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.
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 summer recipes 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 summery 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!
60+ Summer Recipes:
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
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
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
Creamy Sweet Corn Pasta with Basil
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
Such healthy ingredients and refreshing recipes! I would also like to suggest a Hawaiian poke-style tuna rice meal, made with sushi-grade tuna. It could be something different, light and flavourful for the summers.
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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
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!
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!
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!!
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.
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. ?
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!
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 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!
Challenge accepted!
Cheers to that!
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.) ?
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. ?
$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!!!