Join us in celebrating summer by making the most amazing barbecue ever! From ribs and brisket to every side dish you could possibly want, these BBQ party menu ideas have something for everyone.

A wooden table topped with plates of bbq party menu ideas.

The Best Barbecue Party Food Ideas

If you want delicious barbecue party menu ideas, you’re in the right place. Hosting a good party is the highlight of our summer, and any excuse we have to fire up the grill, we’re taking it. Build a menu by choosing a little of everything below.

Hosting a BBQ Party doesn’t have to be stressful or complicated. Our barbecue party food ideas range from incredibly simple to show-stopping centerpieces, and there’s something for everyone here.

The key to a successful BBQ is proper planning.

  • Make several dishes that can mostly be prepped in advance. You don’t want to spend the entire party cooking! That defeats the whole purpose of a relaxing, fun-filled summer bbq.
  • Variety is the spice of life. If you’re having a lot of people over, their likes and wants will be different. Make sure to include a wide variety of proteins to accommodate everyone’s needs.
  • Don’t forget the kids! Simple, easy to eat on the run foods are perfect for the smaller party guests that will be attending. Plus, if they eat in the yard, it’ll be less mess on your floors. A lot of our menu ideas for BBQ here are kid-friendly!

BBQ Party Menu Ideas

Mexican-Style BBQ Party Menu Ideas

From tacos and tostadas to a fun twist on hot dogs, we've got something for everyone here.

1
A fish taco topped with tropical fruit salsa and drizzled with creamy sauce.

Grilled Fish Tacos

Grilled Fish Tacos that don't stick to the grill and are quick enough for a weeknight? You can do it! The combination of spice-rubbed fish and juicy fruit salsa will transport you to a tropical vacation.
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2
A pork taco topped with pineapple salsa, avocado and crumbled cheese on brown parchment paper.

Pork Tacos with Pineapple

This Pork Tenderloin Tacos with pineapple salsa recipe uses smart ingredient choices to make a restaurant-style dish easy enough for a weeknight or casual gathering.
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3
A rustic cutting board topped with Sonoran hot dogs, limes, onions and hot sauce.

Mexican Hotdog Recipe

A Sonoran Hot Dog is a mashup of a hot dog and a taco PLUS BACON. Top with your favorite Tex Mex condiments and get ready for a flavor explosion.
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4
The Best Pollo Asado Tacos
Blackberry Babe

The Best Pollo Asado Tacos

This super easy Pollo Asado recipe will become your go-to Mexican street tacos for taco night! Marinated, juicy chicken with citrusy flavor.
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5
Traeger Carne Asada
Or Whatever You Do

Traeger Carne Asada

This easy marinade not only tenderizes the meat, but it gives it an amazing flavor. You need to try this easy Traeger Carne Asada.
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6
Mexican roasted corn salad in a black bowl, garnished with lime wedges.

Elote Corn Salad

Inspired by Mexican street corn, this Elote Salad has a reader exclaiming "I loved this recipe and brought it to a party where everyone else loved it too." Make ahead and serve warm, chilled or at room temperature. 
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7
A bowl of 4 ingredient guacamole recipe.

4 Ingredient Guacamole Recipe

A 4 Ingredient Guacamole Recipe that really uses just four whole ingredients (no cheating with pico de gallo). Just good ingredients, in the right ratio, combined properly.
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8
Jicama Salad
Running To The Kitchen

Jicama Salad

Crunchy and refreshing jicama salad with mango, cucumber and red pepper is a wonderful accompaniment to any summer meal or Mexican dish.
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Salad Menu Ideas For BBQ

Sometimes, all you need is a good salad with your big piece of grilled meat. These fun salads are perfect for your party!

9
A dinner scene with bowls of a steak salad recipe alongside sliced steak, pickled red onions and garlic bread.

Steak and Salad

With premium ingredients and special touches like homemade pickled onions and feta dressing, this Steak Salad is like a high-end steakhouse salad right at home.
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10
A large oval platter filled with summer salad made with berries, arugula and grilled chicken.

Summer Green Salad

This Summer Salad Recipe is light enough for a hot day, but filling enough that you won't feel snacky later on. Oh, and four words: TWO. TYPES. OF. CHEESE.
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11
A wooden bowl filled with easy spinach salad made with chicken, tomatoes, bacon and hard boiled eggs.

Best Spinach Salad Recipe

Every single ingredient in this Best Spinach Salad can be washed, cooked, prepped or chopped in advance. Toss it together for a work week lunch or dinner. No side dishes needed.
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12
A white bowl filled with beet salad with heirloom tomatoes.

