Fresh and Easy Recipes to Try This Summer

Summer is finally here, and there is no better time to delve into your arsenal of summer recipes to kick the season off. Gone are the days you are willing to stand in front of a hot stove, figure out an appliance’s electronics, and slave over a complicated recipe. 

Summer cooking is all about simple, easy, and refreshing dishes filled with fresh veggies, incredible flavors, easy to navigate home appliances and basic cooking requirements, allowing you to maximize the good weather without compromising the good food. 

Thai Peanut Wraps

It is never too late to try something new, and if you have been toying with the idea of exploring the cuisines of other nations, this is your sign to do it. Thai food is filled with ingredients and flavor combinations that are unmatched. And Thai peanut wraps are a wonderfully flavorful and easy vegetarian addition to your summer menu. 

Combine rice vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, honey, and garlic for the tasty peanut sauce. Add peanut butter, salt, and red pepper flakes, stirring until golden and smooth. The wraps are packed with fresh vegetables and bold flavors – shredded cabbage, carrots, a red bell pepper, edamame, cilantro, green onions, honey-roasted peanuts, and wonton strips for extra crunch.  

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a refreshing no-cook soup that is ideal for a hot summer’s day. It combines a delicious mixture of fresh veggies and a tomato-based vegetable juice for a wonderful blend of smooth and chunky textures. 

A traditional gazpacho contains tomatoes, tomato juice (plain or spicy), celery, cucumber with the seeds removed, red onion, two cloves of garlic, olive oil, and red wine vinegar, or any vinegar you have on hand. Blend half of the mixture to create the perfect combination of textures before chilling in the fridge for at least one hour before serving. 

Shrimp Ceviche Tostadas

One of the best features of the perfect summer dish is not having to turn on the stove or oven to make it. And shrimp ceviche tostadas are a perfect example of a dish that fits this requirement to the tee. First, you need to cut your raw, deshelled, and deveined shrimp into bite-size pieces. It will have to sit in a bowl of pure lime juice for at least 15 mins to ‘cook;.’

While you wait, finely dice cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, and jalapeno pepper to serve with it. Finally, mix in some fresh herbs. Cilantro is best, but if you hate the flavor, parsley will work too. Once the time is up, mix your shrimp with the veggie mix and serve over crisp tostada shells, corn tortilla chips, or a bed of lettuce for a light, refreshing salad. 

Mediterranean Chopped Salad

A Meditteranean chopped salad is a refreshing summer dish, loaded with veggies and bright flavors, and only requires a bit of chopping to make. Mediterranean food is famous for being both healthy and incredibly flavorful, offering plenty of ideas for summer dishes. 

Mix together one chopped head of romaine lettuce, a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas, tomato, cucumber, red pepper, red onion, chopped kalamata olives, feta crumbles, and fresh dill. The dressing is a quick combination of olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir together properly and serve on toasted pita bread. 

Watermelon Salad with Feta & Cucumber

You will not find an easier and more satisfying summer salad than watermelon, feta, and cucumber. The perfect combination of sweet and salty, this incredibly refreshing salad will become the ultimate side dish for every holiday BBQ you attend. 

You need just five ingredients. First, ripe watermelon cut into bite-sized cubes, feta cheese crumbles, a baby cucumber or an English cucumber peeled, finely chopped fresh basil, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Mix it in a big bowl and serve with a small drizzle of olive oil and some fresh black pepper. 

Greek Yogurt Tuna Salad

At some point in life, you have likely eaten tuna salad in some variation or another. Regardless of how you felt about that version, put it out of your mind and instead indulge in this delicious and veggie-packed variation. It is perfect for slathering over a tortilla, encasing in a lettuce wrap, or eating straight out of the bowl. 

In a big bowl, mix roughly chopped celery and cucumber, diced red onion, halved seedless red grapes, roughly chopped almonds, one can of chickpeas that have been drained and rinsed,  and your favorite variety of drained tuna. 

Plain Greek yogurt, dijon mustard, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and salt & pepper to taste make up the dressing, which you pour over the tasty mix before setting it in the fridge for at least 30 mins to allow the flavors to become best friends. 

Chilled Summer Soup

Cold summer soups might seem like a dish you won’t like, but they are, in fact, incredibly tasty and perfect for hot summer days. They require zero cooking and pack a punch when it comes to flavors and creamy textures. 

You need just four ingredients for this soup—any ripe, sweet, and juicy tomato variety. Sungold works best but use what is available that fits this description. Next, you will need fresh corn off the cob, an onion, and a yellow or orange bell pepper. Finely chop the veggies and marinate them in a simple vinaigrette consisting of olive oil, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper. 

Allow the mixture to sit, causing the veggies to soften and making it easy to blend into a smooth and creamy liquid. Chill for an additional few hours and serve alongside a simple cucumber salad.