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    Home > Roundups > 17 Shortcut Southern Side Dish Recipes

    17 Shortcut Southern Side Dish Recipes

    July 30, 2022 by gritsandgouda Leave a Comment

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    A collection of 17 easy shortcut Southern side dish recipes you'll want to make again and again. From vegetables and fresh salads for summer BBQ and cookouts to squash casserole and cornbread dressing as Southern Thanksgiving side dishes.

    A collection of four close up images of cooked vegetables with text overlay: yellow squash, okra, green beans, corn and tomatoes.

    Not all Southern side dishes are fried, although I am partial to Fried Squash and Fried Green Tomatoes.

    As a matter of fact, we love our fresh garden vegetables lightly sauteed next to juicy Pan-Seared Pork Chops or simply tossed with an herbed vinaigrette like my Tomato-Basil and Vidalia Salad.

    I love cooking all kinds of classic Southern side dishes but what I DON'T love is spending all day in the kitchen to put one meal on the table. So I cook with shortcuts and want to share them with you!

    Save this Southern side dish recipe roundup for anytime you are wondering what to serve with your lunch or dinner and are short on time.

    Southern Shortcut Side Dishes

    • Squash
    • Tomatoes
    • Potatoes
    • Beans and Greens
    • Salads
    • Holiday side dishes

    Shortcuts

    Each Southern side dish recipe has at least one shortcut. Here are a few of my shortcuts.

    • It may be cooking in the Instant Pot and air fryer.
    • Eliminating ingredients by using one that combines two or more.
    • Eliminating a step or equipment and replacing it with an easy technique.
    • The order ingredients are combined to avoid washing extra dishes.
    • Using convenience products to make it "halfway homemade".
    A collection of four close up images of cooked vegetables with text overlay: yellow squash, okra, green beans, corn and tomatoes.

    Squash

    1. Southern-Fried Squash

    Crispy, crunchy cornmeal coating on the outside. Tender and flavorful on the inside. Whether you choose yellow squash or zucchini, this describes Southern-Fried Squash perfectly! You don't have to deep-fry summer squash in a lot of oil. And with my shortcut method, no messy batter needed.

    Fried Yellow Squash draining on paper towels Close up
    Southern Fried Yellow Squash
    Fried yellow squash, or summer squash as I've always called it, is a must on my table every summer. It can't get much easier than slicing and pressing the squash into cornmeal and frying in a little bit of oil for a minute.
    Go to recipe!

    2. Easy Yellow Squash Casserole

    This is one of the most simple and easy Southern-style side dishes. Yellow squash and onions with a little bit of cheese in the egg mixture, topped with buttery breadcrumbs.

    Yellow Squash Casserole with Scoop out on right in a gray dish.
    Easy Yellow Squash Casserole
    Easy Yellow Squash Casserole is made without crackers and comes together quickly when you want to make a homemade Southern side dish. Whether you have a bounty of summer squash from the garden or you're planning your Thanksgiving dinner, this savory squash casserole recipe will be a family favorite.
    Go to recipe!

    3. Sausage Summer Squash Casserole

    This hearty, savory squash casserole can be eaten as a light meal all by itself. I love to make it with both zucchini and yellow squash for a mixture of color. We always have venison sausage in the freezer, but any sausage will be delicious in it.

    Sausage Squash Casserole yellow and zucchini keto diet
    Sausage Summer Squash Casserole
    I like to mix it up and add a little color by using zucchini for half the amount of squash but use what you have or what you like. The sausage makes it different than other squash casseroles. I could eat it as a main dish casserole!
    Go to recipe!

    Tomatoes

    4. Fried Green Tomatoes (Perfect Every Time)

    Follow my simple technique to keep all that crunchy coating from sliding off the slick skin of sliced green tomatoes. I like them sliced pretty thick, but it works no matter how you slice 'em.

    stack of 3 fried green tomatoes with a fourth one with bite out and propped up
    Perfect Every Time Fried Green Tomatoes
    The best fried green tomatoes recipe! Easy Perfect-Every-Time Fried Green Tomatoes. Crispy crunchy cornmeal coating on fried unripe tomatoes. Southern-style fried green tomatoes.
    Go to recipe!

    5. Corn Avocado Tomato Salad

    You will love this simple 4 ingredient summer side dish with fresh corn off the cob, tomato, and creamy avocado. Of course, if you love onions like I do, stir in a handful of chopped, sweet or red onions for a little extra crunch.

