These Cold Vegan Side Dishes are great for any season and holiday, including BBQs, picnics, and potlucks! They're fresh, delicious, and comforting, and can be made ahead of time for a stress-free dinner!
No more stressing over reheating side dishes, friends! Cold side dishes are not for summer only, they can be served all year round!
We've included recipes for BBQs, picnics, potlucks, Thanksgiving, and even Christmas.
Whatever the occasion, we've got a recipe for you that your friends and family will love, and probably won't recognize it's vegan!
For more cold recipes, check out my 30 cold Christmas appetizers, and 30 BEST Cold Thanksgiving Appetizers.
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Why Serve Cold Side Dishes?
- It makes things so much easier! We all know how hard it is at Thanksgiving, trying to serve everything warm and on time. Well, serving cold side dishes makes putting on a delicious table so much easier.
- Less stress and effort. Instead of worrying if everything is warm enough and reheating things a couple of times, you can focus more on other things like enjoying the company of the people you've invited and making conversations (which is a big part of hosting a gathering).
- Easy to transport. Since these are cold vegan side dishes, you can easily take them with you on a picnic, potluck, or over at a friend's house, without worrying if the dish will still be warm when you get there.
- Delicious and flavorful. Even though these recipes are not served warm, they're still so yummy and don't compromise on flavor. Some of them are real crowd-pleasers!
- They bring freshness to heavier main dishes. Have you ever had a rich meat dish like lasagna or Shepard's pie and found yourself reaching for the salad more than once? That's because cold side dishes cleanse the palate with their freshness and acidity, helping you to taste better whatever is the star of the show.
Tips for Serving Cold Vegan Side Dishes
- Prepare the day before. Some recipes like macaroni salad, coleslaw, and cucumber salad can be made beforehand. This is such a great helper if you're busy doing other things for your holiday/party like decorating or cleaning.
- Serve some dishes at room temperature. Yes, these are cold side dishes, but some of them are best enjoyed at room temperature. Like this savory vegan tart and this white bean dip. I recommend removing those dishes from the fridge at least 2 hours before serving.
- Ask your friends to bring something over! You can ask a friend or family member to prepare something the day before and bring it over. No need to worry if the dish will arrive at the table warm!
Cold Vegan Side Dishes Recipes
Readers Favorites
Here's what our readers have been making on repeat this summer. My personal favorite is the corn fritters!
Avocado Pico De Gallo
Avocado Pico de Gallo is vibrant and fresh, with zesty and bold flavors! This 15-minute recipe is a crowd-pleaser perfect for any time of the year. Enjoy with pita chips, or top over tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and more!
Vegan Zucchini Boats with Lentils
Vegan Stuffed Zucchini Boats are an easy summer dinner that the whole family will enjoy! Stuffed with lentils, tomatoes, and fresh herbs, and topped off with a sprinkle of vegan parmesan!
Savory Fried Leeks & Kale Tart
The best healthy savory pie stuffed with veggies and creamy tofu filling. It is so easy to make, requiring simple and easy-to-find ingredients that you probably have at home!
Cucumber Avocado Gazpacho
This Cucumber avocado gazpacho recipe is rich in flavor and comes together in under 30 minutes! It is creamy from the avocados, refreshing from the mint, and spicy from the jalapenos! Perfect for a light summer dinner.
Easy Gazpacho Recipe
The ultimate summer side dish refresher, this deliciously easy Gazpacho Recipe is made with garden fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumber, and onion. Learn all about how to make this healthy and traditional Gazpacho Andaluz (Chilled Spanish Tomato Soup) and enjoy it as a side dish all summer long.
Vegan Ratatouille
This vegan ratatouille is as delicious as it is beautiful with layers of zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant layered on a bed of red sauce. To make the recipe faster and easier, jarred pizza sauce is used instead of cooking down a tomato sauce into the right consistency. It’s perfect paired with pastas, crusty french bread, spaghetti squash or just eaten on its own.
Vegan Baked Beans
These Stove Top Baked Beans are Vegan and can be prepared in under 40 minutes. Full of flavor with wholesome ingredients.
