35 Best Side Dishes to Serve at a Chili Cook Off

Wondering what to bring to your next chili cook off? This post will help you find 35 Best Side Dishes to Serve at a Chili Cook Off from garlic bread and rolls to salad and mac and cheese. These recipes are perfect when you need to bring something to a chili cook off that isn’t chili! With chili being a hearty meal, it’s nice to have some fresher options and of course you need corn bread or rolls to soak up some of that delicious tomato base.

In addition to a perfect side dish, are good chili toppings! I love topping with shredded cheese like cheddar cheese or shredded pepper jack cheese, sliced green onions, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, chopped red onions, jalapenos, or cilantro! Hot sauce and lime juice are also great ways to add more flavor.

If you are looking for some new chili recipes to enter into your chili cook off, try some of these – Southwest Chicken Chili, Hearty One-Pot Lentil Chili, The Cheesecake Factory White Chicken Chili Recipe, Instant Pot Turkey and Bean Chili Recipe (my favorite chili recipe), or Instant Pot Turkey and Bean Chili Recipe!

Table of contents for the 35 Best Side Dishes to Serve at a Chili Cook Off:

Vegetables
Salads
Starches
Bread & Rolls
Other

Vegetables:

1. Shaved Zucchini Salad with Pistachios & Parmesan

This easy Shaved Zucchini Salad is perfect for your summer harvest! By running a vegetable peeler along raw zucchini, it’s so easy to shave into tender-crisp zucchini ribbons that are the perfect base for a stunning seasonal salad. Simply toss the shaved zucchini ribbons with lemon, basil, garlic, pistachios, & parmesan cheese for a low-effort yet show-stopping side dish for any occasion. Ready in 10 minutes or less using just 7 ingredients!

35 Best Side Dishes to Serve at a Chili Cook Off

2. Crockpot Green Beans Recipe

Grandma’s Southern Crockpot Green Beans are always a crowd pleaser, and they’re the perfect easy side dish to make for Thanksgiving or for Christmas. It also makes a great BBQ side dish!

3. Simple Green Bean Almondine with Bacon

This simple green bean almondine with bacon is the perfect quick and easy side dish. Crisp green beans tossed with sautéed onion, garlic, bacon, and almonds. Simple ingredients make a fresh vegetable side. This is perfect for holiday dinners, quick weeknight meals, or for in-season produce.

4. Honey Butter Thyme Crockpot Glazed Carrots

Honey Butter Thyme Crockpot Glazed Carrots are an easy and delicious side dish, perfect for holidays and special dinners. Sweet, buttery and perfectly tender, these keep your oven free and practically make themselves!

5. Rudy’s Slow-Cooker Creamed Corn

Sweet and tender corn simmers in a rich cream sauce to make Crock Pot Creamed Corn. It is an unforgettable side dish like no other creamed corn I’ve ever tasted.

6. Sweet and Smoky Baked Beans

Instant Pot or traditional oven, Sweet and Smoky Baked Beans are delicious and so easy to prepare. Never buy canned beans from the grocer again! Make them vegetarian or serve them with fried crumbled bacon or ham on the side!

7. Broccoli Salad

A simple, classic Broccoli Salad recipe that serves as a great fast side dish for any party or potluck. Made with bacon, cranberries, sunflower seeds, cheddar cheese and a homemade dressing, this is one of my favorite side dishes and it can be prepped in under fifteen minutes!

8. Corsican Green Bean and Mint Salad

This dish is not only a feast for the eyes but also a testament to the healthful and delicious nature of Mediterranean cuisine. Perfect for a light lunch or as a side dish, this salad is sure to impress with its crisp texture and aromatic minty essence. A delicious fresh salad.

Salads:

9. Butter Lettuce Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

In this simple butter lettuce salad, vibrant lettuce leaves live their best lives, dressed in a tangy homemade vinaigrette and accompanied by creamy avocado and crisp radishes.

10. Firebirds Wood Fired Grill BLT Salad Recipe

This Firebirds wood fired grill BLT salad recipe is too easy not to make at home! Fresh greens, cherry tomatoes, chopped bacon, herbs, and avocado tossed in a homemade roasted garlic ranch. Perfect for ripe summer produce, this salad makes a great side or main dish. For a heartier salad, add grilled chicken or steak, hard boiled eggs, chopped nuts, or croutons. A perfect pairing!

