Food & Cooking Recipes Dinner Recipes Summer Dinner Ideas Our 20 Most Popular Recipes for Summer By Nashia Baker Nashia Baker Nashia Baker is a skilled writer and editor in the journalism industry, known for her work interviewing global thought leaders, creatives, and activists, from Aurora James to Stacey Abrams. She has over five years of professional experience and has been a part of the Martha Stewart and Martha Stewart Weddings teams for the last 3 years. Editorial Guidelines Published on July 21, 2021 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Elizabeth Cecil Summer dinners are packed with plenty of grilled mains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and drinks that are equal parts delicious and cooling. When creating a menu for a backyard feast with friends, a picnic, or a family dinner, we say there's nothing wrong with playing the hits: To that end, we've rounded up the seasonal recipes that you, our readers, love most; that means there's a very good chance that your loved ones will adore them, too. Our Easy Lobster Rolls are the perfect example. Fill pull-apart dinner rolls (like King's Hawaiian Sweet or Martin's) with cooked lobster meat for a simple and tasty appetizer that your loved ones can snack on. You can also put a seasonal twist on a year-round favorite, like lasagna; our no-bake recipe is perfect for summer since it swaps the canned tomatoes for fresh and adds zucchini. Perhaps best of all, this must-try dinner dish comes together in just 25 minutes. Looking for a drink to add to your dinner menu? We've got cocktail and mocktail options that our readers love so much. Our Watermelon-Cucumber Cooler, which pairs seedless watermelon and English cucumber with honey, ice, and lime juice, can be easily made as a nonalcoholic drink by leaving out the final ingredient. Complete your summer celebration with dessert that will please any palate. Strawberry Cake can satisfy any sweet tooth thanks its buttery-vanilla batter that holds a pound of strawberries baked inside. If you want to prepare something that doesn't require the use of an oven, you can serve a no-bake treat like No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake. Once it's prepped, you'll leave it to chill in the refrigerator until it's ready for serving. 01 of 20 Easy Lobster Rolls These lobster rolls are a sensational way to start your summer dinner celebration. Stuffed with cooked lobster meat, the pull-apart rolls are simple to prepare and fun to eat. View Recipe 02 of 20 No-Bake Cherry Cheesecake David Prince Seasonal cherries shine in this summery treat. Sour cream, mascarpone, cream cheese, and goat cheese are combined to make the rich filling for this cheesecake, while the crust is made with vanilla wafer or shortbread cookie crumbs. View Recipe 03 of 20 Tropical-Fruit Salad with Coconut Crunch Petrina Tinslay Give your fruit salad a new twist. This recipe features a mix of ripe berries and other fruits, like strawberries, mangoes, papayas, and pineapple, with a crunchy coconut-poppy seed topping. View Recipe 04 of 20 Chilled Avocado-Cucumber Soup with Crostini Con Poulos Packed with refreshing cucumbers plus cilantro and scallions, and with avocados adding dairy-free creaminess, this chilled soup pairs perfectly with a platter of ham, jammy eggs, blanched asparagus, and crisp crostini for a cooling meal. View Recipe 05 of 20 Spicy-Sweet Glazed Shrimp Chili sauce and honey are the key flavors in the glaze for this shrimp dish. The glaze will caramelize deliciously as the shrimp are grilled. View Recipe 06 of 20 Watermelon-Cucumber Cooler This thirst-quenching drink is perfect for summer. Start with cubed watermelon that you blend into juice and add puréed cucumber, lime juice, vodka, and honey for a hint more sweetness. View Recipe 07 of 20 No-Bake Summer Lasagna No time in the oven is required to make this light and cheesy lasagna. Our recipe calls for grape tomatoes, zucchini, ricotta, and grated Parmesan. Plus, the lasagna noodles, of course! View Recipe 08 of 20 Green Fruit Salad with Lime and Honey Pippa Drummond A glorious all-green fruit salad comes together with apples, crisp cucumber, fresh mint, and basil. While the herbs add a savory note to this side dish, honey and lime juice help boost the sweetness and prevent browning before you serve it. View Recipe 09 of 20 Simple Coleslaw Jason Varney This is a favorite recipe of our users for good reason: It's incredibly versatile. Don't limit this favorite slaw to being served as a tasty side dish. You can also layer the shredded cabbage- and carrot-filled dish on pulled pork or other barbecue sandwiches as a crisp, cool contrast to the cooked meat. View Recipe 10 of 20 Lobster Salad with Greens and Citrus Vinaigrette Yunhee Kim Fresh tarragon adds a zing to this special salad and the sweetness of the lobster and tomatoes helps are balanced by the lemon-orange dressing. View Recipe 11 of 20 Grilled Chicken Breasts with BBQ Sauce Slather homemade barbecue sauce on chicken breasts for a winner of a summer dinner. You can either slow-cook the entire chicken or cut it into pieces for grilling, the former providing a juicy result and the latter being the faster option, to make this meal. View Recipe 12 of 20 Strawberry Cake If you have a sweet tooth, you'll want to add this strawberry cake to your summer dinner menu. It features a buttery-vanilla batter and a whole pound of strawberries. View Recipe 13 of 20 Potato and Green Bean Salad Perfect for serving with grilled meat, like pork, steak, or chicken, this potato and green bean salad is also tasty all on its own—and it can be served hot or cold. View Recipe 14 of 20 Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Skewers RYANE LIEBE These easy-to-assemble skewers make for a simply delicious grilled dish. Pair the chicken, onion, and mushroom with couscous and hummus or rice and salad for dinner. View Recipe 15 of 20 Tomato, Corn, and Avocado Salad This simple yet showstopping summer salad combines juicy tomatoes, avocado, scallions, lime juice and with corn cut from the cob. It's a colorful, healthy, and fresh vegetarian dish to serve throughout the warm weather. View Recipe 16 of 20 Blackberry Crush Combine lightly crushed blackberries, lemon juice, ice, and vodka to make this refreshing drink on a balmy summer night. View Recipe 17 of 20 Cantaloupe and Mozzarella with Prosciutto and Basil Add scoops of melon into a bowl with bocconcini, oil, and red-pepper flakes. From there, stir and season with salt and pepper and arrange the summery mixture alongside prosciutto and mozzarella on a platter. View Recipe 18 of 20 Grilled Striped Bass Quentin Bacon For a quick and healthy summer dinner, grill fish. This recipe, a favorite of our users, has you marinate fillets in oil, lemon juice, thyme, garlic for 30 minutes. Once it's placed on the grill, the sea bass only takes five to six minutes to cook. Garnish with chopped chives and lemon wedges and serve. View Recipe 19 of 20 Peach Crumble Con Poulos Celebrate ripe and juicy summer peaches with this easy crumble. The topping freezes well, so you can double the recipe to save a batch to make the treat again another day. View Recipe 20 of 20 Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream and Dill Sour cream, lemon juice, and dill are combined with cucumbers in this easy, seasonal dish. Simply toss to coat and refrigerate for up to four hours before serving. View Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit