Summer dinner recipes
The warm months call for easy dinners, simple salads and plenty of fresh, seasonal ingredients that reflect the sunshine. When the last thing you want to do is slave over a hot stove, try one of our favourite summer dinner recipe ideas.
Our easy recipes include plenty of quick weeknight options. Rustle up a big bowl of summer pasta, like caramelised fennel gnocchi or comforting norma al forno (aubergine pasta bake).
Get the barbecue out – it’s time for dinner on a stick! Our delicious skewer recipes include halloumi and apricot, tamarind chicken or filling prawn and new potato skewers with fiery red-pepper dip.
Try filling salads, summery stews and low-fuss chicken dishes. Plus plenty of veg-packed and vegan dishes that make the most of aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes and more seasonal goodies.
Not to mention desserts and drinks – enjoy an almond granita, gorgeous seasonal strawberry trifle or sip on a classic daiquiri.
Whatever the weather, whatever you’re in the mood for… you’ll find the summer dinner recipes to suit.
Showing 1-16 of 159 recipes
Nduja
Ziti spezzati nduja e ricotta (ziti with ’nduja and salted ricotta)
Spicy, slightly sweet sausage 'nduja needs nothing more than a simple tomato sauce and sprinkling of cheese to shine in this ziti pasta dish.
Summer pastas
Mussel and sea lettuce linguine
Strands of sea lettuce twirled through linguine bring a mineral contrast to sweet mussels and tomatoes in this summer pasta dish.
Healthy fish
Vietnamese rice paper pizzas with eggs, spinach and sardines
Rice paper pizzas are a popular street food in Vietnam. Uyen Luu loads them with eggs, sardines and spinach and drizzles with garlic butter.
Ricotta cheese
Baked ricotta with cherry tomatoes, chilli and sesame
Looking for an effortless summer supper recipe? Try this golden cloud of baked ricotta topped with a sweet-sharp chilli tomato dressing.
Filling salads
Green beans, bulgur, feta and pomegranate with sunflower seed dressing
Tender green beans, filling bulgur wheat, pomegranate and feta join forces in this filling summer salad from food writer Claire Thomson.
Celeriac
Celeriac schnitzels with brown butter, tomato and caper sauce
Classic schnitzel gets a vegetarian makeover. Roasted celeriac slices are drenched in seasoned buttermilk, breaded and fried until golden.
Best of the best
Best-of-the-best ratatouille
Want to make perfect ratatouille? Follow our recipe for the ultimate French summer stew, packed with aubergine, tomato and courgettes.
Courgettes
Tamarind chickpea stuffed courgettes
Roasting these stuffed courgettes enhances their sweetness. Tamarind and lime add brightness to the creamy chickpeas in this easy dish.
Courgettes
Smoky courgette and ricotta pasta
This smoky, creamy and lemony courgette sauce is incredibly versatile. Perfect folded through pasta, but it also works as a dip or spread.
Quick and easy lamb
Lamb, aubergine and olive stew with couscous
Gently spiced with cumin and coriander, this lamb and aubergine stew is rich and comforting, but still light enough for a summer supper.
Weekly pastas
Norma al forno
Served warm, adorned with a crispy cheese crown, this aubergine pasta bake proves that even in hot weather, comfort food still rules supreme.
Gnocchi
Caramelised fennel gnocchi
Slowly caramelising fennel in the same way you would onions renders it sweet and tender – an easy yet tasty topping for shop-bought gnocchi.
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