Looking for easy summer dinners that even the pickiest eaters will love? I have 25 recipes that are full of summer flavor and easy as pie to cook.
25 Easy Summer Dinners That Everyone Will Love
1. Street Corn Chicken Rice Bowl
Three words describe this dish: simple, healthy and delicious. This rice bowl cooks in just 30 minutes and calls for a juicy chicken marinade of lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, lemon zest and other fresh spices.
You’ll love the zesty street corn salad, and you can add even more fresh veggies if you want.
2. Sausage and Veggies Skillet
A simple, flavorful dinner that everyone will love. Best of all, you only need one skillet to cook it all. Start with your favorite sausage and add corn, red bell peppers, zucchini and spices. Top with fresh cilantro.
If you want to save some time, I recommend using frozen corn kernels instead of corn on the cob.
3. Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs
Kebabs are the perfect easy summer dinner, and this recipe combines the tangy flavor of pineapple with savory chicken and fresh grilled veggies. I love the chicken marinade, which calls for pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic and other pantry staples.
4. Greek Orzo with Tomatoes, Olives, Basil and Feta
I love easy summer dinners like this one because they come together so quickly but are loaded with flavor.
The orzo cooks in just 10 minutes, and the rest is just a matter of mixing the other ingredients together, like cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, feta cheese, sundried tomatoes, green olives and Mediterranean spices.
5. Balsamic Steak Gorgonzola Salad with Grilled Corn
Grilled steak and corn are staple summer foods, and they pair perfectly with the gorgonzola in this salad. Add fresh tomatoes, onion, greens and fresh herbs to complete your salad. Top with a homemade balsamic vinaigrette, and you have the ultimate easy summer dinner.
6. BBQ Chicken Skewer Salad
These chicken skewers cook up quickly on the grill, and they’re the perfect juicy addition to a fresh salad. This recipe calls for avocado, black beans, corn, green onions and other salad staples, but you can add whatever ingredients you want. I highly recommend making the herby ranch dressing – it’s so worth it.
7. Black Bean Mango Salad
Here’s a super simple dinner that’s healthy and comes together in just 15 minutes. For the main salad, you’ll need fresh mango, diced cucumber, red onion, red bell pepper, jalapeno, tomatoes, cabbage, black beans and cilantro. The mango dressing is the perfect topping for this salad. If you don’t have agave syrup, you can use maple syrup instead.
8. Greek Turkey Meatballs with Tzatziki Sauce
Turkey meatballs are lighter and healthier than their beef counterparts, which makes them perfect for a summer meal. I like to serve these with rice and a simple Greek salad on the side, but you can serve them however you want. If you’re pressed for time, you can buy tzatziki sauce from the grocery store, but it’s worth the effort to make it yourself.
9. Cilantro Lime Chicken
I love the zesty marinade for this chicken recipe, which has orange juice, lime juice, lime zest, fresh garlic, soy sauce, cumin and olive oil. But the mango salsa is the real star of the show here.
This dish is so simple to make, and you can serve it however you like – with rice, quinoa or even on a bed of lettuce.
10. Grilled Hot Honey Chicken with Sweet Corn Salad
If you’ve never had hot honey, you’re missing out. Hot honey is honey infused with chili peppers for a sweet and spicy flavor combination that is perfect for grilled chicken. Lemon and garlic add an extra kick to the chicken, and the corn salad is subtly sweet. You can serve this with a small green salad on the side if you want to add some more fresh veggies to your meal.
11. Fiesta Black Bean Bowls
Bean bowls are always a hit, and they’re so easy to make, too. Just combine rice, black beans, cumin, chili powder and roasted corn. Don’t skip the creamy chipotle sauce for this one – it’s worth making it.
12. Jerk Chicken Bowls with Mango Salsa and Coconut Rice
Easy summer dinners like this one will leave everyone satisfied, and you can feel good about serving this dish because it’s healthy. Fresh mango salsa, coconut rice and a flavorful jerk chicken – what more could you ask for?
13. Mediterranean Naan Bread Pizza
Dinner doesn’t get much easier than these Naan bread “pizzas,” and you don’t even have to turn on the stove to make them.
All you have to do is top fresh naan bread with your favorite hummus, kalamata olives, artichokes, cherry tomatoes, feta, arugula, green onions and a drizzle of olive oil. Dinner is ready in a flash and is oh-so-satisfying.