Beet Tomato Salad

The best Tomato and Beet Salad isn't anything more than great ingredients, arranged on a pretty platter. With over 100,000 page views, this recipe has been the star of many dinner tables.
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13
A textured gray bowl filled with watermelon feta mint salad, with a spoon digging into it.

Watermelon and Mint Salad

This Watermelon Feta Mint Salad is unlike any you've had before, thanks to a boost of flavor from citrus juice and zest, and lots of seasoning. Plus, the ratio of watermelon to feta is sure to please cheese lovers!
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14
An Italian chopped salad on an oval platter with ruffled edges.

Best Chopped Salad

This Italian Chopped Salad is a restaurant favorite that's easy to make at home. Crisp veggies, creamy cheese, pickly things, salty salami and an herby homemade dressing come together in the best way.
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15
A large black geometric platter piled high with grilled peach burrata salad, garnished with lots of fresh herbs and pine nuts.

Grilled Peach Salad Recipe

This Peach Burrata Salad has grilled peaches and luscious burrata cheese that are paired with rustic pesto croutons that you'll want to gobble up before they even reach the table.
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Pork BBQ Party Dishes

It is one of the most traditional proteins to make for a party. From ribs to pulled pork and chops!

16
A grilled pork chop on a textured gray plate alongside roasted baby potatoes and green beans.

Grilled Pork Chop Recipe

This Grilled Pork Chops Recipe includes a marinade that combines acid, sugar, salt and oil to infuse the chops with incredible flavor and moisture. You can easily eyeball the ingredients and still achieve fantastic results!
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17
Two half racks of baby back ribs with barbecue sauce, with bottle of root beer in background.

The Best Marinade For Pork Ribs

Use root beer as both a rib marinade and the base of a tangy barbecue sauce for the most juicy and flavorful baby back ribs you'll ever serve. My family and friends have raved about this recipe for years!
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18
Slices of grilled pork tenderloin on a platter with a bed of couscous and blistered tomatoes.

Best Grilled Pork Tenderloin Recipe

Learn the exact technique to make perfectly cooked pork tenderloin on the grill, then make it a complete meal with a pearl couscous salad with tomatoes and feta cheese.
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19
Traeger Smoked Pulled Pork
Or Whatever You Do

Traeger Smoked Pulled Pork

Traeger Smoked Pulled Pork takes a pork butt that’s been rubbed with your favorite bbq rub, then we smoke it, slow cook it, and shred!
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Chicken Barbecue Party Food Ideas

Chicken is one of the most versatile proteins to serve at a BBQ! Get some great ideas below!

20
Grilled chicken legs and thighs garnished with lemon wedges and parsley.

Buttermilk Chicken Recipe

This buttermilk chicken marinade is the best ever way to make grilled chicken! Buttermilk grilled chicken is so juicy, tender and flavorful that you'll never go back to any other marinade.
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21
Two grilled chicken shawarma wraps, wrapped in white paper, on a gold platter on a tiled surface.

Grilled Chicken Shawarma

This Chicken Shawarma recipe is super fast to put together thanks to a marinade and a sauce with many common ingredients, so you can stir them together at the same time.
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22
A round chicken pizza with roasted garlic and basil on a wooden cutting board.

The Best Chicken Pizza Recipe

This Chicken Pizza comes together in about 30 minutes, and is made with a bunch of grocery store shortcuts, but it still has big gourmet pizzeria flavor. Recipe includes instructions to make it either on the grill or in the oven.
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23
Grilled chicken marinated in a Greek chicken marinade recipe sliced and served over a salad.

Greek Chicken Marinade Recipe

This Greek Chicken Marinade recipe works with any chicken cooking method, and you honestly don't have to measure any of the ingredients. Eyeball it all and you're good to go!
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24
The best grilled chicken wings on a grill.

Grilled Chicken Wings

This Grilled Chicken Wings Recipe uses a simple two-zone grilling technique to ensure that your wings are smoky and crispy on the outside, while being perfectly succulent and juicy on the inside.
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25
A meal scene with black plates filled with chicken kabobs on the grill and naan bread.

Grilled Chicken Kabobs

This Chicken Kabob Recipe isn't the one your dad made growing up. Tender chicken and veggies are brushed with a sticky mango curry sauce for an Indian-inspired weeknight dinner.
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Sides For A Barbecue Night Menu

It can't just be meat, right? Round out your plate with some of the ideas below.

26
A wooden bowl filled with pasta salad with Italian dressing and antipasto ingredients.

Easy Pasta Salad With Italian Dressing

This is the classic midwestern Pasta Salad with Italian Dressing pumped up a few (dozen!) notches. It can and should be prepared in advance, so it's perfect for parties and picnics.
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27
A wooden spoon lifting a scoop of seasoned rice off of a white platter.

