4 Delicious Quick and Easy Summer Dinner Recipes for the Whole Family

Quick & Easy Summer Dinner Recipes for the Family

Now that it’s finally summer, you can say goodbye to the hot soups and stews you ate during the cold winter nights, and say hello to colourful dishes, featuring many different and nutritious vegetables, meats, and spices & herbs. As you would prefer to spend as little time as possible in a balmy kitchen, the following easy summer dinner recipes mostly include cooking with one pan or pot. Plus, they are budget-friendly and require little preparation time. Here they are!

Kid-friendly Lemon-Broccoli Pasta with Parmesan

Try this kid-friendly summer dinner recipe for a flavourful & healthy pasta broccoli dish!

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces/100 gr whole-wheat rotini/farfalle pasta
• 1 package frozen broccoli florets, thawed and coarsely chopped
• 1 ½ cups/350 ml low-sodium vegetable broth
• ⅓ cup/ 30 gr grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 ¾ cups/410 ml water
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest
• 4 tsp. lemon juice, or more to taste
• ½ tsp. ground pepper
• ½ tsp. salt

How to make it? 

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the minced shallot and cook while stirring until it softens. It should take about 2 min. Then add the minced garlic to the saucepan and cook again for 30 sec while stirring until fragrant. Now add the pasta to the mix, along with the vegetable broth, water, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Cover the saucepan and bring to boil. After, uncover it, reduce heat to medium and cook, while again stirring, for about 10 min. Now add the broccoli to cook and stir until they are heated for about 2-3 min. Remove the meal from the heat, stir in the grated Parmesan and lemon juice. Voilà!

Quick & Lazy Summer Dinner Recipes: Succotash Dish

Want to cook a delicious and lazy meal for your family? This succotash recipe takes about 30 min!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups/ 250 gr fresh or frozen baby lima beans
• 4 center-cut bacon slices
• 1 cup/ 50 gr cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 cup/ 50 gr chopped sweet onion
• 3 cups/490 gr fresh corn kernels
• 1 cup/100 gr fresh okra, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ¼ cup/ 0.5 gr thinly sliced fresh basil
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 1 ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• ¼ tsp. black pepper

How to make it? 

First start the summer dinner recipe by cooking the lima beans. Simmer them until they are just tender, then drain. While the beans simmer, fry the bacon, and cook it until it is crisp-tender. Transfer after to paper towels. Don’t rinse out the frying-pan, as you will need the bacon drippings for the next step. Now it’s time to sauté the vegetables. To the frying-pan, add the onion, okra, and garlic. Cook until tender. Proceed to add the cooked lima beans, corn, salt and pepper. Cook until the corn is of a bright yellow colour. Now stir in the butter and remove the pan from heat. Finally, add the cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. Top the dish with the crispy bacon slices. Serve while the meal is still hot.

Easy Summer Dinner Recipes for Family: Coconut Chicken Noodles

Let’s make the best summer family dinner with these spicy Asian chicken breast noodles! You with me?

Ingredients:

• 6 cups/450g fresh hokkien noodles
• 4 x 150g chicken breast fillets
• 1/2 x 270g jar Yeo’s Satay Sauce
• 3/4 cup/165 ml coconut milk
• 1 Lebanese or regular cucumber, peeled into ribbons
• 1 lemongrass stalk (white part only), finely chopped
• 2 eschalots, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 long red chilli, seeded, finely chopped
• 2 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tbsp. peanut oil
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 2 tbsp. chopped unsalted peanuts, to serve
• Fresh coriander sprigs, to serve

How to make it? 

Cook the noodles by following their packet directions. Then drain them. While you prepare the noodles, in a glass or ceramic bowl combine the lemongrass, ginger and 2 tsp. of peanut oil. Put the chicken breasts and rub them in the mixture to coat. Now heat a large frying-pan over medium heat, and cook the chicken for 3-4 min on each side. Transfer them to a plate and cover it to keep warm. Over medium-high heat, in a pan, heat the remaining peanut oil. Then add to it the eschalot, garlic and chilli. Cook for 4 min, or until the onion has softened. Now add the coconut milk and satay sauce. Bring the mixture to boil. Heat should be reduced to low. Simmer for 5 min. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the sesame oil. Go to slice the chicken and divide the noodle and cucumber among 4 bowls. Top the meal with the chicken. Pour over satay sauce. Sprinkle with coriander, extra chilli and peanuts. Serve.

Summer Dinner Recipe for Easy Creamy Spinach Pasta

More delicious recipes with pasta? You bet! Let’s cook this easy creamy spinach pasta summer meal.

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups/350 gr uncooked tube-shaped chickpea pasta
• 3 1/4 ounces/100 gr mascarpone cheese
• 4 ounces/ 0,15 gr fresh baby spinach
• 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp. thinly sliced shallots
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 pinch Crushed red pepper

How to make it? 

Start by cooking the pasta per the package instructions, without salting it. Then drain, keeping 1 cup of the cooking water. Transfer the cooked pasta to a large bowl. Add the mascarpone cheese, spinach, garlic, shallot, salt, pepper and half of the reserved cooking water. Stir the meal until the mascarpone has melted, and the mixture is well combined. Add more of the cooking water if needed to loosen the sauce. Divide the pasta among 4 bowls. Sprinkle the summer meal with the lemon zest and crushed red pepper. Serve right away.