Clear Lists
Get the app →
Summer Dinner Ideas for Family
Easy summer dinners the family will eat, from slow cooker sandwiches to pasta salads and grill nights.
A real, editable checklist below — tick, tap a line to rewrite, drag to reorder.
Tick the circles, tap any line to change it, drag the dots to reorder.
Saved in this browser. Send it to Clear to keep it on your phone.
What people forget is how much heat a dinner puts into the kitchen. Delish's roundup leans on one-pot dinners and some that skip the oven altogether, and a slow cooker keeps the stove quiet too. You'll find slow cooker mains, pasta salads, grill nights and quick skillets here. It's built for ordinary family weeknights, so there are no multi-course menus, and desserts and drinks are left out. Pick a few for the week, then build the shopping list from what you've ticked.
Why these items are on the list
- Slow cooker shredded beef. Serve it on sandwiches, tacos, nachos or over mashed potatoes.
- Honey BBQ drumsticks. Sticky, sweet and a summer favorite that feeds the whole family.
- BBQ ranch chicken sandwiches. Shred it, pile it on buns, and call it done.
- Hoagie sub pasta salad. Meats, cheese and veggies make it hearty enough to count as dinner.
- Red, white and blue pasta salad. Colorful, and a good one for summer holidays and cookouts.
- Slow cooker ribs. Tender ribs without firing up the grill.
- Philly cheesesteak sliders. Good for parties, family dinners or a busy weeknight.
- Brown sugar kielbasa. Sweet, smoky and ready with almost no prep.
- Baked beans on the side. Pairs with burgers, hot dogs and BBQ.
- Caprese Caesar pasta salad. Almost completely no-cook, and it comes together fast.
- Greek chicken orzo salad. Almost no-cook and quick, with very little effort.
- Street corn pasta salad. Quick to make, and a very summer kind of pasta salad.
- Bruschetta chicken. Tomatoes, basil and mozzarella; Half Baked Harvest says ready in 30 minutes.
- One-pan chipotle honey chicken. Even the dry rice goes in the pan. Mix, bake, eat.
- Garlic butter creamed corn chicken. Half Baked Harvest says one skillet and under an hour, finished with fresh herbs and parmesan.
- Smash burgers. Crisped patties, melty cheese, buttery buns and house sauce.
- Salmon tacos, mango corn salsa. Easy tacos topped with a mango, sweet corn and cucumber salsa.
- Honey chipotle chicken skewers. Air fryer, grill and oven all work, so use whichever's free.
- Creamy corn pasta. No cream in it. Delish says pureed fresh corn gets dinner done in about 30 minutes.
- Grilled pineapple chicken. Marinate the chicken in pineapple; Delish says the acidity tenderizes it and the sugar caramelizes the meat on the grill.
- Grill foil packs. Delish lists foil packs among its weeknight grill dinners.
- Summer squash sheet-pan tacos. Vegetarian, with tender squash, hummus and pickled shallots in warm corn tortillas.
- Zucchini Parmesan pasta. Half Baked Harvest says it takes just minutes, using the simplest summertime ingredients.
- Italian salad sandwich. Tieghan Gerard's favorite salad at Half Baked Harvest, tucked inside a crusty ciabatta loaf.
- Ginger sesame pineapple beef. Half Baked Harvest's 20-minute answer for nights when you don't know what to make.
Tick the ones that get a yes from everyone and let the rest wait. It's handy on your phone at the store, or passed around the table.
When to use it
Pull it out when the weather's hot and the question is what's for dinner tonight.