32 Sizzling and Summery Memorial Day Recipes for the Ultimate Cookout From smoky burgers and grilled kebabs to Frozen Negronis and fruit-filled desserts, these summery treats are ideal fare for a festive long weekend. By Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann is an editor, baker, and confectioner with more than 15 years of experience in content creation, recipe development, and pastry production. She's obsessed with the fine details and ingredients that take dishes from tasty to outright otherworldly. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on May 15, 2026 Add Us On SAVE ALL RECIPES NEW! Save as a collection on MyRecipes Close Credit: Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen While summer technically begins in late June, Memorial Day weekend marks its unofficial start in the United States. It's also the advent of grilling season, so why not throw an epic cookout to celebrate? In this collection of Memorial Day–ready recipes, we've got plenty of mains to throw on the backyard grill, from Hawaiian-style hot dogs and merguez sausage to steak kebabs and pulled pork, plus summer-ready salads and plenty of classic sides. Cool everyone down with a spicy pineapple agua fresca or Frozen Negroni, and round out the day with easy-to-serve handheld desserts that'll disappear fast. Read on to plan your most memorable Memorial Day menu yet. Keep all of your recipes at your fingertips. With the MyRecipes app you can easily save and organize your favorites from anywhere, including Instagram and TikTok, in one convenient place. Get the free app. 01 of 32 Guacamole for a Crowd Food & Wine / Photo by Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Jennifer Wendorf / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle Use 18 avocados plus bright lime juice, spicy jalapeños, fresh tomatoes, and a little hot sauce to make enough guacamole for the whole crew. It's easy to cut the recipe in half if your guest list doesn't warrant such a big batch. Get the Recipe Save 02 of 32 Summer Squash with Pepita-Sesame Salsa Macha Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless Grill the first summer squash of the season; toss with cilantro and sofrito; then top with queso fresco and nutty, spicy salsa macha for this lively appetizer from chef Traci Des Jardins. Get the Recipe Save 03 of 32 Pineapple Jalapeño Agua Fresca Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon Make a refreshing, surprisingly complex drink that's sweet, sour, and just a little spicy in five minutes with only three ingredients (plus water) — you'll need fresh pineapple, jalapeño, and sugar. Get the Recipe Save 04 of 32 Steak Kebabs with Fish Sauce Butter Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Fish sauce–infused compound butter melts over juicy steak for this umami-forward take on the cookout favorite from Cường Phạm, the founder of Red Boat Fish Sauce. Make the butter ahead for easy day-of prep. Get the Recipe Save 05 of 32 Strawberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Juicy fresh fruit and vibrantly colored, ultra-concentrated freeze-dried strawberries bring big berry flavor to these crowd-pleasing cupcakes. Get the Recipe Save 06 of 32 Smoky Bison Burgers Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen These flavor-packed bison burgers are stacked with peppered bacon, crispy onions, and candied jalapeños. A sweet, smoky, and slightly earthy seasoning gives the patties a deliciously charred crust. Get the Recipe Save 07 of 32 Green Goddess Potato Salad Food & Wine / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Prissy Montiel Vibrant, herbaceous, and creamy, this green goddess riff on classic potato salad is ideal for accompanying all kinds of cookout mains. Made especially hearty with a topping of hard-boiled eggs, it can be served cold or at room temperature. Get the Recipe Save 08 of 32 Lemony Grilled Chicken Kebabs Food & Wine / Photo by Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Joseph Wanek Chef and cookbook author Michael Solomonov soaks skinless, boneless chicken thighs in a no-fuss lemon marinade before threading them onto skewers and grilling them until lightly charred. Serve the chicken with tahini for dipping. Get the Recipe Save 09 of 32 Peanut and Watermelon Chaat Cedric Angeles For this colorful, fun-to-eat