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21 picnic-perfect side dishes, salads and slaws

As the weather warms up, picnic season and outdoor dining converge into one delicious opportunity for fresh salads and sides to flavor your world, from blackeye pea “caviar” to brisket loaded fries, spicy street corn, crunchy slaw, amped-up potato salads, pickled veggies and more.

Tara Fitzpatrick, Senior Editor

April 6, 2021

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Much like Thanksgiving dinner, the sides can totally steal the show at summer picnics. It seems like every cook in America has their go-to potato salad or slaw they can’t show up without. Onsite chefs have their signature sides, too, perfect for the outdoor events, picnics, cookouts and any outdoor dining situation ready to come into full bloom as the spring sunshine heats things up.

We found super-fresh plant-forward dishes, like a rainbow-hued slaw at Marin (Calif.) Country Day School and Sodexo’s vibrant corn and bean salad. We also found the county fair-inspired indulgent side of spring and summer, with UConn’s spinach-bacon-cheese fritters and the University of Houston’s fries, which are smothered in chopped brisket, kimchi, cabbage and chipotle-ranch sauce. And no picnic is complete without potato salad. Check out Bama Dining’s loaded potato salad, plus chickpea salads, Cuban rice and beans and even a hominy casserole, all perfect for getting your picnic on.

Contact Tara at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter @Tara_Fitzie

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Sodexo

About the Author

Tara Fitzpatrick

Senior Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group

Tara Fitzpatrick is Food Management’s senior editor and a contributor to Restaurant Hospitality and Nation’s Restaurant News, creating editorial content for digital, print and events. Tara holds a bachelor of science degree from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Kent State University. Before joining Food Management in 2008, Tara was associate editor at National Association of College Stores in Oberlin, Ohio. Prior to that, Tara worked as a newspaper reporter in her hometown of Lorain, Ohio, where she lives now. Tara is a fan of food history, legends, lore, ghost stories, urban farming and old cookbooks. 

Tara Fitzpatrick’s areas of expertise include the onsite foodservice industry (K-12 schools, colleges and universities, healthcare and B&I), menu trends, sustainability in foodservice, senior dining, farm-to-table and innovation.

Tara Fitzpatrick is a frequent webinar and podcast host and has served on the board of directors for IFEC (International Food Editors Consortium).

Tara Fitzpatrick’s experience:

Senior Editor, Food Management (Feb 2008-present)

Associate Editor, National Association of College Stores (2005-2008)

Reporter, The Morning Journal (2002-2005)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-fitzpatrick-4a08451/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tara_Fitzie

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/tarafitzie/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tara.y.fitzpatrick

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