Easy BBQ Side Dishes to try!

Who doesn’t love a BBQ? Not just the sausages but those tasty BBQ sides too? As you may have seen on my Instagram last week, we just had a mid-week BBQ. My friend Patrick came to stay for a few days and the weather was due to be nice so we thought why not? We’ve been house-sitting for Dave’s folks while they’re away. We’re loving spending time with the cats (who now live here) and also making use of the garden.  Living in a city centre flat with no outside space, I hadn’t realised just how much I was missing it!


I’ve always loved a good BBQ (see a previous post here), and casual eating alfresco with friends. It shouldn’t be stressful; for the meaty element, we usually go with some pre-made high-quality burgers or sausages – in this case, sweet cider, sage & mustard porkies from the glorious Gloucester Services.

When it comes to your BBQ sides, move away from packet mixed coleslaw and bagged salad and try something bit more exciting. It doesn’t have to be anything hard or time-consuming and lots of it can be made ahead of time. Here are my suggestions, all measured up for four people:

Tomato and Mozzarella Salad 

  • Quarter 1 large juicy salad tomato
  • Rip up a ball of mozzarella
  • Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil
  • Season with freshly picked thyme, sea salt & black pepper.

Veggie Kebabs

  • Thickly slice red onion, courgette & peppers
  • Thread them onto metal skewers with whole chestnut mushrooms
  • Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with peri peri spice mix (we like the Aldi version) 
  • Cook on the BBQ for around 15 mins until the onion is cooked through and the peppers are showing charred bits.

Potato Salad

  • Boil 500g (1 small bag) of jersey royal new potatoes for 10 minutes (until they slip off a knife)
  • Drain and pour into a large bowl
  • Mix in 2 finely sliced spring onions & 1/2 a small red onion
  • Season with snipped chives, sea salt & black pepper.
Cheese stuffed romano peppers

Stuffed Romano Peppers

  • Cut the ends off 2 long romano peppers and slice in half, removing the inside seeds and membrane.
  • Mix garlic & herb cream cheese with 2 finely sliced spring onions & black pepper
  • Stuff the pepper halves with the cream cheese and wrap in foil
  • Cook on the BBQ for five mins until the peppers have softened, then remove them from foil and place straight onto the grill bars to blacken on the outside for a few minutes.

Chilli Halloumi

The king of BBQ sides right?? Because everyone loves halloumi, be a bit naughty and go for two packets.

  • Thickly slice two packs of halloumi
  • Put into a bowl with 2 tbsp tomato ketchup, 2 tbsp soy sauce and 1 finely diced red chilli (seeds removed)
  • Gently mix and leave to marinate for up to 1 hour.
  • Cook straight on the BBQ grill bars and turn after a couple of minutes. Once both sides are charred, take off and eat immediately!

marinated chilli halloumi bbq side

Once you’ve done your prep and your friends have arrived, all that’s left is to get the Pimms loaded up with mint, cucumber, lemons and oranges, sit back on your deck chair and enjoy. After all, a BBQ is the one occasion when everyone wants to help with the cooking! Make your BBQ sides as impressive as the main elements and enjoy.

Want some more inspiration? Try these additional BBQ sides from some of my favourite food bloggers:

0 Comments

  1. Wow, what a spread – thanks for all the ideas Alex, these look amazing!! Love Jersey Royals in a potato salad – I'm from Jersey and my Dad grows them – they are SO good when eaten just a few hours old! Your chilli halloumi looks awesome too. Yum!

  2. Ooooh you're making me so hungry! Why is it not lunch time yet?! Also super jealous of you enjoying the summer weather and having a BBQ. Can't wait until we have a garden all to ourselves and can BBQ again. In the meantime I'll have to whip up some of these side dishes when I go to other people's BBQs 🙂

  3. Great dishes! They all sound easy and delicious. 🙂 I've never heard of halloumi before, though. I'll have to keep my eyes open for it!

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