Summer Dinner Recipes that aren’t Salads5 (1)
As the temperature heats up it can sometimes be challenging to work out what to have for dinner. You want dishes that are light and healthy, but still fulfilling enough to fuel you and the family for a proper meal. Plain old salads for dinner every night just won’t cut it. So, if you’re looking for some delicious Summer Dinner Recipes that are flavorful, affordable, and easy to make then look no further! Here are 7 of our favorite recipes to enjoy this summer
You’ll love all of these recipes for a few reasons. First of all, and always the most important, is they taste great. Each recipe is packed with flavor and utilized ingredients that are at their best during the Summer months
They’re affordable and easy to make. This is a big one, especially in current times where every dollar needs to stretch as far as possible. These dishes are all very affordable and of generous proportions. So you’ll be saving a few bucks on the weekly shop up with our Summer Dinner Recipes. They’re also super easy to make. You won’t need to spend hours in the kitchen on these recipes. They’re all ready in under 30 minutes, leaving you with more time to enjoy time outdoors
No Oven needed
Finally, and this is a big one for summer. None of these recipes need to use the Oven. Having the hot-box firing for several hours in the kitchen is the worst thing you can do in Summer, as it’ll heat up your entire house. Even with AC blasting, the oven is going to create excess heat in the house that you just don’t want in Summer!
So, lets jump into our delicious Summer Dinner Recipes!
Lighter Summer Meals
We kick off the Summer Dinner Recipes with some lighter meals. These dishes can absolutely be cooked for dinner. In fact, for those sweltering hot days in the middle of summer, these may just be the perfect meals to enjoy. Light, flavorful, and easy to make. It ticks all the boxes!
White Wine Butter Mussels
Summer screams for fresh Seafood. It’s just the perfect protein to enjoy in the warmer months. Especially with a glass of crispy White Wine to go along side it! Mussels are always a great choice for dinner, and these ones are no exception. The Mussels are cooked in a simple broth comprising of White Wine, Butter, Shallots and Garlic
The fragrance this broth produces is almost as good as the flavor. Once those fresh Mussels open up in the broth they’ll be filled with all those wonderful flavors and aromas. For a heartier portion of this meal, we recommend serving the dish with some buttery, crusty bread. Use the bread to mop up all that delicious sauce once you’ve devoured the Mussels to get the most out of these amazing flavors
Celery Soup
There’s no reason for Soups to be confined to the colder months, and this Celery Soup is a prime example of that. It’s light, refreshing, and super healthy. You’ll be amazed at how much flavor you can extract out of the humble celery in this simple and delicious meal
It’ll be ready in no time at all and is very generous in proportion. We’d recommend serving it along with some crackers or fresh bread for a heartier meal that is worthy of a Summer Dinner! We love this recipe as it is a great way to utilize any leftover Celery you’ve got in the fridge. Let’s face it, you’re buying those massive celery bunches and using about 50% of it at best. So, instead of letting the celery sit in the fridge until you throw it out, make great use of it with this beautiful Soup
Light and refreshing Pasta Dishes
You can make some great summer-specific Pasta dishes with very little effort. We’ve got two great ones for you too, a Seafood one and a Vegetarian dish. The key to making lighter pastas dishes that are perfect for the warmer months is to utilize fresh Fruit and Vegetables and keep them lovely and crisp. The brightness of these dishes is perfect Summer Dinner Recipes that taste great, and are so easy to make
Tomato Seafood Pasta
Sticking with the Seafood theme as it only seems right for a list of great Summer dishes is this wonderful Tomato Seafood Pasta. It takes no time to make at all and tastes amazing. We’ve used fresh Shrimp and Salmon for this dish, but really any kind of shellfish and / or fish will work great
The Seafood is lightly cooked in a simple Tomato-based pasta sauce flavored with Garlic and Lemon. As the Seafood cooks the Tomato Sauce is reducing, but also getting flavored beautifully from that delicious Seafood
The addition of Fennel to the dish adds a beautifully fresh, anise flavor to the dish. It’s a unique flavor that adds a lovely depth to this dish
Heirloom Tomato Pasta with Mint
The flavor combination of Tomato and Mint is classically Mediterranean and tastes amazing in this dish. There are no canned tomatoes used in this dish, only fresh ones. We recommend Heirloom Tomatoes if you like, but any ripe, large tomatoes will taste great
The Tomatoes are simply cooked down in a frying pan alongside some Olive Oil, Garlic, and Onion until a sauce-like texture is formed. It’ll only take about 10 minutes or so, about as long as it will take for the Pasta to boil
Then to finish off this ridiculously simple dish, you add a seriously generous proportion of freshly chopped Mint into the dish. Give it a bit of a stir around and pour the sauce over plates of the freshly cooked Pasta and you’ll instantly be transported to the beachside of some coastal Mediterranean town!
Heartier Dinner Recipes that are perfect for warm evenings
Our final three recipes in this definitive list of Summer Dinner Recipes are those that are a little more on the heartier side. So, if you’re feeding some big appetites after a big day outside enjoying the sunshine, then these dishes are for you
Finding the balance for cooking hearty meals that are still light enough to be perfect for Summertime can be a challenge. We’re not cooking stews, casserole, or anything slow cooked her. Quite the opposite in fact, with all these dishes being ready in under 30 minutes. They’re guaranteed to fill you up while tasting amazing!
Salmon Poke Bowl
This classic Hawaiian dish has become insanely popular all across the world in recent years. With good reason too! It’s an amazing way to enjoy Raw Seafood. The delicious sauces and seasonings give the Seafood so much flavor and the ability to completely customize your choice of fruit and vegetables into the bowl makes it a perfect summertime meal
For a truly authentic Poke Bowl, we recommend making your own Sushi rice at home. Don’t worry, making Sushi Rice isn’t as complex as some of those fancy food documentaries would have you believe. You don’t need to be a Sushi master with 20 years’ experience to do it. In fact, it’s really easy and the perfect accompaniment to your Salmon Poke Bowl
Spicy Chicken Tacos
It doesn’t matter what time of the year it is, when Taco Tuesday comes around you better be prepared! These Spicy Chicken Tacos are perfect for the warmer months. The Chicken is bursting with flavor from a delicious marinade with Chipotle Peppers being a primary ingredient. The Chipotle adds a lovely spice and smoky flavor to the Chicken which instantly makes this dish feel like Summer
As it’s the summer months, we recommend whipping up a batch of fresh Pico de Gallo and Guacamole as the filling for these Tacos. Both will add a lightness to the dish and taste great with the Spicy Chicken
Teriyaki Salmon on Rice
Rounding out our Summer Dinner Recipes list is this surprisingly easy dish to make. Japanese food sometimes feels a little mysterious, and for many a cuisine that is often left to the restaurants. Well, I can assure you that making this tasty Teriyaki Salmon recipe is so easy! The Teriyaki Sauce is made by simply combining a few ingredients together, you then baste it liberally onto Salmon which is pan fried until crispy and tender and you’re done!
This dish is also best served with Sushi Rice; however, any rice will work well. We like to add some fresh Mushrooms and some greens such as Bok Choy to the dish to add some freshness to cut through the sweetness of the Teriyaki sauce. It ticks all the boxes for a classic Summer Dinnertime meal!
That’s our list of 7 great Summer Dinner Recipes that aren’t Salads. Best of all, none of these recipes require using that hot Oven and can all be prepared in under 30 minutes! Give them a try and let us know in the comments below how they tasted!
Happy Cooking!
