Who can go past ribs? They’re tender and fatty, with an amazing rich flavor. They’re so fun (and messy!) to eat, so their popularity is almost a given.
Yet surprisingly, the popularity of BBQ and ribs is pretty recent. This happened in the 19th century, as the meatpacking industry expanded dramatically and ribs started to be available in excess. Restaurants soon got in on the action, selling spare ribs and boosting the popularity dramatically.
These days ribs are a classic part of American culture. They’re easy to find at local stores and many people prepare them regularly. That leads us to the question of what to serve with ribs. While you could choose almost any side under the sun, the right side makes your entire meal so much better.
Sides to serve with ribs include corn on the cob, potatoes, and coleslaw, along with more unusual options, like pickles, okra, or kimchi. Why not experiment? You might be surprised at how well a new side pairs with your ribs.
What To Serve With Ribs (15 Sides To Try)
Spare Ribs, Short Ribs, And Other Popular Types
The different types of ribs vary in where they come from, their richness, and the ratio of meat versus bone. Thankfully, the best sides aren’t influenced too much by the specific type of rib. The way these are flavored have a much bigger impact.
Corn On The Cob
Ribs are already a messy finger food, so why not double down on this idea and serve corn on the cob? The sweetness of corn is an excellent contrast to the rich savory flavor of your ribs. Corn on the cob is very easy to prepare, which is always helpful.
If this side feels boring, you could experiment with spices or use some compound butter. Compound butter relies on ingredients like basil, thyme, or garlic to create an engaging flavor profile. Most types will complement the flavor of your ribs as well as your corn.
There’s also a Mexican version of corn on the cob, known as elote. This combines the corn with a delicious creamy sauce, cheese, and herbs. It’s a much more flavorful version of corn on the cob than normal and well worth trying for yourself.
Cajun Buttered Corn On The Cob
Speaking of interesting recipes, what do you think of this Cajun Buttered Corn on the Cob? The recipe relies on cajun seasoning, plus garlic salt, lime juice, and butter to bring your corn to the next level.
The recipe also provides details about cooking corn on the cob, to help you get things exactly right. One commenter also mentioned that you could wrap the corn in bacon and grill it after it has been boiled. Doing so would create an even more delicious side.
Potatoes
Potatoes feature as a side dish for almost every meal out there, including meatloaf, salmon, and ham. This isn’t surprising, as protein-heavy meals always pair well with carb-rich sides.
Mashed potatoes are popular here, partly because they’re so mild (they’re also easy to make and require few ingredients). Their subtle flavor means that the ribs dominate the entire meal, which is often exactly what you want.
Still, why not experiment? There’s an endless collection of potato-based recipes out there, including both simple and complex options. You could also look for similar ingredients, like using sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes.
Baked Potato Slices
These delicious cheesy Baked Potato Slices look a little like mini pizzas, complete with melted cheese and bacon. The recipe calls for sour cream as a dip, but you can skip this if you’re serving the potato slices with ribs.
Russet potatoes are your best choice for this recipe, as they stay soft on the inside once they’ve been baked. Other types of potato would still work, but the texture would end up a little different.
Stephanie, the recipe creator, also mentions that it’s important to choose your bacon carefully. You need a high quality product to provide the right flavor and meatiness. A bacon of the month club is a great place to look for this.
Coleslaw
Coleslaw is another classic side. In fact, you’ll often see it served alongside some of the other sides from this list. The appeal is easy to see, as coleslaw is crunchy, creamy, and an excellent contrast to the heaviness of ribs.
Plus, because coleslaw is so popular, there are endless ways to mix it up. Some versions add in extra ingredients, like dried ramen noodles, chili flakes, raisins, mushrooms, or peas.
Others experiment with the base vegetables instead. For example, you might use different colors of cabbage to make the coleslaw more exciting. Or, you might use an alternate base ingredient, like fennel or even Brussels sprouts.
Tequila Lime Coleslaw
This Tequila Lime Coleslaw really does use tequila as one of the base ingredients. There’s also lime juice and granulated chili, which add to the coleslaw’s depth of flavor.
The tequila really is a genius move, as it makes the coleslaw much more exciting. Besides, adding alcohol to salad is a fantastic talking point and a great way to get more people to try your salad.
Cucumber Salad
A cucumber salad could work well if coleslaw isn’t your thing. This provides even more freshness than coleslaw and is also easier to make.
Most of the time, you’re just looking at sliced cucumber, a simple dressing, and perhaps some sliced onions. Of course, the recipe is easily varied to make it more exciting. You could experiment with extra ingredients, like chili paste, sesame seeds, or dill.
Quick & Creamy Cucumber Salad
This Quick & Creamy Cucumber Salad is an interesting variation, as it relies on a sour cream and dill dressing that makes the salad very creamy. This is also a simple recipe. You only need half a dozen ingredients that are all easy to find.
The cool creaminess of the salad would be an ideal complement to the rich meatiness of your ribs. Plus, the simple flavor profile should easily complement most rib recipes.
Potato Salad
Who can ignore potato salad? It’s such a simple dish, yet a delightful one too. It’s also useful for so many different occasions, like when you’re going for a picnic or serving ribs at a BBQ.
There are two main versions you can make. The first is the most traditional, which relies on a creamy dressing. While that creamy dressing often relies on mayo or sour cream, you can make vegan friendly versions as well.
Then there are the vinaigrette-based potato salads. These are often more refreshing and a great way to take advantage of fresh herbs. Both versions can be varied in many ways, offering countless flavor profiles.
Bacon Blue Cheese Potato Salad
This Bacon Blue Cheese Potato Salad is tough to beat. It has all the features of a regular creamy potato salad, then is kicked up a notch by the bacon and blue cheese. These ingredients create a much more exciting flavor profile.
The recipe is also customizable. It includes suggestions for ways to change the recipe, like using Greek yogurt to make the salad healthier, using turkey bacon instead of regular bacon, or changing the type of potatoes.
And, as with any potato salad, you can always use mix-ins to improve the flavor and texture.
Barbeque Ribs
By barbeque ribs, we’re specifically talking about ribs with plenty of barbecue flavor, often in the form of barbecue sauce. Because of their strong flavor, you’re generally looking for a bland side or one with a noticeable complementary flavor.
Some of the sides we’ve talked about already work well with these ribs. Then there are the sides below, which are simply perfect.
Collard Greens
You shouldn’t overlook veggies as a side for ribs. Their fiber content is crucial for offsetting the heaviness of the ribs. Veggies are especially important if you’re also serving a carb-heavy side with the veggies.
So, why not collard greens?
They’re nutritious, simple to prepare, and can taste surprisingly good too. Sauteing the greens works especially well, as doing so makes them more tender and can also decrease their bitterness.
If you’re not a huge fan of veggies, why not include some extras to make the greens more appealing? Bacon is a common choice here, although that’s just one of many options.
Easy Southern Collard Greens
These Easy Southern Collard Greens are slow simmered, which gives them an amazing flavor and texture. They’re cooked with bacon, garlic, onion, and seasonings – a combo that elevates them to an entirely new level.
The author, Beth, even describes these as collard greens as a type of comfort food and says that they work well as a side for many meals. It’s always a good sign when someone calls vegetables a comfort food. That’s not normally how they’re described.
Pickles
What about pickles? Their strong briny flavor is a delightful contrast to barbecue ribs. This combo is even more powerful if you’re serving fries with your ribs, but you could use pickles in plenty of other situations too.
You could run with quick pickles or fermented pickles here. Both options would taste wonderful. Also remember that you can tweak the recipe, like making pickles with jalapeno. You’re not limited to cucumbers either. Plenty of other vegetables can be pickled too.
