19 Creative Summer Party Food Ideas

From beach birthdays to backyard BBQ gatherings, summer is one of the best times to throw a party! Regardless of the occasion, you’ll likely need a meal plan for your guests. That’s where Peerspace comes in. As the nation’s leading online marketplace for event venue rentals and ideas, we have a truly creative list of summer party food ideas to share with you! Let’s dig in.

1. Toss a colorful cranberry orange couscous salad

Summer parties are a great time for colorful salads filled with bountiful flavors! What could be better than a bright cranberry orange couscous salad? The mixture of sweet oranges and tart cranberries balances out the salty feta and soft pasta. It’s a texture and flavor explosion your guests are sure to enjoy.

2. Put some lime chicken on the grill

When the weather turns warm, it’s an excellent time to uncover the grill for a backyard BBQ. Let’s skip the burgers for something a little more creative: grilled lime chicken! It uses a simple marinade that’s flavorful and uses ingredients you probably already have. Marinate for a couple of hours and grill to perfection.

What’s that? You live downtown and don’t have a grill for your upcoming summer party? Let Peerspace help with a venue rental better suited for an outdoor event. Even in the middle of NYC, you can find venues like this residential backyard space with electric and gas grills available for a summer BBQ!

3. Arrange an artistic chips & dip board

Chips and dip are an essential summer party food idea, but they don’t have to be boring. Get creative with a food board featuring chips and dip! You should set out a few different kinds of chips, with multiple bowls of dip to satisfy everyone’s tastes. Queso, guac, bean dip, sour cream…Add handfuls of tortilla, corn, Bugles, and potato chips around them for the perfect chips and dip board!

4. Bring home the surf with Maine lobster rolls

Surf and turf menus are popular choices for summer party food ideas. We have the turf with burgers, hot dogs, and steak, so how about a surf option that’s a little fancy? Maine lobster rolls filled with buttery, creamy lobster are guaranteed to leave no leftovers behind. You’ll need a little extra time to shell the lobster yourself but it will be worth it for the joy lobster rolls bring to a party.

5. Dust off the slow cooker for BBQ pulled pork sandwiches

Slow cooker recipes like BBQ pulled pork sandwiches are great if you want something you can set and forget while you decorate for the upcoming summer party. Cooking the pork long and slow results in a melt-in-your-mouth texture that no one can resist! This recipe’s crispy jalapeno topping and warm brioche buns help you make a restaurant-quality sandwich from scratch.

Here’s how and where to rent a backyard for a day so that you can easily book the perfect venue for your summer party!

6. Brew a batch of sun tea outdoors

Iced tea is a must-have for any summer party, especially in the South! Don’t bother with the store-bought powders or syrups, though, not when brewing your own tea is so easy to do. Skip the boiling water and set out a few jugs of water with tea bags. It will steep naturally without the bitter tannin flavor if you follow this recipe for sun tea!

7. Craft an instant dessert with five-minute blueberry pie

It’s more like 15-minute blueberry pie but either way, you’ll have this recipe out way faster than you anticipated. This is a no-bake blueberry pie that’s just as good as the baked version. Especially if you top it with a hearty serving of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

8. Bring a new kind of guac over with avocado feta dip

There are so many ways to make guacamole but most use different kinds of vegetables and spices. Have you tried adding feta to your guac yet? Avocado feta dip is a unique yet masterful combination of flavors. The salty feta and rich avocado play off each other like music. It goes great with both potato and corn chips as part of a chips and dip board (see above)!

9. Make some hearty loaded baked potato dip

Is there a chip dip out there that eats like a meal? Loaded baked potato dip is our vote for the ultimate hearty chip topping! It has sour cream, bacon, cheddar cheese, and chives: the perfect combo for salty potato chips. And like most of our favorite summer party food ideas, it only takes minutes to whip up and serve.

10. Serve hot dog sliders as appetizers

A summer party can include appetizers just like any other event. We think these adorable hot dog sliders are the way to go! This recipe even includes directions for making them Mexican, Chicago, and Bavarian-style. They’re tiny and portion-controlled but no one can possibly resist eating more than just one!

11. Grill the perfect American hamburger

No list of summer party food ideas would be complete without hamburgers! While they look simple it takes a lot of effort to make the perfect American hamburger. Check out these tips from Taste of Home to get you started on the road to awesome hamburgers. They include everything from how to choose your meat to pressing and resting burgers on the grill.

12. Enhance your chips with watermelon cucumber salsa

Watermelon is another flavor we all associate with hot summer days! Bring some cooling fresh relief to the snack table with this watermelon cucumber salsa. Both feature crunchy textures that contain a hint of sweetness. The onions and jalapenos balance out the sweet for the perfect chilled salsa to go with salty tortilla chips.

13. Serve crunchy Ritz cracker sliders

How tiny can you make sliders? The answer is “very,” as these Ritz cracker sliders prove! Each one is a mini sandwich experience, with a bite of ham, cheese, and sauce. Have your kids help make a bunch of these sandwiches and bake each batch for 8-10 minutes before setting them out!

Before you start on your cracker sliders you better have a venue booked for the party. Summer parties should be scheduled long in advance. Let Peerspace help; we have hundreds of outdoor summer party venues near you with swimming pools, BBQ grills, and other amenities!

14. Whip up a batch of iced lemonade with lavender

Lemonade uses a simple recipe but it takes practice to get the proportions just right. Let Food Network help with this perfect summer lemonade recipe. If you have a few hours before the party, we recommend infusing it with herb-based tea bags like lavender for a truly unique lemonade experience!

Got a bday this summer? Then you need to check out these awesome summer birthday party ideas to inspire every aspect of your event.

15. Invite everyone over for a Low Country boil

A steel pot bubbling with spices, corn, and seafood can only mean one thing: someone has a Low Country boil going! Skip the burgers and go for seafood: crabs, crawfish, and shrimp are what a traditional Low Country boil calls for. Don’t forget the corn and taters to get your “greens” in!

16. Go sweet and tangy with strawberry lime bars

The Taste of Home’s strawberry lime bars are a restaurant-quality dessert you can make yourself in about half an hour. Not only are they striking to look at; the sweet strawberries and tart lime flavor are a combo not many of your guests have tried before but all will love!

17. Make grilled nectarine and cheese crostinis for dessert

A good grillmaster can serve up anything on the grill, not just veggies and meats. Have you ever tried a truly creative summer party food idea like these grilled nectarine and cheese crostinis? They have sweet, salty, herby, and savory notes, all in one bite! 

18. Fry up some sweet potato fries

French fries don’t have to use just regular old potatoes. Sweet potato fries are equally yummy, especially with a bite of chipotle mayo dip on the side! Try this recipe from The Short Order Cook; they’re gluten-free thanks to not using any batter. Using your own seasonings will make them taste way better than anything store-bought as well!

19. Get nostalgic with fried green tomatoes

Is there any summer party food idea as nostalgic as fried green tomatoes? These are truly the taste of childhood and outdoor summer parties. So treat your guests to some crunchy Americana using this simple recipe!

Summer party food ideas: conclusion

Peerspace is the place to go when you need ideas for special occasions. Our summer party food ideas include everything from appetizers to desserts and even recipes that take a few minutes to serve if you’re in a hurry. We hope to have inspired you as you plan your menu. Don’t forget about the venue itself in all your planning; our party venues near you are amenity-filled and easy to book in advance!

Find unique event spaces for your summer party on Peerspace