From sizzling grilled dishes to vibrant salads and sweet desserts, make and enjoy these fresh gluten-free recipes all summer long!
Warm nights, ‘skeeter bites, Truly sips, and popsicle drips – that’s what summer dreams are made of! Well, minus the mosquito bites – woof, are they biting this year!
Although Lincoln has only been out of school for a week and some change, I feel simultaneously amazed at all we’ve jam packed into a week (zoo! sprinklers! park visits! popsicles!) and horrified that we’re well into June already. There are so many things we want to do, and what feels like so little time to do them. One thing I’ve been making a priority is sitting outdoors every evening after the babies go to bed if it’s not raining. That might sound like a “duh” plan given that it’s summer and well, people sit outside in the summer, but last year I was monstrously pregnant with Gwen until mid-July and it was all I could do to make it to the couch most evenings after running around with the boys all day.
That said, this year I aim to savor every drop of sunshine and warmth, and have been spending golden hour on the back deck amongst my flowers and ferns each evening. Guys, I shop at Walmart once a year and it’s for flowers because they have the BEST deals on both individual blooms and pre-arranged pots that you can drop into any planter you have at home (ie the lazy gardener’s best friend, ie me.) They’re so beautiful, and it’s such a peaceful time of day to watch the birds, hear the trees sway, and eventually, over the next month or so, drown in the sound of cicadas. CANNOT WAIT.
Anyway, just wanted to share a slice of summer peace I’ve been savoring with you. It’s the little things. :)
I also bought our first watermelon of the season this past week and the kids and I have been crushing it. Cam has been asking for one for months! Hot tip for ya’ – Costco has the very best ones. I’ve got a spicy-sweet recipe I’m testing to use up some of the bounty we have, but in the meantime I thought I ought to share my summer cooking bucket list with you sooner vs later seeing as how July is just two weeks away – INSANITY!
This recipe roundup makes me feel dizzy (and starving!) in the best possible way. Similar to our summer activities bucket list, there are so many recipes that I want to cook over the next few months and so I’ve rounded up over 60 of my freshest, juiciest, most delicious summer-friendly recipes to share with you today. From sizzling grilled steaks, to berry packed desserts, garden fresh salads, and sparkling summer drinks, I hope you find one, two, or twenty recipes to enjoy over the next few months!
Summer Dessert and Drink Recipes:
Gluten-Free No-Bake Strawberry Shortcake Icebox Cake
Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Dirt Cake
Peanut Butter S’Mores Cheesecake Ball
Gluten-Free Zucchini Coffee Cake
No-Bake Lemon Blueberry Icebox Cake
Sugar Cookie Peach Cobbler for Two
Watermelon Jalapeño Margaritas >
Secret Ingredient Rosé Sangria
Appetizer, Salad and Side Dish Recipes:
Ultimate Red Skinned Potato Salad (Mayo Free)
Mojito Fruit Salad (Non-Alcoholic)
Sweet Corn with Maple-Bourbon Brown Butter and Bacon
Watermelon, Feta, Basil and Pistachio Salad with Reduced Balsamic Vinaigrette
Greek Cucumber and Arugula Salad
Cucumber and Tomato Salad with BEST-EVER Italian Vinaigrette
Grilled Corn and Avocado Pasta Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing
Caprese Skewers with Balsamic Drizzle
2-Ingredient Lemon Whip Fruit Dip
Avocado and Chicken Caprese Salad
Strawberry-Basil Chicken Salad with Fried Goat Cheese Balls
Loaded Strawberry Fields Salad
Best-Ever Southwestern Black Bean Dip
Summer Grilling Recipes:
Unbelievable Juicy Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Marinated Grilled Chicken with Cucumber-Watermelon Salsa
Italian Sausage and Peppers Cheeseburgers
Spicy Shrimp and Sausage Skewers
Grilled Chili Honey Lime Chicken Thighs
Grilled Caprese Chicken with Basil Vinaigrette
Homemade Brat Burgers with Gluten-Free Beer-Braised Caramelized Onions
Dijon-Brown Sugar Marinated Steak
Sweet Chili Coconut-Lime Grilled Chicken with Coconut-Lime Cauliflower Rice
Perfect Grilled Steak with Herb Butter
Summery Main Dishes and More:
Italian Tomato-Basil Stuffed Zucchini
Crock Pot BBQ Chicken with Homemade BBQ Sauce
Roasted Poblano, Sweet Corn and Potato Stoup
California Turkey and Bacon Lettuce Wraps with Basil-Mayo
Almond Flour Blueberry Muffins
Fish Tacos with Avocado Sweet Corn Slaw
Balsamic Steak and Peach Salad
Garlicky Tomato-Basil Shrimp with Zoodles
Caprese Lasagna with Spicy Turkey Sausage
Roasted Poblano Salsa Chicken Enchiladas with Cucumber Pico de Gallo
Crispy Kale, Bacon and Basil Farmer’s Market Hash
Make-Ahead Raspberry-Peach Crisp Breakfast Parfaits
$4.99 a POUND?! For a MELON?! Never heard of Santa Claus melon, but for that price, there better be bits of the REAL Santa Claus in it! Yikes!
