Seasonal Meal Planning: Summer 2021

Summer is here! Lazy afternoons with cocktails in hand, firing up the grill, and soaking up the sunshine are high on the to-do list. I like to make a seasonal meal plan for summer that is looser, with more components than fully-planned meals and room for impromtu backyard get-togethers and farmer's market finds. We have a terrific local farmer's market and I like to stroll through every Saturday morning and see what's new for adding to the next week's dinners.

Below you'll find several catergories that I use to organize my meal planning for the week. I tend to plan one fewer meal each week during the summer months, so usually five planned meals will do. After selecting the week's vegetables I pick something from each category and the plan is all set! In the summer, grilled meats plus all of the best summer produce makes an easy meal with almost no planning needed.

I've added loads of links so that you can discover new recipes here at Plan. Eat. Post. Repeat. as well as cook a recipe from another blogger that I've tested and given the family-friendly approval rating.

Skillet and Stovetop Meals

A bowl with beef and green beans in the foreground with bowls of cucumber slices and rice in the background.

I hate to use the stove (and definitely the oven) much during the summer, but if the meal can be thrown together in less than 15 minutes of cooking I'm game.

Smoky Spiced Shrimp Bowls (recipe in progress)
Cheater Paella
Shrimp Rolls
Pad Kaprow
Thai Basil Beef and Green Beans
Baja Shrimp Cocktail
Pasta Pomodoro

Grill Favorites

A white plate with a baked potato, grilled asparagus, and steak with blue cheese and tomato topping.

Take the heat outside and kick up the flavor with these grilled favorites.

Shrimp Boil Packets (recipe in progress)
Five Spice Chicken Banh Mi Sandwiches
Chicken Skewers with Thai Basil Pesto
Grilled Peach and Zucchini Salad with Proscuitto, Pesto, and Mozzarella (recipe in progress)
Burgers or 2-Bean Veggie Burgers
Grilled Zucchini and Burrata Grain Bowls (recipe in progress)
Flank Steak for fajitas, topped with blue cheese and tomatoes, or put in steak sandwiches

No-Cook Meals and Salads

A large bowl with a chopped salad, avocado, and chicken.

If the whole meal can be put together with a little bit of chopping and an artful arrangement of ingredients, it's made for summer eating. Here's where all of the grazing platters, charcuterie and cheese dinners, and big bowl salads are your best friends.

Antipasto Chopped Salad (recipe in progress)
Barbecue Chicken Chopped Salad
Cabbage Salad with Hoisin Vinaigrette (recipe in progress)
Chicken Pecan Salad, Tuna Salad, Buffalo Chicken Salad, or Curried Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Breads and Spreads - Flatbreads, pita, crackers, etc. with Hummus, Muhammara, Pea Pesto, etc.
Crostini or Bruschetta

Summer Sides

A gray platter with a salad of yellow and red tomatoes and burrata cheese on a yellow polka-dotted tablecloth.

If you have a particularly successful trip to the farmer's market in the height of summer you can make an entire meal out of sides. Any of these will pair with a grilled meat or a simple sandwich for a summer meal.

Grilled Vegetables like bell peppers, asparagus, or shishito peppers
Potato Salad
Corn on the Cob (use your pressure cooker!)
Cucumber Salad
Tomato Salads
Grilled Romaine with Lemon-Basil Dressing (recipe in progress)
Baked Beans
Simple Slaw
Fruit
Potato Chips, Tortilla Chips, or Pretzels

Family Favorites

Slices of pizza arranges on a cutting board.

These basics stay in the dinner rotation year-round to avoid mutiny in the ranks.

Pizzas
Pasta con Ceci
Macaroni and Cheese
Tacos

Snacks and Entertaining

A close-up shot of a bowl of queso topped with spiced corn kernels.

Summer is a great opportunity to catch up with friends for some outdoor fun, so this category is for snacking your way through a weekend day with good company.