Chattavore

What I ate, plate by plate.

8 Great Cold Side Dishes to Take to a Cookout

Whether you’re celebrating a summer holiday with friends or just planning a quiet night of outdoor dining with the family, you can never have too many cold side dishes! Here are eight of my favorite cold sides that you can make ahead for a cookout!

a photo collage showing cold side dishes, including deviled eggs, tortellini pasta salad, macaroni salad, and loaded baked potato salad

Cookouts are all about grilling, but who wants to go to a cookout and just eat grilled meat and chips? Okay, I am sure that there are some people. I was one of those people until I discovered that pasta salad doesn’t have to come out of a box. Having a selection of delicious cold side dishes to take to a cookout at your disposal is always a good thing. The best thing about these sides is that they can be made ahead, sometimes even a day or two, so you don’t have to rush around making them. I like to make cold sides to pack in my lunch as well. What are your favorite cold sides?

Potato Salad

I don’t really love potato salad. I never really have. I’ll eat it if it’s being served, but I never make it. Except this potato salad.

Loaded Baked Potato Salad
Loaded with bacon, cheese, green onions, and sour cream, this loaded baked potato salad is a crowd-pleaser that will make the mayo-haters in your crowd happy!
Check out this recipe

Pasta Salad

I used to think that pasta salad meant Suddenly Salad or the goopy stuff you tend to find on restaurant salad bars. My mom never served pasta salad when I was a kid and they did not appeal to me. When I started making my own, I discovered that a lightly dressed pasta salad with tons of flavorful ingredients could really hit the spot!

Tortellini Pasta Salad
This pasta salad combines all of your favorite Italian sub ingredients with a tangy vinaigrette and cheesy tortellini. SO delicious and it doubles as a main dish!
Check out this recipe
Classic Macaroni Salad
My grandmother’s classic macaroni salad is loaded with cheese, pickles, celery, and peppers in a classic, creamy dressing.
Check out this recipe
This classic macaroni salad is another treasure from my grandmother's collection. It's easy and just a little different from the norm.
BLT Pasta Salad
BLT pasta salad is exactly what it sounds like: bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes tossed with pasta and a creamy dressing. It’s perfect as a side dish or a main dish!
Check out this recipe
Chattavore.com | BLT pasta salad is a BLT sandwich in a bowl!

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli salad is one of my faves…I love to make it as a side but also just to pack in my lunch. Even with a creamy dressing, it’s pretty healthy!

Honey-Sesame Broccoli Salad
This isn’t your classic broccoli salad, but it is every bit as delicious!
Check out this recipe
Honey-sesame broccoli salad is a delicious and light side dish for your picnic, weeknight dinner, or your lunchbox! | chattavore.com
Classic Broccoli Salad
This IS the classic broccoli salad. It’s full of ALL the good stuff: bacon, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, dried cranberries, and pickled red onions, tossed with a creamy dressing. Can’t go wrong with the classic!
Check out this recipe
broccoli salad // chattavore

Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs can be a real crowd pleaser! The classics are always great, but you can’t go wrong when you add some unexpected flavors, either. I make deviled eggs even easier by cooking my eggs in the Instant Pot, which results in perfect, falling off the egg shells!

Classic Deviled Eggs
You can pack these deviled eggs on ice to avoid any spoilage. They’re so good, though, that they won’t be around for long!
Check out this recipe
Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs
What could be more southern than a deviled egg stuffed with pimento cheese? These are so yummy and so easy! Buy good pimento cheese at the store to make them even easier.
Check out this recipe
pimento cheese deviled eggs

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

Loaded baked potato salad is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: potato salad with all the ingredients of a loaded baked potato. It’s easy, delicious, and it’s great for the mayo or traditional potato salad haters in your life!

a close up picture of a small bowl of loaded baked potato salad with a larger bowl in the background
I have always, repeat always hated potato salad. In fact, I pretty much boycott all side dishes that routinely come alongside barbecue: potato salad, baked beans, and coleslaw. We had barbecue for our rehearsal dinner when we got married back in 2001, and I gave my mother-in-law specific instructions to buy chips because I did not eat barbecue sides.

