Cooking in the summertime can be a challenge. First of all, most of us want to be outside or otherwise enjoy our families in the summer. But also, electricity bills make us want to avoid heating up our houses. The solution is to cook outside or prepare light meals, sandwiches, and salads.
The best summer food ideas use seasonal ingredients and light meats that don’t make us feel full and heavy after a meal.
As the days grow longer and temperatures rise, people seek out refreshing and delicious dinner ideas to enjoy during the summer months. This season is the perfect time to showcase fresh produce and vibrant flavors, while keeping the heat out of the kitchen. In this article, we will explore some mouth-watering summer dinner recipes that highlight the best of what this time of year has to offer.
Light and satisfying meals are key to enjoying the warm evenings with family and friends. Grilling plays a vital role in summer dining, as it allows for outdoor cooking and infuses food with unmatched smoky flavors. Alongside grilling, no-cook recipes and chilled dishes provide an effortless yet enticing approach to summer cuisine.
From farm-fresh salads to zesty seafood dishes and flavorful vegetarian options, there are countless ways to bring excitement to your dinner table this summer. Let’s dive into some inspiring and creative ideas that will make mealtime the highlight of the season.
On this extensive list of dinner ideas for hot days, we have healthy summertime dinner ideas like tacos and salads, and we also have some filling summer dishes that satisfy without stuffing us.
From healthy summer recipes such as Vietnamese salad rolls to slow cooker healthy summer dinner ideas that are easy to pull together, there’s something for everyone on this list.
Are you ready to dive into summer dinners? Let’s check out these 70 easy summer recipes.
To create these masterpieces on a stick, you need coconut milk, minced cloves, grated ginger, yellow curry powder, soy sauce, brown sugar, turmeric, fish sauce, avocado oil, black pepper, and sea salt.
The peanut sauce is made with lime juice, soy sauce, peanut butter, chili garlic sauce, grated ginger, coconut milk, and honey.
For flavorful healthy summer dinner recipes, you can always turn to kabobs and that’s what you have with this recipe for Greek chicken souflaki.
Spices used to create these grilled chicken skewers are dried oregano and black pepper. Other ingredients are olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic.
Serve these grilled chicken kabobs with creamy tzatziki sauce for the full effect. The tzatziki sauce is made with cucumbers, garlic, olive oil, Greek yogurt, and red wine vinegar.
Almost everyone loves ribs in the summertime, but who knew ribs could be one of the summer dinner ideas that you can cook inside in the slow cooker?
This recipe calls for smoked paprika, brown sugar, kosher salt, black pepper, apple cider vinegar, and crushed red pepper flakes. You can use a store-bought BBQ sauce.
This shrimp recipe is loaded with all of the wonderful flavors of Tuscany.
For a flavorful dish, this shrimp recipe is super easy to make. If you’ve got some sundried tomato, shrimp, basil leaves, spinach, and about 15 minutes, you’ve got an easy summer dinner on the table.
If you want a light veggie summer dinner, these Vietnamese salad rolls will suit you perfectly.
To make these veggie spring rolls, you need brown rice noodles (or rice vermicelli), toasted sesame oil, butter lettuce, sea salt, red cabbage slices, sliced carrots, a Persian cucumber, sliced jalapeno pepper, and sliced scallions (green onions).
We absolutely love how colorful this coleslaw is. With savoy cabbage, red cabbage, carrots, mixed salad seeds, and green onions, it’s like a rainbow on a fish burger!
We love the flavor that lemongrass brings to recipes, and it’s absolutely perfect in this chicken recipe.
This chicken recipe is made with chicken thighs because they’re so wonderfully juicy. However, you can easily adapt this recipe to chicken breasts, too.
Zucchini is plentiful in the summer, especially if you have a garden. What better way to use up a bumper squash of zucchini than to create these gorgeous zucchini boats?
Zucchini boats are essentially zucchini cut in half, seeded, and filled with delicious ingredients such as ground turkey, marinara sauce, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese.
