Looking for Classic 4th of July Dinner Recipes? We’ve got you covered! From BBQ ribs and burgers to potato and pasta salad to festive cookies and pies, here we share some of our absolute favorites!
What we love about these 4th of July Recipes
Making memories with family and friends is what holidays are all about. For me, food has always been central to those memories with my family, especially over the holidays. We have cooked ribs and made strawberry pie for every 4th of July that we have been in town, as long as I can remember. The appetizers, sides, dinners, and desserts in this collection are all family favorites of ours and have helped to make our holidays special.
These are classic summer recipes, with pasta salad, potato salad, ribs, burgers, and delicious berry pies and treats. Whether you are home and feeding a crowd or off to a potluck, there are great options here to help you with your spread for the 4th and throughout the summer.
Appetizers
Baked Brie with Pecans and Cherry Sauce
Our Baked Brie with Pecans and Cherry Sauce has a brown sugar coating on the Brie, roasted pecans, and a sweet cherry vanilla balsamic sauce that perfectly complements the brie. We use frozen cherries to make it a year-round treat. It’s a lovely 4th of July appetizer and is perfect served on its own or as part of a larger charcuterie board; it is both beautiful and delicious!
Get the recipe here: Baked Brie with Pecans and Cherry Sauce
Oven Barbecue Chicken Wings
Need an easy appetizer for your 4th of July spread? We love the ease and flavor of these Oven Barbecue Chicken Wings. The seasoned wings bake in the oven and then finish with an easy glaze of barbecue sauce with a touch of honey. They are the perfect crowd-pleasing wings for your next gathering and are a family favorite.
Get the recipe here: Oven Barbecue Chicken Wings
Shredded Beef Sliders
Our Shredded Beef Sliders are an easy meal or appetizer for your family or for company. The crockpot does all the work as the beef becomes ultra tender after slow cooking. When combined with caramelized onions and a garlic mayo dressing, it makes an incredibly tasty little sandwich perfect for your next gathering.
Get the recipe here: Shredded Beef Sliders
5 Layer Bean Dip
Our 5 Layer Bean Dip is made for scooping and sharing and is a huge favorite at gatherings throughout the year. With savory refried beans, creamy avocado, seasoned sour cream, salsa, cheese, and colorful fresh garnishes, this popular Tex-Mex dip is irresistible with every bite.
Get the recipe here: 5 Layer Bean Dip
Cowboy Caviar with Avocado
This Cowboy Caviar with Avocado (aka Texas Caviar or Mississippi Caviar) is a classic summer appetizer or side dish. Easy to prepare and full of flavor, it’s a favorite choice for potlucks, barbecues, and get-togethers. Filled with black beans, black-eyed peas, tomatoes, corn, sweet peppers, avocado, green onion, and cilantro, and tossed with a tasty lime vinaigrette, we love serving this with tortilla chips or as a side with grilled chicken.
Get the recipe here: Cowboy Caviar with Avocado
Dinner
Baby Back Barbecue Ribs
Our Baby Back Barbecue Ribs have a delicious smoky rub and a homemade sweet barbecue glaze. Baked in the oven and finished on the grill or under the broiler, they are tender every time and are a year-round favorite. They always are on our table over the 4th and are a huge family favorite. This recipe makes enough for two racks of baby back ribs.
Get the recipe here: Baby Back Barbecue Ribs
Best Smashburger Recipe
These smashburgers are our family’s favorite burger. They cook in 4 minutes, have an amazingly juicy patty that locks in the flavor when smashed, a flavorful crisp crust, and a fantastic sauce that tastes so good with the burger. If you haven’t tried making smashburgers before, these are a must-try for your next barbecue!
Get the recipe here: Best Smashburger Recipe
Barbecue Chicken
Our barbecue chicken from our Barbecue Ranch Chicken Salad is grilled, flavorful, and tender. Rubbed with a homemade barbecue rub and brushed with barbecue sauce, this chicken is a quick and delicious choice for any family barbecue this summer. If you want to serve it as a salad, the juicy barbecue chicken, smoky bacon, seasoned black beans, corn, tomatoes, creamy avocado, and onions make this a delicious, filling main dish salad. Topped with homemade ranch dressing and a drizzle of barbecue sauce, it is a family favorite that kids and adults enjoy.
Get the recipe here: Barbecue Chicken Ranch Salad
Sides
Vegetable Macaroni Salad
Our Vegetable Macaroni Salad is a favorite side for family barbecues and potlucks. Made with a creamy mayo dressing and filled with olives, cucumbers, celery, tomatoes, dill pickles, green onions, and pimientos, this flavor-packed pasta salad has a perfect blend of crispness from the veggies and creaminess from the dressing.