That’s what I said! There better be a sack of toys inside for $18!!!
I knew you were going to say the melon didn’t even taste good as I have had that experience too many times. Even ones from the farmer’s market often are tasteless. I finally planted some honeydew melon seeds to show my youngest daughter that it was possible for them to taste good. We only got three melons but they were wonderful!
Love that!! I have never had success growing melon – the last time I tried, the ONE watermelon that sprouted on the massive vine only grew to the size of a marble before turning black, hahaha. 😂
That melon story made me LOL in your Insta stories, and it made me LOL again just reading it here. Sorry for laughing at you. It’s just too funny :).
It totally is (or at least will be in time.) 🤣
Challenge accepted!
Cheers to that!
I love this post because it reminded me of so many of your recipes that I love and haven’t made in forever! Thanks!!
Yay!! Happy eating, Brynne!
thank you for putting this together, wonderful group of recipes, right off the bat love the looks of the kale-bacon hash, and been there with tasteless overpriced melons!
Ooo it’s so so good, Sabrina. I hope you get a chance to make it!
I really love this list – thank you!!
Also, I will take my receipt and get my money back on the occasional terrible watermelon or, just the other day, a package of raspberries full of mold right under the sticker. I paid for a yummy watermelon, not the chance of a yummy watermelon ;)
If this hadn’t been *completely* my fault for not reading the sign close enough (and if we hadn’t already chopped it all up!) I definitely would!
The new June HyVee ‘Big Ad’ has the Santa Claus melon for $4.99 each (not per pound)!! I think I’ll still skip it…
They describe as ‘Refreshing flavor that’s subtly sweet. The brighter the rinds yellow color, the sweeter the melon.”
I’d emphasize the “subtle” part. 😂
Thank you so much for the reminders of great summer recipes. So nice of you to have recipes organized by the season and sent to readers to kickoff summer! The crockpot BBQ chicken, blueberry crisp, your salad dressing for the pasta salad and cucumber and tomato salad are our favorites. Greatly appreciated.
This is a GREAT list! So fun. I’m on the hunt for “pool food” which is basically food but easier since I’m typically throwing everything together in the 30 minutes before we leave for an evening at our neighborhood pool (when I don’t want to order pizza!). One of my favorites is ranch pasta salad – pasta, broccoli, cherry tomatoes, maybe some feta, little grated onion, and ranch dressing. So tasty! Lots of good options here!!
LOVE this list! I already book marked a few things to try in the next couple weeks, and I’m getting my steak ready to marinate for the dijon-brown sugar marinated steak right now. Yum!
Yum! All of these recipes look absolutely incredible! They are some of my favorites you’ve posted here on your blog!
Thank you so much, Melissa! Happy summer to you!
I love this list! So many I’ve tried and so many I can’t wait to try!!
So great to hear it, Donna!! Happy eating! :D
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