I’ve softened a little…I’ll occasionally put a spoonful of sweet bacony beans on my plate at a cookout, and I’ve learned to like good slaw on top of my barbecue sandwich or tacos. I’ve really never learned to like traditional potato salad, though.

I don’t know what it is about it. I like all the ingredients…potatoes, mayonnaise, mustard, relish, eggs…but something about combining them all then chilling them just weirds me out. I’ve tried, but it turns out that regular old potato salad is just one of those “uh-uh” foods for me.

One of my friends mentioned to me once a while back that a barbecue joint (now closed) that was near my house served “baked potato salad”. For some reason I first thought that baked potato salad was some sort of salad featuring lettuce and a baked potato (what a weird thing to think, right?). I was wrong.
an overhead picture of a bowl of ingredients for loaded baked potato salad that have not been mixed
Baked potato salad (or loaded baked potato salad is potato salad with all the toppings that you’d put on a regular loaded baked potato:

  • sour cream
  • cheese
  • bacon
  • green onions

I prefer firmer, less starchy red potatoes to the Russets that are traditional for baking, and, well, I don’t actually bake the potatoes. The name’s not about the cooking method, it’s about the dish that this mimics.

This potato salad is great for the people at your picnic, cookout, or party who don’t like mayonnaise (and I know a lot of those people!). You can buy baked potato salad at some grocery stores, but this is so simple that you won’t bother with spending $4.00 on a teeny little tub with a bunch of ingredients that you can’t pronounce.
an overhead picture of a bowl of loaded baked potato salad
I can tell you that loaded baked potato salad has not only changed my mind about potato salad, but it’s changed the minds of a lot of people I know also disliked potato salad! Do you have a favorite potato salad recipe?

This is a great side dish for your 4th of July festivities! Make this loaded baked potato salad and see if it changes your mind (or someone else’s) about potato salad!

Shared on The Weekend Potluck on Served Up With Love and Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite!
a small bowl of loaded baked potato salad with a larger bowl of loaded baked potato salad in the background

Recipe Image

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch chunks
  • salt
  • 4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
  • 4 strips bacon, cooked until crisp and chopped
  • 3-4 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2-3/4 cup sour cream
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Place the potatoes in a 4-6 quart pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Liberally salt the water. Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain and leave in colander until cool and water is completely drained away,
  2. Place the drained potatoes in a large bowl and add the cheese, bacon, green onions, and 1/2 cup of sour cream. Mix to thoroughly combine. Add remaining sour cream if the potato salad is too dry. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Chill the potato salad until ready to serve.

Notes

Prep time does not include time to allow potatoes to drain and cool.

Tags

Occasions
Cookout
Allergy
gluten free
egg free
soy free
wheat free
peanut free
seafood free
treenut free
sesame free
mustard free

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https://chattavore.com/loaded-baked-potato-salad/

Tortellini Pasta Salad

What’s better than cheesy tortellini with fresh antipasto ingredients? These tortellini pasta salad has all of those components in one bowl. It’s perfect as a main dish or as a side to serve at your next picnic or cookout!

An overhead picture of a small bowl of tortellini pasta salad with a larger bowl of tortellini pasta salad in the background

Pasta salad used to be one of those foods that I just did not like. I honestly don’t know what it was about them, unless it was the fact that to me, pasta was something that should be served hot. Also, my mom really never made pasta salad so most of my experience with pasta salad was creamy pasta salads on salad bars that had so much mayo that you could not distinguish their individual ingredients.
a large bowl with unmixed ingredients for tortellini pasta salad and a small jar of vinaigrette in the background
As an adult, I’ve discovered a love for pasta salads, though. It could be the fact that they are ridiculously easy to make. It could also be the fact that they are ridiculously easy to serve. I mean, what’s not to love about a cold salad that you just grab from the fridge and dish from the bowl?

