Our greatest Memorial Day recipes! We have rounded up summer season salads, sides, dips, desserts, and extra—all the things you want for a scrumptious cookout.
The unofficial begin of summer season is only a few days away—it’s time to plan your Memorial Day menu!
I’ve rounded up our greatest Memorial Day recipes beneath. They embrace recent 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 individual yard with this aperitivo-inspired platter! It’s loaded with marinated mozzarella balls, gigante beans, olives, and extra. Sip a bubbly Aperol spritz when 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 friends will adore it.
Mango Salsa
This recent, 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—carry on the tomatoes and basil! This traditional Italian appetizer is certainly one of my favourite methods to get pleasure from them. As a result of it’s so easy, it lets their recent 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 evaluations!
Pesto Pasta Salad
If you happen to (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 recent.
Italian Pasta Salad
My do-it-yourself 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 Aspect Dish Recipes
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Serve it slathered with butter or costume it up with elote fixings. No house on the grill? Make boiled corn on the cob as an alternative.
Greek Salad
Crammed with a refreshing jumble of crisp and juicy veggies, this traditional salad tastes like summer season. You’ll be able to assemble it forward, however maintain the mint leaves till simply earlier than serving in order that they don’t wilt within the dressing.
Finest 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 onerous boiled eggs into the salad to make it extra-creamy.
Finest Broccoli Salad
A brisker twist on the Midwest traditional! As an alternative of utilizing the normal bacon, I high 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 high them off with recent herbs. Easy and scrumptious!
Mexican Road Corn Salad
This elote-inspired salad will get RAVES at any time when I carry 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 are taking it to!
Creamy Coleslaw
The key to nice coleslaw? An incredible do-it-yourself coleslaw dressing! Mine is creamy, candy, and tangy, made with mayo, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and just a little celery seed for savory depth of taste.
Crimson Potato Salad
If creamy potato salad isn’t your factor, do that ultra-herby one as an alternative. L&L reader Tracy commented, “Husband will not be 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 principally a deconstructed guac with some chopped cucumbers thrown in for crunch.
Watermelon Feta Salad
This salad is my favourite recipe to make on a sizzling 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 need to! 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
Finest Veggie Burger
Significantly, the perfect 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 change into juicy, meaty, and savory—an ideal plant-based “patty.”
Mushroom Tacos
Not within the temper for warm canines or burgers? Make these mushroom tacos in your Memorial Day cookout! They’re tremendous easy, crammed with meaty, savory grilled mushrooms, avocado salsa, and pickled onions.
Summer time Drinks
Selfmade Lemonade
Made with recent lemon juice and easy syrup, this do-it-yourself lemonade is sooo significantly better than store-bought.
Crimson Sangria
The proper cocktail for a crowd! Chill it in a single day for the perfect fruity taste.
Margarita
Margaritas at a summer season gathering are by no means a foul name. Preserve it traditional with this recipe or make watermelon margaritas or strawberry margaritas for a enjoyable twist.
Mojitos
Backyard overrun with recent mint? Put it to work on this fizzy rum cocktail. L&L reader Elizabeth known as it the “greatest cocktail for a sizzling summer season day!”
Memorial Day Desserts
Strawberry Shortcake
You’ll be able to’t make a roundup of Memorial Day recipes and never embrace strawberry shortcake! Different recent fruits can be fantastic right here too—attempt including blueberries, blackberries, and even recent peaches.
Finest Selfmade Brownies
Nobody will complain about brownies at a cookout. 🙂 These ones are chewy, fudgy, and full of wealthy chocolate taste.
Lemon Bars
Lemon desserts = the perfect summer season desserts! With a buttery shortbread crust and pucker-y lemon curd filling, these lemon bars are the perfect of the perfect.
Rhubarb Crisp
Memorial Day falls within the coronary heart of rhubarb season. Make this simple crisp to indicate it off at its greatest! Tip: Don’t overlook the vanilla ice cream for serving. Its sweetness actually makes the tart rhubarb pop.
Selfmade Vanilla Ice Cream
Do you’ve got a summer season bucket listing? I hope making do-it-yourself ice cream is on it. It’s simple to make with 5 fundamental components, and it’s simply too good to overlook out on. I’m making some over Memorial Day weekend…it is best to too!

Finest Memorial Day Recipes: Italian Pasta Salad
Serves 8 to 12
This Italian pasta salad is certainly one of our favourite Memorial Day recipes!
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Convey a big pot of salted water to a boil. Put together the pasta based on the bundle 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.
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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 a number of other grinds of pepper and toss once more.
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Stir within the basil and season to style. Garnish with extra basil and serve.