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Garden fresh salads, crafty cool mason jar breakfasts, easy to make no-heat lunches, super quick air fryer meals – all of these are my warm weather food vibe! Here are my Favorite Summer Recipes For Your Next Meal Plan!
In my house, Summer food is certainly it’s own vibe. When the garden starts producing, it’s basically a salad festival over here. Cheese and cracker snack style dinners are encouraged. Berries are always on hand. And we like to use the air fryer instead of the oven to keep cool.
This translates into generally easy to make meals, served cold or hot from the air fryer, fresh salads with greens from the garden, and simple berry related breakfasts and desserts (completely opposite from my favorite winter recipes!).
These are seriously some of my favorite recipes I’m always making in the heat of summertime. If you get even one idea off of this list for your next meal plan, then I’ve accomplished my mission!
Here’s what all my Favorite Summer Recipes have in common:
- All of these recipes are either served cold, OR they are quick and easy cooking methods that don’t heat up the kitchen
- Most recipes have some kind of inspiration from my garden, or from berries! Cause I’m very much a berry lover 🙂
- No matter the cooking method, each of these recipes is simple to make. No complicated cooking methods or spending hours in the kitchen. These are all great recipes for cooking beginners.
Here’s some of my favorite equipment for cooking in the Summer:
- Air Fryer – I use a Cosori XL 5.8 qt Air Fryer (affiliate link!) and I love it! I use it almost daily, especially when I don’t want to heat up the whole kitchen. This is a larger size which I recommend for households of two or more.
- Misen Chef’s Knife (affiliate link!) – For me, cooking in the summer involves cutting up a lot of fresh produce for salads and other recipes. A sharp knife is a requirement!
- 3 Compartment Glass Meal Prep Containers (affiliate link!) – These are my favorite meal prep containers for packing those fresh ‘lunchable’ style lunches! Keep the dip separate from the rest.
How to start meal planning:
For an easy method to get you started with meal planning, check out my article 5 Steps to Help You Make a Meal Plan That Works!
The best way to meal plan is a little bit different for everyone – some use a mobile app, some write on a laminated sheet with dry erase marker, some simply keep a note with meals listed in their phone.
It depends on what works for you! The only way to know what works best for yourself is to start and give it a try. If it doesn’t work very well, try another method instead.
Here are some of my Favorite Summer Recipes for Your Next Meal Plan:
If there's a recipe on this list that I make the most often, it's definitely this one! You don't have to get out a knife or cutting board for this quick and simple tuna salad. Not so secret ingredient: Dill pickle relish!
This is a newer favorite, but I'm positive you can see why! One batch takes only 5 minutes to cook! Quick, DELISH, family friendly, and made in the air fryer so there's no messing around with the oven or a hot hot kitchen. Customize with your favorite toppings!
Maybe it sounds like there would be a lot of chopping here, but there isn't! This recipe uses your food processor to quickly process and chop up both the vegetables and the chicken. Great for lunches - in fact it tastes better when it's made ahead and has a little time to chill!
This is my 2022 dessert of the year! It's the kind of thing I make and then immediately can not wait to eat it. Made with cream cheese and Greek yogurt, there's no baking required so you can keep that kitchen cool!
A classic combo: Chicken Bacon Ranch. But make it a salad with tons of veggies! My idea of the perfect bite: lettuce, tomato, bacon, chicken, and some Ranch. This post has all my methods for cooking up the chicken and the bacon! Or use up leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken. Up to you!
Sometimes you just need an idea, and then the dinner wheels can start turning! Here's one: Sausage Dogs with Peppers & Onions, all cooked in the air fryer! I've got the timing and instructions all worked out for you - start with the veggies, add the sausages, then put it all together with the bun and top with cheese. THANK YOU AIR FRYER.
This one is a Project Meal Plan classic from 2018 and one of my very favorites. I still make it to this day! Mixing and matching bites of various ingredients is probably my favorite part about it. Feel free to customize and include your favorite fruits, veggies and cheese!
For a sweet, homemade, summer berry focused dessert, I invite you to try my Strawberry Whipped Yogurt Cups. This whipped yogurt was made for meal prep, but then with that strawberry sauce, it's like, is this dessert? Is this breakfast? Am I in heaven?
If a loaded up salad and a bacon burger had a baby, it would be this Loaded Ground Turkey Burger Salad! The meat mixture can be made ahead of time so you can throw this one together real quick on a weeknight. I love how the pickles and mustard flavors come through too!
I just made some pinwheels the other day for the first time in a while, and I was reminded how delicious and awesome they are. They're adorable, delicious, and perfect for packing on the go. All the tips and tricks for making the best pinwheels are in my post!
Another classic Summer salad option I've been making for years. Cooked quinoa and fresh veggies tossed in a simple lemon dressing. Best when made ahead and great for taking to potlucks and BBQs.
Overnight oats have got to be the most underrated Summer breakfast! Cool, tasty, make-ahead, transportable - what more could you ask for?! Something about strawberries and peaches with cinnamon just says PIE to me.
Have you made any of these Summer recipes before? Let me know in the comments below!
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