Our greatest Memorial Day recipes! We have rounded up summer season salads, sides, dips, desserts, and extra—every thing you want for a scrumptious cookout.
The unofficial begin of summer season is just some 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 season lengthy. I do know I’ll have many of those recipes on repeat this summer season. I hope you additionally discover some you like!
Memorial Day Appetizer Recipes
Antipasto Platter
Convey 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 whilst you snack.
Caprese Skewers
The basic 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 best Memorial Day appetizer ever. And it’s scrumptious! Set it out on a cute platter with nuts, olives, and crackers, and company will find it irresistible.
Mango Salsa
This contemporary, fruity tackle pico de gallo is ideal for early summer season. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping!
Guacamole
A crowd pleaser at any event, Memorial Day picnics included!
Simple Bruschetta
It’s summer season—deliver on the tomatoes and basil! This basic Italian appetizer is one in all my favourite methods to get pleasure from them. As a result of it’s so easy, it lets their contemporary flavors shine.
Summer season Pasta Salads
Simple Pasta Salad
What’s a summer season bbq with no pasta salad? This recipe is a reader favourite—it has over 500 5-star evaluations!
Pesto Pasta Salad
In case you (like me) can’t get sufficient basil pesto within the summertime, this recipe is for you! It’s pesto pasta in picnic type—vibrant inexperienced, herbaceous, and tremendous contemporary.
Italian Pasta Salad
My selfmade Italian dressing, olives, and pepperoncini pack this pasta salad with tangy, zesty taste.
Macaroni Salad
My twist on this nostalgic picnic dish is stuffed with crunchy veggies and tangy dill pickles and tossed in a creamy dressing. Positively make it forward—the flavors get higher the longer it sits within the fridge!
Extra Memorial Day Aspect Dish Recipes
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Serve it slathered with butter or gown it up with elote fixings. No house 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 basic salad tastes like summer season. You possibly can assemble it forward, however maintain the mint leaves till simply earlier than serving in order that they don’t wilt within the dressing.
Finest Potato Salad
This basic 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 onerous boiled eggs into the salad to make it extra-creamy.
Finest Broccoli Salad
A brisker twist on the Midwest basic! As a substitute 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 season 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 Avenue Corn Salad
This elote-inspired salad will get RAVES at any time when I deliver it to a summer season 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? A fantastic selfmade coleslaw dressing! Mine is creamy, candy, and tangy, made with mayo, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and a bit of celery seed for savory depth of taste.
Crimson Potato Salad
If creamy potato salad isn’t your factor, do that ultra-herby one as a substitute. L&L reader Tracy commented, “Husband shouldn’t be a potato salad fan. Made this and he LOVED it and I feel 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 season day! The mix 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 must! These colourful veggie skewers are a flavorful and festive addition to any summer season cookout. I like to serve them with a facet of tzatziki sauce.
Memorial Day Most important Dishes
Finest Veggie Burger
Severely, one of the 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!
Simple 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 canine or burgers? Make these mushroom tacos to your Memorial Day cookout! They’re tremendous easy, stuffed with meaty, savory grilled mushrooms, avocado salsa, and pickled onions.
Summer season Drinks
Home made Lemonade
Made with contemporary lemon juice and easy syrup, this selfmade lemonade is sooo significantly better than store-bought.
Crimson Sangria
The right cocktail for a crowd! Chill it in a single day for one of the best fruity taste.
Margarita
Margaritas at a summer season gathering are by no means a foul name. Preserve it basic 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 known as it the “finest cocktail for a scorching summer season day!”
Memorial Day Desserts
Strawberry Shortcake
You possibly can’t make a roundup of Memorial Day recipes and never embrace strawberry shortcake! Different contemporary fruits could be great right here too—strive including blueberries, blackberries, and even contemporary peaches.
Finest Home made Brownies
Nobody will complain about brownies at a cookout. 🙂 These ones are chewy, fudgy, and full of wealthy chocolate taste.
Lemon Bars
Lemon desserts = one of the best summer season desserts! With a buttery shortbread crust and pucker-y lemon curd filling, these lemon bars are one of the best of one of the best.
Rhubarb Crisp
Memorial Day falls within the coronary heart of rhubarb season. Make this simple crisp to point out it off at its finest! Tip: Don’t overlook the vanilla ice cream for serving. Its sweetness actually makes the tart rhubarb pop.
Home made Vanilla Ice Cream
Do you’ve got a summer season bucket listing? I hope making selfmade ice cream is on it. It’s simple to make with 5 fundamental elements, and it’s simply too good to overlook out on. I’m making some over Memorial Day weekend…you must too!

Finest Memorial Day Recipes: Italian Pasta Salad
Serves 8 to 12
This Italian pasta salad is one in all our favourite Memorial Day recipes!
Stop your display from going darkish
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Convey a big pot of salted water to a boil. Put together the pasta in response to 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 a number of 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.