Vegan Corn Fritters
These quick and easy Vegan Corn Fritters are gluten-free, eggless, and dairy-free. Crispy outside, tender inside, this simple sweet and savory corn cake recipe is perfect with fresh, frozen, or canned corn, seasoned however you'd like! A classic Southern side dish, appetizer, or snack, these healthier corn fritters will be gobbled up in seconds!
Salads and Roasted Vegetables
Best Chickpea "Egg" Salad
This delicious Chickpea Egg Salad is made with a few simple ingredients and is ready in 10 minutes only! It's a healthy meal-prep recipe that can be served with bread, crackers, vegan tortillas, and more!
Creamy Potato Salad without Eggs
This Creamy Potato Salad without Eggs will be your new favorite summer side! All the classic flavors you love, but with a healthy twist!
Easy Salad Kabobs Recipe
Make these Easy Salad Kabobs for your next dinner party or an upcoming holiday! They are quick and simple to make, and so fun to eat! Your kids and family will love them!
Crispy Roasted Frozen Brussels Sprouts
These Crispy Roasted Frozen Brussels Sprouts are an easy vegetable side dish for the holidays or your next weeknight dinner! Just 6 ingredients and 30 minutes are needed!
Green Goddess Chopped Salad
Fresh and flavorful, this green goddess chopped salad is the side dish to serve with so many dishes! This hearty salad is a great meal prep recipe.
Easy Cannellini Bean Salad
This quick and delicious Mediterranean-inspired Cannellini Bean Salad is made with canned beans and a few other flavorful ingredients. It only takes five minutes to make and there’s no cooking involved!
Cucumber and Tomato Salad with Chickpeas
It's loaded with refreshing veggies, protein-rich chickpeas, and tossed with a light, lemony dressing. You'll want to make it all summer long for barbecues, picnics, potlucks, and more!
Italian Potato Salad With Green Beans & Red Onions
This Italian Potato Salad is a delicious and easy salad to make. It is full of flavor and can be made in advance.
Panzanella (Tuscan Tomato and Bread Salad)
Panzanella is a delicious Tuscan salad that helps you to put to good use juicy tomatoes and stale bread. In my version, we’ll also add some chickpeas for an extra boost in plant-based protein!
Fruit Salad
This easy fruit salad recipe has plenty of fruit tossed in a bright citrus dressing. The fruit salad makes a great side or a light dessert.
Vegan Light Cucumber Salad
This refreshing and easy cucumber salad is whipped with the lightest chili lime salad dressing. A great side salad for BBQ, Picnics, Potlucks, and more.
Vegan Caeser Salad with Crunchy Chickpeas
This vegan Caesar Salad has a rich, garlicky, dairy-free and oil-free Caesar dressing that is just a little bit addictive! Swap the regular croutons for chickpeas for a healthier and gluten-free twist on the classic.
Pasta and Noodle Recipes
Tagliatelle Pesto Pasta (15 Minutes)
This Tagliatelle Pesto Pasta is ready in just 15 minutes! It's light and healthy but packed with flavor from the homemade pesto. Serve with a generous sprinkle of parmesan and garlic bread on the side!
Greek Pasta Salad (Gluten-free)
A healthy Mediterranean cold side dish recipe that takes the ingredients of a classic Greek salad, juicy tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, kalamata olives, red onion, green pepper, & adds pasta!
Dips and Sauces
White Bean Dip Recipe
This recipe for white bean dip comes together in just 10 minutes, requiring 10 ingredients and 1 bowl to prepare. This recipe is great for meal prep because it's so easy to make and will last for quite some time. It's vegan and gluten-free as well.
Silky Lebanese Hummus
This is the silkiest, most luxurious Lebanese hummus that's perfect as a side dish or as part of a mezze plater and is packed with protein. Plus, it's so easy to make!
Cowboy Caviar
Quick and easy cowboy caviar recipe! This recipe can be mixed up in just 10 minutes, and it makes a hearty bean side dish!
Vegan Cranberry Sauce
Healthy Cranberry Sauce with 3 ingredients and a perfect balance of sweet and tangy. Naturally sweetened and ready only in 10 minutes!
Roasted Chili Corn Salsa
This easy copycat chipotle corn salad is the perfect side dish. Eat it with chips, or by the spoonful you can’t go wrong with this combination of flavors!
If you try any of these cold vegan side dishes, let me know in the comments below! I'm curious to know which one is your favorite. 😋
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