You can use different types of cheese, including fontina or provolone.
Carnitas can be cooked in the Instant Pot or slow cooker for a tasty summer dinner that won’t make you sweat. In fact, the longer you cook them, the more delicious these carnitas will be.
Serve your carnitas with warm flour tortillas, diced avocado, and cilantro leaves.
There are plenty of kabob and skewer recipes on this list, including one other lamb skewers recipe. However, these Greek lamb kebabs are something completely different and delightful.
To make your beef cubes nice and tender, marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours with lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, fresh oregano, black pepper, and sea salt.
For the veggies, you can use bell pepper, onion, tomatoes, and zucchini.
When you’re looking for flavorful summer dinner ideas, you can rely on this recipe for baked chicken with queso.
The Southwestern flavors of this dish are complemented by green chiles, chopped tomatoes, hot queso sauce, and shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or cheddar cheese).
The spices in this chicken recipe are chili powder and cumin.
It’s great to find a grilled chicken recipe that calls for saffron, and this exquisite spice is put to good use making Joojeh kabobs.
As for the chicken, you can use chicken thighs or chicken breasts to make these kabobs.
The ingredients in this recipe are white onion, garlic paste, lime juice, butter, garlic powder, saffron, lemon juice (or lime juice), cumin, cinnamon, and black pepper.
Serve this chicken dish with an onion salad or grilled tomato slices.
How do you make the perfect juicy hamburger? Some people like to grill their hamburgers, while others prefer to pan-sear their burgers in a cast-iron skillet.
The first thing is to shape your hamburgers gently. The less you handle the meat, the better. Also, you want them to be done, but don’t overcook your burgers.
Serve these juicy burgers with French fries, tomato slices, red onion slices, American cheese (or cheddar cheese), and pickles.
Anytime is a good time for a juicy ribeye steak, and that includes this steak recipe that you can cook when you’re looking for summer dinner ideas.
A juicy ribeye steak can be grilled, pan-seared, or broiled, but whichever method you use to cook your steaks, be sure you follow the best practices so that you don’t lose all of the delicious juices.
This ribeye steak is seasoned with butter, garlic powder, fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, and garlic.
Fresh lemon juice and honey give this chicken dish exceptionally savory and tangy flavors.
Other ingredients in this chicken recipe are chicken broth (or chicken stock), butter, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and black pepper.
Garnish your finished dish with lemon slices and a rosemary sprig.
What should you serve with this lemon chicken? You can serve this chicken dish with white rice, brown rice, pasta, or one of our delicious potato recipes.
These Greek chicken gyros will help you tackle summer with grace and ease!
The chicken is marinated in a mixture of Greek yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, oregano, and red wine vinegar.
For the homemade tzatziki sauce, you need Greek yogurt, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, red wine vinegar, sea salt, fresh dill, diced garlic cloves, and grated cucumber.
Serve these chicken gyros with a gorgeous Greek salad made with fresh tomatoes, cucumber slices, red onion, Italian parsley, olive oil, and of course, feta cheese.
A chopped salad is an absolute feast, and when you bring in Asian flavors, a chopped salad is spectacular.
This Asian salad recipe calls for green cabbage, purple cabbage, romaine lettuce hearts, red bell pepper, snap peas (sweet peas), carrots, green onions, and bean sprouts.
For the salad dressing, you can create a homemade dressing that uses a store-bought sesame ginger dressing as a base.
We love the tropical flavor of pineapple, and when we combine chunks of juicy pineapple with chicken on wooden skewers, we have a feast that will make you feel like you’re in the islands for vacation.
These skewers are loaded with chicken breast chunks and pineapple, and they’re made with olive oil, sea salt, black pepper, teriyaki sauce, and fresh cilantro.
For the full tropical effect, serve your chicken and pineapple skewers with coconut rice. Garnish with a lime wedge.
Just imagine these sweet and savory homemade meatballs with honey garlic sauce served over a bed of rice!
