32 Summer Dinner Recipes That Are Fast, Easy, and Packed With Seasonal Produce
Get a fresh meal on the table faster than you can order takeout—and then get back to your summer plans.
Armando Rafael
While summer offers up some of the year's best produce and most versatile ingredients, the beautiful weather, long days, and a vacation mindset might mean you don't want to spend all day standing over the stove.
Each of the following summer dinner recipes incorporates the best of the season's fruit and vegetables—like tomatoes, corn, zucchini, and fresh herbs—into crowd-pleasing summer pastas, grilled pizza, and one-pot meals. Most come together in less than an hour, and many require only basic cooking equipment and techniques. All are designed to help you get a delicious meal on the table with ease—so you can get back to relaxing at the pool, the beach, or your own front porch.
Related: One-Pot Meals That Are Perfect for Summer Dinners
Rotisserie Chicken With Yogurt Sauce and Herb Relish
A super-summery dinner that’s ready in 20 minutes. Starting with rotisserie chicken and hummus from the store speeds meal prep along. Make a quick lemony yogurt sauce and herb relish, combine radishes and celery for salad, and assemble.
Salmon Niçoise With Caper Dressing
Just like the classic Niçoise salad, this salmon version has salad leaves, boiled potatoes, green beans and a zippy vinaigrette. Beside salmon instead of tuna, we’ve made a few other changes to complement this distinct version of the dish. Fresh corn on the cob and mini cucumbers replace the usual hard-boiled eggs and olives in this fresh and delicious take.
Grilled Pepper and Red Onion Pizza
Bell peppers and red onion take a turn on the grill before they top these individual pizzas. The dough is also grilled, and spread with a delicious combination of goat cheese, lemon juice, and Parmesan. A handful of arugula is the finishing touch.
Grilled Eggplant Parmesan
This mouthwatering vegetarian entrée is a lighter, summery take on eggplant parmesan. It skips the breading and cooks to perfection on the grill in just 35 minutes.
Green Chile Chicken Burgers
A grilled burger that you can enjoy in 35 minutes. These lean patties get plenty of flavor and juiciness from canned green chiles and fresh cilantro. Spread sour cream on the buns for a little extra tang.
Grilled Chicken and Zucchini Salad
Chicken cutlets get a quick marinade in garlicky, dill-flecked yogurt before they hit the grill. Pair them with flame-kissed planks of zucchini brightened with lemon zest and a simple romaine and radish salad.
Greek Mezze Salad
This summer dinner makes good use of store-bought ingredients, so it comes together with minimal effort. Canned chickpeas and canned grape leaves anchor the plate, accompanied by mini cucumbers, radishes, and a lemony yogurt for the dressing. Serve with toasted pita bread.
Brie and Tomato Tart
For an easy yet elegant summer dinner, bake this cheesy tart that showcases juicy slices of heirloom tomatoes paired with flaky store-bought puff pastry, buttery brie, and briny capers. Simply pair with salad greens.
Grilled Rataouille Pasta
Who doesn’t love ratatouille? We also love this inspired summery version that takes the stovetop vegetable stew to the grill. Zucchini, bell pepper, red onion, eggplant, and tomatoes are all cooked on the grill. Then tossed with the pasta, some balsamic vinegar, and parsley.
Grilled Chicken and Eggplant With Mozzarella and Tomatoes
Turn your favorite Caprese salad into a quick, satisfying meal with the addition of grilled chicken, grilled eggplant, kalamata olives, and fresh herbs alongside just-picked tomatoes.
Gnocchi With Sausage, Zucchini, and Tomato
Zucchini, fresh tomato, and ground sausage—without casings—cook quickly in a skillet while gnocchi cooks separately. Toss it all together and top with store-bought pesto (or homemade, depending on how much time you have) for a full meal in 30 minutes.
Pasta With No-Cook Puttanesca Sauce
The "sauce" in this recipe requires fresh tomatoes, olive oil, capers, and Pecorino Romano cheese. Toss it all with warm pasta and garlic cloves for a no-sweat alternative to heavier, simmered sauces.
Blistered Green-Bean and Corn Frittata
Charred green beans, shallots, and corn are a savory filling for a simple vegetable frittata, while a side of tomatoes tossed with olive oil, vinegar, and parsley comes together in minutes for a pretty—and pretty easy—accompaniment.
Grilled Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers
A balanced filling of couscous, tomato, raisins, mint, and feta highlights a Mediterranean influence in this simple recipe. After cooking the filling, the peppers need just five minutes on the grill to set.
Summer Smoked-Salmon Chowder
Embrace the flavors of your favorite seafood shack with a rich, creamy salmon chowder made in a Dutch oven in about 45 minutes. (Don't forget the oyster crackers!)
Chicken Cutlets With Summer Squash and Feta
Dredge these chicken cutlets in flour before cooking in a skillet with capers and broth to create a flavorful pan gravy that tastes like you spent all day at the stove. Summer squash, fresh spinach leaves, and creamy feta are a flavorful side.
Shrimp Cobb With Cilantro-Lime Dressing
Bryan Gardner
Classic Cobb salad gets a dinner-party-ready makeover when topped with sauteéd shrimp, cilantro, avocado, and watercress—all tasty complements to the traditional egg, bacon, tomato, and romaine.
Broiled Fish With Summer Salad
On days when it's so hot you can't pull yourself away from the pool to cook, opt for this light, healthy fish entree. It takes five minutes to broil the lemon sole or flounder filets, and the tomato-cucumber-corn salad is served raw.
Blistered Eggplant With Tomatoes, Olives, and Feta
Take these colorful vegetables from garden to table in about 20 minutes; the eggplants are blistered in the broiler. After the eggplants cool, layer them with sliced tomatoes and feta, top with more feta and parsley, and serve with a crusty baguette.
Eggplant-Mozzarella Melt
Serve up a vegetarian sandwich alternative at your next cookout with eggplant-mozzarella melts. Grilled eggplant is served under melted cheese and grilled onion with Boston lettuce on a brioche bun (even the non-vegetarians will be jealous).
Pork Tenderloin With Summer-Squash Couscous
Grilled pork, seasoned with Dijon mustard and fennel, is served with quick-cooking couscous and grilled vegetables. But the star of this plate is the mint-scallion relish, which takes the entire dish from basic to bravo!
Mediterranean Chopped-Chicken Pita
Grilled chicken, cut into strips, is served on hummus-topped grilled pitas with tomatoes, scallions, and radicchio. Cut these open-face sandwiches into wedges for easier eating.
Swordfish With Watermelon and Lime-Ginger Citronette
Low-effort grilled swordfish gets an upscale makeover when served with crunchy lettuce, sweet watermelon, and a homemade lime-ginger dressing.
Summer Beef and Rice Casserole
This one-pot meal allows you to cook the rice in a cast-iron skillet with meat sauce, breadcrumbs, squash, and Parmesan cheese, creating a creamy, Italian-inspired casserole with a bare minimum of post-dinner dish duty.
Grilled Skirt Steak and Hearts of Palm Salad
Marinate this skirt steak in red curry for 10 minutes—if you're short on time—or overnight for a richer taste. Vermicelli noodles and hearts of palm, topped with a homemade fish-sauce dressing, add savory crunch.
Shrimp Burgers
Opting for seafood over red meat is a greener, healthier choice and an obvious one when the beef burger alternative is this savory shrimp burger, made with chopped scallions, hot cherry peppers, and basil.
Mussels With Corn, Cherry Tomatoes, and Tarragon
Steamed mussels in white wine with tomatoes, corn, and tarragon cook in under 15 minutes, while crusty bread allows you to soak up every last drop of broth.
Sweet Corn Brown-Rice Risotto
Risotto may not be a low-effort meal, but this sweet corn version is perfect for summer dinner parties where you want to show off your skills. Stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano and fresh basil before serving for a creamy, cheesy side dish or meat-free entrée.
Grilled Vegetable Pizzas
Though this recipe for grilled pizza calls for mushrooms, zucchini, kale, and onion, you can sub in other fresh produce. No matter what you choose, the toppings—mozzarella and blue cheese—and mustard vinaigrette will make a finished flatbread that's tastier than anything from your local pizza place.
Grilled Buttermilk Chicken Tenders With Dipping Sauces
Small chicken tenders have their pros and cons on the grill: They cook quickly, in about 10 minutes, but they also dry out faster than you might expect. Marinating the tenders overnight in buttermilk and wrapping them in bacon means they're ready to hit the grill as soon as you get home from work—but won't lose their juicy flavor.
One-Pan Pasta
Maxwell Cozzi
Small cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced onion, four cloves of garlic, fresh basil, and linguini cook together in this single-pot meal, so you can serve up a creamy, light pasta dish faster than you can call for delivery.
Sheet-Pan Chicken Fajitas
Use a single sheet pan to broil tortillas, chicken, and vegetables for chili-spiced fajitas, then top with fresh salsa, avocado, and sour cream (and pair with icy margaritas or sangria).
Read the original article on Martha Stewart.
