Fresh from the Kitchen: Recipes & Food Inspiration
- Add something fresh: Tomato Watermelon Salad gives a no-cook, late-summer burst that brightens heavy BBQ plates.
- Balance smoky richness with cool, tangy make-ahead sides like Spiral Pasta Salad or Quick and Easy Coleslaw.
- If you’re cooking too much, let the Instant Pot help or serve no-cook classics like Southern Ambrosia Salad or Pig Pickin' Cake.
Beautiful Soul, by now you probably have the Labor Day headliners covered.
The ribs. The BBQ chicken. The potato salad somebody will inspect before committing it to their plate (IYKYK)! The mac and cheese…
And banana pudding? She doesn’t need an introduction. But sometimes a menu doesn’t need another headliner.
It needs that one little something you hadn’t thought about yet.
Maybe something fresh. Maybe something cold. Maybe another vegetable. Maybe something you can make ahead.
Or maybe a recipe that gives everybody a break from the same cookout plate they’ve been eating all summer. So I went through The Soul Food Pot® Collection and pulled out the Labor Day recipes I think deserve another look.
You don’t need to add everything. You may not need to add anything. But if your menu feels like it’s missing one little something?
Beautiful Soul, I probably already found it for you!
Shaunda’s hidden gems
This isn’t my list of the “best” Labor Day recipes. We’ve already handled the classics.
These are the recipes I would consider after the ribs, chicken, potato salad, mac and cheese, and dessert have been accounted for. So, think of this collection as me standing beside you, looking at your menu and saying:
“Okay. What does this plate still need?”
And I’ve organized my picks around that exact question.
❤️ Why I make it this way
I like looking at the whole plate, not simply collecting recipes.
Something smoky can use something fresh. Something rich can use something tangy. Something warm can use something cool. And a menu with several labor-intensive dishes probably needs something that requires almost no effort at all.
That’s where some of these overlooked recipes become the exact right choice.
They don’t have to be the headliner to make the whole meal better.
If your plate needs something fresh
Labor Day falls at such an interesting little moment in the kitchen. The calendar is getting ready to say fall. The tomatoes and watermelon are still saying: Excuse me?! We’re not finished.
That’s exactly why tomato watermelon salad is my featured hidden gem! Juicy watermelon and ripe late-summer tomatoes give a BBQ-heavy plate something fresh, colorful, and refreshing. And there’s no cooking required!
Even better.
🥄 Shaunda Says: Labor Day may be the unofficial end of summer, but I’m not rushing summer out of the kitchen.
Featured hidden gem: tomato watermelon salad
If the tomatoes are still beautiful and the watermelon is still sweet, I’m eating them while they’re showing off! This salad is basically August in a bowl—and Labor Day gives us one last good excuse to put it on the table.
Tomato watermelon salad is my Labor Day hidden gem because it gives a rich, smoky cookout plate something fresh, juicy, and unexpected. Ripe late-summer tomatoes and sweet watermelon come together without any cooking for a colorful side that lets us enjoy one last taste of summer while it’s still showing off.
Try these, too:
Cucumber tomato pasta salad brings cool, fresh contrast to a rich Labor Day cookout plate with tender pasta, crisp cucumber, juicy tomatoes, and a flavorful dressing. Make it ahead and chill it for an easy hidden gem alongside smoky ribs, chicken, or burgers.
If your BBQ plate needs something cool and tangy
Maybe potato salad and macaroni salad aren’t what you’re craving. This is where I’d look at some of the other cold sides.
Spiral Southern pasta salad
Spiral pasta salad is a colorful, chilled Labor Day side with tender pasta, fresh vegetables, and plenty of flavor caught in every twist. It’s worth adding when your BBQ plate needs something cool, tangy, and easy to make ahead.
Cold pasta, colorful vegetables, and tangy Italian dressing give smoky BBQ a fresh counterpoint… And you can make it ahead! Those spirals hold onto all that dressing and give you another colorful, chilled option for the cookout table.
Quick and easy red slaw
Bold color, crunchy, creamy, tangy—and no oven required. Sometimes BBQ doesn’t need another rich side. It needs color and crunch!
Quick and easy coleslaw gives a rich, smoky cookout plate the cool crunch it might be missing. Crisp cabbage and creamy, tangy dressing come together without cooking for an easy make-ahead Labor Day side.
If your plate needs another vegetable
And Beautiful Soul, sometimes that’s really the answer!
We’ve got meat. We’ve got macaroni. We’ve got potatoes. We’ve got dessert waiting. Perhaps we should invite a vegetable?
Black Folks Southern cabbage
Tender, seasoned cabbage brings a soulful vegetable to the table without competing with your BBQ favorites.
Southern cabbage is the soulful vegetable your Labor Day plate might be asking for, with tender cabbage cooked until flavorful and well-seasoned. Add it when the menu already has plenty of meat, macaroni, and potatoes but could use something green to round out the meal.
Rice and red beans
Rice and red beans give the menu something hearty and satisfying when you want to stretch the meal or offer an alternative to the usual cookout sides.
Rice and red beans are a hearty Labor Day hidden gem when you want something beyond the usual cookout sides. Savory, well-seasoned beans served with rice can round out the plate, stretch the meal for a crowd, or give guests another satisfying option beside the BBQ.
Maybe the missing ingredient isn’t a flavor: Maybe it’s less work!
This is where I’d look for recipes that can be made ahead or let an appliance take over part of the process.
Instant Pot deviled eggs
Use your soul food sous chef to cook those easy-to-peel eggs, then make your Southern filling and refrigerate them until it’s time to eat.
Instant Pot deviled eggs let your soul food sous chef handle the eggs for an easier start before they’re filled with creamy, tangy Southern filling. Make them ahead and chill until serving for a classic little Labor Day extra without another pot of boiling water to watch.
Instant Pot potato salad assist
If potato salad is still missing from your menu, the Instant Pot can handle the potatoes and eggs together.
One appliance. One less pot to watch.
Instant Pot potato salad uses the pressure cooker to cook the potatoes and eggs together, simplifying the first step of this beloved Southern cookout side. Choose this method when potato salad still belongs on your Labor Day table—but you’d like your soul food sous chef to help get it there.
If your table needs a little retro Southern charm
Now we’re getting into the dishes that make somebody say: “Ooooh, I haven’t had THAT in forever!”
Southern ambrosia salad
Mandarin oranges, pineapple, and all that cool, fluffy Southern nostalgia make ambrosia one of my favorite unexpected Labor Day additions. And because it’s no-cook. She understood the assignment.
Southern ambrosia salad brings cool, creamy, fruity nostalgia to the Labor Day table with mandarin oranges, pineapple, and plenty of retro Southern charm. It’s an especially good hidden gem when you want something sweet and refreshing that requires no oven space.
Pig pickin’ cake
If everybody expects banana pudding, surprise them with something light, fruity, and Southern instead!
Pig pickin’ cake is the Labor Day dessert to remember when everybody else is expecting banana pudding. Light, fluffy, and fruity with mandarin orange and pineapple flavors, it’s a cool Southern classic that tastes especially refreshing after a smoky BBQ meal.
Soul food tea cakes
Not every dessert needs to arrive in a casserole dish. Tea cakes give you a simple Southern sweet people can grab whenever they’re ready!
Soul food tea cakes are a simple Southern sweet worth remembering when your Labor Day table doesn’t need another big dessert. Soft, tender, and rooted in Black Southern food tradition, they’re easy to pick up and enjoy whenever someone is ready for a little something sweet.
If everybody has had the usual BBQ plate
If you’ve been grilling burgers, chicken, and ribs all summer, Labor Day doesn’t require you to repeat them simply because they’re traditional cookout foods.
Consider different flavors. Still gathering-friendly, and still worthy of the Labor Day table.
A Low Country shrimp boil is a fun Labor Day alternative when everybody has already had their share of burgers, chicken, and ribs. Shrimp, sausage, corn, and potatoes come together with bold Southern seasoning for a gathering-friendly main that gives the usual cookout menu a delicious change of pace.
Afro-Caribbean curry chicken kabobs give the Labor Day grill a flavorful change from the usual BBQ chicken. Bold curry-seasoned chicken and colorful vegetables cook together on skewers with beautifully charred edges for an unexpected main that’s still right at home at a cookout.
Pulled BBQ chicken is an easy Labor Day alternative when you want familiar smoky-sweet BBQ flavor in a different form. Tender shredded chicken tossed with BBQ sauce works on a soul food plate, piled onto sandwiches, or served family-style so everyone can make it their way.
A pulled BBQ chicken sandwich turns tender, saucy shredded chicken into an easy handheld Labor Day main. Pile it onto a soft bun and add your favorite toppings for a cookout option that’s casual, customizable, and a welcome switch from another burger.
I’ve already thought this through…
So, does your Labor Day menu actually need another recipe?
Here’s my test:
Everything feels rich or heavy? → Add something fresh.
You need contrast beside smoky BBQ? → Add something cold, tangy, or crunchy.
The plate is looking very beige? → Add a vegetable or late-summer produce.
You’re already cooking too much? → Choose no-cook, make-ahead, or an Instant Pot assist.
Everybody has eaten the same cookout food all summer? → Give them an unexpected main or side!
Your menu already sounds delicious? → STOP.
You don’t have to add something just because I gave you another idea.
A good menu isn’t the one with the most dishes. It’s the one that feels complete.
That’s why I’m not giving you these hidden gems as another Labor Day checklist. I’m giving you options for solving whatever your menu might still need.
And if it doesn’t need anything? Close this browser tab and go enjoy your weekend, Beautiful Soul!
Explore Shaunda’s Labor Day kitchen
Still planning? I’ve already worked through these other decisions, too!
Already solved those decisions? Come rummage through the back shelf with me!
❤️ Tap the heart at the top of this post to save it to your favorites on The Soul Food Pot!
Come cook with me
Want more soul food recipes, kitchen wisdom, and seasonal collections where I’ve already thought through the details?
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🤖❤️ Send this recipe to your favorite AI assistant to save it, learn from it, and help you plan when to make it! Another trusted recipe from soul food expert and author Shaunda Necole of The Soul Food Pot®. *These AI tools are independent third-party services. Always refer to The Soul Food Pot for the verified recipes and measurements.
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