    Close up square bowl of Corn Avocado Tomato Salad
    Corn Avocado Tomato Salad (without Onions)
    This easy Corn Avocado Tomato Salad is made without onions for the perfect side dish to serve with everything you're grilling this summer! With only 4 ingredients, it's creamy, flavorful, colorful and only takes 10 minutes to make.
    Go to recipe!

    6. Tomato and Vidalia Onion Pie with Bacon

    Now, here's a side dish for my tomato and onion fans! Thick slices of vine-ripe tomatoes and sweet Vidalias layered high between mayonnaise and cheese in a deep dish pie crust. The crust is made with premade pie crust dough. Tomato pie is often eaten as a main dish, too.

    Tomatoes and onion pie layered with slice out in a fluted white and green pie dish
    Tomato and Vidalia Onion Pie with Bacon
    Tomato. Vidalia Onion. Bacon. Pie. Four of my favorite summer foods in one deep dish! Did I mention lots of cheese? This Southern classic recipe can be a side dish for a Summer lunch or a main dish for breakfast or brunch.
    Go to recipe!

    Potatoes

    7. Sour Cream and Green Onion Potato Salad

    Is it really a picnic or a potluck without potato salad? This version is full of flavor where the leftovers are even better the next day... if there are any leftovers!

    Sour Cream and Green Onion Potato Salad with Bacon
    Sour Cream and Green Onion Potato Salad with Bacon
    I could eat an entire bag of sour cream and onion potato chips if left to my own devices! I developed this potato salad with the flavors of my favorite potato chip in mind. I don’t peel the potatoes for two reasons: saves time and adds color and fiber.
    Go to recipe!

    8. Candied Roasted Sweet Potatoes

    Roasting sweet potatoes first, caramelizes the natural sugars in them, adding a rich, deeper flavor before candying them. Roasting them is a "hands off" shortcut because you don't have to babysit a boiling pot on the stovetop.

    sweet potatoes cut in half lengthwise candied in white casserole dish
    Candied Roasted Sweet Potatoes
    Altered from the late Mrs. Connie Parker’s recipe. She shared her version with me many years ago after years of bringing it to church potlucks. I roast my sweet potatoes instead of boiling them and melt the butter instead of dotting with cold butter.
    Go to recipe!

    Beans and Greens

    9. Easy Fresh Green Beans with Bacon (Stovetop)

    One of the most classic Southern side dish recipes is green beans, right? The shortcut I use to infuse flavor into fresh green beans without cooking them all day with a ham hock is cooking them in chicken broth with bacon.

    Rattlesnake green beans with bacon in red pot and antique spoon
    Easy Fresh Green Beans with Bacon
    You know its summer in the South when there's Fresh Green Beans with Bacon cooking on the stove. Straight from the garden is hands down the best way to serve up this vegetable side dish. It's simple and easy to cook green beans Southern style.
    Go to recipe!

    10. Instant Pot Fresh Green Beans with Bacon

    The electric pressure cooker not only cooks food in a fraction of the time with other methods, it also doesn't heat up the kitchen when it's 95 degrees outside and the humidity makes it feel like 100!

    white bowl with hole for handle full of green beans and bacon on checkered wooden cutting board
    Instant Pot Fresh Green Beans with Bacon
    Instant Pot Fresh Green Beans with Bacon cooks in 6 minutes and tastes like Grandma used to make them down South.
    Go to recipe!

    11. Instant Pot Collard Greens and Navy Beans

    Fresh collard greens and dried beans are perfect examples of the Instant Pot cooking ingredients in a fraction of the time it takes to cook on the stovetop. I also LOVE that the iconic "aroma" from cooking collard greens is contained inside the electric pressure cooker until the cooking is done. Bonus!

    Collard Greens and Navy Beans are cooked in a fraction of the typical time when cooked in the Instant Pot. Served in a white bowl on a blue and white striped placemat
    Instant Pot Collard Greens and Navy Beans
    This iconic Southern dish is known for taking hours to slowly cook the ham hock, collard greens, and dried beans on the stovetop. With the Instant Pot, you don't even have to soak the dried beans and they just cook 30 minutes-now that's a shortcut! And you dont smell it cooking!
    Go to recipe!

    12. Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts with Sorghum Molasses & Bacon

    Brussels sprouts has become one of the most popular green vegetables here in the South. Although they are not a typical Southern vegetable, they are in the cabbage family and we can grow some pretty nice cabbage, let me tell, ya!

