The allure of a summer party is undeniably compelling. Sun, lovely weather, and great summer party food – we dare you to mention a better combination! The only thing that can make this trio better is sharing the experience with loved ones. So why not seize the delightful opportunity the warm season offers and host a vibrant summer party? Invite friends and family over for an outside gathering to enjoy each other's company and feast on delicious classic summer party food!
No matter the time of year, there is nothing quite like eating great food, the one thing that is guaranteed to bring people together. Shared meals create a space for engaging in conversations, building deeper connections, and fostering relationships. In the summertime, we can enjoy meals outside rather than indoors, opening a world of possibilities. Think of sun-kissed, cosy picnics, potlucks, garden party dinners, barbecues, and campfire nights under the open sky.
As you prepare for the role of the gracious host for such a gathering, we have everything you need. We have recipes for delicious types of summer party food from snacks and side dishes to main dishes and desserts, as well as tips and advice on how you can take full advantage of all that the season has to offer and how to prepare for a large yet cosy, worry-free summer party.
Gather around some classic summer foods
While sharing meals with friends and family is always special, summer party food makes the experience that much better. Summer foods are often brightly coloured from the many seasonal fruits and vegetables available to use in them. This makes every dish incredibly appealing and enticing to behold.
Summer party food is, of course, just as delicious to sink your teeth into as it is to look at. Below, we have described all the delicious types of summer party food in our vast universe to inspire your cooking.
Summer pasta
Easy pasta dishes full of flavour are perfect any time of year, but quick and simple dishes are especially nice in the summertime when you want to spend your time in the garden or simply out under the open sky rather than in the kitchen. With our best summer pasta recipes, you can quickly make flavourful dishes with tender pasta and lovely seasonal ingredients.
As they are usually easy to make for a large group of people, pasta dishes such as these make for an excellent type of summer party food for you to enjoy with friends and family. Summer pasta can be paired with delicious bread, refreshing salads, side dishes, and other main course-type summer party food. They are versatile and easy to customise so you can enjoy them in the way you love best.
Summer salads
When temperatures are high, you will want to go for light and refreshing dishes like salads. So, we think choosing some tasty salads as part of your summer party food for garden parties, potlucks, and the like is simply perfect.
Our summertime salads are vibrant and showcase some of the season’s best ingredients. They are brimming with invigorating, crisp vegetables, sweet fruits, and berries to provide pops of colour and brightness. And, as done best during summer, sometimes even with grilled fruit or vegetables. Many of the best summer salad recipes also feature crunchy nuts, tasty cheese, luxurious dressings, and other delightful twists for you to experience.
Refreshing summer soups
Soups are also delicious in warm weather, though with a lighter and maybe even colder touch. Though you might associate soups with seasons like autumn and winter, we have a lot of great summer soups to choose from that will give you everything you need at your summer party. Hot and cold soups alike can be quite refreshing and hydrating in the warm weather.
In our selection of summer soup recipes (URL waiting) you can get inspired by, in our opinion, some of the best soups to use as a summer party appetizer or main course. All are made with fresh, vibrant ingredients to ensure great, refreshing flavours. This means that there are delicious soups with great summertime produce like herbs and vegetables to choose from, giving you the perfect addition to your summer party menu.
Easy, delicious summer desserts
It is impossible to say summer party food without bringing up dessert. There is nothing quite like a sweet dessert to tie a menu together and end a savoury meal in a good way. The best summer dessert recipes are refreshing, filled with fruit or berries, tangy or sweet flavours, and everything else light and refreshing, though deliciously sweet, to leave you satisfied even after a cornucopia of summer party food.
Such refreshing desserts often make for colourful additions to your table filled with delicious summer party food as they are made with sun-ripened, sweet fruits and berries like strawberries, bananas, and cherries. Tangier and tarter ones like lemons and rhubarbs are also used in fresh and fruity desserts that are tasty and light. Have a look at our many easy summer recipes for desserts.
Picnic foods and snacks: finger foods and foods perfect for serving cold
Easy summer party food also involves picnic snacks, finger foods, and other kinds of food that are easy to enjoy outdoors – and often served cold. These types of food are easy to pack and transport, meaning you can pop them in a wicker basket or cooler and bring them to the park or beach for a wonderful day in nature.
Since the best picnic foods are often easy to make for large groups of people, they can be used as summer party food for a picnic-style celebration of summer at your favourite outdoor spot. Bring them to the park, the beach or maybe just outside in the garden on a chequered picnic blanket. Find more inspiration and great summer food ideas in our tips for picnic snacks and finger foods.
