86 Wildly Delicious Summer Dinner Recipes
When we’re eating comforting soups and stews for dinner in the dark every night all winter long, we often dream of long, hot summer days. Now that they’re finally here, don’t let them slip away without taking full advantage! This means lots of picnics, BBQs, and days at the beach, as well as making sure that even your mundane weeknight dinners are as summery as possible. 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 86 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-pot shawarma chicken & orzo skillet, our ratatouille casserole, our skillet eggplant Parm, 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 harissa grilled chicken, our grilled tuna steak, or our grilled steak salad.
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 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. And don’t forget summer cocktails and summer desserts too!
Cherry Tomato Pasta
This recipe is proof that a killer tomato sauce doesn’t need a long simmer on the stovetop—this one concentrates the cherry tomatoes' flavor through bursting them in the skillet, along with tomato paste that intensifies the tomato flavor while also adding umami. Yum!
Get the Cherry Tomato Pasta recipe.
Grilled Steak Salad
This salad is simple enough for a weeknight but worthy of planning a get-together around, thanks to its star ingredient—ribeye steak. You’ll grill it (and red onions), 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.
Bruschetta Grilled Chicken
While we've got plenty of weeknight chicken dinners in our arsenal, this bruschetta grilled chicken is one of our favorite ways to celebrate fresh summer flavors all season long. Whether you've got extra bruschetta on hand or are making it special, using it as an extra-flavorful boost to your main course is always a good idea.
Get the Bruschetta Grilled Chicken recipe.
Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups
This recipe takes some time and patience, but it's just about the prettiest "pasta" dish you'll ever see. If you have mandoline, use it to make the zoodles; if you don't, practice your knife skills. 😉
Get the Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups recipe.
Mahi Mahi Tacos
Being a meaty, tender fish, mahi mahi stands up well to the grill and is even better when marinated. You could use a traditional citrus-oil mixture, or do like we did and go with a mayo-based marinade that adds some richness and a ton of flavor. Throw the fish on a tortilla with some spicy pineapple-jalapeño salsa, and you'll have an amazing summer taco night.
Get the Mahi Mahi Tacos recipe.
Summer Bowtie Pasta & Chicken Sausage Skillet Bake
We believe that summer dinners should be both quick and easy, so this skillet pasta dinner requires just a handful of ingredients—bowtie pasta, marinara sauce, chicken sausage, zucchini, bell pepper, spinach... SO EASY.
Get the Summer Bowtie Pasta & Chicken Sausage Skillet Bake recipe.
Grilled Pizza
Here's our #1 tip for success for this pizza: Prep everything you are going to need before you start grilling. The grilling part only takes 4 minutes tops, so don't wait to slice your tomatoes until the pizza is on the grill. 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.
Ratatouille Casserole
Ratatouille, a classic end of summer dish from the South of France that features our favorite late-season produce, takes on a new form in this beautiful spiraled casserole. Instead of cooking the ratatouille on the stovetop, enjoy it right out of the oven, or you can bake the dish ahead of time and let the ingredients mingle in the refrigerator overnight for even more flavor.
Get the Ratatouille Casserole recipe.
Blackened Shrimp Bowls
If you're looking for summer in a meal, turn to these blackened shrimp bowls. Not only are they delicious, these bowls are also a filling powerhouse, and are ripe for improvisation—try swapping in guac instead of avocadoes, corn salsa instead of grilled corn, or a different protein than shrimp... anything goes!
Get the Blackened Shrimp Bowls recipe.
One-Pot Shawarma Chicken & Orzo Skillet
This easy one-pot chicken dinner has got it all: protein, carbs, and fresh veggies all in one skillet. The flavors in this recipe take their cues from shawarma, the popular Levantine dish that features thin cuts of seasoned meat, so serve it alongside other Middle Eastern-inspired sauces on the side, like tzatziki, tahini sauce, or baba ghanoush.
Ultimate Veggie Sandwich
There's something so special and refreshing about a sandwich that is absolutely packed to the gills with veggies. The miso-glazed eggplant here will knock your socks off (especially paired with the avocado spread and creamy hummus that holds the whole thing together.
Get the Ultimate Veggie Sandwich recipe.
Creamy Corn Pasta
Don’t be fooled by the name—this pasta has no cream. Instead, you’ll puree fresh corn, sautéed garlic, and scallions into a luscious sauce that’s topped with Parmesan, basil, and even more corn. With just these few ingredients, you can have a crowd-pleasing pasta dish on the table in only about 30 minutes.
Get the Creamy Corn Pasta 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.
Tofu Banh Mi
In this meat-free Vietnamese classic, the pressed tofu marinates twice: once quickly before cooking so it doesn’t soak up too much liquid, and again after it’s cooked to flavor it through. A French baguette will do the job, but getting your hands on an airier, lighter, thin-and-crisp-crusted Vietnamese baguette is the ultimate.
Get the Tofu Bahn Mi recipe.
Grilled Tuna Steak With Scallion Sauce
Those who say that good things take time have clearly never grilled a tuna steak—once the grill is preheated, they only take around 5 minutes! Serve them topped with our grilled scallion sauce over greens or brown rice for the perfect light summer meal.
Peach Balsamic Grilled Chicken
Grilling fruit will bring out its juicy sweetness, and while you can always go the sweet route with your grilled peaches, they're just as good paired with this sweet and tangy balsamic chicken.
BBQ Chicken Salad
Some salads are sides, but not this one: Juicy grilled BBQ chicken sits alongside festive South-of-the-border-inspired toppings like black beans, corn, cheese, and tortilla strips. Put that on top of some crunchy romaine and drizzle it with BBQ sauce and ranch dressing, and you’ve got yourself a hearty meal you’ll look forward to eating again and again.
Get the BBQ Chicken Salad recipe.
Buffalo Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
We’re pretty much always down to eat some Buffalo wings, but while they’re a game day MUST, they don’t always fit into our day to day meal plans. Instead we’ve taken the buttery, spicy flavor combination and added it to these lettuce wraps for an easy and flavorful low-carb meal.
Get the Buffalo Shrimp Lettuce Wraps recipe.
Caprese Chicken Saltimbocca
Glance at the ingredient list for this Caprese chicken saltimbocca recipe, and it reads like an all-star roster of deliciousness—prosciutto and chicken? Present. Ciliegine (aka, tiny balls of mozzarella) and juicy cherry tomatoes? They're here too. Finally, the dynamic duo of basil leaves and balsamic vinegar enhance the Italian flavors. 😍
Get the Caprese Chicken Saltimbocca recipe.
Falafel Chickpea Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
Here, all the spicy, garlicky flavors of your favorite falafel sandwich get deconstructed and stuffed inside bell peppers. It's the vegetarian version of classic stuffed peppers that we're putting in regular rotation.
Camille Lowder is the digital food producer at Delish, otherwise known as our resident queen of recipe galleries. Previously, she attended the Natural Gourmet Institute for culinary school and worked at/managed a number of New York restaurants. She loves anything vegan, foods masquerading as other foods (hello, cauliflower), and a well-used Oxford comma.
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