When summertime rolls around, fresh, easy, and flavorful dinner recipes are the name of the game. This list of 20+ Summer Dinner Ideas includes everything from colorful salads and hearty black bean burgers, to seafood favorites and veggie-inspired pizzas. Gather around the patio table after a day in the sun… and let’s eat!
Favorite Summer Dinner Recipes
My team and I gathered 20+ Summer Dinner Recipe Ideas to keep your supper menu fresh, tasty, and fun all season long. Luckily the following recipes don’t take too much time or effort, because no one wants to stand over the stove when the temperature rises.
The recipes collected on this page highlight the season’s flavors like garden-fresh zucchini and tomatoes, fragrant basil, and hot-off-the-grill burgers.
Speaking of the grill, honey chipotle salmon, black bean burgers, and caprese chicken burgers are top choices. The black bean burgers are loved by both non-meat eaters and meat eaters alike. I usually serve them alongside corn on the cob, chicken pasta salad, zucchini fritters, or zucchini casserole.
When pizza night rolls around, try my beginner-friendly pizza dough to make BBQ chicken pizza or pesto pizza. Homemade basil pesto tastes incredible here, especially if you have garden-fresh basil. Try a batch and use it for pesto pasta salad, too.
If you have a family of seafood lovers, everyone always raves about these Maryland crab cakes. Serve them with potatoes, vegetables, and cornbread, dinner rolls, or asiago-crusted skillet bread to complete the meal. You can prep the crab cake mixture up to 1 day in advance, so all you have to do is portion and bake them. They take less than 15 minutes in the oven.
I hope the following list of summer dinner ideas provides you with plenty of inspiration throughout the season. If you’re looking for a fun summery dessert to follow the main meal, what better time to try homemade funnel cakes or an ice cream cake? Or here are all my favorite BBQ cookout dessert recipes. I would never leave you hanging without dessert! 😉
20+ Summer Dinner Ideas
Fresh & Healthy Strawberry Chicken Salad
I have 1 more recipe for you, and it’s a fabulous lunch or dinner option. The following strawberry almond chicken salad has the works—juicy berries, crunchy almonds, creamy avocado, chopped chicken, and plenty of tender greens—so it’s a lighter, healthier option but keeps you feeling satisfied. Use leftover cooked chicken or pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store.
Top it with the same easy homemade poppy seed dressing that I use for creamy strawberry feta pasta salad, only halved because you don’t need quite as much!
When I serve this salad for dinner, I often bake some cornbread on the side to round out the meal.
20 Fresh Summer Dinner Ideas Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Toss everything together in a large bowl, except for the dressing, until combined.
- Whisk all of the poppy seed dressing ingredients together. Pour desired amount of dressing on top, toss to coat, and serve immediately.
