Try these easy summer dinner ideas utilizing fresh ingredients from the season. The best part? Many of these meals come together in 30 minutes or less.
Summer is my favorite time of year.
It can also be a busy time of year, too. I would rather spend less time in the kitchen and more time outdoors. That’s why I love to have a few easy summer meals I can easily whip up.
Things like classic chicken salad, salmon croquettes, and pasta salad are go-tos around here this time of year. Plus, dinners that incorporate the veggies of the season like bell peppers, juicy tomatoes, and zucchini are also on the table.
Of course, you can’t have summer dinners without some summer desserts. So, if you are looking for a treat to enjoy after dinner, check out my favorite summer desserts.
If you need some more inspiration after reading this list, you’ll love my 30-day summer meal plan.
Summer Dinner Ideas
Mediterranean sheet pan chicken is a delicious meal made on one pan! Golden brown chicken, creamy feta, briny olives, and a variety of fresh veggies come together for the easiest and tastiest Mediterranean dish.
Mediterranean Sheet Pan Chicken
This homemade tomato soup recipe starts with fresh tomatoes simmered with onions, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Serve it topped with fresh basil and chopped bacon for a nutritious, comforting dinner or lunch.
Homemade Tomato Scratch
Zucchini lasagna is a low-carb, garden-fresh spin on traditional lasagna. With tender zucchini slices, creamy layers of cheese, and a savory meat sauce.
Zucchini Lasagna
This vegetable hash in a cast iron skillet is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! It’s quick to throw together and easy to clean up.
Vegetable Hash
A perfect summertime lunch, this Grape Chicken Salad is a simple high-protein meal that the whole family can enjoy. Made with juicy grapes, diced stalks of celery, and crunchy pecans, it is full of flavor and texture.
Chicken Salad
Roasted red pepper and tomato soup is one of the easiest, yet most flavorful soups you can put on your table. Red bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, and garlic are roasted to perfection and then blended together with broth for a smooth and delicious bowl of soup your taste buds will love.
Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup
Stuffed bell peppers with ground beef is a hearty classic filled with whole grains, seasoned beef, and melted cheese.
Stuffed Bell Peppers with Ground Beef
Healthy tuna salad is a light, refreshing meal packed with fresh herbs, crunchy garden celery, and a twist of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Tuna Salad
Make this Greek chicken with orzo pasta for a quick and easy weeknight meal. Chicken is marinated in a zesty Greek dressing and pan fried. Served with a flavorful orzo, veggies, olives, and feta cheese, this recipe is packed full of flavor and nutritious ingredients.
Greek Chicken with Orzo
Delicious and healthy cheeseburger soup is a veggie-packed, cheesy soup, filled with all the best parts of the classic cheeseburger. This hearty soup with a bone broth base is perfect for a cold winter day or a hot summer evening.
Cheeseburger Soup
A go-to lunch on busy days, this Cobb chicken salad tastes like summer. Crispy bacon, hard-boiled eggs, and juicy tomatoes are combined with shredded chicken and mayo to make the most delicious high-protein meal.
Cobb Chicken Salad
Crockpot chicken tacos are one of those meals that is simple and easy, but the whole family loves every time. This is the easiest crockpot chicken taco recipe around. Set it and forget it, then top this easy recipe in delicious ways that makes the simple ingredients shine!
Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Southwest chicken soup is a tasty one pot dinner that is easy to throw together on busy nights, and is full of smoky, savory, and tangy flavor.
Southwest Chicken Soup
This stuffed bell pepper soup recipe is a take on traditional stuffed peppers, turned into a hearty soup. Serve hot with a slice of crusty bread for the perfect family meal.
Stuffed Bell Pepper Soup
This delicious orange chicken is coated with a flour mixture, fried until crispy, and covered in sweet, fresh, orange sauce. Serve over rice or a noodle stir-fry. This is a family favorite recipe that is better than takeout!
Easy Orange Chicken
Packed with a sweet and savory corn flavor, this chicken corn chowder is the ultimate comfort food for a summer night.
Corn Chowder
Family burger night just got even tastier with these savory burger bowls. Simple to make and bursting with flavor, these are sure to become a weeknight dinner staple!
Burger Bowls
Tzatziki chicken salad is a delicious twist on a classic chicken salad that is full of Mediterranean flavor. Crisp cucumber, feta cheese, salty olives, and more combine to create a perfect summer meal.
Tzatziki Chicken Salad
Chicken breasts are seared to lock in the juices, then served in a creamy peach sauce made with white wine and fresh herbs making this delicious one skillet peach chicken dish. It’s an amazing combination of sweet and savory, and the best end-of-summer dish.
Peach Chicken with Cream Sauce
Homemade gnocchi coated with a rich basil sauce makes this pesto gnocchi dish a dreamy solution for all that fresh garden basil.
Pesto Gnocchi
Zucchini Frittata is a simple dish with robust flavors and a creamy, fluffy texture. Summer zucchini, sweet shallots, fresh eggs, and rich, melted cheese compose this satisfying and delicious frittata.
Zucchini Frittata
With a savory sausage and mushroom filling layered over fresh zucchini, topped with cheese, and baked until bubbly, these stuffed zucchini boats are a healthy and delicious way to use up your garden-fresh zucchini.
Sausage Zucchini Boats
Crispy, pan-fried salmon croquettes are a delicious, protein-packed main dish you can have on the table in 15 minutes flat.
Salmon Croquettes
Sides & Condiments
Learn to make tender, buttery sourdough discard hamburger buns with this same-day recipe. With some basic ingredients and a bit of discard, you can save yourself a trip to the grocery store and create homemade burger buns with the perfect texture and rich, wholesome flavor.
Sourdough Hamburger Buns
The perfect side dish for summer potlucks and backyard barbecues, this simple coleslaw recipe pairs the refreshing crunch of freshly shredded cabbage with a tangy, creamy dressing.
Coleslaw
This creamy lemon chicken pasta is about to be your new favorite meal. Zesty lemon and tender chicken come together in a creamy pasta bursting with flavor.
Lemon Chicken Pasta
Homemade baked beans are the perfect side dish for summer cookouts. Tender beans are simmered in a savory sauce featuring a rich, tangy flavor and delicious smoky bacon.
Baked Beans
Probiotic-rich kefir ranch dressing is a delicious way to add beneficial bacteria to your favorite foods. Top fresh greens with this dressing to make a salad bursting with flavor, or use it as a dip. This is a great way to add probiotics into your family’s diet.
Kefir Ranch Dressing
This easy pickled red onions recipe is one that you will want to make on repeat! It is quick, simple, and adds a delicious layer of flavor to any dish. Plus, it is a wonderful homemade gift!
Pickled Red Onions
This creamy avocado aioli is the perfect dip for veggies or French fries. Use it as a flavorful spread on your favorite lunchtime sandwich or even as a salad dressing. Made with simple ingredients, it is easy to make and full of flavor.
Avocado Aioli
This is the best beet salad recipe. It combines fresh, sweet, and savory flavors that make an impressive and appetizing addition to any meal.
Roasted Beet Salad
Homemade fermented ketchup is one of the easiest ferments to make and will easily take your backyard BBQ up a notch in flavor.
Fermented Ketchup
Strawberry salad dressing brings fresh flavor to all your summer salads. It comes together perfectly every time and always tastes amazing!
Strawberry Salad Dressing
This creamy, savory dill potato salad is the perfect addition to summer picnics, cookouts, or Sunday dinner. It’s creamy, full of texture, and the fresh herbs and chopped pickles add big flavor.
Dill Potato Salad
This Greek pasta salad recipe is full of delicious flavor and uses simple ingredients you likely have on hand. It’s the perfect solution for an easy side or light dinner – tons of flavor with minimal work!
Greek Pasta Salad
Once you learn how to make homemade barbecue sauce from scratch in the comfort of your own home, it will be a staple recipe you reach for again and again.
Barbecue Sauce
If you try any of these recipes and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Want more summer dinner ideas in a pre-made meal plan?
Check out my 28-Day summer meal plan!
It includes:
- Ingredients that are easy to find.
- Weekly shopping lists.
- A focus on what is seasonally available.
- Wholesome meals that are kid approved.
- Simple recipes that can be doubled or tripled, based on family size.
I cannot say it enough, yumm!
That easy cozy rice with bone broth! I also use bone broth as a sub for water… Must try the rice!! ☺️
Thank you!
Hello , my name is Lynn Culley from Canada.
Love everything you do in the Farmhouse way and life.
I do alot like what you do.
Love canning , cooking simple life way.
I would love for you too write a recipe book with all your recipes, I have your book. Love it.you do wonderful job.
My father was Amish, I have lots recipes, but love yours too.
Have a great fall. My favorite time of year harvest time.
Thanks again
Lynn Culley
Hi. Where did you get your colander? Love your channel!
So glad I found you. Thank you for all the great ideas,recipes and inspiration.
you’re so welcome!
I would love to have your recipea sent to my email
Would love to have your recipes sent to my email
Hit it out of the park, again. Love these ideas and really want to try the pizza from sourdough starter..!
thank you!
Lisa, love the inspiration and ideas. We are up to our eyeballs in zukes right now. Baking quadruple loves every week for the last few. Tomatoes are just starting up and it will be a banner year for those it looks like.
I love you guys live the old fashioned farm way – it is such a thrill to see what you are up to. Bless you!
I am super jealous of your garden full of basil! Mine turned brown at the base and died. Now my rosemary is turning brown in the middle. My carrots died (who kills carrots, right?!), my bell pepper plants have produced nothing, and my Roma tomatoes didn’t pollinate. Even my lavender keeled over on me! Truly, I’m getting a complex. But, good for you! I’m glad you’ve gotten something from your garden because homegrown always tastes better and is better for you.
oh I’m so sorry to hear about your garden!