98 Wildly Delicious Summer Dinner Recipes
The season's short—make the most of it!
After all the waiting, the cold wind and the rains, the sun has come out and summer is here at last! This means lots of picnics, BBQs, and days at the beach, as well as making sure that even your mundane weeknight dinners take full advantage of the season. We think there are a few must-haves to make a perfect summer meal: one, it’s gotta be quick and easy to make, and two, it’s gotta showcase all the best summer ingredients, from fruits and veggies to seafood. These 98 summer dinner recipes hit the mark.
When it’s hot out, the last thing you want to do is spend more time in a balmy kitchen. To help keep you cool, we’ve included a ton of recipes that use only one pot or pan (it isn’t fun to do lots of dishes in the summer either), and some that skip the oven altogether. Try our one-pan chimichurri shrimp, our Hawaiian shoyu chicken, our egg roll bowls, our summer bowtie pasta & chicken sausage skillet, our Peruvian-style chicken with green sauce, and more—they’re all super quick to come together, so you can spend more time enjoying the sunshine. Of course, it’s not summer if you’re not grilling as many of your meals as possible. That means burgers, hot dogs, and grilled vegetables, but also tons of other creative options too, like our grilled pizza, our grilled cod with romesco sauce, our grilled chicken salad, or our grilled pork tenderloin.
Nothing tastes better than a ripe, in-season piece of produce, and that’s never more true than during the summer. Tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, and fruit like pineapples and peaches are truly mind-blowing this time of year, so we’ve highlighted some recipes to showcase their deliciousness. Looking for something protein heavy to fuel all your summer fun? The sweet-savory flavor combinations in our peach balsamic grilled chicken, our shrimp street corn skillet, our crunchy coconut chicken, our jerk shrimp & pineapple bowls, or our strawberry jalapeño chicken are just the thing. Looking for a pasta dish that'll please the whole family? Try our mac & cheese zucchini boats, our caramelized lemon & zucchini pasta, our creamy corn pasta, or our cherry tomato pasta.
For more ways to avoid your kitchen this summer, check out our Instant Pot and air fryer dinner ideas, as well as our favorite weeknight dinners on the grill (including foil packs!). And don’t forget about summer cocktails and summer desserts too.
Crunchy Coconut Chicken
This crunchy coconut chicken dish is one that I can't stop thinking about. It starts by marinating the chicken in lime juice, fish sauce, and coconut milk and then coating the chicken in a mixture of coconut and panko for an incredible coconut crust.
Get the Crunchy Coconut Chicken recipe.
Summer Squash Sheet-Pan Tacos
Put squash, hummus, and pickled shallots in front of us, and we'll make one mean taco. These vegetarian tacos have layers of tender summer squash (imagine them picked right from the garden), whipped garlicky hummus, smoky tahini sauce, and za’atar pickled shallots layered in warm corn tortillas.
Get the Summer Squash Sheet-Pan Tacos recipe.
One-Pan Chimichurri Shrimp
For this under-30-minute one-pan dinner, cumin- and coriander-marinated shrimp are cooked with shallots, topped with a parsley-, cilantro-, and oregano-based chimichurri sauce, and served with crusty bread for an easy, light main that you can whip out on any weeknight.
Get the One-Pan Chimichurri Shrimp recipe.
Chipotle Shrimp Taco Bowl
Taco bowls are essentially a dream for meal prepping. I especially love this chipotle shrimp version. After an easy adobo and honey marinade, it only takes the shrimp a fast 4-ish minutes to cook. It's the perfect quick, easy, and versatile meal that you'll have no problem enjoying all week long.
Get the Chipotle Shrimp Taco Bowl recipe.
Smash Burger Tacos
These fully loaded smash burger tacos are the ultimate comfort food hybrid with a crispy, juicy, thin beef patty, melty American cheese, and all the classic burger fixings loaded onto a toasted flour tortilla. You’ll never have to choose between burger night or taco night again!
Get the Smash Burger Tacos recipe.
Shrimp Street Corn Skillet
Mexican street corn is one of the best things to ever come off a grill. The only way to improve it? Add protein to make it a well-rounded dinner you'll want to make all summer long. Quick-cooking shrimp turn this classic snack into a 30-minute.