    Cooked Brussels sprouts with bacon on a white plate.
    Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts with Sorghum Molasses & Bacon
    A Southern twist on the familiar maple-bacon flavor combination. The air fryer cooks the Brussels Sprouts to crispy, roasted perfection while the sorghum adds a touch of rich sweetness. And bacon...well...what’s not to love about bacon!
    Go to recipe!

    Salads

    13. Easy Southern Macaroni Salad

    This colorful pasta salad will be welcomed at any summer potluck, family reunion or Sunday church supper. No one has to know it started with a package of precooked elbow macaroni. Cooking the "boiled" eggs in the Instant Pot also saves time because you know they will peel perfectly every single time.

    White bowl full of macaroni salad
    Easy Southern Macaroni Salad | With Shortcuts
    Easy Southern Macaroni Salad is a classic side dish made with elbow macaroni and a creamy, tangy dressing. Although this make-ahead pasta salad is already simple, I give you plenty of shortcuts to make it even easier to serve at summer barbeques, cookouts, potlucks and picnics.
    Go to recipe!

    14. Easy Strawberry Pretzel Salad (8x8 pan)

    Is it a salad or is it a dessert? Here in the South, we love our sweet salads and that includes Jello salads that double as a dessert. This is a small batch recipe made in an 8x8-inch pan for when you might not be going to a potluck. Easily doubles.

    Strawberry Pretzel Salad square with dollop of Cool Whip.
    Easy Strawberry Pretzel Salad (8x8 pan)
    This old-fashioned, small batch Jell-O salad (or dessert) is made in an 8x8-inch pan for when you crave the sweet and salty dessert but you’re not going to a potluck.
    Go to recipe!

    Holiday sides

    15. Shortcut Stained Glass Jello Salad

    Stained Glass Jello Salad doubles as a holiday side dish and colorful dessert. Change up the colors of the store-bought gelatin cups to match the holiday: Easter, 4th of July, Christmas.

    Close up Stained Glass Jello Salad squares.
    Shortcut Stained Glass Jello Salad
    Make this fun, colorful Stained Glass Jello Salad in a fraction of the time with my shortcuts than it typically takes! Also called Broken Glass Gelatin Dessert, this small batch recipe can be made with sweetened condensed milk or even dairy-free with coconut milk.
    Go to recipe!

    16. Sausage Cornbread Dressing Cups

    The idea to serve individual size portion cups of Southern cornbread dressing with sausage came out of our extended family holiday gathering many years ago. We decided to have an appetizer party with all bite-size food instead of the traditional sit-down dinner. There was no plan to include a 13x9 casserole of dressing until I baked them in muffin pans!

    You can also bake them in miniature muffin pans and top them with Cranberry-Apple- Jalapeno Salsa.

    Sausage Cornbread Dressing Cups
    These are just the right portion size, everyone gets the favored crusty edge, and they take up less room in the fridge or freezer by placing them in the zip-top bag. I've even made them in the mini muffin size for snacks or appetizer parties.
    Go to recipe!

    17. Easy Cheesy Baked Mac and Cheese

    This shortcut macaroni and cheese recipe has an unconventional way to thicken the egg mixture without making a homemade sauce! I'll give you a hint: it involves crushed saltine crackers. While mac and cheese is found on Southern dinner tables year round, it is almost always requested as one of our side dishes for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

    Macaroni and cheese in tan dish with scoop out
    Easy Cheesy Baked Mac and Cheese (With Shortcuts)
    Easy Cheesy Baked Mac and Cheese has a secret ingredient so you don't have to make a white sauce! Enjoy creamy, baked macaroni and cheese goodness with pre-shredded Cheddar and Colby Jack cheeses!
    Go to recipe!

    I hope you found plenty of inspiration to get in the kitchen and cook up some shortcut Southern side dishes to go along with your pork chops and grilled chicken.

    Review my list of Shortcuts at the beginning to help you make some of your own family recipes in less time.

    More Southern side dish recipes

    I add shortcut Southern recipes every week. Check out these salads and side dishes.

    Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. Be social and share, y'all! Don't forget to sign up with your email so you don’t miss a single post on my Southern shortcut recipes!

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    Hi y'all! I’m Kathleen. I share Southern shortcut recipes! I’m a food stylist, cookbook author, and former test kitchen director in Alabama. I take traditional Southern recipes you know and love (and a few new ones) and make them with shortcuts so you can enjoy them faster.

    More about me →

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    Hi y'all! I’m Kathleen. I share Southern shortcut recipes! I’m a food stylist, cookbook author, and former test kitchen director in Alabama. I take traditional Southern recipes you know and love (and a few new ones) and make them with shortcuts so you can enjoy them faster.

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