Seasoned Rice

This Seasoned Rice Recipe is a homemade alternative to boxed mixes like Rice-A-Roni. Make this in minutes using ingredients you likely already have on hand.
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28
Grilled zucchini spears with a miso glaze on a dark gray oval platter.

Miso Grilled Zucchini

This Grilled Zucchini Recipe with Miso Glaze requires no special knife skills, is ready in 15 minutes, and will make eating your veggies an absolute delight.
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29
A tray of dill veggie dip and fresh cut vegetables.

Fresh Dill Dip

This Dill Veggie Dip is a nostalgic Midwestern classic, updated for modern tastebuds. Try it once and you'll understand – and never go back to any other recipe.
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30
A bowl of Acini de Pepe pasta salad on a dark surface.

Summer Vegetable Acini De Pepe Salad

This Acini de Pepe Pasta Salad is filled with fresh summer veggies and uses a simple technique to guarantee it is perfectly dressed with yogurt-Parmesan sauce – never dry!
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31
A blue platter filled with Papa a la Huancaina.

Papas a la Huancaina

Shake up your potato salad game with Papas a la Huancaina, a Peruvian potato salad with a flavorful cheese sauce that can be made with ingredients from any grocery store.
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32
Four pieces of grilled corn on the cob resting in foil.

Grilled Corn on the Cob in Foil

Forget the husks and find out How to Grill Corn on the Cob in Foil. It's easier to season, the corn simmers in a *pool of butter* on the grill, and the kernels get nice and toasty.
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33
A speckled ceramic bowl filled with potato salad with bacon and green onions, with a spoon digging into the salad.

Potato Salad with Bacon Recipe

This Potato Salad with Bacon recipe uses an easy technique to make sure the salad is perfectly dressed – never dry – when you serve it. The flavor is a perfect balance of tangy and salty.
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34
Shallow white bowl filled with coleslaw with celery seed, with smaller bowl of celery seed next to it, and apples in background.

Apple Coleslaw Recipe (Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing)

This coleslaw with celery seed is a unique twist on a classic side. It's the perfect coleslaw for pulled pork, chicken or ribs!
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35
A blue bowl filled with dill pickle pasta salad made with macaroni, fresh dill and cubes of cheddar cheese.

Pickle Pasta (Dill Pickle Salad)

This Dill Pickle Pasta Salad recipe uses a simple technique to guarantee a perfectly dressed salad every time – never dry or bland! Plenty of zesty pickles and cubes of cheese will make this a hit at your next gathering!
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36
A blue bowl filled with potato salad with egg.

Potato Salad with Egg Recipe

This Potato Salad with Egg has been a Midwestern family favorite for generations. Potatoes, eggs, celery and onion, dressed with a mayonnaise-Thousand Island-mustard dressing. So classic and so good! 
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37
Cast iron skillet filled with baked beans with cans of Dr. Pepper next to skillet.

Dr Pepper Baked Beans with Bacon Recipe

These homemade Dr. Pepper baked beans with bacon start with simple canned beans and turn into a sweet, salty, glazy, delicious side dish. Easy stovetop-to-oven preparation, all in one skillet.
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Beef Menu For A Barbecue Party

One of the most traditional and popular proteins for a BBQ.

38
Grilled flat iron steak on a serving platter with a meat fork, pickled vegetables and sea salt.

Grilled Flat Iron Steak

Use ingredients you probably already have in the kitchen to make a great marinade for this Flat Iron Steak Recipe. It turns an affordable piece of beef into something juicy, tender and super flavorful.
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39
A piece of beef in a oval pan, with a hand pouring balsamic steak marinade with flecks of garlic in it over the meat.

Balsamic Steak Marinade Sauce

This Balsamic Steak Marinade can be made using simple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. There is no need to measure anything precisely, so it couldn't be easier!
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40
A large platter filled with kafta skewers, vegetables and a creamy dipping sauce.

Beef Kafta Recipe

This Beef Kafta Recipe turns a classic Lebanese dish into something possible at home on a weeknight. The succulent grilled meat kabobs are flavored with garlic, onions and lots of dried herbs and spices. Serve simply with yogurt dipping sauce, or bowl-style for a larger meal.
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41
Traeger Smoked Brisket
Or Whatever You Do

Traeger Smoked Brisket

This moist and juicy Traeger Smoked Beef Brisket has bark for days and will melt in your mouth like butter. Make great bbq at home!
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42
A bacon avocado burger on a brioche bun topped with lettuce, tomato and pickled jalapeno. The burger is on wooden cutting board in front of a patterned background. There are potato wedges in the foreground.

Avocado Bacon Burger

Turn burger night into a gourmet experience with this Bacon Avocado Burger. The cilantro mayo is what takes it to the next level!
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