Quick Pickled Beets With Dill
These Quick Pickled Beets With Dill take less than two hours to prepare, making them excellent for holiday parties and many other occasions. The recipe also provides details of three different ways to cook the beets. You can choose whichever approach you like. The pickles will be delicious regardless.
Aside from the beets, the recipe uses just a handful of ingredients, including a red onion, fresh dill, vinegar, and sugar. The dill makes the flavor profile a little like that of traditional pickles, making them even more appealing.
Cornbread
Cornbread isn’t commonly paired with ribs. Still, why not? The side has a wonderful texture and aroma, plus it’s one that many people already have a family recipe for.
To make the bread more interesting, why not add some ground herbs or even a touch of spice to it? Chili powder is perfect, as long as you don’t go overboard.
Zucchini Parmesan Cornbread
This Zucchini Parmesan Cornbread is a more exciting way to vary your cornbread recipe. The extra ingredients aren’t limited to zucchini and parmesan either – there’s also honey and brown sugar in the recipe. These ingredients add sweetness and a little extra flavor.
The zucchini plays a special role, as it makes your cornbread very moist, much more so than normal. This is perfect if you hate dry cornbread (or just want something a little different).
Besides, the zucchini makes your cornbread healthier than normal. Every little bit helps, right?
Corn Salad
If you love corn, a corn salad is another excellent option. This still gives you the vibrant flavor of corn and it’s easy to add extra vegetables to the recipe. The salad is an especially good summertime treat, right when you’re looking for fresh and vibrant flavors.
There’s also a variation on the idea, which focuses on a sour cream sauce. This creamy version will be a hit with ribs too. That’s not terribly surprising, as the sauce’s flavor is somewhat similar to a potato salad.
Fresh Summer Corn Salad
This Fresh Summer Corn Salad can be prepared using fresh or frozen corn, making it a delicious year round treat (despite the name). I especially love how the corn has been grilled and is present in chunks, rather than individual kernels.
As for ingredients, the salad features red pepper, avocado, purple onion, and a delicious dressing that includes lime juice and even some mustard. This combo of ingredients comes together unexpectedly well, giving you a side that will pair well with countless mains.
Smoky Baked Beans
Smoky baked beans are one of the few high protein sides on our list, as you’re normally looking for vegetable or high carb sides instead. Still… these beans are too much of a barbecue classic to pass up.
They’re also a no-brainer for pairing with BBQ ribs, as they share many of the same flavors. You often get an interesting sweet and savory balance as well, one that’s perfect in most situations.
Smoked Baked Beans
Why not begin with these Smoked Baked Beans? The recipe relies on apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and molasses for its signature flavor, plus beans and bacon for the body. It’s an easy recipe to follow, one that has plenty of images to guide you along the way.
An interesting feature is that the bacon is layered on top of the beans for part of the cooking process. This added even more flavor to the beans and melds the dish together beautifully. You can also choose whether to make this dish using fresh or dried beans. Both approaches work and will give you a delicious tasting meal.
Macaroni And Cheese
It’s hard to find a more comforting dish than macaroni and cheese (except possibly pizza!). The dish is also a carb-laden side. While that’s normally a bad thing, carbs are perfect alongside ribs.
The combo of ribs with macaroni and cheese is also surprisingly popular. Sometimes you’ll even see ribs served on top of the pasta.
When planning your meal, think about the seasonings and overall theme. In particular, high quality ribs with nuanced seasoning will call for an elevated form of macaroni and cheese. Here, you might use ingredients like parmesan or truffle oil to make the macaroni and cheese truly exceptional.
Masala Mac And Cheese
This Masala Mac and Cheese follows a very unusual style. It uses a mixture of tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, serrano peppers, and Indian spices to create a complex flavor profile.
The recipe is creamy and delicious, but relies on milk instead of cream. Doing so makes it healthier than most other versions of macaroni and cheese.