Grilled meat, fish, and more: the perfect summer main dish
Finding the perfect main course, or courses, to go with the rest of your summer party food can be challenging – mostly because there are so many tasty options to choose from!
Do you, for instance, prefer rich meats like pork, red meats, or gamier ones like lamb? There is nothing like putting a good piece of meat simmering on the BBQ, maybe slathered in a smoky, savoury marinade. Or perhaps you enjoy the lighter option of fish or grilled vegetables in the summertime when temperatures are high. Choosing the main act for your summer party food line-up can be tricky, but we have got you covered. Check out our summer dinner recipes, and you are sure to find something that sparks excitement for your next summer party.
BBQ sauces: dips, marinades, and dressings
BBQ sauces are the secret weapon in creating flavour-packed, harmonious summer party food menus. As they can be hot, sweet, tangy, fresh, herbal, and smoky, BBQ sauces allow for a lot of creativity and experimentation.
They are also quite versatile. You can use some BBQ sauces as marinades for grilled meats and vegetables with well-selected ingredients to tenderise the meat before it is barbecued. Others are delicious as dressing and can help tie a fresh summer salad's different flavours and textures together and create a delicious balance of summery flavours.
Finally, some BBQ sauces make for great dips. These can be used to enrich side dishes and main courses alike, imbuing them with even bolder flavours. Some can even be used for more than just one thing, perfect for a summer party menu with various dishes. Interested in elevating the menu in more than one way? Then read more in the ultimate guide to our favourite BBQ sauces.
BBQ food: fire up the barbecue or light a campfire for barbecuing
It is no secret that the best thing about summer is that you can cook outside – both on the barbecue and over a roaring campfire. This means you can enjoy the lovely weather and fresh air as you cook, getting the most out of every summer day. It also makes it possible to make summer party food with a lovely BBQ flavour. Explore some of our best summer BBQ recipes, including grilled meats, side dishes, and flavourful sauces for marinating, dipping, and dressing salads.
There is so much delicious summer party food to choose from, and if you are planning to host an outdoor party, you might need tips on how best to make a lovely, flavourful, and summery menu. Check out some of our top ideas and inspiration for creating the best BBQ menu from the appetiser to the dessert with everything delicious from our summer recipes. This way, you get a well-balanced menu with savoury and sweet elements, different textures to keep things interesting with every bite, and, of course, a lot of fantastic flavours to invoke the feeling of the season.
If you prefer a crackling fire to a controlled barbecue, you should have a look at our collection of the best foods for a campfire night. It is filled with recipes for summer party food that can be cooked around or over the fire as you enjoy the special atmosphere created by the glowing coals or licking flames.
Use the best summer foods in season
Cooking with seasonal fruits and vegetables makes summer party food extra good. Seasonal produce tends to be fresher and more flavourful because it is harvested at its peak. Using fresh summer fruits and vegetables, as such, makes for tastier meals that are brimming with flavour, which is everything you could wish for in a summer party menu.
Fruits, berries, and vegetables that have been allowed to ripen in the sun are imbued with all the freshness summertime has to offer. For example, asparagus, sweet corn, strawberries, watermelon, rhubarb, small new potatoes, and sweet, bright red tomatoes. So, always try to find the freshest summer foods in season so you can cook with only the finest and most fantastic flavours of summer.
4 essential summer party food tips for large gatherings
Throwing a big summer party is, with a few simple tips, much easier, though it might initially seem like a slightly daunting task. By thinking ahead and being tactical, you can ensure that both you and your guests have a wonderful day or evening outside enjoying delicious summer party food.
1. Cook as much as possible on the BBQ
Cooking summer party food outside makes it much easier to cook and host at the same time. While your guests are enjoying a refreshing welcome drink and perhaps a few snacks or finger foods, you can stand at the barbecue nearby. Cooking outside like this allows you to be part of the party while guests can also take part in the barbecuing process if they are itching to join in on the fun.
In addition, a barbecue usually has room for you to cook a lot of different summer party food at the same time. Something that can be trickier to do in a kitchen where you only have room for so many pots and pans on the stovetop at any given time. So, cooking as much of the food on the barbecue as possible makes it possible to interact more with your guests and enjoy the fresh air rather than a stuffy kitchen, and makes it easy to make a lot of delicious summer party food in one go.
2. Prep salads and sides ahead
When you are hosting a large gathering of people, it makes it a lot easier for you if you prepare as much in advance as possible. This makes it easier to enjoy the company of friends and family, be a present host, and, in general, host a worry-free and fun gathering. Many delicious sides and salads that are served cold can be prepared hours, or even a day, in advance to free up your time.
