84 Easy Summer Weeknight Dinner Recipes & Ideas | Recipes, Dinners and Easy Meal Ideas

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Caprese Chicken Breasts Pan-Fried from Frozen

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Garlic Butter Shrimp and Corn Sheet Pan Dinner

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Grilled Halibut with Charred Tomato Vinaigrette

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Steak and Potato Kebabs

Aida Mollenkamp’s fish tacos are authentically deep fried, flaked and served with avocado, salsa and sour cream.

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Fish Tacos

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Grilled Shrimp with Walnut Pesto

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Spicy Cocoa Steak Rub

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Penne with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

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Tofu Lettuce Wraps

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Gina’s Shrimp Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta

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Sheet Pan Baked Feta with Summer Vegetables

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Barbecue Chicken Pan Pizza

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Roasted Veggie Grain Bowl

Add some spice to weeknight meals with a Cajun-style one-pot wonder.

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Cajun Shrimp and Rice

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Chicken-Watermelon Tacos

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Penne with Shrimp and Herbed Cream Sauce

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Grilled Shrimp-Pineapple Fajitas

Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a comforting bowl of chili. Incorporate summer veggies like corn to keep it seasonal.

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Summer Vegetable Chili

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Healthy One-Skillet Shrimp and Quinoa

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Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken Kebabs

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Chilled Zucchini Soup with Chicken

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Instant Pot Greek Chicken Bowls

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Rigatoni with Summer Bolognese

Satisfying, fast-cooking shrimp are the ultimate weeknight salad topper. 

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Shrimp and Avocado Salad

Try using panko instead of classic breadcrumbs to coat your chicken for this 30-minute dinner.

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Crispy Chicken Strips With Salad

Chipotle chili powder is the key to great Mexican-inspired flavor in these tacos that are ready in just 30 minutes.

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Chipotle Beef Tostadas

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Thin-Crust Caprese Pizza

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Curried Scallop Kebabs with Squash

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Steak, Corn and Potatoes with Garlic Butter

In lieu of ketchup and mustard, whip up an easy yogurt sauce for a new take on the turkey burger. 

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Mediterranean Turkey Burgers

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Capellini with Tomatoes and Basil

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Fish Tacos

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Skillet Rice and Black-Eyed Peas with Okra

Simply grill store-bought lavash and top it with fresh ingredients like fennel, red onion and blue cheese.

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Arugula-Prosciutto Flatbread Pizzas

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Turkey Sausage and Broccoli Pasta

Instead of ordering in pizza, make these easy calzones using refrigerated pizza dough.

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Salami-Mozzarella Calzone

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Greek Grilled Chicken with Green Beans

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Abruzzo Summer Minestrone

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Orecchiette with Mixed Greens and Goat Cheese

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Greek Pork Chops with Potatoes

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Lemon Chicken and Shishito Pepper Kebabs

For a summertime twist on an Italian standby, fire up the grill to cook the chicken and toast the bread for these open-face chicken Parmesan sandwiches.

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Grilled Chicken Parmesan

Thinly shaved carrots get tossed with ginger-lime vinaigrette for a refreshing accompaniment to curry-roasted chicken.

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Thai Chicken with Carrot-Ginger Salad

An Asian-inspired mixture, with rice vinegar, soy sauce and ginger, does double duty as a marinade and a salad dressing.

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Grilled Chicken and Chopped Veggie Salad with Sesame-Ginger Vinaigrette

Scallops are poached in the simmering tomato sauce that gets tossed with multigrain spaghetti. Dress up this easy pasta dinner with a fragrant drizzle of olive oil and a garnish of fresh basil.

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Spaghetti With Spicy Scallop Marinara Sauce

For a hearty vegetarian dinner, char fresh bell peppers, summer squash and shiitake mushrooms on the grill and serve on a bed of couscous with cool red pepper-yogurt sauce.

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Grilled Vegetables With Couscous and Yogurt Sauce

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Pork Satay

Pasta is a weeknight dinner standby. Try a new one sauced with salty capers and olives, fresh summer tomatoes and mozzarella.

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Bucatini With Olive-Caper Sauce

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Grilled Flatbread with Pork and Pineapple

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Monkfish “Lobster” Rolls

Chicken is marinated in an Asian-inspired mixture of cherry juice, soy sauce and ginger before taking a spin on the grill. Serve it with an array of fresh vegetables for a crisp summer salad.

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Asian-Style Grilled Chicken Salad With Cherry-Peanut Dressing

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Grilled Pork Chops

This well-rounded pasta dish is all about timing. Boil the sugar snap peas in the pasta water while the salmon cooks in a skillet to cut time. 

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Fettuccine with Salmon and Snap Peas

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Grilled Za’atar Chicken with Cucumber-Watermelon Salad

Pounded pork and thin-sliced zucchini, as well as quick-cooking orzo, make it easy to serve a three-part meal in no time.

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Pork and Zucchini with Orzo

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Pulled Chicken Tostadas

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Creamy Orzo with Prosciutto and Peas

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Tomato Soup 2.0

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Steak-and-Potato Salad

Toss canned cannellini beans and albacore tuna together with Kalamata olives, grape tomatoes, celery and other veggies for a quick and easy shortcut dinner.

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Tuscan Beans With Tuna

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Provencal Tuna Sandwiches

Quick on the grill and full of flavor, skirt steak is a weeknight no-brainer. 

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Thai Noodle-Steak Salad

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Mango Summer Rolls with Ginger-Peanut Sauce

In this satisfying 20-minute dinner salad, a zesty herb mayo is used two ways: slathered on a slice of crusty toasted bread served on the side, and mixed with vinegar to create a quick, flavorful dressing.

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Tuna Salad with Herb Toast

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Rose Lemon Caper Salmon

Use a grill pan or head outdoors to make juicy grilled chicken that’s served over a refreshing summer salad of arugula and cherry tomatoes.

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Grilled Chicken Salad With Gazpacho Dressing

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Pork Chops with Charred Corn and Arugula

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California Salad with Hard-Boiled Eggs

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Grilled Shrimp and Escarole

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Falafel

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Grilled Striped Bass with Oranges and Watercress

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Tomato-Cauliflower Curry with Corn

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Pineapple Chicken Tacos

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Rigatoni with No-Cook Tomato Sauce

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Grilled White Pizza with Fennel Salad

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Grilled Salmon and Polenta

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Garlic & Herb Roasted Shrimp

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Ricotta, Squash and Honey Flatbread

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Chicken and Summer Vegetable Stew with Couscous

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Lemon Fusilli with Arugula

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Grilled Steak with Greek Corn Salad

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Grilled Radicchio and Shrimp Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

This one-dish meal comes together in a flash. Juicy chicken and grilled red onion complete this simple and satisfying weeknight dinner salad.

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Warm Chicken and Butter Bean Salad

It doesn’t get much easier than this pasta salad, which is full of shredded rotisserie chicken, fresh chives and dill.

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Creamy Chicken and Pasta Salad