The ingredients to make the meatballs are bread crumbs, whole milk, butter, onion, ground beef, eggs, garlic, black pepper, salt, and Worcestershire sauce.
For the honey garlic sauce, you need oil, 12 cloves of garlic (!!!), sesame oil, honey, soy sauce, and ketchup.
You can also cook these juicy meatballs in your Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Are you in a hurry and need a quick summer dinner? Use this recipe, but instead of making homemade meatballs, use frozen store-bought meatballs.
Are you ready for a burger with delicious Mediterranean flavors? These turkey burgers will save your summer dinner!
The burgers are full of veggies, including sun-dried tomatoes, red onion, and spinach.
Other ingredients in these turkey burgers are dried oregano, garlic powder, and crumbled feta cheese.
Instead of serving your turkey burgers with mayo or ketchup, make the included recipe for dill lemon yogurt sauce. This sauce is so light and creamy and it really makes these turkey burgers shine.
Did you know you could cook a delicious pizza without ever turning on the oven?
This Neapolitan pizza is made in a skillet or on the grill, and there is no kneading of the dough. If you make the homemade pizza dough in the recipe, you need to let it sit in a warm area at room temperature for between 8 and 16 hours.
The ingredients in this pizza are whole peeled tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, olive oil, and basil leaves.
The flame from a gas grill or a torch is used to create the charred edges on this pizza.
There’s nothing like the flavor of oranges to make any recipe pop, and when you combine juicy orange slices with chicken on skewers, you’ve got a meal that people will gobble up.
This recipe calls for chicken breasts, and the other ingredients are orange juice, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, garlic chili sauce, minced garlic, and ginger.
While you’ve got your grill hot, go ahead and grill some veggies such as asparagus, summer squash, or corn on the cob.
When asparagus is in season, you know you’re in for a treat, and this pesto pasta recipe with asparagus will not disappoint you.
This recipe teaches you how to make pesto with kale and almonds, and the ingredients are roasted almonds, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, garlic, honey, olive oil, parsley, and kale.
For the pasta part, you need green peas, asparagus, pasta noodles, and lemon juice.
You can also easily use a jar of store-bought pesto to make this pasta dish.
Well, we’ve got something super special for you: a recipe for making chicken pad Thai in just 15 minutes.
To cook this recipe, you need brown rice noodles, olive oil (or avocado oil), chicken breast strips, garlic, a red bell pepper, eggs, bean sprouts, grated carrots, chopped scallions (green onions), cilantro leaves, and peanuts (optional).
The sauce is made with rice vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, and lime juice.
These Szechuan chicken wraps are made with chicken breast strips, panko breadcrumbs, black pepper, sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.
You can whip up (or buy) a spicy mayo dressing or create the recipe that’s included with the wraps. To make this yogurt sauce, you need Chinese five spice, plain yogurt, lemon juice, and Szechuan chili pepper oil.
Classic macaroni salad is a summertime staple, and this recipe will give you a macaroni salad that will remind you of summer gone by.
The secret to the best macaroni salad is the salad dressing. For this one, you need both mayonnaise and sour cream. The surprise ingredient is sweet pickle juice.
This macaroni salad recipe also includes a video that will show you how to make this pasta salad step-by-step.
Are you craving a filling and delicious vegetarian cherry tomato salad? This Greek chickpea salad may be exactly what you’re looking for.
Thanks to the chickpeas, this summer salad recipe is loaded with protein, and other ingredients are bell pepper, cucumber, feta cheese, olives, and tomatoes.
If you want a vegan salad, just leave off the feta cheese.
Serve this salad with the salad dressing recipe that’s included for delicious Greek flavor.
Who’s ready for some backyard burgers? With these tasty turkey burgers, you can enjoy your hamburger party with a lot less fat and calories.
However, what these turkey burgers aren’t missing is flavor, and the feta cheese can be thanked for bringing some deliciousness to the party.
