Transform your cookouts from mediocre to magnificent with these 43 sensational cookout recipes, from main dish wonders to make-ahead salads and more.
Grilled Steak Kabobs
These mouthwatering steak kabobs are a grill master’s dream! Tender chunks of marinated steak, paired with colorful veggies, are skewered and grilled, resulting in a flavorful and satisfying dish. They can be prepared in advance, and bring everyone together as they savor the delicious combination of juicy steak and charred vegetables.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Steak Kabobs
Broccoli Crunch Salad
This broccoli crunch salad is a crowd-pleasing option for summer cookouts. With crisp broccoli florets, crunchy almonds, and a tangy dressing, it’s a refreshing and nutritious addition to any outdoor gathering.
Get the Recipe: Broccoli Crunch Salad
Fajita Burgers
Spice up your burger game with these sizzling fajita burgers! Juicy beef patties, infused with smoky spices and topped with grilled onions and peppers, create an explosion of flavors. They are perfect for a cookout as they combine the classic American burger with the bold and zesty fajitas.
Get the Recipe: Fajita Burgers
Smash Potatoes
Prepare for a potato revolution with these crispy and creamy smash potatoes! Baby potatoes, boiled until tender, are smashed, seasoned, and smashed on the grill for a delightful side dish with a contrasting textures.
Get the Recipe: Smash Potatoes
Texas Caviar
Add some Southwestern flair to your summer cookouts with this Texas caviar recipe. The combination of black-eyed peas, colorful veggies, and zesty dressing creates a flavorful and satisfying salad. It can be enjoyed as a salad, dip, or side dish with grilled meats.
Get the Recipe: Texas Caviar
Grilled Clam Bake
Indulge in the taste of the ocean with this delightful grilled clam bake! Succulent clams, potatoes, and corn are cooked together for the ultimate feast. Bring a coastal vibe to your next cookout.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Clam Bake
Amish Potato Salad
Amish potato salad is a classic make-ahead side dish that’s perfect for summer cookouts. With its creamy dressing, tender potatoes, and a touch of tanginess, it’s a crowd favorite.
Get the Recipe: Amish Potato Salad
Old Fashioned Pea Salad
Prepare this old-fashioned pea salad in advance for a cool and refreshing side dish that’s perfect for summer cookouts. The combination of crisp peas, crunchy bacon, and creamy dressing creates a delightful medley of flavors and textures.
Get the Recipe: Old Fashioned Pea Salad
Grilled Greek Chicken Salad
Elevate your cookout with this vibrant and refreshing Greek chicken salad! Tender grilled chicken, crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes, and tangy feta cheese are tossed together in a zesty dressing.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Greek Chicken Salad
Orange Fluff Salad
This vibrant orange fluff salad is the perfect make-ahead dessert for summer cookouts. With its creamy texture, citrusy flavor, and hints of sweetness, it’s a refreshing treat on a hot day.
Get the Recipe: Orange Fluff Salad
Cajun Pasta Salad
Spice up your summer cookouts with this flavorful Cajun pasta salad. The combination of cooked pasta, colorful veggies, and zesty Cajun dressing creates a bold and tangy salad that will impress your guests.
Get the Recipe: Cajun Pasta Salad
Spicy Grilled Salmon
Get ready to spice up your cookout with this fiery grilled salmon! The zesty marinade, packed with a punch of flavors, perfectly complements the tender fish. It’s a great cookout recipe as it adds a vibrant twist to the menu and satisfies seafood lovers with its tantalizing heat.
Get the Recipe: Spicy Grilled Salmon
Blue Cheese Coleslaw
Blue cheese coleslaw is a delicious twist on the classic summer side dish. The creamy coleslaw is elevated with the bold and tangy flavors of blue cheese, adding a unique and irresistible element to every bite.
