These Are the Easiest Dinners You Can Make This Summer
Delicious, fresh, and quick—what more can you ask for?

You may love spending time in the kitchen, but who really wants to spend hours and hours there on an absolutely beautiful summer day? You want to get out there and enjoy it while you can! Fortunately, eating well at home and enjoying the best that summer has to offer aren’t two mutually exclusive things. You can have it all with these fast, fresh, and delicious easy dinner recipes. They’re perfect for both weeknights and dinner parties, and there’s something here for everyone (yes, even if you’re vegan, gluten-free, and/or dairy-free).
Short-Order Summer Meals
Broiled Salmon and Asparagus with Crème Fraîche
This technique cooks salmon perfectly every time. The sauce is flavorful and rich, but not heavy—just right for a weeknight.
Summer Nectarine and Herb Salad
Created by Brad Cecchi, chef and owner of Canon, a seasonally driven restaurant in Sacramento, the salad brings in flavors from all over the globe and blends them with top-quality local produce. “It’s great for a block party, because it doesn’t need to be hot or ice-cold and won’t wilt,” he says. “It’s not your typical block-party fare—it’ll make you look cool. And it’s beautiful.” If you’re looking for something to serve with it, he suggests grilled or smoked whole chickens, baby back ribs, or beef tri-tips.
Chicken Sausage and Vegetables Sheet Pan Supper
“Fab, fuss-free dinners are my holy grail,” says Michelle Tam (nomnompaleo.com,@nomnompaleo) about sheet pan meals. This one is adapted from her and husband Henry Fong’s latest Nom Nom Paleo cookbook, Ready or Not! “Sheet pan suppers allow me to maximize the amount of veggies for dinner,” she says. “And cleanup is a breeze.”
Green Salad with Manchego
Serve this fresh salad with grilled chicken and you’re all set!
Beef Satay
Want to try something new on the grill? Here you go! “Beef satay is the flavor of 19th Street (in Yangon) for me. I remember eating it when I was young in Burma,” says Saw Naing, chef at Ojai’s Dutchess restaurant. At the Dutchess, they grind their own garam masala, but store-bought will work just fine.
Eggplant Skewers
And for a vegetarian- and vegan-friendly grilling idea, eggplant skewers are the way to go.
Fresh Pasta with Mint Pesto and Burrata
Chef Josh Buckwald of Orso Pasta in Los Angeles created this verdant dish enriched by creamy burrata. “At Orso,” he says, “we love campanelle, cavatelli, or corzetti for this one—but no wrong answers here.”
Matt Horn’s Matty Burger
This is Oakland-based Chef Matt Horn’s signature burger. Two key ingredients are sweet, savory caramelized onions, and the right cheese. Horn uses Clover Sonoma Monterey Jack.
Mu Shu Mushroom
Mu shu pork is said to have its origins in northern China. In this version, Chef Brandon Jew eliminates the pork and adds wild mushrooms, though it will still be delicious with store-bought creminis or other fresh mushrooms. Wood-ear mushrooms are a more traditional ingredient but are optional. Look for mu shu pancakes at Asian markets. Feel free to substitute 6-inch flour tortillas.
Miso Marinated Flank Steak Salad
Sweet-salty white miso makes beef taste wonderfully beefier. Marinate the steak the night before so it’s quick to cook the next day. Serve with hot rice if you like.
Stacked Shrimp Enchiladas
Making enchiladas the traditional way—filling each tortilla and rolling it up—is a bit of a project for a weeknight. This quicker version brings enchiladas to the table faster with no loss of flavor.
Summer Stone Fruit Burrata
What can be a more quintessential summer dish than grilled stone fruit paired with burrata? With bread, it might make for a filling dinner already, but you can also add some grilled chicken for protein.
Nicolasa’s Gazpacho
How do you serve a huge crowd well, but without massive costs? A great soup and plenty of sides can be the answer, especially if there’s the added richness of culture and history. Gazpacho, the classic chilled Spanish soup of puréed raw vegetables, totally qualifies for a backyard summer party.
Grilled Chicken with Tomatoes and Herb Oil
Ripe tomatoes and juicy chicken, hot off the grill, mingle with herby oil to make a delicious sauce. Serve with warm bread to mop it up. You’ll need a perforated grill pan for this recipe (or use a double thickness of foil, oiled, with dime-size holes poked through about an inch apart).
French Lentil Salad with Broccolini and Soft-Cooked Eggs
This salad from Alice Waters’ restaurant Lulu highlights farmers market broccolini with a boost of flavor from fresh herbs and carrots that are mixed into quickly cooked lentils.
Composed Mediterranean Salad
If Niçoise and antipasti had a love child, this would be their girl—simultaneously elegant and rustic. San Francisco cookbook author Michelle McKenzie created this as a main-course event, requiring nothing more than a chilled bottle of wine, a crusty sourdough loaf, and good butter. Serving it family-style, with groupings of seasoned ingredients, allows guests to customize their plates. “When everything anyone needs is there all at once, it creates a space for ease, comfort, and lingering—and the cook gets to sit back and enjoy the experience of feeding others,” says McKenzie.
Loaf & Fish Tuna Sandwiches
Don’t feel like burgers? Grilled fish sandwiches are a great and easy option.
Monday Night Grilled Vegetable Platter
This dish is an easy way to jump-start the week—and cook outside on a summer night. Prep everything the night before to make it come together even more quickly, and serve with warm, crusty bread.
Halibut Tostadas with Yogurt-Lime Sauce
Crisp tacos are topped with chunks of juicy fish then a drizzle of creamy yogurt-lime sauce and fresh salsa in this healthy and speedy halibut recipe that’s perfect for a summer dinner.
Southwest Grilled Chicken and Avocado Melts
A simple spice mix flavors chicken while it grills; finish with avocado, chiles, and cheese. Four more minutes on the grill melts the cheese to perfection.
Shrimp Soba Noodle Salad
M5 Burgers with Bacon Jam
Lemony Kale Avocado Sandwiches
Both vegetarians and non-vegetarians will enjoy this fresh-tasting salad.
Summer Chickpea Ragout
This healthy, hearty dinner makes the most of the season’s produce. Cut vegetables as you cook to get dinner on the table quickly.
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