Even better, you get to sneak some spinach into everyone’s diet because the spinach is mixed in with the burger mixture, along with egg, garlic, parsley, and black pepper.
We love a chicken Caprese recipe, and this one is extra special because it’s cooked as a sheet pan dinner. What’s not to love?
This recipe for baked chicken Caprese has just a few easy ingredients, and that makes it even better.
To create this chicken masterpiece, you need chicken breasts, black pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, olive oil, fresh tomato slices, fresh mozzarella cheese, fresh basil leaves, and balsamic glaze (or reduced balsamic vinegar).
Serve this Caprese chicken with your favorite pasta side.
Corn is plentiful and extra sweet in the summertime, so why not grill some grilled corn on the cob to make this hearty and delicious grilled corn salad?
You can grill your corn or use frozen corn to make this salad. Just be sure to thaw the corn first.
Ingredients in this corn salad include cherry tomatoes, lime juice, olive oi9l, cucumber, crumbled feta cheese, and Italian dressing.
Who can resist any type of meat when it comes on a stick from the grill?
Every nation in the world has its own version of the classic kebab, and in China, you will often find lamb skewers that have been seasoned with cumin and chile peppers.
This recipe is also known as Yang Rou Chuan, and it’s absolutely delicious!
The spices used are whole fennel seed, cumin, and red chile flakes that have been crumbled.
That changes today because we present you with a shrimp scampi that is lower in fat and calories and is served with healthy zucchini noodles (zoodles).
This shrimp scampi recipe is made with olive oil instead of butter, and the white wine gives it tons of flavor.
Are you looking for a healthy vegan pasta dish with Asian flavors? Check out this quick and easy lo mein recipe.
For the lo mein, you need uncooked ramen noodles, sesame oil, chopped green onions, and chopped veggies such as red bell pepper, carrots, bok choy, cabbage, broccoli, and mushrooms.
The sauce has ingredients that include soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.
This is a vegan recipe, but if you want to add some shrimp or chicken, go for it.
If you love the flavor of bang bang sauce, then you’ve got to try this super easy recipe for bang bang shrimp and pasta for a summer dinner recipe as a main dish.
The ingredients in bang bang sauce are Thai sweet chili sauce, mayonnaise, pressed garlic, fresh lime juice, a dash of crushed red pepper flakes, and Sriracha sauce.
For the pasta part, you need medium shrimp that has been peeled and deveined, olive oil, spaghetti, minced garlic, smoked paprika, sea salt, black pepper, and fresh parsley leaves.
Reheating and Storing Summer Dinners
Follow these best practices for cooking, storing, and reheating your best summer recipes.
Making food ahead. Many of the recipes on our list of summer meal ideas can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for a few days. In fact, some of these healthy summertime dinners can even be stored in the freezer for up to three months. Also, you can prepare the ingredients for your dinner ideas for hot summer nights the day before (or a couple of days before) and have them ready to go in the refrigerator or freezer.
Store your leftovers carefully. When it comes to light dinner ideas for summer, you need to keep the heat in mind and put your leftover healthy summer meals up quickly. Be sure you store your light summer meals in airtight containers in either the fridge or freezer and be sure to follow freezing and storing instructions on the individual recipes for easy summer dinners.
Reheat as directed. Most leftover healthy summer dinners can be reheated in the microwave in 25-second increments, on the stovetop over low or medium heat for 5-10 minutes (or until warmed completely through), in the air fryer, or in the oven for 10-05 minutes. If you’re going to reheat easy summer meals that you have frozen, you may need to allow it to thaw before you reheat it.
Do you want more summer dinner recipes? Check out the video below to learn how to make easy summer dinner ideas such as creamy taco spaghetti, tomato sausage pasta bake, chicken and broccoli gnocchi bake, creamy nacho scalloped potatoes, and peppercorn steak fries.
Our 70+ BEST Summer Dinner Ideas (+Potato Salad)
These options are sure to be a hit. So, gather your family and friends and enjoy. Let us know your thoughts!
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
