When I think of the Fourth of July the first thing I think of is of course fireworks! One of my favorite times watching fireworks is when my parents and I drove down to the San Diego Bay and watched the synchronized fireworks shoot off over the bay. But then last year they had this happen.
But along with fireworks this holiday makes me think of parades, independence, red white and blue and bbqs! What is better than having a summer BBQ and celebrating a fantastic holiday and our country’s independence and watching fireworks when it gets dark? Nothing right?
Well this year to help you a little bit with your meal planning for the day I have come up with 30 Fourth of July or Summer themed recipes for you to make (all from our blog!) Awesome right? I’ve included some delicious grilled main dishes, summery salads, red white and blue inspired foods and even some breakfast ideas if you want to start your celebration early! So scroll on down and pick out a few tasty dishes to celebrate this wonderful holiday!
Breakfast Ideas:
Start your morning off right with these delicious Bakery Style Strawberry Muffins. These muffins are perfection with their streusel crumb on top. And throw in a few blueberries to the mix to add some blue to your red!
Crepes are another great idea for breakfast because you can put whatever you want inside. If you’re feeling a little savory fill your crepes with eggs and bacon. Feeling sweet? Try some pudding and fruit. If you want to go for a patriotic feel, stuff your crepes with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream!
Pancakes are a great way to have a traditional breakfast, but break away from cold cereal. To spice it up try these Neapolitan Pancakes, which have extra vanilla, chocolate chips and strawberries stuffed into the batter.
Another delicious and simple breakfast idea is this Blueberry Cream Cheese Danish recipe. These danishes are made simple by using Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and filling them with cream cheese and blueberries. Add some strawberries too to give them the full red white and blue spectrum.
Appetizer Ideas:
A great way to begin your summer party meal is with this Spinach Dip. Its cheesey gooey, spinach perfection and tastes great with chips, crackers or bread.
Start your meal off right with these Sweet Bacon Wrapped Pineapple bites. This sweet ketchup and brown sugar sauce goes on a pineapple wrapped in bacon. Mmm.
Salad Ideas:
Another great addition to your meal is this Grilled Chicken Citrus Salad. This salad combines the freshest ingredients topped with a delicious citrus vinaigrette.
Another great salad idea is this Cranberry, Almond and Spinach Salad. Its only 3 ingredients plus whatever dressing you like, but it tastes great with the poppy seed dressing and would be a delicious addition to your barbeque meal.
Another fresh summer salad idea is this Summer Berry Salad. In ode to Zupas Nut about Berries salad, this salad has delicious fresh berries and candied almonds and tastes like heaven.
Side Dish Ideas:
This Pasta Salad will be a perfect addition to any main dish you have at your fourth of July event. Rotini noodles, pepperoni, mozzarella, and other delicious ingredients come together perfectly drizzled with Italian dressing and are the perfect side dish.
These Texas Road House Rolls are so fluffy and light and take delicious topped with butter and jam or your barbequed meat.
Not wanting to spend a lot of active time on making your side dish? These Slow Cooker Baked Beans are time consuming, but most of the time is just the beans soaking and then cooking in your slow cooker. The barbequey molasses flavor of these beans is seriously perfection.
Baked Carrots are a simple way to make your meal a little bit fancy. The carrots are baked topped with a little butter and salt and pepper, but they soften just a little bit and make a perfect side.
One of my favorite side dishes is Corn Bread. I love it topped with butter and dark corn syrup, but it tastes great with barbeque or just topped with honey!
Main Dish Ideas:
Of course we can’t forget our main dish at our Fourth of July Party. Like I said, I always thinking of barbecue and grilling, so try our Western Burgers. These burgers combine the delicious flavors of cheddar cheese, bacon, barbecue sauce and onion straws. Delicious!
Another favorite of mine are these Pretzel Wrapped Bratwurst. There are a great way to have hot dogs at your meal but make it a little more fancy!
My absolute favorite meat is chicken, it tastes great and its a lot better for you. This Honey Lime Chicken is a great recipe to throw on the grill for any occasion.
Another great option for chicken is these BBQ Chicken Topped Baked Potatoes. This chicken is cooked in your crockpot all day to keep it moist and give it extra flavor. Throw the shredded bbq chicken on top of baked potato and you’ve got a full meal.
This last burger option might just be my favorite. Brown Sugar Bacon Burgers are perfect any time, but especially in the summer. I just love the sweet extra crispy bacon on these burgers and I think you will too.
Another great slow cooker option to end your meal is these BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches. Cook the pork in the slow cooker all day and end your celebrations with some delicious sandwiches.
Drink Ideas:
To go with your delicious dinner, you need some refreshing drink ideas too! This Strawberry Lemonade is just the right amount of sweetness and is the perfect summery drink!
Rosemary added to lemonade seems like a strange combination, but this Rosemary Lemonade is seriously delicious. Sweet lemonade with just a slight tint of rosemary.
Layered drinks are a really fun way to add color to any dinner party. This Fourth of July Layered Drink is perfect to celebrate the holiday and it tastes great!
Dessert Ideas:
Chocolate covered strawberries are one of my favorite simple desserts. But these Red White and Blue Strawberries take it to the next level. Strawberries dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles to make it festive!
No Bake Cheesecake is a great alternative to turning your oven on in the hot summer months! This cheese cake is so simple and perfect for your summer bbq!
Red White and Blue Jello Cups are another great way to celebrate! These cups are a little time consuming, but the result is a fun and delicious treat everyone will love.
Pie can’t only be enjoyed for Thanksgiving, you can have it for Independence Day too! This Berry Custard Pie is a delicious dessert idea for your party and the berries even make it a little bit red white and blue.
Although these Pretzel Sparklers are especially fun for kids, your whole group will love these white chocolate dipped pretzel rods for just a little something sweet to end your meal. Who doesn’t love a good sweet and salty combo?
Who doesn’t love a good sugar cookie? But decorate them with sprinkles and poprocks and make them into Fire Cracker Cookies and you’ve got the ultimate Fourth of July dessert! You will love the crackle and pop in your mouth!
Pudding Pops are another kid friendly dessert that the whole family will love. These pops are an easy and perfectly refreshing dessert for your warm summer party. Plus your kids can help you make these too, they will love adding the food coloring and seeing the pudding transform into a different color.
For more great Fourth of July recipe ideas, check out these other Round Ups from:
Audra @ Painless Meals says
What a great round up, Happy 4th 🙂
ohsweetbasil says
oh my gosh, those pancakes and that pie.
aimeeberrett says
Thank you! Those are both 2 of my favorites!
marissa | Rae Gun Ramblings says
these all look so good. pinning
aimeeberrett says
thank you Marissa! You’re the best!