Get the Recipe: Blue Cheese Coleslaw
Grilled Pork Kabobs
Prepare for a flavor adventure with these delectable grilled pork kabobs! Succulent chunks of marinated pork, paired with colorful vegetables and sweet pineapple, are grilled, resulting in a juicy and savory delight.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Pork Kabobs
Amish Macaroni Salad
Get ready to dive into a bowl of creamy and flavorful Amish macaroni salad! It’s a great cookout recipe as it offers a cool and creamy complement to grilled meats, and the combination of textures and flavors will make everyone happy.
Get the Recipe: Amish Macaroni Salad
7 Layer Salad
Wow your guests with this impressive 7 layer salad that is as visually appealing as it is delicious. With layers of fresh lettuce, crispy bacon, tangy cheese, and other colorful veggies, it’s a showstopper at any summer cookout.
Get the Recipe: 7 Layer Salad
Southwest Chicken Salad
Add a Tex-Mex twist to your cookout with this mouthwatering Southwest chicken salad! Grilled chicken, mixed with corn, black beans, avocado, and a zesty dressing, creates a fiesta of flavors.
Get the Recipe: Southwest Chicken Salad
Chickpea Salad
This chickpea salad is a fantastic make-ahead option for summer cookouts. With its protein-packed chickpeas, crisp veggies, and refreshing dressing, it’s a nutritious and flavorful side dish. It’s a versatile salad that complements grilled meats or works as a standalone vegetarian dish.
Get the Recipe: Chickpea Salad
Loaded Salt Potatoes
Get ready for a flavor explosion with these loaded salt potatoes! Baby potatoes, boiled until fork-tender, are topped with a delectable combination of pulled pork, melted cheese, crispy bacon, and tangy sour cream. This takes the classic salt potatoes to a whole new level of indulgence, satisfying cravings and impressing guests.
Get the Recipe: Loaded Salt Potatoes
Dirty Soda
Quench your thirst with this unique and refreshing dirty soda! This bubbly beverage combines your favorite soda with a splash of coffee creamer. It’s a fun addition to any cookout, bringing a fun and nostalgic twist to the drink menu, and allowing guests to customize their drinks with different soda flavors.
Get the Recipe: Dirty Soda
Carne Asada
This is the best carne asada marinade out there, packed with authentic Mexican flavor. It’s smoky, citrusy, savory, and perfect for everything from carne asada burritos to a carne asada plate that rivals your favorite Mexican restaurant.
Get the Recipe: Carne Asada
Caprese Salad
Caprese salad is a simple Italian salad of tomatoes and mozzarella, yet it packs a punch of flavor. It is the perfect makeahead salad for summer.
Get the Recipe: Caprese Salad
Grilled Garlic Scapes
Elevate your cookout with the unique and flavorful grilled garlic scapes! These curly green stalks, infused with a smoky char, offer a delightful garlicky taste with a hint of sweetness.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Garlic Scapes
Thai Chicken Satay
Thai Satay Chicken is loaded with authentic flavors like turmeric, lemongrass, chiles, and fish sauce. A rich and spicy Thai Peanut Sauce is perfect for dipping.
Get the Recipe: Thai Chicken Satay
Cheesy Grilled Potatoes
These cheesy grilled potatoes will be an instant hit at your cookout! Slices of tender potatoes, seasoned to perfection and smothered with melted cheese, are grilled until golden and crispy.
Get the Recipe: Cheesy Grilled Potatoes
Homemade BBQ Sauce
Tired of store-bought sauces that just don’t cut the mustard? Say hello to our mouthwatering homemade BBQ sauce that will have you licking your fingers in no time. It’s the stuff dreams are made of! Imagine a rich, smoky base infused with layers of sweetness and a hint of heat, all perfectly balanced to create a sauce that’s finger-lickin’ good. Get ready to be the talk of the cookout with this flavor-packed masterpiece!
Get the Recipe: Homemade BBQ Sauce
Flavorful Steak Marinade
Flavorful Steak Marinade is the perfect addition to your summer cookout menu. With a perfect blend of herbs and spices, this marinade will infuse your steak with a depth of flavor that will make it the star of the grill.
