Lazy Summer Dinner Ideas – 15 Best easy recipes for quick dinners and delicious meals that you can make on warm evenings to keep cool.
Lazy Summer Dinner Ideas
These Lazy Summer Dinner Ideas are perfect to enjoy on hot summer nights when you want something homemade for dinner but the last thing you feel like doing is heating up a hot stove or oven in the process.
You can feel free to get out your instant pot or slow cooker to make old favorite recipes that are always a hit with the family for warm meals that won’t heat your kitchen.
All of these meal ideas for hot summer days include simple ingredients that are all easy to find at grocery stores.
1. Broccoli Salad
This easy broccoli salad is creamy, cheesy, full of flavor and always a hit with the whole family, including my picky eaters, making it the perfect option for summer meals.
2. Seven Layer Salad
This delicious meal that the entire family always enjoys includes plenty of fresh ingredients including lettuce, peppers, cucumber, hard boiled egg, avocado, sour cream and parmesan cheese.
You could also incorporate other classic salad ingredients in the healthy dish such as fresh corn or frozen sweet corn, peas, fresh herbs and Greek yogurt or mayo instead of the sour cream.
3. Tuna Salad
This easy summer recipe doesn’t take much time to prepare. You simply combine together spinach and tuna with avocado, sour cream or mayo, extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste. You can also add on any other fresh vegetables or fresh herbs you like.
4. Steak Salad
This colorful steak salad is perfect to enjoy during the lazy days of summer and includes fresh tomatoes, bell peppers and spinach, along with protein rich steak and a creamy homemade blue cheese dressing.
5. Parmesan Salad
This perfect summer meal simply includes spinach, parmesan, lemon, olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste and is a great option for warm weather days, and serving with summery staples like hot dogs.
6. Halloumi Salad
The fresh flavor of orange balances the richness of halloumi cheese in this easy dinner that looks bright and colorful at the dinner table.
7. Tuna Salad Wraps
Salad wraps make quick summer dinners when you don’t feel like cooking in a hot kitchen.
These are filled with tuna and pesto but you could swap out the tuna for BBQ chicken, egg salad or leftover cooked ground beef for a light version of tacos and swap our the tomato pesto for fresh basil pesto instead.
8. Tomato and Bocconcini Salad
This is the perfect fresh salad for a long summer day and includes fresh tomatoes and bocconcini cheese. You can use any variety of tomatoes, including heirloom tomatoes that you may find at a summer farmers market.
You could also include fresh fruit like fresh strawberries as a great way to make the most of seasonal ingredients.
9. Tuna and Egg Salad
When you’re wanting a simple protein rich meal, then tuna and egg salad is the perfect solution.
You can enjoy the salad in lettuce cups, mixed through cooked and cooled pasta as a pasta salad such as a tuna macaroni salad or as a crusty bread topping, just depends on your own dietary requirements.
10. Vegan Broccoli Salad
If you’re wanting to make a vegan friendly salad then this colorful and flavorful broccoli salad is the best thing that’s plant based and full of fresh produce, ideal to enjoy during the long days of summer.
11. Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
This 6 ingredient chickpea salad is infused with Mediterranean flavors of tomato, feta and lemon juice that complement each other perfectly.
12. Grated Carrot and Orange Salad
Bright colored ingredients are used in this salad that’s easily adaptable to include whatever ingredients you’d like, depending on your dietary requirements.
13. Caprese Salad
My version of a classic, summery Caprese Salad includes cauliflower, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil with a quick homemade dressing.
14. Pesto Pasta Salad
I’ll often make this 4 ingredient pesto pasta salad ahead of time so it’s ready and waiting in the fridge to enjoy as a hearty family dinner, especially with summer time appetites following an active day out walking or swimming.
15. Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
And finally, this broccoli cauliflower salad includes a homemade creamy salad and plenty of grated cheese in a great meal that’s always a family favorite.
Easy Summer Dinner Recipes Videos
Here are the videos where you can watch some of the easy summer dinners being prepared, step by step. Hit play below or click here to watch on YouTube.
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