A slow-cooked brisket is tender, juicy, and incredibly flavorful. It is comfort food at its finest. Brisket is one of the nine main cuts of beef. It is a tougher meat which is why slow cooking is typically the best way to prepare it. Brisket is often cooked with onions, brown sugar, vinegar, and salt and pepper. Of course, every brisket recipe will differ slightly but the main juicy beef will be the same!
Barbecue Brisket
When considering what to serve with brisket, think about what will complement that delicious piece of protein, and go from there. From veggies to starches, we have 15 amazing side dishes to make your meal complete. With these sides, bbq brisket will be a perfect dish for any time of year! Take a look at our favorite recipes.
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1. Simple Sauteed Brussels Sprouts
Brussels sprouts are best when they are tender on the outside and crispy on the inside. That is exactly how these sprouts are cooked when you make them using our easy recipe. Brussel sprouts have a powerful flavor so they only need a simple seasoning of lime juice, salt and pepper. Coconut oil seared Brussel spouts next to your slow-roasted brisket is a perfect combination of protein and veggies. Try pouring some of the brisket sauce from your recipes over the Brussels sprouts to make the meal even more cohesive.
2. Baked Beans
Brisket goes very well with sweeter flavors which is why it is often covered in barbecue sauce, brown sugar, or even maple syrup. These delicious baked beans from How Sweet Eats have a wonderful sweet flavor that will complement the main course really well. The beans are baked in the oven and can definitely be roasted alongside the brisket, cooking both dishes at the same time. Homemade baked beans have a lot more flavor than any canned beans you can buy. So they are well worth the culinary effort!
Image Source: How Sweet Eats
3. Corn On the Cob
Bright yellow corn cobs and deep brown briskets will look beautiful on your dinner plate. This recipe for corn from Spicy Southern Kitchen on the cob is easy to make and extremely flavorful. The corn cobs are boiled in a mix of water, milk, and butter. This boiling blend makes the corn tender, sweet, and ready to eat directly out of the pot. If you want to make the corn ahead of time, follow the recipe and then keep the cooked cobs warm in a low-temperature oven. Serve them alongside your beef brisket whenever you are ready to eat!
Image Source: Spicy Southern Kitchen
4. Southern Collard Greens
Both brisket and collard greens are considered southern staples. Why not enjoy them together? This recipe for collards from Grandbaby Cakes is classically prepared using ham hocks, bacon grease, and Worcestershire sauce. There is also plenty of sugar to ensure those greens are nice and sweet! You can definitely prepare this side dish ahead of time and reheat it once our beef brisket is roasted to perfection.
Image Source: Grandbaby Cakes
5. Microwave Baked Potato
Cooking baked potatoes in the microwave is a quick and delicious way to make a side dish for your brisket. This recipe from Meatloaf and Melodrama actually only takes about 12 minutes to cook a fluffy, soft-baked potato. Serve the potato with your favorite toppings. We love using butter, sour cream, diced green onions, and a sprinkle of cooked bacon bits. Brisket and potatoes will be a hearty and very filling meal.
Image Source: Meatloaf and Melodrama
6. Skillet Green Beans
Green beans taste best when they have a nice crunch. This dish from Healthy Seasonal Recipes makes a perfect, crunchy green bean that requires little in the way of additional seasonings. Let the taste of fresh green beans shine through! Garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes are all you need. Feel free to cut back on the red pepper flakes if you want a more mild green bean recipe. Consider the taste of your brisket when you think about the amount of spice you’d like on your beans.
Image Source: Healthy Seasonal Recipes
7. Stuffed Butternut Squash
Our stuffed butternut squash is a delicious, flavor-packed side dish that may actually steal the show. The squash is roasted in the oven and then filled with fall-flavored ingredients like apples, oats, and cranberries. The sweetness of the squash tastes amazing with the juicy beef. You may want to drizzle some maple syrup over your brisket to match the taste of the squash. Make this stuffed butternut squash in the colder months when you will want that hot oven on all day. Our quash does take some time to cook but, then again, so does a perfect brisket!