Get the Recipe: Flavorful Steak Marinade
Bacon-Wrapped Pork-Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers
These meaty wonders are all about flavor! Spicy jalapenos get the slow-smoke treatment and they’re so crazy good! Stuffed with pork and cheese and wrapped in bacon, the only question is, will you share?
Get the Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Pork-Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers
Lemon-Oregano Chicken Kabobs
Infused with lemon and oregano, these easy and tasty kabobs are as fun to make as they are delicious to eat!
Get the Recipe: Lemon-Oregano Chicken Kabobs
Watermelon and Feta Salad
Watermelon Feta Salad with Kalamata Olives is a refreshing summer side dish. With only 5 ingredients, it is quick and easy to make and so refreshing!
Get the Recipe: Watermelon and Feta Salad
Faux Potato Salad Recipe
Our Faux Potato Salad Recipe is made without cauliflower for an even tastier faux-tato salad. Our gluten-free and diabetic version of low carb yogurt mayonnaise potato salad uses turnip radish, which gives you the best potato alternative.
Get the Recipe: Faux Potato Salad Recipe
Caprese Salad Skewers
Serving caprese salad on skewers is a great way to serve this traditional summer dish for a party. This combination of fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and balsamic vinegar works as either an appetizer or side dish.
Get the Recipe: Caprese Salad Skewers
Juicy and Guilt-Free Portobello Mushroom Burger
This guilt-free, quick, and easy to make Portobello Mushroom Burger is super juicy and looks exactly like a real burger bun you would expect from a BBQ evening. Fully grain-free, gluten-free, low carb, and perfect for diabetics, this portobello mushroom recipe together with ground beef keto burger is a must when you start thinking of grilling time.
Get the Recipe: Juicy and Guilt-Free Portobello Mushroom Burger
Electric Lemonade
Sip on the tangy and sweet flavors of an electric lemonade at your summer cookout. Made with vodka, blue curaçao, lemonade, and a splash of lemon-lime soda, this colorful cocktail is sure to be a crowd-pleaser on a hot day.
Get the Recipe: Electric Lemonade
Grilled Corn
Don’t let summer pass you by without grilling sweet corn. Corn on the Cob on the Grill cooked in the husk is a summertime side dish that’s easy to make and always a favorite.
Get the Recipe: Grilled Corn
Lemon Marinated Chicken
Chicken on the grill is so delicious and juicy. It’s even better when you mix it with this simple lemon marinade for more flavor. Go ahead and skewer it with your favorite veggies for a delicious summer meal everyone will love.
Get the Recipe: Lemon Marinated Chicken
Beet Cucumber Salad with Feta and Dill
This beet and cucumber salad with feta and dill is packed with sweet, savory, earthy, tangy, and salty flavors. Crunchy cucumbers, tender cooked beets, and a fresh lemon vinaigrette combine to create a delicious beet salad you’ll crave.
Get the Recipe: Beet Cucumber Salad with Feta and Dill
Beer Boiled Brats
Bratwurst is a summer classic, and it’s even better when you make beer boiled brats. They are incredibly juicy and so flavorful. It’s a grilling win every time.
Get the Recipe: Beer Boiled Brats
Mexican Street Corn Salad
The perfect pick with anything off the grill or smoker, this easy salad features sweet corn, spicy jalapenos, tangy, cheese, and so much more!
Get the Recipe: Mexican Street Corn Salad
BBQ Boneless Chicken Thighs
These juicy BBQ boneless chicken thighs will take your grill to the next level! Perfectly seasoned and grilled to perfection, they will be a hit any time you crave cookout food.
Get the Recipe: BBQ Boneless Chicken Thighs
Grilled Vegetables
Firing up the grill? Don’t forget about the veggies! A quick marinade infuses these tasty veg with flavor and they cook so quickly!
Get the Recipe: Grilled Vegetables
Strawberry Lemonade
This homemade strawberry lemonade is bright and refreshing. Make it with fresh strawberries and real lemon juice for the ultimate flavor explosion.
Get the Recipe: Strawberry Lemonade