Key ingredients for simple summer dishes

Essential summer foods

What ingredients do you really need to quickly whip up a simple summer dinner? Here's our tried-and-true list—it includes easy-to-turn-into-a-meal vegetables, seasonings that add summer flavor, and starchy ingredients to complement your existing ingredients (preferably without the need to heat up the house while cooking).

Corn

The sweetness and crunchy texture make the perfect addition to any dish.

Corn salsa

Grill corn, boil it, or cut the kernels off the cob (raw or cooked) to add to salsa or salad.

Recipe: Corn salsa

Pizza dough

Keep the dough in the freezer for quick and easy grilled or oven-baked tortillas.

Grilled pizza

Add your favorite combination of sauces and cheese, or top with cooked vegetables.

Zucchini

What would summer be without a bountiful harvest of squash and zucchini?

Pasta with zucchini

Chop zucchini into noodles and add to pasta, grate for quick baking, slice thinly, and serve as a light appetizer with dressing or on flatbread. Or layer in a pan with tomato slices and bake for a gratin.

Ingredients for baking

Baking? In the summer?

Zucchini Bread

Unleavened breads, cobblers, and crumbles are some of the best (and tastiest) ways to use up the abundance of summer produce.

Recipe: Zucchini Bread

Chili powder

Choose your favorite chili or the best blend you can find.

Recipe: Chili powder

Grilled Corn with Chili Powder

Stir it into mayonnaise for a quick dip, add it to dry marinades, or sprinkle it on grilled corn—we think it's a summertime essential.

Arugula and salad greens

In just a few minutes, you can prepare a lunch with delicious leafy greens from the refrigerator.

The best chicken dinner

Grill something hearty to add to the dish, top it with your favorite dressing, and you're good to go.

Short pasta

Orzo, fusilli, or horni pasta—short, fork-tip pasta—is a quick and easy way to transform a few disparate ingredients into a complete meal.

Pasta salad

Dress the pasta while it's still warm, then refrigerate. The salad will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and is the perfect base for vegetables and cold meats.

Recipe: 20 Summer Pasta Salad Recipes

Citrus fruits

There's nothing better than lemons and limes in hot summer.

Margarita

They play a key role in many classic summer recipes, from marinades to cocktails. If needed, lemon can be substituted for lime in almost any recipe.

Recipe: Margarita




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