Memorial Day Side Dish Recipes

This is an easy, refreshing fruit salad that's been in our family for years. We usually reserve it for patriotic days, but it can be enjoyed all year long.

Doesn't matter if you use fresh corn or frozen, this recipe will make it the best corn you've ever eaten!

The dressing for this dish is made to use with crab, but I think the smoky grilled shrimp are a great summertime twist. Make the dressing ahead of time and chill it before you adjust the seasonings.

No bacon, no fruit, no seeds: this broccoli salad, adapted from a recipe in a newspaper clipping from 1980, combines potato salad flavors--hard-cooked eggs, dill, celery seed, mayo--with crisp fresh broccoli.

This is a favorite at potlucks and barbeques! I've often wondered if I get invited for my company or my Cola Beans! I've tried several different brands of colas, but have found that Coke® works best. I like to pre-cook the bacon about half-way so it doesn't make the beans too greasy, but it's not necessary. This recipe can also be baked in a conventional oven at 350 degrees F for about 1 hour.

An antipasto is a cold platter of meat, cheese, and vegetables which is served at the start of a meal before the pasta and other courses, but to save some time, I thought we'd add the pasta right into the antipasto to turn into a complete meal all by itself. You could serve this as a side dish, but with a hunk of crusty bread and a glass of wine, I'm not sure what else you'd need. Top with more parsley before serving.

I have kept this recipe a ranch secret, but I have decided to share it. This is my variation of a French classic garlic potato salad. It is different than the dish that inspired it, but very good and easy as well.

Best coleslaw ever! Great for grilling just about anything!

Oh, such a summertime taste. This easy-to-prepare slaw was given to me by a neighbor who said a little lady from her church gave it to her! A refreshing and delightful change for slaws. Tastes delicious after allowing to marinate for several hours. Enjoy!

Garden veggies with fusilli pasta, Italian Parsley, Genoa salami and creamy Italian dressing makes for a pasta salad that will be a favorite at your next picnic or pot-luck.

This is a wonderful summer side dish. Allow the flavors to marinate together overnight for even better results.

This Italian pasta salad is great to make for lunches or as a dinner on a summer night.

A nice twist to your standard shrimp salad. I made this recipe when I had tons of dill in my garden and needed something to do with it. Enjoy!

A delicious salad with a sweet and tangy dressing.

When people think of coleslaw, they think of that bowl of soggy, shredded cabbage sitting at the end of the picnic table. This is a completely different approach; a fresh-shredded cabbage prepared as a fast (12 seconds adding ingredients, 30 seconds to mix), crisp, low-cal, low-carb, slightly spicy, and delicious side dish that you should be eating as part of your regular veggie side-dish rotation. Serve immediately after mixing.

This is my favorite summer salad to take to picnics and makes the best of summer-time vegetables. Add chopped grilled chicken and take it from a hearty salad into an entree.

Are you sick of all the too sweet sweet potato recipes? This salad is hearty enough for a main dish but is not loaded with sugar or butter.

This is a quick and easy recipe that makes the BEST marinated grilled veggies! Serve them alone or on brown rice. The veggies may be marinated in plastic resealable bags, too.

This is perfect for summer. You can even buy cooked chicken if it's too hot to cook your own. This makes two large dinner portions.

A crisp and crunchy salad that complements any summer picnic or barbeque.

This delicious cold rice salad has the great flavors of brown rice, fresh veggies, and chopped raw almonds. This has replaced high fat, low nutrition picnic salads in this household.

A great way to prepare fennel! Serve hot as a side dish, or cool and serve as a salad.

Coleslaw made up and put in the freezer. Easy to take out and thaw when you need it in a hurry. It does have a crunch to it and a sweet-sour vinegar based dressing. Freeze for up to two months. Chopped onions and bell peppers are an option to add in if you like them.

Fresh corn with some heat.