11. Cracker Barrel Kale and Brussel Sprout Salad Recipe

This Cracker Barrel kale and Brussel sprout salad recipe is quick and hearty. Shaved brussels sprouts, kale, pecans, and craisins topped with a homemade maple dressing. This loaded salad is the perfect base for grilled chicken or steak. Or add in other toppings like cubed avocado, orange segments, bacon, or pine nuts. This kale salad is the perfect mix of sweet and salty. Shaving the Brussel sprouts up thin makes them wonderful to eat raw, this will be your new favorite salad.

12. Tossed Green Salad

This tossed green salad recipe with fruit and nuts feeds a crowd.

13. Best Caesar Salad Recipe

The best Caesar salad recipe has to have 3 things. Fresh crispy lettuce, crunchy croutons, and a deliciously rich and creamy dressing with just the right amount of tangy garlicky zest. This salad checks all of those boxes and more, it really is the best!

14. Simple Butter Lettuce Salad

Composed of tender butter lettuce leaves, briny green olives and salty slivers of aged manchego, our butter lettuce salad is a feast for the eyes and the palate. A great fresh green salad!

15. Summer Salad with Clean Eating Buttermilk Dressing

Summer always feels like the start of something new, doesn’t it? Instinctively, we get the urge to want to eat better and improve our lives, but finding fresh and healthy meals that we’ll return to again and again can be difficult. Luckily, we’re here to help solve that pesky issue! When you toss fresh, seasonal veggies with a scrumptious buttermilk dressing made with Greek yogurt and fresh herbs, you end up with a Summer salad that will soon turn into a lunchtime staple.

16. Caesar Salad

Crispy, crunchy, lettuce meets creamy anchovy dressing in this classic Caesar salad.

Starches:

17. Orzo Salad with Asparagus, Artichoke Hearts and Feta

Teeming with fresh herbs, bright lemon, tangy feta, crunchy salted pistachios, artichoke hearts, and tender asparagus, this orzo salad is the perfect spring side dish.

18. One-Pan Butternut Squash Risotto

This one-pan butternut squash risotto is the perfect weeknight meal. Arborio rice, tender butternut squash, parmesan and fresh sage. This dish comes together in about an hour and is even better the next day. This risotto is great alone, but it also goes well with chicken or fish. Serve as a main course or as part of a holiday spread. Using white wine in this dish gives nice flavor and the addition of heavy cream creates a creamy risotto. This is a great recipe and one of my favorite sides.

19. Herbed Potato Salad

For a lighter, fresher take on potato salad, try this no-mayo herbed potato salad that’s packed with flavor but won’t leaving you feeling weighed down.

20. Easy Potato Au Gratin

This easy potato au gratin is such a quick side dish. Tender sliced potatoes in a creamy parmesan sauce baked until bubbly and golden brown! Simply slice the potatoes thinly, toss in the cream sauce and layer evenly in a baking dish. Top with cheese and broil until golden brown. This one pan side dish would be a great idea for the holiday table or special occasions! A perfect recipe for thanksgiving day, Christmas dinner, or an addition to weeknight family dinner. Not to mention budget friendly and delicious!

21. BLT Pasta Salad

With double the bacon, this BLT Pasta Salad with Jalapeño Basil Ranch is the perfect summer salad. It’s almost no-cook and comes together in minutes. It has extra crispy bacon, romaine lettuce, and cherry tomatoes all tossed together with my creamy, spicy jalapeño basil ranch dressing. Toss in some cubes of cheddar cheese, grilled corn, and chunks of avocado and you’ll be good to go.

22. Easy One-Pan Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

These easy scalloped sweet potatoes are such a quick and easy side dish. Tender sweet potatoes in a creamy herb sauce topped with parmesan cheese! Simply slice the sweet potatoes thinly, layer in a baking dish, cover with the creamy herb sauce and bake until tender. Top with cheese and broil until golden brown. This one pan side dish would be a great idea for the holiday table or special occasions! A perfect recipe for thanksgiving day, Christmas dinner, or an addition to weeknight family dinner. Not to mention budget friendly and delicious!

23. Creamy Italian Pasta Salad

If the weather is warm, pasta salad is always on the menu and I cannot get enough of this Creamy Italian Pasta Salad!