To ensure fresh and crunchy salads, you can wait to add dressing or vinaigrette until you are ready to serve them. The dressing itself can, of course, be made ahead of time, too. This way, its flavours will have more time to meld together to create a delicious and flavourful result to tie the different tastes and textures of the salad together.
3. Choose desserts you can prepare ahead or quickly make on the BBQ
It is also a good idea to think ahead when it comes to desserts. These sweet treats are an important part of your summer party food selection as they round off the meal in the best and sweetest way possible. But if they are not made ahead of time or can be made on the barbecue while you remain near your guests, you might need to leave the party behind for the confines of the kitchen.
This is why we recommend selecting great make-ahead desserts as well. Something that can be barbecued will also work, depending on whether you want to continue with scrumptious BBQ treats or want to serve a cold and refreshing dessert.
4. Go beyond the menu – set the mood, set the table, and elevate the ambience
Throwing an outstanding party with irresistible summer party food goes beyond just curating a wonderful menu and cooking everything to perfection. It is all about creating an atmosphere that allows you to truly celebrate summer with friends and family. There are many ways to go about doing this and finding out what works best for the gathering you have in mind can be a fun process – one that you can even share with potential co-hosts or younger family members.
Some classic ways to create a great summer ambience include hanging colourful fairy lights to light up the outdoor area when the sun eventually sets. Lit candles on the tables or garden torches can also help set the mood for a cosy night in good company. To invoke the freshness of the season, adorn the tables with beautiful wildflowers for pops of colour. A colourful tablecloth to match the vibrant summer party food that will rest on it can also help make the eating experience extra special.
If you are aiming for a more informal vibe without long tables and decorative tablecloths, you could go down the picnic route. Spread cosy blankets, and perhaps a few pillows, onto your lawn and enjoy the outdoor summer party food while sitting on the ground. Eating this way naturally creates a down-to-earth feeling boasting fun and a casual mood.
Questions about making the perfect summer party
The warm weather makes it perfect to gather more friends and family outside than you would ever be able to fit around your dining room table. To learn more about throwing a wonderful summertime gathering with great summer party food, continue reading below!
How to throw the best summer party?
Throwing a fantastic summer party requires planning. You need to create a delicious and diverse menu with savoury and sweet dishes, consider which refreshing drinks to serve, and create a vibrant atmosphere that embodies the spirit of summer. You must, of course, also remember to get the invitations out on time and make backup plans in case the weather changes. To make things easier on yourself, consider summer party food recipes that allow you to prepare some in advance as well as dishes that you can make simultaneously on the barbecue. Planning this way makes it much easier to throw a great party that you can enjoy too.
What to serve at a summer party?
The perfect food for a summer party must be diverse and offer delicious selections with different flavours, textures, and colours to satisfy the tastebuds as well as the eyes. Consider starting with savoury snacks and finger foods for your guests to nibble on as they enjoy a refreshing drink. You can then move on to starters like refreshing summer soups or jump directly to the main event consisting of crunchy salads, delicious pasta dishes, and grilled main courses straight from the barbecue. Finish your feast with sweet summer desserts to round off the meal in style. Serving your friends and family's favourite summer party food can be a wonderful way to ensure satisfied guests and show that you care about them.
What food is good for a summer party?
What summer party food ideas best suit the gathering you have in mind depends on a few things. If you are cooking for a large group of people, we recommend selecting summer party food that can be made ahead of time or barbecued so you can spend as much time with your guests as possible rather than being stuck in the kitchen. Your choice of summer party food also depends on the atmosphere you want to create. If you want an elegant summer party, select elevated dishes that may be enjoyed at a finely decorated table. On the other hand, if you are hosting a picnic-style party consider serving finger foods that are easy to eat without utensils. This way, eating on a cosy blanket is much more delightful. Regardless of the atmosphere, using fresh produce ensures summer party food brimming with vibrancy and flavour.
How to keep food cold outside in the summer?
In hot weather, keeping your summer party food cold outside is crucial to ensure food safety and great flavour. You can use insulated coolers filled with ice or frozen gel packs to maintain a cold environment for salads, dips, and other cold dishes. Serve the summer party food in smaller portions, keeping the rest chilled until needed. You can also consider using special serving dishes with built-in cooling, for example with compartments for ice underneath. Remember to shade the food area from direct sunlight, too.
How to keep BBQ food warm at a summer party?
You can keep your BBQ summer party food warm in a few different ways. For instance, use a barbecue with a warming rack to keep cooked food hot while continuing to barbecue other dishes. You can also place finished items in a slow cooker on a low setting or use an insulated food carrier. Alternatively, wrap the warm summer party food in aluminium foil and a kitchen towel before placing it in a cooler; the insulation will keep the heat in and the summer party food warm.