This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This collection of summer dinner ideas includes all the best-grilled dishes, sandwiches, and fresh salads that are so enjoyable during the warm summer months.
More Collections: Summer Drink Recipes, Summer Desserts, Summer Salad Recipes
We Love hot summer nights!
One thing I love about summer is having a little extra time to plan meals, especially all of our favorite summer dinner ideas!
We love to spend summers outside by the pool so I make a lot of grilled dinners and fresh salads. Sometimes if we’re in the mood for a picnic, we’ll do sandwiches and Flatout Wraps!
Why we love summer recipes:
- Summertime produce. There are so many fruits and veggies in season during the summer and we love to include them in our dinners!
- Keep it cool. As in your house! Grilling and crock pot ideas help keep your kitchen cool.
- Keep it simple. Keep the fun going, use these tips to make serving food outdoors a breeze.
Tips for Summer Dinners
All of my best tips stem from one main idea: make a weekly menu.
- Make a menu and fill out breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even snacks. Don’t forget to add the sides.
- Shop. Base your grocery shopping list on the needed ingredients for the week (check the pantry first!).
- Meal prep. Decide if there is anything you can make ahead of time. At the end of each day look to see what you plan to serve the next day.
- Pull items from the freezer, chop, and mix up anything you can to make cooking go more smoothly the next day. Many people like to have one large meal-prepping day and keep items in the fridge or freezer until they’re needed.
Summer Produce
Whether you want to create a delicious side dish, whip up a summer salsa, or serve a cool Summer Salad you can’t go wrong with using the fresh ingredients that are in season.
- Summer fruit. apples, avocado, lime, strawberries, grapes, pineapple, papaya, mango, blueberries, cherries, peaches, plums, raspberries, cherry tomatoes, watermelon, fig, pear, or lemon juice
- Summer vegetables. broccoli, cilantro, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, radish, squash, lettuce, leafy greens, bell peppers, zucchini, beets, carrots, or onions
- Fresh herbs. Fresh basil, garlic, fennel, rosemary, parsley, bay, chives, dill, mint, or oregano
Best Summer Dinner Recipes
Some recipes are worth turning on the oven for, but for the most part, cooking in the summer means utilizing the grill and making summer crockpot recipes.
These easy summer dinner recipes are our favorites! From shrimp skewers to juicy beef hamburgers to crispy Chicken Tenders, we have our favorites.
Every single one of these recipes is sure to be on repeat all summer long!
1 Best Hamburger Recipe
Recipe Video
2 Pulled Pork Recipe
3 Huli Huli Chicken
4 Ranch Burger Recipe
5 Hawaiian Haystacks Recipe
6 Steak Marinade
7 Sloppy Joe Recipe
8 Kalua Pork Recipe
9 Hot Dogs in Crock Pot
10 Taco Casserole Recipe
Recipe Video
Easy Summer Dinner Ideas
Pizza is a hit all year long, but especially in the summer. We love to mix up a batch of our Homemade Pizza Dough, top it with sauce and mozzarella, and then add our favorite toppings!
For a simple weeknight dish packed with flavor, we grab a pack of pasta and whip up a savory sauce. Our fan-favorite Easy Spaghetti is a go-to, along with these easy dinner ideas to keep it simple!
11 BBQ Pork Chops Recipe
12 Chicken Parmesan Sliders Recipe
13 Crock Pot Brisket Recipe
14 Corn Dog Recipe
15 Chicken Souvlaki Recipe
16 Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Sandwiches Recipe
17 Baby Back Ribs Recipe
18 Monte Cristo Sliders Recipe
19 Baked Spaghetti Squash Recipe
20 Pineapple Meatballs Recipe
21 Steak and Tortellini Salad Recipe
22 Chicken Sausage Pasta Recipe
23 BBQ Chicken Pizza
24 Dr. Pepper Ribs Recipe
25 Teriyaki Chicken Burgers Recipe
26 Ham and Cheese Sliders Recipe
Recipe Video
Get the recipe27 Tuna Salad Recipe
28 How to Make Egg Salad recipe
Recipe Video
Get the recipe29 Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
30 Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos Recipe
Recipe Video
Get the recipeHealthy Summer Dinner Recipes
Keep dinner light by filling your meal with seasonal fruits and veggies! Whether you’re making a delicious green salad or a wrap, use the freshest fruits and vegetables.
Summer veggies, zucchini noodles, lettuce wraps, or turkey burgers keep it healthy along with these favorites!
31 Steak Bites Recipe
32 Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner
33 Lemon Pepper Chicken Recipe
34 Dr. Pepper Ribs Recipe
35 Baked Salmon Recipe
36 Chicken Caesar Salad
37 Veggie Panini Recipe
38 Zucchini Boats Recipe
39 Chicken Fingers Recipe
40 Chicken Taco Salad Recipe
41 Chicken Caesar Wrap Recipe
42 Baked BBQ Chicken Recipe
43 Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad Recipe
44 Cobb Salad
45 Southwest Salad Recipe
Pile it High!
Totally customizable Hawaiian Haystacks are a pile of fluffy rice stacked with chicken, gravy, and all your favorite toppings!
This is a family favorite! The “haystack” part of the name is because you pile all those toppings onto the chicken and rice, and it kind of looks like a haystack.
Here is the recipe:
40+ Summer Dinner Ideas
Ingredients
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can chicken broth
- 1 (10.5-ounce) can cream of chicken soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 3-4 cups steamed white rice, or minute rice made according to the package instructions
Garnishes
- slivered almonds, shredded cheese, green onions, pineapple tidbits, chow mein noodles, chopped celery, Homemade Wonton Strips
Instructions
- Stir broth, soup, and sour cream together in a slow cooker until combined well.
- Salt and pepper to taste, then stir in chicken cubes. Cook covered on low for 3-4 hours, or high for 1-2 hours.
- To serve, prepare a bed of rice in a bowl, then top with chicken and gravy. Sprinkle with desired toppings, including pineapple, green onions, shredded cheese, and fried wonton strips.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Simple Summer dinners
We hope you enjoy this collection of simple summer dinners that are so easy to put together, but don’t compromise on taste! Whether you’re firing up the grill, using your slow cooker, or putting together a hearty salad there is something for everyone on this list!
More Collections: Summer Soups, Summer Appetizers, Summer Side Dishes
I love all the different salad options. Im just a beginning gardener, but do have a few things that I managed to grow. I’m looking forward to making all the different salads you have here.
So many tasty looking recipes! I’m adding the ingredients for ranch burgers to my shopping list, and then I’ll be making the huli huli chicken! 🙂
Summer is one of my favorite times for cooking! I love all these ideas, and can’t wait to try a few this summer.
Love this list! There are so many yummy options, enough to keep our menu full all summer!
I really enjoy the lazy days of summer. The food choices are never ending. It’s a great time to grill or just make something really simple. All the recipes you need are right here.
Summer comes & all I want to eat is salads & grilled food! These recipes are prefect!!