Our greatest Memorial Day recipes! We have rounded up summer time salads, sides, dips, desserts, and extra—all the pieces you want for a scrumptious cookout.
The unofficial begin of summer time 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 contemporary appetizers, salads, facet dishes, drinks, desserts, and extra. They’d all be excellent for a Memorial Day cookout…and cookouts all summer time lengthy. I do know I’ll have many of those recipes on repeat this summer time. I hope you additionally discover some you like!
Memorial Day Appetizer Recipes
Antipasto Platter
Deliver an Italian trip to your personal 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 type! Use a mixture of cherry tomato colours to make these look extra-fun and festive.
Summer season 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 find it irresistible.
Mango Salsa
This contemporary, fruity tackle pico de gallo is ideal for early summer time. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping!
Guacamole
A crowd pleaser at any event, Memorial Day picnics included!
Straightforward Bruschetta
It’s summer time—carry on the tomatoes and basil! This traditional Italian appetizer is one among my favourite methods to take pleasure in them. As a result of it’s so easy, it lets their contemporary flavors shine.
Summer season Pasta Salads
Straightforward Pasta Salad
What’s a summer time bbq with no pasta salad? This recipe is a reader favourite—it has over 500 5-star critiques!
Pesto Pasta Salad
For those who (like me) can’t get sufficient basil pesto within the summertime, this recipe is for you! It’s pesto pasta in picnic type—vivid inexperienced, herbaceous, and tremendous contemporary.
Italian Pasta Salad
My home made Italian dressing, olives, and pepperoncini pack this pasta salad with tangy, zesty taste.
Macaroni Salad
My twist on this nostalgic picnic dish is full of 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 Facet Dish Recipes
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Serve it slathered with butter or gown it up with elote fixings. No area on the grill? Make boiled corn on the cob as a substitute.
Greek Salad
Crammed with a refreshing jumble of crisp and juicy veggies, this traditional salad tastes like summer time. 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.
Greatest Potato Salad
This traditional potato salad is creamy, pickle-y perfection! I exploit pickle brine within the dressing and add chopped dill pickles to the salad for an additional tangy pop. Tip: Combine two peeled and chopped exhausting boiled eggs into the salad to make it extra-creamy.
Greatest Broccoli Salad
A more energizing 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 time lengthy. Fortunately for me, it couldn’t be simpler to make. Simply toss cucumbers and purple onions in a 3-ingredient dressing and high them off with contemporary 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 time gathering. Make it on Memorial Day weekend, and I assure that it will likely be the star of any cookout you are taking it to!
Creamy Coleslaw
The key to nice coleslaw? An incredible home made coleslaw dressing! Mine is creamy, candy, and tangy, made with mayo, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and somewhat celery seed for savory depth of taste.
Pink Potato Salad
If creamy potato salad isn’t your factor, do that ultra-herby one as a substitute. L&L reader Tracy commented, “Husband is just not a potato salad fan. Made this and he LOVED it and I believe 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 mainly a deconstructed guac with some chopped cucumbers thrown in for crunch.
Watermelon Feta Salad
This salad is my favourite recipe to make on a scorching summer time day! The mixture 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 should! These colourful veggie skewers are a flavorful and festive addition to any summer time cookout. I like to serve them with a facet of tzatziki sauce.
Memorial Day Essential Dishes
Greatest Veggie Burger
Significantly, the very best 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 turn out to be juicy, meaty, and savory—an ideal plant-based “patty.”
Mushroom Tacos
Not within the temper for warm canines or burgers? Make these mushroom tacos to your Memorial Day cookout! They’re tremendous easy, full of meaty, savory grilled mushrooms, avocado salsa, and pickled onions.
Summer season Drinks
Selfmade Lemonade
Made with contemporary lemon juice and easy syrup, this home made lemonade is sooo significantly better than store-bought.
Pink Sangria
The right cocktail for a crowd! Chill it in a single day for the very best fruity taste.
Margarita
Margaritas at a summer time 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 contemporary mint? Put it to work on this fizzy rum cocktail. L&L reader Elizabeth referred to as it the “finest cocktail for a scorching summer time 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 contemporary fruits can be great right here too—strive including blueberries, blackberries, and even contemporary peaches.
Greatest Selfmade Brownies
Nobody will complain about brownies at a cookout. 🙂 These ones are chewy, fudgy, and filled with wealthy chocolate taste.
Lemon Bars
Lemon desserts = the very best summer time desserts! With a buttery shortbread crust and pucker-y lemon curd filling, these lemon bars are the very best of the very best.
Rhubarb Crisp
Memorial Day falls within the coronary heart of rhubarb season. Make this straightforward crisp to point out it off at its finest! Tip: Don’t neglect the vanilla ice cream for serving. Its sweetness actually makes the tart rhubarb pop.
Selfmade Vanilla Ice Cream
Do you have got a summer time bucket checklist? I hope making home made ice cream is on it. It’s straightforward to make with 5 primary elements, and it’s simply too good to overlook out on. I’m making some over Memorial Day weekend…you must too!

Greatest Memorial Day Recipes: Italian Pasta Salad
Serves 8 to 12
This Italian pasta salad is one among our favourite Memorial Day recipes!
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Deliver a big pot of salted water to a boil. Put together the pasta in keeping with the package deal directions, cooking till barely previous al dente. Drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to forestall 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, purple pepper, cucumber, purple onion, olives, pepperoncini, and parsley. Toss to mix, then add the dressing, salt, and several 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.