25 Fresh Summer Recipes
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 7, 2025
Fresh summer recipes are my favorite. They can be so simple to prepare and delightful to share. Iโve rounded up twenty-five salads, main dishes, sides and desserts featuring ripe summer produce. They highlight fresh tomatoes, watermelon, berries, green beans, corn, peaches, zucchini and more.
Letโs hit the pool and the farmersโ markets and make the most of these long summer days. Itโs hot outside, but many of these recipes require minimal cooking, if any. Make these fresh summer recipes while you still can!
I struggled to keep this list at a reasonable number, so be sure to check out my full summer archives and summer recipes Pinterest board for even more summer recipes. Iโll be back with more new recipes later this week.
Double Tomato Pesto Spaghetti with Zucchini Noodles
This fresh summer recipe features burst cherry tomatoes, cherry tomato and sun-dried tomato pesto, zucchini noodles and spaghetti! Itโs light and delicious. Recipe yields 4 servings.
Summertime Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Corn and Jalapeรฑo Pesto
This healthy pasta salad features bold summer flavors, including tomatoes, corn and black beans tossed in spicy, fresh pesto! Itโs a great vegetarian side dish for potlucks and barbecues. See paragraph above for variations and substitution suggestions! Recipe yields about 8 cups salad, which is enough for 4 main or 8 side servings.
Watermelon Salad with Feta and Mint
This classic watermelon salad recipe features crumbled feta and fresh mint. Lightly pickled shallots and chopped pistachios make it amazing! Recipe yields 6 to 8 side salads.
Mediterranean Tomato & Feta Dip
This tomato feta dip recipe is perfect for summer parties! This beautiful dip is absolutely delicious and easy to make. You can serve it as a salad or use it as a topping for scrambled eggs or omelets, too.ย Recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.
Summertime Fruit Salad
This simple fruit salad recipe is fresh and healthy! It features strawberries, peaches and blueberries with a little balsamic vinegar and basil. Itโs a delicious side dish or dessert (for dessert, you can serve it as is or add some whipped cream to make it more decadent). Recipe yields 6 side servings.
Berry Spinach Salad
This salad features fresh raspberries, blueberries, spinach and goat cheese. Tossed in homemade balsamic vinaigrette, itโs the perfect spring and summer side salad! Recipe yields 4 side salads, so multiply the recipe if youโre serving a crowd. The spinach wilts quickly once it comes into contact with vinaigrette, so store the two separately until youโre ready to eat.
Heirloom Caprese Salad
The best Caprese salad youโll ever have! Great ingredients are the key. Use ripe summer tomatoes, burrata or mozzarella, fresh basil and olive oil. Recipe yields 4 generous or 6 smaller servings.
Green Bean Salad with Toasted Almonds & Feta
This green bean salad is the best! Perfectly cooked green beans are tossed in a lemony dressing with toasted almonds, feta and basil. Recipe yields 4 side servings.
Elote (Mexican Street Corn)
Learn how to make elote with this simple recipe! Weโll top grilled corn on the cob with a tangy blend of mayonnaise, lime, chili powder, and finish it with a heavy sprinkle of Cotjia cheese and cilantro. Serve elote as a snack or appetizer, or as a side dish to any Mexican meal. Recipe yields 4 elotes; multiply as needed.
Strawberry Salsa
This strawberry salsa recipe is delicious, colorful and easy to make! Itโs the perfect spring or summer party appetizer. Recipe yields enough salsa for about 4 to 6 snacking portions, although I managed to polish it all off myself in under 24 hours.
Spaghetti with Fresh Tomato Sauce
The freshest of tomato sauce recipes, made with barely cooked tomatoes, basil and seasonings. This simple weeknight meal comes together in no time! Recipe yields 2 large (as in, restaurant-sized) portions or 4 more reasonable servings.
Simple Caprese Skewers
These caprese skewers are made with cherry tomatoes, basil and baby mozzarella balls with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil drizzle. Theyโre the perfect summertime party appetizer. Your guests will love this recipe! This recipe yields about 20 little skewers.
The Ultimate Gazpacho
This gazpacho recipe is the best! Itโs a refreshing chilled summer soup, perfect for your garden tomatoes and cucumber. Be sure to make it in advance so the soup can chill for at least 2 hours. Recipe yields 5 cups, enough for 4 servings.
Simple Peach, Basil and Ricotta Flatbread
Simple peach, basil and ricotta flatbreads drizzled with balsamic reduction. A gourmet summer dinner ready in fifteen minutes!
How to Make Pesto
Homemade basil pesto is so easy to make! Learn how to make basil pesto with this recipe, plus learn how to properly toss it with pasta, and freeze leftovers. Recipe yields 1 cup pesto, which is enough to toss with about 12 ounces of pasta.
Creamy Cherry Tomato & Summer Squash Pasta
Simple summer pasta recipe featuring roasted cherry tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash with rotini and a light goat cheese sauce. Recipe yields 4 servings.
Mediterranean Bean Salad
This Mediterranean-style bean salad recipe is delightfully crisp and satisfying. Its fresh flavors include kidney beans, chickpeas, lemon, garlic and leafy herbs. This healthy salad is vegan and gluten free, but mostly just delicious! Recipe yields about six 1-cup servings.
Caprese Pasta Salad
This Caprese pasta salad recipe is easy, delicious and perfect for summertime! Just cook cherry tomatoes with olive oil to make the perfect pasta sauce. Recipe yields 4 modest servings.
Arugula-Almond Pesto Pizza
Homemade pesto pizza recipe with a simple whole wheat pizza crust, topped with fresh summer tomatoes and squash. Feel free to change up the toppings. Recipe below yields two 12-inch pizzas.
Erinโs Baked Eggs on a Bed of Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Eggs baked on top of tiny halved tomatoes, topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan and basil, make a simple, delicious summertime breakfast or quick dinner. Recipe as written yields 4 medium servings. I highly recommend serving this with toasted bread (goat cheese on whole grain toast is perfect!) or something similar (Erin suggests polenta fries, yum.)
Pesto Pasta
Make pesto pasta for a quick and easy dinner! These saucy pesto noodles are made with homemade pesto, which comes together quickly in the food processor. This pesto yields 3/4 cup, which will generously coat 8 ounces of pasta once cooked (you can stretch this amount of pesto to coat up to 12 ounces of pasta, or easily double the recipe to use an entire 16-ounce package of pasta).
Burrata with Tomatoes & Basil
This burrata salad recipe features tomatoes, basil and pine nuts, with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Itโs irresistible and ready in 15 minutes. Serve it as a salad or an appetizer with crostini or crusty bread. Recipe yields 4 to 6 servings.
Peach Cobbler with Almond Topping
This peach cobbler recipe features bubbly ripe peaches underneath a perfectly golden topping. The topping is made of almond flour, which offers lovely flavor and makes the recipe gluten free. Recipe yields about 9 modest servings.
Healthy Zucchini Muffins
These healthy zucchini muffins are naturally sweetened and made with whole wheat flour! Theyโre fluffy, moist and absolutely delicious, too. Recipe yields 1 dozen muffins.
Watermelon Popsicles
Frozen watermelon is the perfect cold summer treat! Make these watermelon popsicles and enjoy them all summer long. The yield depends on the size of your watermelon; make as many or as few popsicles as youโd like.ย
More summer roundups you might appreciate: 20 Summer Potluck Recipes, 32 Fresh Summer Salads, 21 Summer Desserts and 25 Summer Cocktails.
I just preferred your cookbook from Amazon! Are these recipes in the book? So many of them sound delicious.
Hi, Jane! Unfortunately, none of these are in the book. The book is full of 100+ all-new or re-vamped recipes. You can click on the links to get to these ones, though!
Hi Kate! Iโm a long-time fan of your blog and have made many of your recipes (the healthy banana bread is a favorite of my boyfriend), and I recently made quinoa as you recommended in your last post- it turned out great! I just ordered your book on Amazon (donโt ask me why it took so long for me to do that, I donโt have a good answer) and I canโt wait to read it! Thank you for the years of fantastic recipes- keep them coming! :)
Thank you for such a kind note, Alex! Iโm so glad youโve enjoyed the blog, and I hope you love the book!
Just wonderful, I have to try the 25 summer recipes, lovely light airy site, thank you.
But I clicked subscribe andโฆnothingโฆ? Pls help me.
Wishing you great success and pleasure.
Susan
Hi Susan, Iโm not sure I understand your question. Did you enter your email address in the box and then click โsubscribeโ? That should subscribe you to my email newsletter. You can see all of my subscription options here.
Thanks so much for sharing this Kate, Iโm always on the lookout for new delicious recipes. I have tried the roasted eggplant and tomato orzo pasta twice now and absolutely love it. I never really know what to do with eggplant so this recipe is a winner!
Eggplant can be a bit of a head-scratcher for me, too. Iโm so glad you found a great use for it!
Really love your blog! I always experiment in kitchen after reading your blog and mom loves it. <3
Aw, I love hearing that! Thanks, Harry!
Hi Kate
I just wanted to thank you so much for your awesome blog! Your recipes make the tastiest vegetarian food I have ever had, use the cookbook and blog recipes nearly everyday! The simple honey scones are probably my favorite. I have one suggestion/request, perhaps in the future when you write posts like these you could add a link to a previous post with recipes for the opposite season for your readers in the Southern Hemisphere โ it would really help so much to know exactly where to look!
Thanks again for your amazing blog, you have really helped me to embrace real food and live a healthier life!
Great recipes for summer season really love it Thank you great man
Thanks!
YUM! I want to try the squash pasta and the pesto pizza so badly. They look phenomenal. Lately, Iโve been craving these dishes TONS so badly. Pizza, especially!
Let me know what you think, Cassie!
The name is enough to make your mouth water! Falooda is a famous summer dessert and enjoyed by everyone in scorching summers. It provides an instant coolness. Now imagine a falooda with toppings of saffron, pistachios and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Doesnโt it sound like a super delicious treat? Treat this treat not just to yourself but also to your guests and make them jump with joy. Itโs quite a tough recipe so do have patience while preparing it.
Thank you for your post.
Thank you, Rick!