8. Green Salad
Brisket is definitely a hearty meal so you may want to choose lighter side dishes. This simple green salad from Cookie and Kate is a perfect side. It’s healthy, light, and still full of tasty flavors. We love this recipe that fills the salad bowl with amazing ingredients. Apples, cranberries, pepitas, and a homemade apple cider vinaigrette are tossed together with tender lettuce. Try making this recipe in the fall when slow-roasted meats are on the menu but lettuce is still in season as well.
Image Source: Cookie and Kate
9. Honey Garlic Roasted Carrots
Brisket goes so well when served with sweeter side dishes. That salty meat goes great with anything sweet! That is why we love these honey, garlic roasted carrots as a side dish to our beef from Cafe Delites. The carrots are naturally sweet but the honey takes them to the next level. Try replacing the honey with maple syrup for a whole new twist on this recipe. Spring carrots are the most tender and also the sweetest. Think about making carrot recipes when baby carrots are fresh and in season.
Image Source: Cafe Delites
10. Grilled Bell Peppers with Burrata
Grilled peppers are a wonderful side for serving with brisket especially if you are already turning on your grill to cook your main course. A bell pepper will get sweeter as it is seared on the grill and will lose any bitterness it may have. If you are wondering what barbeque sides to pick, this dish from How Sweet Eats is definitely a winner! Try stuffing the peppers with mozzarella or parmesan if you do not have burrata cheese on hand.
Image Source: How Sweet Eats
11. White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Gooey, warm mac and cheese may be one of the best and most classic side dishes. Our recipe for white mac and cheese looks fantastic when served next to dark-colored briskets. Sharp white cheddar is used to make this dish but you can also add in some parmesan cheese, gruyere, or even some blue cheese. Tangy cheeses pair well with sweet, roasted meats.
12. Easy Coleslaw
Coleslaw can always be found among the sides at a bbq. It is a classic combination of crunchy and creamy that will taste fantastic next to your meaty main course. You will love this recipe from Dinner then Dessert. It has a wonderful, complex flavor but only requires 7 ingredients. Mayonnaise, sugar, lemon juice, and vinegar take center stage here. Always make your coleslaw recipes in advance so the flavors have time to marinate and grow. Easy to make bbq sides are often the best!
Image Source: Dinner then Dessert
13. Cheddar Cheese Biscuits
Tangy and sweet is the perfect way to describe these cheddar cheese and buttermilk biscuits from Jo Cooks. You can choose to serve these homemade biscuits alongside your brisket. Or, you may want to use them to make a shredded brisket sandwich. A cheesy, sandwich bun sounds fantastic! Save a few biscuits as well to enjoy in the morning. Cheddar biscuits also go great with eggs at breakfast. Recipes with dual purposes are the best!
Image Source: Jo Cooks
14. Perfect Asparagus
Bright green stalks of asparagus will add some beautiful color to your dinner plate. Freshly cooked asparagus also tastes wonderful and adds plenty of vitamins and minerals to your dish. You can grill, steam, or roast your asparagus all using this one, easy to follow recipe from Love and Lemons. Once cooked, a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of salt and pepper is all you need!
Image Source: Love and Lemons
15. Corn Pudding
You will find corn pudding on the menu at many barbecue joints. That just proves how perfect it is as a side to your brisket. Corn pudding is made using canned corn, cornbread mix, and some more creamed corn. Talk about a dish packed with delicious corn. While this recipe from Dinner at the Zoo is perfect, we love adding some sliced jalapeno peppers to the mix before baking to add some spice.
Image Source: Dinner at the Zoo
There are so many amazing sides for bbq brisket that it is hard to choose which one to try first! So why not give all the recipes a chance? Let us know which sides you love the most by leaving a comment below. Time to go fire up that grill, get out your slow cooker or preheat your oven and start making a perfect brisket meal.
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