24. Street Corn Pasta Salad

This spicy Mexican-style Street Corn Pasta Salad incorporates all the flavors of street corn into the creamiest corn-filled summer pasta salad. Sweet summertime corn, mixed with creamy dressing and tossed with pasta, grilled corn, spicy chili butter, and salty crumbled Mexican cotija cheese. It’s quick to make and totally delicious, especially with extra lime mayo and chili butter. A quintessential summer pasta salad, serve this up at your next summer party, it’s always delicious.

Bread & Rolls:

25. Easy Pull Apart Garlic Parmesan Bread

This festive and super Easy Pull Apart Garlic Parmesan Bread is soft, buttery, garlicky, herby, and SO delicious. Serve this warm right out of the oven with a light sprinkle of flaky sea salt for a bread that’s melt in your mouth good…and oh so impressive. And the real secret to this bread? Caramelizing the garlic in butter for a rich, but subtle garlic flavor. The perfect pull-apart bread for New Year’s Eve…and all those upcoming cozy winter dinners at home.

26. Southern Cornbread Recipe

Fill your kitchen with the smell of freshly baked Southern Cornbread in just about an hour!! This classic recipe from my Mississippi Auntie Rose creates a super moist, buttery and fluffy Cornbread that makes for the perfect snack or side.

27. Honey Butter Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Biscuits

These salted Honey Butter Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread Biscuits are soft, buttery, perfectly salted, and made with spicy jalapeños and sharp cheddar cheese. Each light and flaky biscuit muffin is wonderful right out of the oven with a smear of sweet honey butter. Everyone loves these yummy drop-style biscuits. They really do melt in your mouth. Plus, you’ll just love how easy they are to make!

28. Sweet and Moist Cornbread Recipe

This is my favorite homemade cornbread recipe! It is very moist thanks to a little oil added to the batter, and extra sweet thanks to some sugar and honey. No more dry cornbread! This skillet cornbread is baked in a hot cast iron skillet for that extra crispy edge, perfect for dunking in a bowlful of chili. Great with a hearty bowl of chili.

29. Air Fryer New York Frozen Garlic Knots Recipe

This air fryer New York frozen garlic knots recipe is the ultimate last minute side dish for any occasion! Soft, tender, garlicky rolls made in minutes in the air fryer. These are perfect for a holiday side dish or as part of your weeknight meal. They have a homemade flavor and will leave your house smelling amazing!

30. Garlic Bread Rolls

Garlic bread rolls are soft and fluffy dinner rolls packed with garlic flavor. These homemade rolls are made with lots of fresh garlic in the dough and brushed with even more garlic herb butter after baking!

31. Salted Honey Butter Parker House Rolls

These Salted Honey Butter Parker House Rolls are light, airy, buttery, perfectly salted, and SO delicious. Serve them warm right out of the oven with homemade honey butter for a dinner roll that’s melt in your mouth good. Incredibly quick and easy to make and uses just six everyday staple ingredients. It doesn’t get easier or tastier than that! These are the perfect rolls for all of your upcoming holiday dinners…Thanksgiving included!

Other:

32. Watermelon Peach Salad

Summer Watermelon Peach Salad. Sweet watermelon, summer peaches, garden basil, and salty feta cheese – all combined to create a colorful salad that’s effortless, pretty, and so delicious! Finish this simple summer salad with a sweet honey vinaigrette. Every bite bursts in your mouth with watermelon, peaches, and feta cheese. It really is summer in a salad!

33. Honey Lime Fruit Salad

Honey Lime Fruit Salad – This simple fruit salad is the ultimate crowd-pleaser. Packed with berries, fresh mint, and juicy watermelon this healthy fruit salad is super easy to make and bursting with sweet flavors. It is totally foolproof, the “hardest” part is chopping up the watermelon! Vegetarian and gluten-free this watermelon fruit salad is perfect to serve at a picnic, barbecue, or meal prep. Enjoy!

34. Sweet Corn Salad with Peaches

Loaded with summer favorites like sweet corn, juicy peaches, cilantro & avocado all tossed in a simple honey-lime vinaigrette! This corn salad with peaches is a MUST-MAKE for your next summer party!

35. Easy Fruit Salad Recipe

Easy Fruit Salad Recipe – Enjoy this colorful fruit salad with an easy homemade syrup for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. Topped with mint leaves, the flavors are light, sweet, and fresh!

These fun side dish ideas turn a pot of homemade chili into a complete meal! Having cold and warm sides creates a refreshing contrast in flavors and textures. I love a big bowl of chili on a chilly day loaded with ground beef, black beans, and my favorite toppings!