Midsummer Dreams
14 Summer Solstice Recipes To Help You Celebrate The Longest Day Of The Year
Think sun, fresh flavors, and a lot of bright, happy dishes.
There is something magical about June 21 — the summer solstice. Celebrating the summer solstice with your family and friends can look a lot like crafts outside, renewal traditions like bonfires and intentions, and a whole lot of summer solstice recipes.
Oh sure, you can just go for some tried and true summer meals like hot dogs and fruit bowls, but there is some significance in choosing recipes and dishes that work for the summer solstice. Midsommar, the Swedish celebration of the summer solstice, goes for a lot of summer crops and aquavit, while other traditional summer solstice recipes are themed around round foods and lots of bright red, yellow, and orange ingredients as an ode to the sun itself.
Luckily, all of these summer solstice recipes use fresh summer ingredients and can be enjoyed by everyone, even the pickiest of kids. They’re all pretty easy to whip together, and having a celestial tie means that you can really feel connected to the summer solstice and the longest day of the year. Stay up late, run through the grass, and eat one of these perfect summer solstice recipes outside in the sun.
1A Peachy Appetizer
It doesn’t get much more summery than a peach, and this delicious grilled peach bruschetta featured on Yummly is such a fun appetizer to help celebrate the summer solstice. You can whip these up in advance and they can make for a nice snacky dinner or a good app before a bigger summer solstice dinner.
2The Best Caprese Salad
Fresh tomatoes, fresh basil, and fresh mozzarella? Talk about the perfect summer meal. This easy-peasy caprese salad featured on Yummly is so easy to put together and looks beautiful, too. Lots of round shapes to honor the sun and a nice big dollop of red with the tomatoes make this caprese salad a great summer solstice recipe.
3Something Perfectly Round & Yellow
OK, this baked parmesan yellow squash basically looks exactly like a sun. So delicious and can be eaten on their own as a nice, filling veggie dish or they can pair beautifully with some of the other summer solstice recipes on this list.
4A Lemony Chicken Dish
If you want a summer solstice main course, try this lemon honey dijon grilled chicken recipe featured on Yummly. Grilled meats are obviously a great summer tradition, and the bright, zippy flavors of lemon (hello, yellow and round), honey, and dijon make this an especially great summer solstice recipe.
5The Best Honey Cake
Honey cake is a summer solstice tradition and represents renewal and sweet hope. This honey cake recipe featured on Yummly turns out beautifully, and makes for a great snacking cake to munch on outside as the fireflies come out to play.
6The Perfect Yellow Grilled Corn
I’m obsessed with grilled corn in the summer, and this Damn Delicious recipe of grilled corn with cilantro lime butter is so lovely to celebrate summer solstice. Yellow, round kernels, lots of tangy summer flavors — just so good.
7A Fresh Strawberry Dessert
Strawberries are a must for some summer recipes, and this strawberry icebox cake featured on Yummly takes them up a delicious notch. This is a breeze to pull together, and is also a really fun summer solstice recipe for your kids to help make.
8An Easy Summer Salad
If you’re inspired by the summer solstice with yellow corn and bright red tomatoes, you’ll love this heirloom tomato and summer corn salad. It couldn’t be easier to throw together, and the colors and flavors are perfect for celebrating the longest day of the year.
9A Classic Beet Soup
OK, hear me out. Beets feel very wintery, but this midsummer borscht beet soup has some traditional elements that make it a fun one to try for the summer solstice. You can eat it warm or cool, and it definitely packs in a lot of flavors (that maybe your kids won’t love, but hey, more for you).
10A Sweet Lemon Treat
Another lemon summer solstice recipe, these lemon thumbprint cookies from Gimme Some Oven are made with lemon curd, are perfectly round like tiny little suns, and are so, so good.
11An Easy Summer Side Dish
Zucchini and tomatoes are great summer ingredients, so sauté them up together in this summer solstice recipe for sautéed zucchini and cherry tomatoes. Red onion, garlic, and fresh basil help finish off the flavors of the dish, and it’s a great side for literally any summer menu.
12A Bright, Zippy Pesto
Give me all the dill during the summer. This dill pesto recipe featured on Yummly is such a fun one to try for summer solstice and the flavors are unreal. Use it to top grilled sausage, grilled chicken, or use it to dip a bunch of delicious veggies.
13The Perfect Midsummer Cocktail
And, of course, you need a summer solstice cocktail. Since aquavit is a traditional summer solstice liquor, try this midsummer cocktail recipe to celebrate the longest day of the year. With just four ingredients, it’s not a complicated drink, and is the perfect sip to say hello to summer.
14A Summer-Inspired Drink
If you love a vodka collins, try this summer version with a Summer Solstice Collins. Inspired by all those bright flavors of summer, this drink is light and refreshing with lemon, thyme, and blood orange liqueur for the ultimate celebration.
These summer solstice recipes are perfect for celebrating the longest day of the year and have tons of fresh summer flavors the whole family will love.
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