As the weather warms up and the days get longer, we will slowly shift from hearty, cozy recipes in search of refreshing summer recipes that will feel nice in the summer heat. Some summer recipes have become staples of the season, you will inevitably make them every summer because they are familiar. If you desire a small shift in that routine, it’s quite easy to adapt your summer menu to be more fun without the extra work.
Your summer favorites like hot dogs, burgers, grilled corn, and ice cream can stick around. But why not bring some new friends to the party, or just dress the old friends up real nice? These spins don’t have to be complicated, instead grab some inspiration for things that already work with your other summer recipes.
Take a close look at how these new versions of summer recipes work. Notice how most of them are not unfamiliar but instead combine ingredients you haven’t considered or just remind you of ingredients you often forget. Take some inspiration from these recipes and get to work adjusting your summer menu for more variety and fun.
1. Embrace Summer Recipe Simplicity
The summer lends itself to a lot of fresh, flavorful produce that works just fine all on its own. Embrace simplicity in your summer recipes by combining minimal ingredients in classic ways and letting the fresh ingredients do the work.
These recipes combine familiar ingredients in ways we don’t tend to prepare them. So, while you’re sure to have fresh fruits and veggies on your summer menu, take note of how these ingredients are being used!
Lemon Garlic Green Beans
Fresh green beans flourish in the simple but delicious lemon and garlic combination. This makes the perfect side for dinner, but if you’re anything like me, they also make a great snack!
Watermelon Feta Salad
Watermelon in the summer is a must-have. Consider this amazing watermelon feta salad the next time you go for the watermelon. This salad is the perfect balance of sweetness and subtle flavors with bite!
2. DIY Your Own Shaved Ice and Snow Cones
Shaved ice, snow cones, ice cones, or whatever you call them, are summer staples. The familiar favorites have a rightful spot on the summer menu but there are definitely fun ways to change them up. Consider using non-traditional ingredients or creating your own flavored syrups and custom mixes.
Things like teas, coffee, fruits, and vegetables can make fun flavors for bases. Topping your ice with creative additions like fruits, condensed milk, and even something as creative as boba can really step up your snow cones. For fun inspiration, check out Hawaiian Shave Ice recipes and “unders”.
Matcha Bingsu-Green Tea Shaved Ice Dessert
Deep matcha flavors and savory red beans are combined with mochi and condensed milk in this shaved ice dessert. This treat creates a spectacular dessert that combines savory and sweet along with several textures that all play very well together.
Hibiscus Snow Cones
This snow cone recipe takes a floral, sweet approach instead of leaning into traditional fruit bases. This base would go wonderfully with several creative toppings.
3. Embrace All of the Food Cultures
The summer is the perfect time to expand and explore your food options. Fun summer recipes can come from all over the world, so don’t limit your summer menu to just what you know. Consider branching out into other cultures for recipe inspiration. There are tons of unique ways to combine ingredients that you can be inspired by.
Korean Hwache
You may have seen this one floating around as people putting their own spins on Hwache went viral recently. This recipe goes for a combination of sweet fruits to create a refreshing recipe that works well as a midday snack or the perfect way to end the day.
Caakiri
While expanding your summer recipes, don’t be afraid to branch out. Caakiri, or couscous pudding, is a rice pudding-like treat from Democratic Republic of Congo. Caakiri is very creamy as it has sour cream, evaporated milk, and yogurt combined to create a slight tang and subtle sweetness.
Mediterranean Meals
Sometimes, your summer recipes are the only way you can make it to where you truly want to be. The Mediterranean is that place for so many, but if you can’t make it all the way to the Mediterranean Sea for some R&R, consider embracing the ingredients and flavors in your summer recipes.
4. Make Creative Sorbet Recipes
A nice cold sorbet on a hot summer day is too good go pass up, but people tend to get a bit comfortable when it comes to the refreshing treat. Sorbet is made primarily of fruit purée but that doesn’t mean your creativity has to stop has strawberries and peaches.
Strawberries and peaches are delicious, but consider branching out with your sorbet recipes. Sorbets are incredibly easy to make and therefore easy to adapt and adjust so bring in some fresh herbs or spices to play with, or just branch out to lesser-used fruits like kiwi, dragonfruit, starfruit, or lychee!
Kiwi Sorbet
Kiwi is a severely underutilized fruit. The small but mighty little fruit provides the perfect amount of sweetness for a subtle, fresh-flavored sweet treat.
Cardamom Blood Orange Sorbet
Bring a little spice to your summer by trying out this combination of cardamom and blood oranges. The warmth of the cardamom balances out the bit of the blood orange, while the entire thing is sweet and cold, just like you need.
5. Embrace Cold Soup
A traditional gazpacho is a cold soup that consists of blended vegetables. Recently, recipe creators have been stretching the meaning of gazpacho by adding a variety of unique ingredients
No matter what the cold soup is made of, you cannot deny that it offers a refreshing reprieve during the hot summer months. If your summer recipes are starting to feel a bit heavy, consider embracing the cold soup!
Strawberry Gazpacho
You’ve had strawberries in the summer, but you probably haven’t had them like this! This gazpacho blends strawberries nicely with vegetables and a hint of vinegar for a bold dish. You will want to put this on your summer menu and keep it there.
Sweet Corn Gazpacho
I’m down for anything sweet corn, so this recipe called to me. This delicious blend creates a delicately flavored dish that is light and refreshing and lends well to customizing.
6. Use Herbs in Unexpected Ways
So many fresh herbs are at their peak during the summer, and offer up the chance to use the herbs when they are at their best and brightest. So while you should definitely add them to your daily meals, you should also consider branching out in the ways you use fresh herbs.
Fresh herbs can be used in desserts, snacks, and as more of a central ingredient than usual. So add some fresh herbs to your kitchen and then use them in a bunch of creative ways!
Lemon Rosemary Cake
As far as putting herbs to good use goes, it doesn’t get much better than this lemon cake wrapped in a delicious rosemary buttercream frosting. The cake itself is bright and sweet, while the rosemary brings the herbs to play in a new way.
Lavender Chive Popcorn
Summer movie nights mean plenty of summer popcorn nights, and while you cannot go wrong with butter, or white cheddar, or a few sliced jalapeños as toppings, you can also use this opportunity to get creative. This lavender and chive popcorn does the job on all fronts and creates an addictive snack.
Fried Sage Leaves
Don’t limit your herbs to playing second fiddle. They can also be the star of the show. These crispy fried sage leaves are borderline addictive, you will not want to put them down.
7. Shift Your Ingredients
We often fall into comfortable spaces and routines when it comes to food because that is what is most efficient and easiest. This works fine but it can lead to some recipe fatigue. An easy way to fix that is to keep the basics but shift how you see your ingredients.
Plenty of ingredients get relegated to certain meals, an easy way to switch your recipes is to move them out of their spaces. Consider something like savory oatmeal for lunch, or move those dinner potatoes to earlier in the day!
Honey Sweet Potato Salad
A beautiful balance of hearty sweet potatoes and bright berries and greens make this salad delicious. Even better than tasting amazing, it will leave you satisfied without feeling heavy, which makes it perfect for summer.
Savory Miso Oatmeal
Don’t let the oatmeal base put you off, this savory oatmeal is something to talk about. Oatmeal itself is like any other grain base and adapts to the flavors you add. In this case, a delicious miso flavor complete with fresh greens and an egg!
I for sure have at least 10 recipes from this list alone that I will be adding to my menu this summer. Add that to my own creations I plan to make after taking inspiration from these and my summer recipe index just got a lot larger.
If you feel stifled by the usual recipes of the season, consider branching out and remixing how you see your ingredients. Take inspiration from everywhere and everything to not limit yourself. There is bound to be a winner among these recipes. If you want more summer recipe inspiration, click here!
