What to Serve with Barbecue Pork? 10 BEST Side Dishes

Barbecue pork is one of the most celebrated dinner entrées; it is flavorful, filling, and has an irresistible visual.

While hosting dinners help us learn much about fancy dishes, we all know it isn’t complete without side dishes.

So, if you’re in a cooking rut and want new side dishes that’ll impress, this article will discuss the best sides so you always know what to serve with barbecue pork.

Try them one after another, or cook a few together, and you’ll always receive the best compliments.

Why Consider Serving Side Dishes for Barbecue Pork?

If you’ve had barbecue pork before, you know they have a rich and savory taste.

So, they’re always better served alongside side dishes with contrasting flavors and textures.

Side dishes help cleanse your palate and provide lacking nutrients, so they’re an essential part of every meal.

You want to choose side dishes that contrast and highlight the flavor of barbecue pork and not something that overpowers it.

Also, barbecue pork is somewhat time-consuming, so it’s best to choose side dishes that are quick and simple yet flavorful.

What to Serve with Barbecue Pork? 10 BEST Side Dishes

Barbecue pork isn’t limited to rice and bread; here are ten options to make your meal prep more exciting.

1 – Spicy Egg Cups

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This is a fancy yet healthy and satisfying recipe you can make to spice up your evenings or BBQ parties.

Simply mix shredded chicken, egg yolks, chopped pickles, mayonnaise, and vinegar to fill the egg whites.

Eggs are a staple in all homes and a nutrient-dense food rich in vitamins, protein, calcium, and choline.

Dressing the egg cups with hot sauce gives them a touch of spice and sharpness that brings all the ingredients together.

Each bite of the egg cups will provide your palate with a concoction of complex flavors; the yolk is buttery, while the chicken adds a tender, meatiness.

2 – Buttery Grilled Lime Corn

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This is an easy corn dish that requires no complex cooking yet delivers outstanding results; it’s a dish with which you can make no mistakes.

Regarding ingredients, you can use any type of corn, but sweet corn brings out the spicy and buttery flavors to its best.

Rubbing the corn with butter and grilling it gives it a rich brown hue.

Besides having a refreshing and flavorful dish, your home will be filled with the aroma of charred kernels.

A cilantro and lime juice garnish gives this dish the extra zing that puts it on a different plane than regular grilled corn.

3 – Fattoush Salad

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Fattoush is a popular Middle East dish where pita bread serves as the main ingredient.

So, if you have any at home and don’t know how to use it, toast it and make it crunchy, and combine it with veg salad.

The colorful blend of pita bread and vegetable salad is satisfying to your palate and a treat for the eyes.

Chopped cucumbers, lettuce, and tomatoes are some of the best ingredients for the salad.

This dish is best prepared with fresh produce and a drizzle of lime juice to get the most crunch and a lovely tanginess.

4 – Cherry Tomato Cucumber Salad

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There’s no better way to beat the summer heat than to relish the refreshing and juicy richness of the season’s produce.

Cucumbers and cherry tomatoes make some of the best options for hydrating you on warmer days.

There is no hard rule to making this dish; all you must do is chop the ingredients into bite-size pieces and mix them with a citrusy dressing.

This salad is low in calories and tastes best when served chilled alongside meaty dishes.

Blend it with herbs like mint and oregano to get the most out of the summer.

5 – Sweet Potato Peanut Soup

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The comforting feeling you get once you savor a particular dish lingers in your mind even after a meal.

And this is precisely what a peanut sweet potato soup is– delicious, relaxing, and flavorful; it is a must-try when serving meaty dishes.

The warm flavor in this sweet potato peanut soup could be the next best thing you want to add to your weekly meal menus.

With the essence of sweet potato, this soup has a complex feel filled with sweet, nutty, and warm flavors.

After stir-frying the onion, carrot, and sweet potato, blend them into a paste.

For the cream topping, you can use coconut cream and lime juice.

Because sweet potatoes already have enough natural sugars, you needn’t go heavy on the seasonings.

6 – Seasoned Sesame Spinach

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Spinach may not be everyone’s favorite vegetable, but this recipe has the right ingredients to change all negative opinions.

Seasoned sesame spinach has a sweet, nutty, and mildly bitter flavor that adds more dimension to a savory pork meal.

The only steps involved are blanching your spinach and sautéing them in a mixture of sesame oil and sesame seeds.

To get the most out of this dish, garnish the spinach with scallions and garlic.

It’s a dish that will take you through the most challenging meal preparations.

Besides, it’s a quick recipe for last-minute meals, so try it out.

7 – Creamy Garlic Mushroom

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You can never have a bad mushroom dish because they take the flavor of whatever you cook it with.

So, they’re perfect to pair with all kinds of meaty and veg-based dishes, including barbecue pork.

Mushrooms are rich in vitamin D, which is rarely found in plants and animals.

So incorporating it into your diet will benefit you in the long run.

This dish melts in your mouth, and you’ll likely receive compliments whenever you serve it.

The process is simple: sautéing the mushrooms in garlic, butter, and cream.

You can also make it ahead and refrigerate them to reheat and serve whenever you’re running short on time.

8 – Cheesy Baked Asparagus

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Asparagus and meat make an irresistible pair but can sometimes be too bland for the palate, especially when you cook it plain.

Baking them in a rich seasoning of cream and cheese envelops them in a warm aroma.

Pairing this antioxidant-rich vegetable with barbecue pork makes your meal more balanced in flavor and nutrition.

It is an excellent way to pair cheese with vegetables.

Garlic is a must when baking this dish as it provides aromatic accents to the asparagus.

Sprinkle shredded cheese and chili flakes before serving to get the most out of your asparagus dish.

9 – Tater Salad

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Tater salad is a classic in many homes.

You need waxy potatoes like russet and Yukon gold to make this dish.

Potatoes are a fiber-rich food and are a staple in almost all homes, so this side dish is relatively easy and accessible.

Besides, you do not need many ingredients.

Once you have your potatoes ready, combine them with veggies and mayonnaise to bring out their natural flavor.

Carrots, peas, and celery make great additions to the salad.

This salad is best served cold, so remember to refrigerate it before serving.

10 – Quinoa Apple Salad

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Some dishes look so appealing that you want to dig right into them; a quinoa apple salad is one such dish.

This salad also makes a perfect thanksgiving side dish; filled with protein-rich quinoa and nutrient-rich fruits and nuts, what healthier salad could you ask for?

Make this salad during the fall season when fresh apples are available.

However, you can make it any time of the year as long as you have the ingredients.

And any autumnal fruits will also blend well with this salad if you don’t have the ingredients available.

Cranberries, spinach, walnuts, and the beautiful notes of the maple mustard dressing on the salad balance all the flavors together.

Conclusion

Eating barbecue pork doesn’t have to be boring.

So, replace the usual rice and bread with side dishes that complement its flavor best.

Salads are a must whether you serve barbecue pork for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

However, you can save the creamy mushrooms and baked asparagus for more special dinners because they go beyond the ingredients’ natural flavors.

The essential thing you need to do while preparing these side dishes is to have fun and experiment.

After all, cooking is no joy if you cannot have fun with it.