My Favorite Easy Summer Dinner Ideas
I mostly love to cook, but in the summer, I really like to keep things simple. When it is hot out or we’re on the lake or at the water park, I want something quick and easy that I can make for dinner.
Here are some of my favorite summer dinners (plus summer dinner ideas from my team!)
EASY SUMMER DINNER IDEAS
Beef and Avocado Rice Bowls
These are quick and easy and the whole family loves them – what more could you ask for? Don’t miss the mango which really puts them over the top. I’ve probably made these 20+ times in the last year or two!
Turkey and Avocado Picnic Sandwich
My husband picks out the menu every week (best hack ever – takes so much mental load off me to just put in the grocery order instead of having to choose all the meals too) and he picks this probably every other week. It is always a hit – add some chips and fruit and dinner is served!
Slow Cooker Shredded Beef and Pepperoncini Sandwiches
If I had to choose a very favorite dinner, it might be these sandwiches. Oh man, I never get tired of them – they are SO good. If we have extra meat leftover, I scramble them with eggs for breakfast or put them in a tortilla shell.
Hot Honey Salmon Bowls
This is a quick summer dinner especially if you use the air fryer (which I feel like cooks my salmon way more evenly!). My girls also love any meal where you assemble it yourself because they can choose which ingredients to include and which ones to skip.
Tomato, Prosciutto and Goat Cheese Quiche
I’ve been making this quiche for years – add a green salad and you’ve got an easy summer dinner. Everyone in my family likes this one and I always roast the tomatoes instead of doing them on the stovetop plus I do a store bought crust to make things quicker and easier.
Avocado Tuna Melts
This is THE go-to dinner at my house when I don’t feel like cooking. Every single person loves them and they take about 10 minutes total. Hard to beat that!
Analese
Mel’s Kitchen Cafe Grilled Lemon Chicken
This is my go-to meal when I have nothing in mind for dinner or when we are having a group of people come over and I need a lot of food, but don’t want to heat up the house with the oven. The ingredients are simple so I always have them on hand and it turns out every single time. I love that the meat doesn’t have to marinate for that long if you are in a pinch (it is more flavorful if you do have the time). Add some watermelon, a roll or chips, a salad kit and you have dinner in 30 min or less.
Ham & Cheese Sliders
I know that people get sick of sandwiches, but these aren’t just your normal ham and cheese sandwiches. The glaze on top of them, combined with the Hawaiian rolls gives them a whole new taste our family loves. Side note: I leave the poppy seeds out because I have a couple of kids who can be picky and they taste just the same without them.
Kelsey
Antipasto Salad
Nothing beats a fresh salad on a hot day – no cooking, minimal cleanup, and on the table in just 15 minutes! I love that it is easy to customize with your family’s favorite ingredients (surprisingly, my kids love everything in this salad!), and for an even quicker option, just toss it with store-bought Italian dressing.
California Roll Bowls
This meal is on repeat at our house, my little boys will even ask for it for lunch! It comes together quick – the longest part of the whole meal is just waiting on the rice cooker. We scoop the filling into roasted nori sheets for fun taco-style bites and serve it with steamed edamame, just a frozen bag microwaved for 5 minutes. (If you want something a little fancier, a little more involved, but absolutely amazing…we also love this sushi bake!)
Jennifer
Cottage Cheese, Sweet Potato, Ground Beef Bowl
This recipe went viral on instagram so I had to give it a try. I don’t think I would have put all these ingredients together on my own, but it is actually pretty good. I like to make extra and have it for lunch the next day. It is protein packed and has some good healthy fats as well.
Smash Burgers
My husband got a Blackstone for Father’s Day and it has been the best gift to everyone! We have cooked on it almost every day since we got it. Smash burgers have been a huge hit. This is our favorite rendition we’ve tried so far. The flavor is amazing!
Kristin
Baked Chicken Taquitos
I adore these baked chicken taquitos and have been making them for years. I usually double the batch so I can freeze half and reheat them in my air fryer for lunches. It’s also a good meal to prep ahead of time if needed. We usually add a side of rice and a quick salad to serve alongside the taquitos.
Navajo Tacos
This is my kids’ most-requested meal! I grew up eating this and still love it myself. It’s quick and simple to pull together, especially because I usually use a couple cans of Nalley chili instead of making my own meat (though that is also a delicious option). Add some fresh toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and cheese and it’s a hit. Make sure you leave a few extra scones for drizzling in melty butter and honey for dessert!
I love those taquitos too! So, so, yummy. We do a lot of BLT’s, seven layer bean dip, and toastados. We tried your tuna melt recipe a few weeks ago and EVERYONE ate it and my 5 year old at two which shocked us all!
I loves this post!!
I would be so curious to know the process of dinner planning in your house.
So Bart picks the meals (from where? Do you keep a binder? Pinterest board? Of all your true and tried meals?)
Then what you place an order than the day of you cook?
He just looks at some of our favorite food blogs (Half Baked Harvest, Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, Two Peas and their Pod, How Sweet Eats, Googling specific recipes that sound good to him) and the I place the order Sunday and then cook each night.