Braai salads: 9 classic South African braai sides with recipes

The best braai salads are the classics: creamy potato salad, sweet three-bean salad, beetroot, coleslaw, a pot of chakalaka and something fresh and green. Below are nine South African braai sides with ingredient lists in metric and short methods. Each recipe serves 8–10 as one of several sides.

Planning your sides

For a braai of 8–10 people, three or four sides is plenty: one starchy (potato, pasta or pap), one sweet-and-tangy (beans or beetroot), one fresh (green salad or coleslaw) and one hot relish (chakalaka or tomato-and-onion sauce). Most of these can be made the day before, so you’re free to stand at the fire.

1. Creamy potato salad

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg potatoes (waxy or baby potatoes hold their shape best)
• 4 eggs
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 250 ml mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp plain yoghurt or sour cream
• 1 tbsp prepared mustard
• Salt, pepper and a handful of chopped parsley or spring onion

Method

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until just tender, about 15–20 minutes. Drain and cool slightly, then cut into chunks.
2. Hard-boil the eggs (10 minutes), cool in cold water, peel and chop.
3. Mix the mayonnaise, yoghurt and mustard. Fold through the warm potatoes with the onion and eggs. Season and top with herbs. Chill until needed.

2. Three-bean salad

Ingredients

• 1 tin (410 g) butter beans, drained
• 1 tin (410 g) red kidney beans, drained
• 1 tin (410 g) cut green beans, drained, or 300 g fresh green beans, blanched
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 125 ml white vinegar or brown spirit vinegar
• 80 ml sunflower oil
• 80 ml sugar
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Heat the vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Cool, then whisk in the oil and season.
2. Pour over the beans and onion, stir and refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably overnight.

3. Beetroot salad

Ingredients

• 1 kg cooked beetroot (home-boiled or vacuum-packed), grated or diced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 125 ml vinegar
• 60 ml sugar
• 60 ml water
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Heat the vinegar, sugar and water until the sugar dissolves, then cool.
2. Mix with the beetroot and onion. Refrigerate overnight. For a creamy version, stir 125 ml of sour cream through just before serving.

4. Classic coleslaw

Ingredients

• 500 g white cabbage, finely shredded
• 200 g red cabbage, finely shredded
• 2 carrots, grated
• 200 ml mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Mix the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar and seasoning.
2. Toss with the vegetables up to an hour before serving. Dress it any earlier and it goes watery.

5. Chakalaka

Chakalaka is a spicy vegetable relish, served hot or cold, and it belongs next to pap and boerewors.

Ingredients

• 30 ml oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic and a thumb of ginger, grated
• 1 green and 1 red pepper, diced
• 2 chillies, chopped (or to taste)
• 1–2 tbsp curry powder
• 3 carrots, grated
• 1 tin (410 g) chopped tomatoes
• 1 tin (410 g) baked beans in tomato sauce
• Salt and pepper

Method

1. Fry the onions in oil until soft. Add the garlic, ginger, peppers and chillies and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the curry powder and cook for a minute, then add the carrots and tomatoes. Simmer for 10–15 minutes.
3. Stir in the baked beans, season and heat through. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days.

6. Braai pasta salad

Ingredients

• 500 g pasta (fusilli or shells)
• 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 100 g feta, crumbled
• 125 ml bottled Italian or French salad dressing, or a homemade vinaigrette
• A handful of fresh basil

Method

1. Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. Rinse under cold water and drain well.
2. Toss with the vegetables and dressing. Add the feta and basil just before serving.

7. Greek salad

Ingredients

• 1 head cos or iceberg lettuce, torn
• 3 tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 1 cucumber, sliced
• ½ red onion, thinly sliced
• 100 g black olives
• 200 g feta, cubed
• 60 ml olive oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp dried oregano

Method Layer the vegetables, top with olives and feta, and drizzle with the oil, lemon and oregano just before serving.

8. Carrot and pineapple salad

A retro favourite that children love.

Ingredients

• 500 g carrots, grated
• 1 tin (440 g) crushed pineapple, drained
• 50 g raisins (optional)
• 60 ml mayonnaise or plain yoghurt

Method Mix everything and chill for an hour.

9. Braaied mielies

Not a salad, but often the most popular side.

Ingredients

• 8 mielies (corn cobs), husks removed
• 60 g butter, melted
• Salt, and chilli or garlic flakes if you like

Method Brush the mielies with butter and braai over medium coals for 15–20 minutes, turning often, until charred in spots. Brush again and season before serving.

Don’t forget the starch

A braai isn’t complete without pap or braaibroodjies. Stywe pap with tomato-and-onion sauce (sous) or chakalaka is the classic, and braaibroodjies (cheese, tomato, onion and chutney toasted on the grid) are covered with full quantities in our braai ideas guide. To work out how much meat to buy to go with all of this, see how much braai meat per person.

If your braai is mostly gas-cooked, a skottel is handy for frying the onions and peppers for chakalaka right next to the grid.

FAQ

How many salads should I make for a braai?

For 8–10 people, three or four sides is enough. For 20 or more, make four or five and double the quantities of the starchy ones, because potato and pasta salads go first.

Which braai salads can I make the day before?

Potato salad, three-bean salad, beetroot salad, chakalaka, pasta salad (add the feta on the day) and carrot salad all keep overnight in the fridge. Dress coleslaw and green salads on the day.

How long can salads stand out at a braai?

Mayonnaise-based salads shouldn’t sit in the sun. Keep them in the fridge or a cooler box until the meat is nearly ready, and put leftovers back in the fridge within two hours.

What’s a good vegetarian braai side that works as a main?

Chakalaka with pap, a big pasta salad with feta, or braaied mielies and stuffed butternut all work as a main. Our braai ideas guide has more vegetarian options for the grid.

More braai guides