seasonal chaat, chef Vishwesh Bhatt pays homage to his Mississippi home with the classic Southern combination of watermelon and salt, adding chiles, crunchy peanuts, bright herbs, and a sprinkle of the tangy spice blend chaat masala. Get the Recipe Save 10 of 32 Hawaiian-Style Hot Dog Food & Wine / Photo by Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Chelesa Zimmer / Prop Styling by Phoebe Hauser This spicy-sweet hot dog comes from Henry Adaniya, chef-owner of Hank's Haute Dogs in Honolulu. Adaniya tucks grilled linguiça sausage into a bun before topping with tangy pineapple relish and mango mustard. Get the Recipe Save 11 of 32 Succotash Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne For this simple succotash salad, Top Chef alum Carla Hall quickly cooks fresh corn kernels, lima beans, and sweet onions, then marinates everything with tomatoes in a tart vinaigrette. Add grilled chicken, shrimp, steak, or pork on top to make it a main dish. Get the Recipe Save 12 of 32 Grilled Vegetable Flatbread with Smoked Almond Muhammara Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen This showstopping vegetarian main combines grilled zucchini, peppers, and squash on sangak, a gigantic Persian flatbread. The vegetables are marinated after grilling, which gives you time to whip up the smoky, tangy muhammara and grill the sangak until golden. Get the Recipe Save 13 of 32 Grilled Merguez with Mint Sauce Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Served on charred flatbreads, these harissa-spiced lamb and beef patties are the perfect match for a zesty mint sauce that comes together almost instantly in the blender. Get the Recipe Save 14 of 32 Salsa de Piña Tatemada (Grilled Pineapple Salsa) Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva This salsa from restaurateur and author Bricia Lopez gets its sweet, hot, smoky complexity from onion, garlic, chiles, and pineapple slices grilled before being mixed with habanero paste and fresh lime juice. Get the Recipe Save 15 of 32 Jerk-Spiced Ribs Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless Trinidadian food writer Brigid Ransome Washington replicates the sweetly spiced aroma of traditional pimento wood by grilling these jerk-rubbed spare ribs in a foil packet atop aromatics like cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, and ginger root. Get the Recipe Save 16 of 32 Sour Cream Cucumber Salad Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen A tangy, dill-forward dressing is the star of this excellent summer side from F&W's Paige Grandjean — no peeling or cooking necessary. Get the Recipe Save 17 of 32 Connecticut-Style Lobster Rolls Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen These simple lobster rolls from food writer Kelly Vaughan are Connecticut-style all the way: drenched in warm butter to showcase the sweet lobster meat. Get the Recipe Save 18 of 32 Brown Butter Peanut Butter Cookies Food & Wine / Photo by Brie Goldman / Food Styling by Annie Probst / Prop Styling by Breanna Ghazali Easy to share at your cookout, these soft, chewy peanut butter cookies are grounded by the deep, toasted flavor of brown butter. They pack a double punch of nutty goodness thanks to both creamy peanut butter and peanut butter chips. Get the Recipe Save 19 of 32 Charred Chile–Marinated Grilled Chicken Tacos Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva For these flavorful tacos, 2021 F&W Best New Chef Fermín Núñez makes a marinade of toasted, charred guajillo chiles, cinnamon, allspice, and onions, which imparts smoky flavor to the tender chicken thighs even before they hit the grill. Serve with fresh tortillas and tomatillo salsa. Get the Recipe Save 20 of 32 Smoked Brisket with Coffee Beer Mop Sauce and Zinfandel Barbecue Sauce Food & Wine / Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell The Barbecue Bible author Steven Raichlen slow-cooks this brisket on the grill to develop a rich, smoky flavor. This allows plenty of time to make the accompanying Zinfandel Barbecue Sauce. Get the Recipe Save 21 of 32 Frozen Negroni Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Cool off with a blended version of the classic cocktail of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth from F&W's Lucy Simon. Orange juice adds a little brightness and volume. Get the