The spices and extra ingredients make this a more complex recipe than normal. As such, it mightn’t be the best choice on a busy weeknight. Reserve the recipe for a special occasion instead. This way there’s no stress and you can fully savor the experience.
Okra
Now we have okra. It isn’t the most common rib side, not by a long shot. Still… sometimes it’s nice to try something different. Besides, as we’ve already highlighted, you’ll often want some type of vegetable with your ribs.
If you haven’t used okra much before, be sure to check out a couple of recipes. This is crucial, as okra has some interesting and unusual properties (including its sliminess when cooked). You can also experiment with spices to make sure your okra tastes as amazing as possible.
Taco Roasted Okra
I love the flavoring choice for this Taco Roasted Okra. The use of taco seasoning is genius, as it makes the okra much more interesting without requiring much work. You can even simply use a store-bought taco spice mix.
There are only a few other ingredients in the recipe, making this a very simple one to prepare. Still, the recipe is worth checking out, as it has great images that showcase each step of the way.
Fries
While we’ve already talked about potatoes, fries are simply too perfect to pass up. You’ll often see them as a side at a steakhouse, often with a small salad at the same time.
It’s easy to see why too, as you’re getting plenty of carbs, fat, and delicious crunch from the fries. Fries are a pretty unhealthy side, but that’s not the end of the world. It’s perfectly okay to have a decadent and unhealthy meal every so often.
That said, you could make a healthier version by preparing the fries in an air fryer. You could even use a different type of vegetable, like making sweet potato fries rather than regular fries.
Copycat Arby’s Curly Fries
Then there are these Copycat Arby’s Curly Fries. The recipe even includes a delicious salt and spice blend that gets surprisingly close to the real deal.
A spiralizer or a spiralizer attachment is the best way to get the right shape for the fries. That said, it is possible to make the fries without any special gadget. A skewer and careful knife work will do the trick if you’re stuck.
Curly fries do require more work than regular fries. Still, they also make your meal much more special, so they’re often worth the extra effort. Or, if you get truly stuck, you could always order curly fries from Arby’s and serve them with your ribs.
Korean Ribs
The sides we’ve already discussed are all viable if you use Korean flavors on your ribs. Still… why not go with a flavor that actually matches? The following two sides are excellent places to begin.
Kimchi
Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented dish, often made using napa cabbage and a variety of vegetables. Think of it like a more varied and interesting version of sauerkraut.
The bright colors and complex flavors make this an easy side for many meals, including ribs. You can choose whether to buy kimchi or make your own. Homemade kimchi is often the best approach, as you can choose the specific vegetables and the amount of heat.
Cucumber Kimchi
This Cucumber Kimchi recipe is a fast version of kimchi that gives you many of the traditional flavors and only needs to sit in the fridge for an hour. The recipe starts with crunchy cucumbers, which are then covered with a ginger, pepper, and garlic paste.
Those ingredients provide the cucumbers with a stunning flavor, making them a perfect complement to the flavor of your ribs. The bright green cucumbers also look fantastic contrasted against the red kimchi topping.
Noodles
Noodles are another option that provides plenty of starch. They’re also a versatile ingredient, so you can use them as part of simple or complex recipes.
If your ribs already have Korean seasoning, then it makes sense to choose an Asian noodle recipe. This way, there are plenty of flavors in common. Such recipes are also much more interesting than plain noodles.
10 Minute Sesame Garlic Ramen Noodles
What about these 10 Minute Sesame Garlic Ramen Noodles? They offer some of the flavors we’re looking for and are easy to prepare.
The recipe starts with ramen noodles. The type doesn’t matter too much, as you’re not going to use the flavor packet. Just go with whatever noodles you have on hand, even if they’re instant.
Then there are the seasoning ingredients, which include sesame seeds, sesame oil, green onion, garlic, chili flakes, and a few extras. The chili flakes control the heat of the noodles, so you might need to adjust the amount based on your tolerance for heat.
What To Serve With Meatloaf