Make cuts at an angle on each hotdogs, about ½ inch apart. Don't cut all the way down. The cuts should appear as rounded half circles.
- In a bowl, combine the chili sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.
- Transfer the mixture into a large ziplock bag and add the hotdogs. Let them marinate for about 20 minutes or overnight.
- Grill the hotdogs for about 4-5 minutes. The cuts should have open up and the hotdogs should have a light char.
- Assemble with the buns and serve immediately.