Get the Shrimp Street Corn Skillet recipe.
Veggie Burgers
Veggie burgers might seem like the obligatory vegetarian alternative at a grill-out, but that doesn’t mean they can’t taste glorious in their own right. Whether charred on the grill or cooked to caramelized perfection in a cast-iron pan, these veggie burgers will make even meat lovers decide to go meatless for a meal.
Get the Veggie Burgers recipe.
Grilled Pizza
Here's our #1 tip for success for this pizza: Prep everything you are going to need before you start grilling. Have everything ready and near you so that as soon as you flip the pizza crust, you can start topping and pull your pizza off the grill as soon as it's done.
Get the Grilled Pizza recipe.
Green Goddess Meatballs
Chicken meatballs get a serious upgrade with the fresh, herbaceous magic of green goddess sauce in this easy dinner. The sauce works double-duty and isn’t just for drizzling—it’s mixed right into the meatballs for an extra dose of flavor.
Get the Green Goddess Meatballs recipe.
Grilled Steak Salad
This salad is simple and exceptional, thanks to its star ingredient—ribeye steak. You’ll grill it, then combine it with cherry tomatoes, blue cheese, basil, and a drizzle of tangy balsamic dressing, turning it into the kind of impressive-but-secretly-easy dish you’ll be making all the time.
Get the Grilled Steak Salad recipe.
Zucchini Bolognese
When you cook zucchini low and slow for 4 hours, something magical happens — it turns into an ultra creamy sauce, perfect for pasta. There's no actual meat in this bolognese, so feel free to add ground beef or lamb if you want!
Get the Zucchini Bolognese recipe.
Blackberry Chicken Salad
Full, hearty salads that make a great meal are something we crave on the regular, and that means no boring ones allowed. This one has all of the important components: a well-seasoned protein, creamy feta, a little crunch from toasted walnuts, and a burst of sweetness from juicy blackberries.
Get the Blackberry Chicken Salad recipe.
Summer Roll Bowls
Love a Vietnamese summer roll but don’t want to fuss with the wrapper? Meet your new favorite summer dinner. Rice noodles, shrimp, avocado, thinly sliced veggies, and a plethora of greens are tossed together in a tangy nước chấm dressing for a refreshing dinner twist.
Get the Summer Roll Bowls recipe.
Steak Kebab Bowls
Nothing screams summer quite like rainbow veggie kebabs dotted with succulent cubes of marinated steak, charred to perfection over the grill. We complete this dish by resting the kebabs over a bed of crunchy spinach and cucumber salad tossed in a garlicky tahini dressing, plus a pile of herby orzo.
Get the Steak Kebab Bowls recipe.
Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken
A saucy glazed chicken thigh is typically pretty hard to beat, but this Hawaiian shoyu chicken is really something special. Featuring a ridiculously simple soy and brown sugar sauce, this easy one-pot meal will become your new go-to weeknight dinner.
Get the Hawaiian Shoyu Chicken recipe.
Shrimp & Tomato Succotash Skillet
This amped-up take on succotash features blistered tomatoes and charred corn tossed with onion, bell peppers, lima beans, and seared Cajun-spiced shrimp, then topped with a flurry of torn basil. The best part of this one-skillet wonder? It’s ready in just 35 minutes.
Mexican Street Corn Chicken Skillet
Peanut Chicken Protein Bowls
The beauty about this bowl is that it's infinitely adaptable. You can roast just about any veggie, use any number of toppings, and it'll taste amazing in this recipe. The only thing we might insist you must keep on the bowl is the incredible peanut butter dressing.
Get the Peanut Chicken Protein Bowls recipe.
Summer Stuffed Shells
Who said summer dinners can’t be cozy? These stuffed shells are bursting with seasonal flavor from sweet corn, zucchini, and basil, but they also hit the comfort food spot thanks to the cheesy, rich ricotta.
Get the Summer Stuffed Shells recipe.
Strawberry Jalapeño Chicken
Seasoned chicken breast gets pan-seared until golden brown, smothered in a strawberry chipotle sauce, and topped with fresh strawberry-jalapeño salsa to create this playful, bright dish. Sweet-and-spicy lovers, this is bound to become your summertime go-to.
Get the Strawberry Jalapeño Chicken recipe.
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