Recipe Save 22 of 32 Grilled Halloumi and Zucchini Pasta Salad Food & Wine / Photo by Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Props Styling by Prissy Montiel This modern pasta salad features a vibrant, thoughtful mix of flavors and textures. Planks of salty charred Halloumi are balanced by tender squash; tangy, crisp pickled shallots peek out through herb-laden pasta; and a topping of lemon-tinged panko provides a bright crunch. Get the Recipe Save 23 of 32 Grilled Shrimp Cocktail with Fresh Tomato Cocktail Sauce Fred Hardy II / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman Give shrimp cocktail a summer glow-up with a lemony marinade and a trip to the grill for a lovely char. Use some of your early-season tomatoes to make a fresh twist on cocktail sauce, and be sure to serve lots of grilled bread alongside. Get the Recipe Save 24 of 32 Gooey Malted Cookie Dough Chocolate Chunk Bars Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott (Reproduced by permission of William Morrow Cookbooks, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.) After testing dozens of chocolate chip cookie recipes for her debut cookbook, Obsessed With the Best, Ella Quittner developed these bars as a shortcut to achieving complex flavor thanks to the addition of malted milk powder. Gooey but still sliceable, their texture is akin to the inside of a slightly underbaked cookie. Get the Recipe Save 25 of 32 Charred Cabbage Salad with Pecan Dukkah and Chile-Lime Butter Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen This cabbage dish just might steal the show at your cookout. Chef Nick Cobarruvias seasons grilled cabbage with mildly spicy chile-lime butter, then tops it with earthy, nutty pecan dukkah for a bit of crunch. Get the Recipe Save 26 of 32 Carolina Pulled Pork with Eastern Carolina Barbecue Sauce Food & Wine / Photo by Sara Haas Go all out this Memorial Day with chef Sean Brock's pulled pork, which is first slow-roasted overnight in the oven, then smoked on a grill. Roast drippings form the backbone of the tangy sauce, which includes a touch of smoked paprika to echo the smoky meat. Get the Recipe Save 27 of 32 Quick Dill Pickles Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen If you're serving burgers or hot dogs this Memorial Day, why not accompany them with homemade pickles? Infused with dill and garlic, these bright and vinegar-forward quick pickles are ready in just a couple of hours. Get the Recipe Save 28 of 32 Gina Mae's Baked Beans Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell For this summer-perfect side, scholar Regina Bradley dresses up store-bought barbecue sauce and canned baked beans with extra brown sugar while cutting through the smoky sweetness with apple cider vinegar. Get the Recipe Save 29 of 32 Pineapple Coleslaw Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Barbecue expert and 2019 F&W Best New Chef Bryan Furman distributes bite-size pieces of canned pineapple throughout his coleslaw, using the reserved pineapple syrup in the mayonnaise–apple cider vinegar dressing. Get the Recipe Save 30 of 32 Blackened Fish Sandwiches with Horseradish Tartar Sauce Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Coat fresh haddock fillets with spices and herbs, then grill them to develop a delicious crust and sandwich them between toasted brioche buns. The tangy tartar sauce gets a strong flavor boost from refreshingly piquant horseradish. Get the Recipe Save 31 of 32 Yuzu Amaro Spritz Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Lucy Simon We can't get enough of this herbaceous, citrus-forward drink from New York bartender Alan Wither. Floral yuzu, lime soda, fragrant rosemary, and a splash of bittersweet digestivo make a refreshing and summer-appropriate amaro spritz that's easy to scale up. Get the Recipe Save 32 of 32 Banana Pudding Paletas Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Christine Keely For this dreamy treat, 2021 F&W Best New Chef Paola Velez takes all the components you love about classic banana pudding — complete with vanilla wafers — and turns them into creamy, brown butter–infused paletas. The white chocolate shell gives a pleasing crunch to every bite. Get the Recipe Save Explore more: Food Holidays & Occasions Memorial Day Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit