30 Easy Summer Dinner Recipes for the Entire Family

Looking for easy summer dinner recipes? We’ve got you covered with a wide range of family favorites!

Summer is all about picnics, going to the park, hanging out outside, being by the pool, and just generally soaking up the sun and enjoying the nice weather. It’s definitely not a time to be cooped up in the kitchen all day long!

That’s why you NEED a good list of easy summer meals that are healthy, refreshing, quick, and delicious. The recipes below check all of those boxes!

Beef, Steak, Ribs

Steaks on the grill, juicy ribs, burgers…they’re all summer classics! Here are our favorites:

1. Best Juicy Burger Recipe Ever

This isn’t called the best juicy burger recipe for nothing! If you’ve never made your own homemade burgers before, you’ve got to try this recipe out. It’s easy and delicious. You can use ground turkey too if you’d rather make turkey burgers.

2. Easy Beef Kebabs with Balsamic Marinade

Kebabs are perfect for summertime. They’re easy and fun to eat, and each bite is oh so flavorful – especially with this family favorite recipe!

3. Mexi Stuffed Peppers

These little guys will blow your mind. They’re cheesy and filled with seasoned beef, black beans, corn, and rice. All fantastic ingredients that will fill you up! Plus, they’re freezer-friendly.

4. Honey Garlic Meatballs

This recipe is SO quick and easy, great for a busy weeknight summer dinner. It can be made in the slow cooker or instant pot too. Served over a simple plate of rice, the honey garlic sauce really gets to shine.

5. Grilled Garlic Herb Steak Tips

Nothing better than grilling some steaks on a summer day! What I love about this recipe is that steak tips are usually pretty affordable, and with the garlic herb marinade, they taste restaurant quality.

6. Cowboy Butter Steak

Here’s another fantastic steak recipe made with cheap cuts. This time it’s the spice rub and cowboy butter that really shines. SOO good and works with cuts like London broil, flank steak, top round steak, and even chuck steaks.

7. Best Slow Cooker BBQ Spare Ribs

A lot of rib recipes wouldn’t be considered easy summer dinner recipes, but this one definitely is! Only 5 minutes of prep time involved, and the rest of the time is spent in the slow cooker. The ribs come out perfectly tender too.

8. The BEST Baby Back Ribs

If you have a bit more time for a rib recipe, try these baby back ribs. They’re baked and then grilled, and covered in a delicious homemade sweet and spicy rub + homemade BBQ sauce.

Pork Recipes for Summertime

There are a ton of great pork recipes you can cook up during summertime. Here are a several favorites to start you off:

9. Crispy Oven Breaded Pork Chops

Something about a crispy pork chop is just perfect in the summer. Served with some roasted potatoes, even better!

10. Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

Mmmm…a BBQ pulled pork burger. Simple and delicious! Add some coleslaw to make it even better.

11. Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Burrito & Salad Copycat

Just looking at the picture of this recipe is giving me refreshing summer vibes. It can be made into a burrito or salad too!

12. Easy Grilled Ranch Pork Chops

These grilled porkchops take less than 30 minutes from start to finish, need I say more? Look at those juicy suckers! With a homemade ranch seasoning, they’re super flavorful too.

13. Slow Cooker Honey Parmesan Pork Roast (or Instant Pot)

If you like a good pork roast with gravy, you’re going to love this honey parmesan roast. It’s another slow cooker meal, it’s easy to make, and it tastes amazing.

14. Easy Grilled Pizza

You’ve got to try this grilled pizza recipe this summer! It’s unreal!! It’s fun and easy to make, tastes SO good, and it’s pizza, people! Easily one of my favorite summer dinner recipes to make AND eat.

15. Healthy Asian Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps are another great summer meal. These ones are easy to make (less than 30 minutes), they’re low carb, and they’re fun to eat.

16. Sausage and Butternut Squash Pasta

Feeling like having a summer pasta night? This butternut squash recipe is a super yummy choice! The squash adds a bit of healthiness and flavor in there too.

Chicken Dinner Recipes

Can’t forget about chicken! It’s affordable, healthy, and there are so many ways to utilize it.

17. Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken

This is one of my favorite summer food ideas for the grill. With the honey mustard sauce, the chicken breasts turn out unbelievably flavorful and juicy.

18. Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

I don’t know about you but I personally love a good sweet and sour chicken recipe, and this one is top-notch. Easily served over a bowl of rice, it’s perfect for summer.

19. Best Ramen Noodle Chinese Chicken Salad

A salad might not sound like one of the most filling summer dinner ideas, but this one is packed with goodies. You’ve got chicken in there, cabbage, ramen noodles, seeds, almonds, and a delicious homemade dressing to top things off.

20. Grilled Huli Huli Chicken Skewers

If you’re going for a Hawaiian flavor this summer, grill up these kebabs with some grilled pineapple on the side! Yum!

21. Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza

Here’s another amazing homemade pizza recipe for summertime. It’s not grilled, but it takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish, and it’s topped with delicious and healthy ingredients like chicken, red onion, bacon, and a tasty BBQ sauce. You can of course add your own favorite toppings as well!

22. Simple Air Fryer Chicken Tenders

You can’t go wrong with chicken tenders! Especially these homemade ones. They’re crispy, easy to make, flavorful, and healthier than traditionally fried tenders!

PS: Don’t have an air fryer yet? I highly recommend getting one! Read our air fryer reviews and buying guide to find the right one for you.

23. Blackened Chicken with Avocado Cream Sauce

If you like a bit of spice with your chicken, here’s a recipe that delivers on that, and it’s super flavorful! The avocado cream sauce backs it right up too, cooling down your mouth and adding even more deliciousness.

24. Creamy Chicken Pesto Pasta

Chicken pesto is definitely a great dish to enjoy in the summer.  This recipe doubles as a freezer meal too so you can cook up some extra for a busy night.

Fish

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy a flavorful fish dish.

25. Honey Lime Glazed Salmon

Salmon isn’t always the cheapest so when you do get to have it you might as well do it right! This honey lime glazed salmon does not disappoint. This next recipe is a great option too…

26. Air Fryer Honey Mustard Salmon

Once again you’ll need an air fryer for this recipe and it’s SO easy and quick. Honey mustard is a great combo for salmon too.

27. Skillet Honey Lime Tilapia

For a more affordable fish dinner, tilapia is a great choice and this recipe really makes it flavorful. Lime and honey with a nice crispy finish – yum!

28. Instant Pot Shrimp Alfredo Pasta

Seafood alfredo is a family favorite dish of creamy goodness. It’s not the healthiest, but that’s ok every once in a while. 😉

29. Easy Maryland-style Grilled Shrimp and Corn

Here’s another mouthwatering shrimp recipe, this time with corn and potatoes! It’s easy to make and oh so good.

30. Shrimp Enchiladas

Finally, one last shrimp recipe for you. If you’ve never had shrimp enchiladas before, give this recipe a try this summer. So flavorful and packed with tasty ingredients.

Which Summer Dinner Recipes Will You Try?

There sure are a lot of good ones to choose from! And hey, as long as you can enjoy these dishes with the family, outside or inside, I’m sure you’ll enjoy them. Try something new and let us know what you think!

Remember: You can easily keep track of all the recipes above + meal plans, your grocery list, and more with Prepear! I LOVE this app! Read my full Prepear review to learn more.

Check out our other grilled recipes:

• Easy Grilled Corn on the Cob
• Grilled Orange-Glazed Carrots
• Grilled Lemon Garlic Asparagus