Are you thinking about what to cook for dinner on a warm summer night? Something light, fresh, and filled with seasonal ingredients? Look no further! I’ve compiled 25 of the best easy summer dinner ideas.
This includes quick and easy summer pastas, grill recipes, seafood, dinner salads, and more!
In addition, many of these recipes are simple and can be prepared in just 30 minutes with a few simple ingredients.
So, if you’re looking for a meal that embodies the lightness and freshness of summer, you’re in the right place.
Enjoy exploring these summer dinner ideas and get ready to delight your taste buds.
25 Summer Dinner Recipes
Cherry Tomato Pasta
This recipe demonstrates that a fantastic tomato sauce doesn’t require a lengthy simmer on the stove.
Instead, it enhances the flavor of cherry tomatoes by bursting them in a skillet.
The addition of tomato paste not only intensifies the tomato taste but also contributes a savory umami flavor.
Pesto Pasta
This recipe is a quick and simple Italian dish, made up of only five ingredients, and can be prepared in less than 15 minutes.
It serves as the perfect light meal for summer nights.
Summer Tacos with Scallion-Peanut Relish
For those warm summer nights when you’d rather not be trapped in the kitchen, why not buy a roast chicken and prepare these effortless tacos?
The first step is to quickly pickle some carrots and daikon radish. Then, make a quick and tasty sauce to drizzle over the chicken.
The best part? This simple meal is ready to serve in a mere 25 minutes.
Chicken Cutlets with Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
Although a chicken cutlet is typically a halved chicken breast, this recipe reveals how to craft chicken cutlets that pack twice the flavorsome punch.
Grilled Steak Salad
This salad, with its simplicity, is perfect for a weekday meal, yet it’s so special that you could plan a gathering around it.
The reason for its uniqueness? The star ingredient: ribeye steak.
Creamy Lemon Chicken Pasta
Creamy lemon chicken piccata is a delightful and effortless meal that can be prepared in just 30 minutes.
This dish features succulent chicken breast served in a light, lemony sauce garnished with capers. It’s not just quick and easy, it’s also incredibly delicious.
Linguine with Cherry Tomato Sauce
This simple supper recipe only calls for a bit of cutting and barely any cooking. The outcome is a pasta dish with an Italian flair that’s the epitome of summer.
Mozzarella, Basil & Zucchini Frittata
This recipe for a vegetable-filled frittata is one of the simplest meals you can prepare.
It’s perfect for breakfast, but you can also enjoy it for lunch or dinner. Just add a side salad and a slice of crusty baguette drizzled with olive oil.
Bruschetta Grilled Chicken
This bruschetta grilled chicken stands out as our top pick for savoring the vibrant tastes of summer throughout the season.
Zucchini Lasagna Roll-Ups
This recipe requires both patience and time, but it’s arguably the most stunning ‘pasta’ dish you’ll ever lay eyes on.
If you possess a mandoline, use it to create the zoodles; if not, it’s a good opportunity to hone your knife skills.
Greek Salmon
Greek-style salmon is truly a delight, being both flaky and tender.
This nutritious salmon dish, baked to perfection in the oven, is laden with Mediterranean tastes.
Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki
This delightful and light Greek chicken gyros dish is filled with succulent souvlaki chicken, a traditional Greek salad, and homemade tzatziki sauce, all nestled in a pita.
Fancy Tomato Sandwiches
Sandwiches for dinner! The star of these delicious vegetarian sandwiches is none other than the vibrant summer tomatoes. They make for an ideal light summer dinner.
Sheet Pan Gnocchi with Broccoli
This versatile sheet pan recipe incorporates fresh broccoli florets and onions and makes use of convenient options like pre-made pesto and gnocchi.
If you’re looking for a more substantial meal, consider adding cauliflower and some prepared Italian sausage.
20-Minute Creamy Tomato Salmon Skillet
Salmon fillets, which cook rapidly, are smothered in a delectable creamy sauce infused with tomatoes, zucchini, and Italian seasoning.
This simple salmon dinner will undoubtedly become a favored weekly meal that your entire family will adore.
Easy Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Noodles
Savor the traditional shrimp scampi, made healthier with zucchini noodles as a substitute for pasta.
The tomatoes introduce a touch of sweetness and vibrancy, whereas the cheese imparts a unique nutty flavor and sumptuous richness.
Grilled Pizza
Grilling the pizza requires a maximum of just 4 minutes, so it’s not wise to start cutting your tomatoes once the pizza is already on the grill.
Ensure everything is prepared and within reach. This way, once you flip the pizza crust, you can immediately begin adding the toppings.
Remember, you should remove your pizza from the grill as soon as it’s cooked to perfection.
Grilled Shrimp
Enjoy a simple, garlicky, and buttery grilled shrimp boil, which includes prawns, corn, baby potatoes, and sausage.
It’s seasoned and garnished with parsley, and the best part is, it only takes 20 minutes to cook.
Crockpot Pulled-Pork Tacos
This dinner requires only five minutes of your morning time to assemble and then gently cooks throughout the day while you’re out enjoying your summer activities.
Spaghetti & Spinach with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce
In this sun-dried tomato pasta recipe, we extract the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to form the foundation of the cream sauce. This technique allows us to infuse the dish with flavor rapidly.
Ratatouille Casserole
Ratatouille, a traditional late-summer dish from Southern France that highlights our beloved end-of-season produce, is transformed in this stunning spiraled casserole.
Balsamic Chicken Kabobs
Grilled Balsamic Chicken Kabobs are a tasty must-have for summer grilling.
They are marinated in a balsamic sauce, skewered with vegetables, and can be either grilled or baked.
This delightful dish brings a burst of flavor to your summer barbecues.
Salmon Burgers With Pesto Cream Sauce
These burgers, which incorporate canned salmon, can be prepared in a mere 20 minutes.
The salmon mixture is flavored with dried basil, making it the perfect match for the pre-made pesto spread on brioche buns.
Air-Fryer Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers are a traditional family dish that also brings a fun element to meal times.
Rather than baking the sweet peppers in the oven, consider using an air fryer. This method ensures they are crisp yet tender, without any sogginess.
Egg Salad Toast with Fresh Herbs and Capers
When does toast become a meal? It’s when you’re feeling too overheated and exhausted to cook, yet you stumble upon a recipe that is simple, effortless, and fulfilling.
That’s the moment. If you have your eggs hard-boiled beforehand, this summer dinner doesn’t require any cooking at all. Well, unless you count toasting as ‘cooking’.
You may also like:
Easy Dinner Recipes for Family: 30 Meals Everyone Will Love
Easy and Delicious: 35 Pasta Salad Recipes for Any Occasion
Top 30 Chicken Breast Recipes: Ultimate Guide For Home Cooks
If you liked this post, please share it! Save THIS PIN on your Summer Dinner Recipes Pinterest board and check it at any time! 🙂