Make It How You Want It

The other clear advantage to pasta salads is their adaptability. The pasta salads of my youth were mostly “macaroni salads” (including my grandmother’s macaroni salad, which I honestly do not remember her making but it is delicious). However, pasta salads are definitely NOT limited to macaroni, nor are they limited to only creamy dressings.

My personal favorite pasta salad is the BLT pasta salad that I make that was inspired by a menu item at Southern Star. A friend of mine makes a fantastic bacon ranch pasta salad. And then there is this tortellini pasta salad…

Inspired By Antipasto Ingredients

A few years back I discovered a chopped salad on Smitten Kitchen that was inspired by the ingredients of an Italian sub, one of Philip’s very favorite sandwiches. The salad was hearty and did not disappoint. Every time I buy the ingredients I will eat the salad for at least a week. 
an overhead picture of a large bowl of tortellini pasta salad
I wanted to make something along the lines of that salad but with pasta instead. A tortellini pasta salad seemed to fit the bill because I❤tortellini. I mean, cheesy stuffed pasta, right?

This antipasto tortellini pasta salad is infinitely adaptable. I’m not Italian, but as I was researching antipasto ingredients it certainly seemed like there were few rules. You can use what you have on hand and it is definitely going to be delicious.
a small bowl of tortellini pasta salad with a larger bowl of tortellini pasta salad in the background
I used salami, pepperoni, mini bocconcini (mozzarella balls), sun-dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, a sprinkle of basil, and a tart vinaigrette. Roasted red peppers, chickpeas, prosciutto, marinated mushrooms…there are lots of delicious things you could toss in there. Just let it chill in the fridge for a bit and you have a perfect tortellini pasta salad!

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Plate!
a close-up picture of a bowl of tortellini pasta salad with a larger bowl of tortellini pasta salad in the background

Recipe Image

Ingredients

    For the dressing
  • 2 tablespoons red wine, white wine, or sherry vinegar
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 tablespoon ground black pepper
    • For the pasta salad
  • 9-10 ounces refrigerated cheese tortellini, cooked according to package directions (one regular sized package or 1/2 of a large package)
  • 1/2 cup julienned or diced salami
  • 1/2 cup julienned or diced pepperoni
  • 2 canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
  • 1/4 cup kalamata olives, diced
  • 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned or diced
  • 4 ounces mozzarella pearls, diced bocconcini, or diced fresh mozzarella
  • 1/4 cup julienned fresh basil
  • salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Whisk the vinaigrette ingredients together in a small bowl or shake together in a small jar.
  2. Rinse the cooked tortellini with cold water and allow it to stand until cooled, shaking the colander occasionally to drain the water away.
  3. Combine the cooked tortellini in a large bowl with the remaining ingredients. Pour the vinaigrette over and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The salad will keep covered in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
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https://chattavore.com/tortellini-pasta-salad/

Easy Caesar Dressing (No-Egg Recipe) + Video

This easy Caesar dressing is easy to make in your blender or food processor and requires no eggs, so it lasts a long time. And it’s SO tasty! Scroll down for video.
This easy caesar dressing is easy to make in your blender or food processor and requires no eggs, so it lasts a long time. And it's SO tasty! | recipe from Chattavore.com

Essentially, Caesar salad came into my life when Philip Haymaker came into my life.  Well, when he came into my life full-time, anyway (since we knew each other for four years before we started dating).

I remember what he ordered on our first date: angel hair pasta with tomato-basil sauce and a Caesar salad.  That was on a Tuesday night.  We went out again on Friday…I don’t remember what entrée he ordered, but I remember this: he ordered a Caesar salad. And almost ever restaurant salad that he has ordered in the last fourteen and a half (!) years has been the same.

I don’t mean to imply that I had never encountered (or eaten) a Caesar salad before that first date.  I recall a Caesar salad at a Red Lobster in California when I was visiting my aunt the summer before eighth grade.  I also remember telling my mom about it and her saying, “Do you like Caesar salad?” in a shocked sort of way.  It’s just that my family didn’t eat too many Caesar salads back then….most of our salads were of the iceberg variety, with tomatoes and maybe some green peppers or avocado mixed in, usually with a creamy ranch or blue cheese dressing.  It’s actually funny to think about that now because my mom and my sister are pretty much completely enamored with Caesar salad these days and the four of us threaten each other with steak knives to see who’s going to get the last of the salad (not really but almost).

Caesar dressing is an enigma of sorts and there are all types of stories about what Caesar salad is supposed to be.  You know what I say? Caesar salad is supposed to be good.  I don’t think when Caesar Cardini threw together the first Caesar salad in his Tijuana hotel kitchen that he swore then and there under his breath to seek revenge on anyone that dared to change the recipe.

So here’s how it goes…you can put eggs in….or leave them out.  You can use anchovies, or maybe you prefer paste (I do) or maybe you’d rather just use Worcestershire sauce (which contains anchovies)?  Okay.  Maybe you like your cheese shredded, or maybe you like it grated.  Whatevs.  Do you like to rub the bowl with garlic or do you like to crush the garlic into your dressing?  Have it your way.  Would you rather make a pourable dressing or would you rather assemble the salad in the bowl then make the dressing right there on the lettuce (as I did in this post)?  The world is your oyster.

I’ve been doing it that way for a while: lettuce in the bowl, then egg yolks, garlic, cheese, lemon juice/vinegar, olive oil, and cheese plus croutons.  I like it that way….but here’s what I don’t like: one-day salad. Make that one-hour salad.  We all know that once you dress lettuce it’s done for….so I was happy when my aunt gave me her easy Caesar dressing recipe (which I used to have before the blog but lost).  It doesn’t contain eggs so it’s got a relatively long shelf-life (I’ve kept it for up to four days in my fridge) and it emulsifies beautifully if you blend it just fast enough, and you just use what you need.

As you can see, this is not a very “traditional” salad I’ve photographed for you here….I didn’t have bread to make croutons so I crushed up some Stacy’s Simply Naked pita chips.  They were perfect.  And while I prefer shredded cheese on my salads because it coats the leaves oh so perfectly, cheese (Grana Padano in this case but usually Parmigiano Reggiano) shaved with a vegetable peeler makes a nicer visual impact for photos.  My easy Caesar dressing pairs perfectly with this fresh salad.

This easy Caesar dressing is quick enough that you can keep it in the fridge all the time. Which you’ll want to do.
This easy caesar dressing is easy to make in your blender or food processor and requires no eggs, so it lasts a long time. And it's SO tasty! | recipe from Chattavore.com

Recipe Image

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon anchovy paste (or 3-4 flat or rolled anchovy fillets)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 2/3 cups neutral-flavored oil (I use grapeseed, but canola, safflower, or vegetable oil will work as well)
  • salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions

  1. Press the garlic through a garlic press or grate on a Microplane or fine grater. Place in a food processor or blender or a container you can fit your immersion blender into (like my homemade mayonnaise, a pint-sized Mason jar works well here) along with all of the other ingredients except the oil and vinegar.
  2. Mix well, carefully breaking up/mashing the anchovy fillets if you are using them.
  3. Add the oil and vinegar and blend on the highest speed that your machine allows until completely smooth and emulsified. Use a leaf of the lettuce you will be using to make your salad to taste; adjust seasonings. Store in the refrigerator.
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https://chattavore.com/easy-caesar-dressing/

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Plate.
This easy caesar dressing is easy to make in your blender or food processor and requires no eggs, so it lasts a long time. And it's SO tasty! | recipe from Chattavore.com

Classic Macaroni Salad + Video

This classic macaroni salad is another treasure from my grandmother’s collection. It’s easy and just a little different from the norm.

This classic macaroni salad is another treasure from my grandmother's collection. It's easy and just a little different from the norm.

I’ve written a lot over the last three years about my grandparents and their influence on me-just overall as well as on my cooking. My grandmother had many signature dishes (like this strawberry pie and this breakfast casserole) and I grew up watching her cook dinner nearly every night (we ate at their house more nights than not because my mom didn’t get home from work until dinnertime).

The strange thing is that there are lots of things that other people mention that my grandmother was known for of which I have no recollection, like tomatoes and artichokes, chicken stuffed with shrimp (now that’s a decadent dish!), and this classic macaroni salad. I guess they’re just things that I didn’t really eat as a kid, but it still seems strange to me that I don’t remember them.
This classic macaroni salad is another treasure from my grandmother's collection. It's easy and just a little different from the norm.
My grandmother passed away when I was fourteen and when my grandfather passed away when I was twenty-one I got my grandmother’s recipe books and a recipe card file that belonged to my great-grandmother. I remember going through them and not recognizing too many of the recipes…but over the years people have mentioned recipes to me and asked if I had a copy of them. I had my grandmother’s bright orange recipe book on my shelf but never could seem to find the recipes that people asked about.

The strangest thing happened in May. Philip had to clean out the basement closet (because we had too have a termite treatment-ick!) and pulled out a box of “stuff” that had been there since we moved in 2002. I figured it was a bunch of junk that we didn’t want anymore (and some of it was) but I found some dishes of my grandparents’….and the recipe book. And the card file. Recipes people had been asking about? There they were. Treasure. I nearly cried. But instead…I’m going to share those recipes with you. This classic macaroni salad is up first.
This classic macaroni salad is another treasure from my grandmother's collection. It's easy and just a little different from the norm.
For many years I wouldn’t touch pasta salad with a ten-foot pole. Languishing on salad bars it always looked heavy and a little greasy and made me cringe. When a friend brought a tortellini and balsamic pasta salad to a work potluck I changed my perspective on pasta salads but still had trouble finding a recipe that I loved to make. This is it. I’ve scaled the recipe down from my grandmother’s (sixteen servings!!!) and pickled the onions. The dill pickles and the cheddar cheese add a little flair to the salad, and the sour cream, mayo, and mashed egg yolk dressing is just a little unexpected.

Add this classic macaroni salad to your repertoire. Trust me. My grandmother knew what she was doing.

Shared on The Weekend Potluck on Served Up With Love.

This classic macaroni salad is another treasure from my grandmother's collection. It's easy and just a little different from the norm.

Recipe Image

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup white wine vinegar
  • ½ small onion, finely diced
  • 5 ounces small shell or elbow pasta
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs
  • ½ teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/3 cup cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • ½ teaspoon garlic salt
  • ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
  • 1 Kosher pickle or 4 gherkin dills, diced
  • 4 ounces cheddar cheese, diced
  • 1 stalk celery, cleaned and diced
  • ½ bell pepper (any color), diced

Instructions

  1. Place the onion in a bowl and cover with the vinegar. Refrigerate until you are ready to mix the pasta salad-at least 30 minutes.
  2. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside until cool.
  3. Remove the yolks from the hard-boiled eggs (save the whites for another use, or have a snack). Mash the yolks. Combine the mashed yolks, mayonnaise, sour cream, dry mustard, and seasoned salt.
  4. Place the cooled pasta into a large bowl and add the pickles, cheese, celery, and bell pepper. Drain the onion and add to the bowl. Pour the dressing over and mix to combine. Adjust seasonings. Chill until ready to serve.
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https://chattavore.com/classic-macaroni-salad/

This classic macaroni salad is another treasure from my grandmother's collection. It's easy and just a little different from the norm.