61 Low-Maintenance Summer Dinner Party Ideas

Silky, sweet, tart and crunchy in every bite—bring out the muffin tin.

A seven-ingredient entrée that comes together in a single skillet? Be still our heart. This one features strawberries for a pop of seasonal sweetness.

Homemade dressing sounds like a drag, but this entire salad takes just 15 minutes to toss together. Skip the bottled; your guests will thank you.

We’re suckers for grilled fruit, but we’ve never seen it like this. The tahini adds creaminess and a subtle nutty, savory flavor that would pair great with grilled fish.

A little olive oil, salt and heat can do wonders for out-of-season produce, but if you’re making this dish in late summer with ripe tomatoes, it will taste *that* much better.

New party trick: Warm an entire wheel of cheese until it’s gooey, then smother it in spicy honey and set out crackers for dipping. The crowd will go wild.

This refreshing dish looks fancy but is secretly so simple. Scallops are sneaky like that.

This bubbling berry skillet is best served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. (Go ahead, use store-bought biscuit dough if you must.)

The secret ingredient that takes this freeform pie over the top? Balsamic vinegar, which adds a subtle tang and brings out the sweetness of the berries.

Lettuce, pasta, crispy croutons: It turns out your salad can have it all.

Well, isn’t this a delicious (and effortless) excuse to not do dishes. It’s inspired by one of our favorite lazy summer meals, sausage and peppers.

The definition of elegant? Pairing fresh fruit with whipped cream. (Psst: It’s no cook and ready in 15 minutes.)

These beans are served cold instead of hot—refreshing in every sense of the word. Blanching them will ensure the texture and color are just right.

The best way to use up all that fresh seasonal produce is to put it into this creamy, dreamy, secretly vegan risotto.

For the best results, use the freshest heirloom tomatoes you can get your hands on. (But with all that burrata, you can’t really mess it up.)

Wait ’til you try the grilled pineapple salsa and cashew lime crema. You’ll never go back to a store-bought seasoning packet.

It’s spicy, creamy and cheesy—the ultimate party dip. Serve it with celery, carrots, crackers or chips. You can’t go wrong.

This riff on the classic French pairing of radishes and butter takes just 25 minutes and fewer than five ingredients.

If you can make whipped cream, then you can make this dessert, which is just as creamy as buying a pint at the store (except better, because it tastes like fresh mint).

It starts with canned white beans for ultimate ease. Add a few fresh herbs and some lemon zest to work total magic.

We never knew it was possible to make paella in one hour. The trick is to let your oven do most of the hard work.

The surface of your cast iron skillet gets extremely hot, which is the secret to the crispy, pizzeria-style crust.

Freeze, puree, freeze, eat. How easy is that? (Psst: Not sure how to break down a watermelon? Use our guide.)

Aren’t these skewers the cutest? Your guests will go wild for the combination of sweet and savory.

They’re ready in half an hour and devoured in seconds. No complaints here, since we can practically make them with our eyes closed.

The ’mallows will be toasty and the chocolate melted just enough—without all the fuss of setting up a campfire.

This one-pan meal is ready in half an hour, plus it will use up some of your overflowing zucchini crop.

Corn and cherry tomatoes have the same cheesy, carb-y taste you crave, minus the hours of assembly time.

Tequila in sangria? We’ll start chilling the glasses. Using rosé instead of red wine keeps things light for hot nights on the patio.

This is everything a cobbler should be: Simple, cinnamon-y and jam-packed with fruit. Be still our summer-loving hearts.

Let’s face it: Everyone’s just eating around the lettuce to get to the avocado anyway.

This pie combines white chocolate and coconut with tart lime juice, transporting you to the tropics in just one bite.

Just throw ’em on the grill and set the table. The Mediterranean flavors pair perfectly with white wine, a salad and warm pita.

You’ll use store-bought jam and frozen puff pastry. It’s giving “pie for lazy-but-elegant people.” Swoon.

We paired two of our favorite in-season vegetables into one summery side dish that’s delicious enough on its own, but also an excellent condiment for tacos or grilled meat.

It’s creamy, rich and doesn’t need an oven. Need we say more?

The classic dish is wonderfully simple, but tomatoes, feta and a lightened-up dressing give it a summery update. (See ya later, blue cheese.)

Puff pastry always makes dinner look so fancy. Feel free to swap out the vegetables for something summery, like squash or peppers.

A light yet satisfying side that won’t take all day to make. The recipe serves one, so scale it up for a crowd.

Remember what we said about puff pastry? It works for dessert too. Pair these cuties with ice cream, whipped cream or even a drizzle of cold heavy cream.

Pasta is always a good idea, and this vegetable-forward one is ready in an hour.

You had us at halloumi. Mark our words, it’s the new burrata.

We wish all of our meals looked this colorful and tasted this fresh. Use gluten-free bread or sourdough depending on your preferences.

Sure, it’s extremely sippable, but as an added bonus, this concoction is also totally white-jeans-friendly.

This dish is practically no-cook, feeds a crowd and won’t wilt in a hurry. What more could you ask for on a summer night?

Your dinner party guests will go bananas over these boozy pops. Mix things up by adding different types of fresh fruit.

It’s fancy enough that it will elicit oohs and ahhs (but simple enough to make). Make sure your peaches and tomatoes are pristine, since they’re kind of the star flavors here.

All you have to do is roast strawberries, crush graham crackers and scoop ice cream. (Can’t all desserts be this easy to make?)

A handful of ingredients and just three simple steps are all it takes to make this 30-minute crowd-pleaser.

You eat veggies every day, sure, but these go beyond the usual roasted ones. Charring them slightly adds a ton of flavor, so don’t skip that step.

It’s ratatouille’s chic Italian cousin, and it’s good on everything from pasta to toast.

A galette is basically a free-form pie. It’s easy to assemble, and the crust doesn’t have to be perfect—our ideal.

This delightful dish just so happens to be vegan. The sweet, juicy corn kernels paired with the ‘milk’ from the cobs become a perfect cream sauce without using actual cream.

Making stew doesn’t have to mean spending hours in a hot kitchen. This one is ready in around 30 minutes.

After marinading, these babies are ready in about 15 minutes. Just add the tortillas and extra guac.

It’s juicy, sweet, tangy and ready in five minutes. Store-bought fruit salad, see ya never.

The new summertime motto: less time cooking, more time eating this seven-ingredient stunner in the backyard.

Burgers are a dime a dozen, but these are made with chicken, ready in 25 minutes and don’t need a grill.

Once it’s marinated, this savory, umami steak takes ten minutes to cook. How’s that for effortless entertaining?

It doesn’t get simpler than a no-cook finger food that feeds a crowd. If appetizers seem like too much work, this one has your back.

Pair this spiced side dish with a yogurt, tahini or herb sauce for maximum effect.