Related: 23 Surprisingly Easy Gluten-Free Flatbread Recipes That Will Make You Forget Pizza
14. Cilantro-Lime Honey Chicken Bowls with Peach Salsa and Rice
These flavorful chicken bowls are ready to eat in 30 minutes, and they’re packed with healthy ingredients. With the delicious peach salsa, no one will even know they’re eating a healthy meal.
Start with a serving of rice, and top with the cilantro-lime chicken, peach salsa, lime juice and fresh cilantro.
15. Tortellini with Summer Veggies
I love a good tortellini dish, and this one has all the fresh summer flavors I love: corn, tomatoes, basil, parsley and zucchini.
This recipe calls for marinara sauce, but you can transform this dish into something lighter and healthier by replacing it with a simple balsamic vinaigrette.
16. Mediterranean Salad with Cucumber, Tomato and Onion
Ten minutes is all the time you need for this dinner, and if you’re a busy mom or partner, you know how important quick meals are in any meal plan. Toss lime juice, olive oil, cucumber, red onion, tomato and cilantro together with some olive oil, and that’s it to make this refreshing salad.
Related: Top 20 Light Summer Dinner Recipes to Keep on Repeat
17. One Skillet Greek Chicken and Orzo with Tomatoes, Feta, and Tzatziki.
Anyone looking for easy summer dinners that are Mediterranean-inspired will be happy to see this idea on the list. You’ll need a big skillet, but it makes cooking up this meal a lot easier.
You’ll need chicken, Greek olives, feta cheese, tzatziki and numerous other ingredients to get started.
18. 20 Minute Thai Basil Beef Rolls
Recreating Thai food is not easy, but this 20-minute beef roll is one of the rare exceptions. You’ll appreciate the spicy, tangy and sweet flavors and steamed rice. A steamer is needed, and the only condiment that may be hard to find is the Thai chili sauce.
19. Salmon with Lemon Orzo
Salmon is one of the foods that people should eat more often because it’s filled with protein, good-for-you fats and is quite tasty when cooked just right. For a busy night, it doesn’t get much better than this for a healthy dinner.
Add some lemon juice, baby spinach, chili flakes, Parmesan cheese, sprinkle in some spices and cook up some Orzo to complete this meal.
20. Pesto Chicken with Corn and Bean Salsa
Anyone who is looking for an excuse to go pick up some corn from their local farmer this summer, will need to look no further than this recipe. Pesto chicken is the base of this dish, which adds couscous, avocado-corn salsa and a few other ingredients to infuse the chicken with flavors.
A meat tenderizer helps immensely with this dish to make the chicken a bit thinner.
21. Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
Chicken and pasta are a fan favorite, so why not add them together in this recipe? You’ll enjoy the baked chicken, which is healthier for you, tomatoes, basil, garlic, sauce and Angel hair pasta.
If you like fresh ingredients as much as I do, bruschetta chicken pasta is a must-try.
22. Honey Garlic Asian Chicken Kabobs
If you’re not in a rush, this is one of the easy summer dinners that I absolutely love, but they do take just under three hours to make. You’ll need two pounds of chicken, garlic, ginger, green onions, honey, ketchup, oyster sauce, Dijon mustard and patience to make this dish that will fill your home with a delightful aroma for hours.
Related: 15+ Easy, Make-ahead Chicken Marinades for Juicy Chicken Meal
23. Grilled Chicken with Pepperoncini Garlic Butter
In just 35 minutes, you can bite into this delectable dinner. You’ll grill up marinated chicken, add in a salad filled with feta, tomato, cucumber, pepperoncini, garlic butter and an array of spices.
You can also add pita bread, such as this multi-grain one, which is a bit healthier.
24. Mango Chickpea Rice Bowl
Vegan and high protein? Sign me up. You’ll need to find ripe, Ataulfo mangos, which is going to be the hardest part. Add in avocado, chickpeas, cucumber, jalapeno, tofu, white rice and over a dozen other ingredients to make this delightful rice bowl.
Related: Mediterranean Quinoa Bowl Salad
25. Summer Chopped Tomato Peach Salad
Salads are a fantastic dinner option in the summer because they’re refreshing. You can enjoy a delightful salad filled with good-for-you ingredients like this one that mixes a wide range of flavors with items such as:
- Pepperoni
- Prosciutto
- Salami
- Basil
- Cherry tomatoes
- Fig preserves
- Feta and mozzarella
- Peaches
- Tons of others
