21 Fresh, Flavor-Packed Sides to Serve With Burgers Make room on your plate for pasta salad, baked beans, succotash, and — yes — French fries. By Emily Ziemski Emily Ziemski Emily Ziemski is a recipe developer, editor, and food writer with a focus on sustainability and wellness. Previously a senior food editor at Well+Good and food editor at Food52, she's best known for the creation of the Dirty Martini Salad Dressing (for which she apologizes). Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on May 16, 2026 Add Us On SAVE ALL RECIPES NEW! Save as a collection on MyRecipes Close Credit: Matt Taylor-Gross When burgers are on the menu, whether at a cookout or family meal, we have a variety of side dishes especially well suited to accompany the crowd-pleasing main. Think baked beans with extra brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, potato salad with fresh seasonal herbs, or a showstopping panzanella that makes the most of the season's tomatoes. Plus, choose your favorite burger-and-fries combination with shoestring, waffle, and wedge recipes. Here's what to serve with hamburgers — whatever the occasion. Keep all of your recipes at your fingertips. With the MyRecipes app you can easily save and organize your favorites from anywhere, including Instagram and TikTok, in one convenient place. Get the free app. 01 of 21 Air Fryer French Fries Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Julian Hensaring / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless You can make crispy, restaurant-worthy fries at home with nothing more than russet potatoes, salt, a couple of tablespoons of oil, and an air fryer. Get Recipe Save 02 of 21 Chopped Salad with Honey-Peanut Dressing Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Bold, bright, and zingy, this fish sauce–laced salad is an ideal accompaniment to savory grilled burgers. Get the Recipe Save 03 of 21 Green Goddess Pasta Salad Food & Wine / Photo by Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Melissa Gray Streett / Prop Styling by Tucker Vines Super bright and refreshing, this pasta salad is ideal alongside grilled chicken, burgers, and corn at your next outdoor party. Mix sharp, peppery radishes, creamy artichokes, and earthy asparagus with gemelli pasta and tangy green dressing. Get the Recipe Save 04 of 21 Grilled Corn Salad With Coconut-Peanut Chaat Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman Combine sweet, lightly charred fresh corn with flaked coconut, curry leaves, and peanuts for a ton of flavor and texture this summer. Get the Recipe Save 05 of 21 Quick Dill Pickles Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Start these before your cookout starts, and they'll be ready to go in just a few hours — right in time for the burgers to come off the grill. Get the Recipe Save 06 of 21 Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Cooling and refreshing, this watermelon salad has pops of savory contrast from onion, crumbly feta, and olives. Get the Recipe Save 07 of 21 Potato Salad with Fresh Corn and Basil Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Red baby potatoes are ideal for potato salad because their tender skins and creamy interiors hold together, even when cooked. Top Chef Canada alum Lucy Morrow adds fresh yellow corn, yellow onion, celery, basil, and dill. Get the Recipe Save 08 of 21 Grilled Summer Squash with Roasted Pistachio Sauce Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christine Keely Make a thick and rich, spoonable puree from roasted tomatillos, pistachios, and serrano chiles for the perfect dressing for juicy grilled zucchini and yellow squash. Get the Recipe Save 09 of 21 Sweet Potato Oven Fries Matt Taylor-Gross These oven-baked sweet potato fries can be customized to taste. Opt for herbs de provence for their verdant aroma, or go for paprika or chile powder to lend heat. Get the Recipe Save 10 of 21 Pasta Salad with Feta and Herbs Eric Wolfinger Up the ante with this dynamic pasta salad from chef Mason Hereford of New Orleans' Turkey and the Wolf. He studs it with sunflower seeds, juicy cherry tomatoes, and fresh lemon zest that's as bright as it is tasty. Get the Recipe Save 11 of 21 Charred Broccoli with Black Garlic Vinaigrette Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Toss crisp-tender charred broccoli with a thick, umami-rich vinaigrette and sprinkle with salty feta and sunflower seeds for this 40-minute stovetop side. Get the Recipe Save 12 of 21 Potato Chip Chopped Caesar Salad Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Renu Dhar / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle Put those party chips to good use in this delicious and substantial chopped Caesar salad. Get the Recipe Save 13 of 21 Grilled Pepper and Onion Panzanella Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Toss charred vegetables with cubes of grilled bread, a peperoncini vinaigrette, as well as creamy feta and crisp slices ofpeperoncini for a bright, bold salad that pleasingly contrasts with a burger. Get the Recipe Save 14 of 21 Kwame's Waffle Fries Kyle Schmitz Berbere, an Ethiopian spice blend, brings a citrusy sweet heat to these fried spuds. 2019 F&W Best New Chef Kwame Onwuachi mixes it with kosher salt and then sprinkles it over the finished fries. Get the Recipe Save 15 of 21 Sweet Corn Succotash with Shiitakes and Sugar Snaps Tara Donne / Food Styling by Chris Lanier / Prop Styling by Raina Kattelson 1998 F&W Best New Chef Katy Sparks' succotash not only comes together quickly, but is a super concentrated celebration of summer produce. Crisp snap peas, meaty shiitake mushrooms, fresh aromatic basil, and smoked paprika butter all play together in this seasonal side. Get the Recipe Save 16 of 21 Quick Red Cabbage Slaw Jen Causey This almost effortless slaw scores big in the flavor department with matchstick carrots, lemon juice, mustard seeds, and salt. The side dish or topping only takes 10 minutes of prep work, and while you work on getting everything else ready for the grill, the slaw marinates itself. Get the Recipe Save 17 of 21 Plantain Chips Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne With loads of spicy citrus flavor, these plantain chips are a delightful addition to any table. Get the Recipe Save 18 of 21 Peach, Tomato, and Feta Salad with Candied Jalapeño Dressing Guillermo Riveros / Food Styling by Dana Beninati Tangy, sweet tomatoes and peaches star atop a bed of peppery arugula and basil. A sweet-spicy pepper jam vinaigrette and a sprinkle of za'atar add peppy lift to the flavors. Get the Recipe Save 19 of 21 Masala Grilled Vegetables with Spicy Mint Chutney Greg DuPree Grilled summer produce meets a chile-spiked herb dressing in this bright dish from F&W's Paige Grandjean and Liz Mervosh. Using a blender or food processor to prepare the chutney helps safeguard the color by instantly cutting and coating the herbs with oil, locking in the green. Get the Recipe Save 20 of 21 Gina Mae's Baked Beans Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Scholar Regina Bradley (nicknamed "Gina Mae" as a child) added a few special touches to her husband's baked beans recipe to make it her own: extra brown sugar elevates store-bought barbecue sauce, and apple cider vinegar cuts through the smoky sweetness. Get the Recipe Save 21 of 21 Grill-Baked Potatoes with Chive Butter Marcus Nilsson These super-easy grilled potatoes are layered with pats of rich chive and sour cream butter, then wrapped in foil and cooked until soft and delicious. Get the Recipe Save Explore more: Dinner Meat Dishes Beef Main Course Hamburgers Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit