Our greatest Memorial Day recipes! We have rounded up summer season salads, sides, dips, desserts, and extra—all the pieces you want for a scrumptious cookout.

The unofficial begin of summer season is just some days away—it’s time to plan your Memorial Day menu!
I’ve rounded up our greatest Memorial Day recipes under. They embody contemporary appetizers, salads, facet dishes, drinks, desserts, and extra. They’d all be excellent for a Memorial Day cookout…and cookouts all summer season lengthy. I do know I’ll have many of those recipes on repeat this summer season. I hope you additionally discover some you like!
Memorial Day Appetizer Recipes
Antipasto Platter
Convey an Italian trip to your personal yard with this aperitivo-inspired platter! It’s loaded with marinated mozzarella balls, gigante beans, olives, and extra. Sip a bubbly Aperol spritz whilst you snack.
Caprese Skewers
The traditional salad in bite-size kind! Use a mixture of cherry tomato colours to make these look extra-fun and festive.
Summer time Fruit Platter
Fruit + cheese = the simplest Memorial Day appetizer ever. And it’s scrumptious! Set it out on a cute platter with nuts, olives, and crackers, and visitors will like it.
Mango Salsa
This contemporary, fruity tackle pico de gallo is ideal for early summer season. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping!
Guacamole
A crowd pleaser at any event, Memorial Day picnics included!
Straightforward Bruschetta
It’s summer season—deliver on the tomatoes and basil! This traditional Italian appetizer is considered one of my favourite methods to get pleasure from them. As a result of it’s so easy, it lets their contemporary flavors shine.
Summer time Pasta Salads
Straightforward Pasta Salad
What’s a summer season bbq with out a pasta salad? This recipe is a reader favourite—it has over 500 5-star critiques!
Pesto Pasta Salad
In the event you (like me) can’t get sufficient basil pesto within the summertime, this recipe is for you! It’s pesto pasta in picnic kind—shiny inexperienced, herbaceous, and tremendous contemporary.
Italian Pasta Salad
My selfmade Italian dressing, olives, and pepperoncini pack this pasta salad with tangy, zesty taste.
Macaroni Salad
My twist on this nostalgic picnic dish is crammed with crunchy veggies and tangy dill pickles and tossed in a creamy dressing. Undoubtedly make it forward—the flavors get higher the longer it sits within the fridge!
Extra Memorial Day Facet Dish Recipes
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Serve it slathered with butter or gown it up with elote fixings. No house on the grill? Make boiled corn on the cob as a substitute.
Greek Salad
Stuffed with a refreshing jumble of crisp and juicy veggies, this traditional salad tastes like summer season. You may assemble it forward, however maintain the mint leaves till simply earlier than serving in order that they don’t wilt within the dressing.
Greatest Potato Salad
This traditional potato salad is creamy, pickle-y perfection! I take advantage of pickle brine within the dressing and add chopped dill pickles to the salad for an additional tangy pop. Tip: Combine two peeled and chopped arduous boiled eggs into the salad to make it extra-creamy.
Greatest Broccoli Salad
A brisker twist on the Midwest traditional! As an alternative of utilizing the normal bacon, I prime this reader favourite salad with smoky roasted nuts.
Cucumber Salad
I crave this candy and tangy salad all summer season lengthy. Fortunately for me, it couldn’t be simpler to make. Simply toss cucumbers and pink onions in a 3-ingredient dressing and prime them off with contemporary herbs. Easy and scrumptious!
Mexican Avenue Corn Salad
This elote-inspired salad will get RAVES every time I deliver it to a summer season gathering. Make it on Memorial Day weekend, and I assure that will probably be the star of any cookout you’re taking it to!
Creamy Coleslaw
The key to nice coleslaw? An incredible selfmade coleslaw dressing! Mine is creamy, candy, and tangy, made with mayo, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and a little bit celery seed for savory depth of taste.
Pink Potato Salad
If creamy potato salad isn’t your factor, do that ultra-herby one as a substitute. L&L reader Tracy commented, “Husband is just not a potato salad fan. Made this and he LOVED it and I feel it’s my favourite ever.”
Avocado Salad
Okay, guacamole lovers—this avocado salad is the Memorial Day recipe for you! Tossed in a zesty lime dressing, it’s mainly a deconstructed guac with some chopped cucumbers thrown in for crunch.
Watermelon Feta Salad
This salad is my favourite recipe to make on a scorching summer season day! The mix of juicy watermelon, cucumbers, salty feta, and mint is so cooling and refreshing.
Broccoli Slaw
A scrumptious mashup of coleslaw and broccoli salad! Make it forward in order that the crunchy broccoli matchsticks have time to marinate within the creamy dressing.
Grilled Greens
Can’t select between grilled corn and grilled zucchini? You don’t should! These colourful veggie skewers are a flavorful and festive addition to any summer season cookout. I like to serve them with a facet of tzatziki sauce.
Memorial Day Primary Dishes
Greatest Veggie Burger
Critically, one of the best ever. Sautéed mushrooms, tamari, balsamic, and mirin give these patties an unbeatable umami taste. Tip: Assemble them as much as a day forward, cowl, and refrigerate till you’re able to grill!
Straightforward Black Bean Burger
These one-bowl burgers are prepared in half-hour!
Portobello Mushroom Burger
Don’t underestimate humble mushroom caps! Grilled with balsamic and tamari, they turn out to be juicy, meaty, and savory—an ideal plant-based “patty.”
Mushroom Tacos
Not within the temper for decent canine or burgers? Make these mushroom tacos to your Memorial Day cookout! They’re tremendous easy, crammed with meaty, savory grilled mushrooms, avocado salsa, and pickled onions.
Summer time Drinks
Do-it-yourself Lemonade
Made with contemporary lemon juice and easy syrup, this selfmade lemonade is sooo significantly better than store-bought.
Pink Sangria
The proper cocktail for a crowd! Chill it in a single day for one of the best fruity taste.
Margarita
Margaritas at a summer season gathering are by no means a foul name. Maintain it traditional with this recipe or make watermelon margaritas or strawberry margaritas for a enjoyable twist.
Mojitos
Backyard overrun with contemporary mint? Put it to work on this fizzy rum cocktail. L&L reader Elizabeth known as it the “greatest cocktail for a scorching summer season day!”
Memorial Day Desserts
Strawberry Shortcake
You may’t make a roundup of Memorial Day recipes and never embody strawberry shortcake! Different contemporary fruits could be fantastic right here too—attempt including blueberries, blackberries, and even contemporary peaches.
Greatest Do-it-yourself Brownies
Nobody will complain about brownies at a cookout. 🙂 These ones are chewy, fudgy, and filled with wealthy chocolate taste.
Lemon Bars
Lemon desserts = one of the best summer season desserts! With a buttery shortbread crust and pucker-y lemon curd filling, these lemon bars are one of the best of one of the best.
Rhubarb Crisp
Memorial Day falls within the coronary heart of rhubarb season. Make this straightforward crisp to indicate it off at its greatest! Tip: Don’t neglect the vanilla ice cream for serving. Its sweetness actually makes the tart rhubarb pop.
Do-it-yourself Vanilla Ice Cream
Do you’ve gotten a summer season bucket record? I hope making selfmade ice cream is on it. It’s straightforward to make with 5 fundamental components, and it’s simply too good to overlook out on. I’m making some over Memorial Day weekend…you must too!

Greatest Memorial Day Recipes: Italian Pasta Salad
Serves 8 to 12
This Italian pasta salad is considered one of our favourite Memorial Day recipes!
Stop your display screen from going darkish
-
Convey a big pot of salted water to a boil. Put together the pasta in accordance with the package deal directions, cooking till barely previous al dente. Drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to stop sticking. Put aside to chill to room temperature.
-
Switch the cooled pasta to a big bowl and add the cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, pink pepper, cucumber, pink onion, olives, pepperoncini, and parsley. Toss to mix, then add the dressing, salt, and several other grinds of pepper and toss once more.
-
Stir within the basil and season to style. Garnish with extra basil and serve.



