Get the recipe here: Vegetable Macaroni Salad
Potato Salad with Dill Pickles
Our Potato Salad with Dill Pickles is a favorite side dish for summer barbecuing. The salad has a creamy mayo based dressing mixed with red potatoes, celery, green onions, dill pickles, and hard-boiled eggs. It gets a flavor boost with a little Greek seasoning and pickle juice in the dressing and a dill and paprika garnish.
Get the recipe here: Potato Salad with Dill Pickles
Loaded Baked Potato Salad
This Loaded Baked Potato Salad is a favorite summer side dish that will be the first thing to go at your next potluck or barbecue. The salad has a creamy dressing made with mayonnaise and sour cream and is filled with your favorite loaded baked potato toppings: bacon, cheese, and green onions.
Get the recipe here: Loaded Baked Potato Salad
Desserts
Fruit Pizza Cookies with Berries
Our Fruit Pizza Cookies with Berries have a sugar cookie base, cream cheese frosting, and an assortment of berries as a decorative topping. Decorating the cookies is fun for kids and adults alike, it’s a great group or family activity, and a perfect 4th of July or summer treat.
Get the recipe here: Fruit Pizza Cookies with Berries
Strawberry Glazed Pie
Our Strawberry Glazed Pie is a favorite summer tradition. Fresh strawberries, generously piled into a homemade or store-bought crust, combined with a sweetened fresh strawberry glaze, topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream, make the ultimate summer dessert.
Get the recipe here: Strawberry Glazed Pie
Old-Fashioned Blueberry Cobbler
Our Old-Fashioned Blueberry Cobbler has a tender buttermilk cake-like topping with a delicious, thick, and rich blueberry filling. We love the sprinkle of sugar on the slightly crisp top of the crust. This comforting dessert is a classic summer favorite and is always accompanied at our house with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Get our recipe here: Old-Fashioned Blueberry Cobbler
Cherry and Cream Cheese Pie
Our Cherry and Cream Cheese Pie has a graham cracker crust, a no-bake cream cheese filling, and a sweet cherry pie topping. It is an easy dessert, perfect for the summer and winter, and is a favorite at family gatherings.
Get our recipe here: Cherry and Cream Cheese Pie
Cream Cheese and Strawberry Pie
Our Cream Cheese and Strawberry Pie has a graham cracker crust, a no-bake cream cheese filling, and a sweet homemade strawberry pie topping. It is an easy dessert, perfect for the summer holidays, and is a favorite at family gatherings.
Get our recipe here for Cream Cheese and Strawberry Pie
4th of July Chex Mix
This 4th of July Chex Mix is the perfect sweet and salty treat for summer celebrations. Made with homemade Chex Muddy Buddies, dipped pretzels, M&Ms, and sprinkles, they are an easy no-bake treat to make. They make summer cookouts, picnics, and fireworks parties more festive and are a fun way to get the kids involved in helping in the kitchen.
Get our recipe here for 4th of July Chex Mix
Berry Crumb Bars
These Berry Crumb Bars have a buttery, tender base, a juicy berry filling, and a crisp golden crumble topping. Easy to make with simple ingredients, and packed with blueberries and raspberries, they are the perfect summer treat. We love making these for picnics, potlucks, and barbecues.
Get our recipe here for Berry Crumb Bars
Mini Patriotic Pretzels
These Mini Patriotic Pretzels are the perfect sweet and salty treat for summer celebrations. With only three ingredients, they are an easy no-bake treat to make. They make summer cookouts, picnics, and fireworks parties more festive and are a fun way to get the kids involved in helping in the kitchen.
Get our recipe here for Mini Patriotic Pretzels
Kitchen Sink Cookies Patriotic Style
These Kitchen Sink Cookies Patriotic Style are the ultimate salty-sweet combination cookie. Packed with red, white, and blue M&Ms and sprinkles, crushed pretzels, potato chips, chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips, they are a festive, delicious cookie and perfect for the 4th of July. This link is for our Christmas Kitchen Sink Cookies; we just substituted the red and green M&Ms and sprinkles for the red, white, and blue.
Get our recipe here for Kitchen Sink Cookies Patriotic Style
Homemade Strawberry Shortcakes
These Homemade Strawberry Shortcakes These Homemade Strawberry Shortcakes have a sweetened, tender, buttery biscuit, a sweet strawberry filling, and a pillowy soft vanilla whipped cream topping. Perfect for spring and summer gatherings, this classic layered dessert is as stunning as it is delicious.
Get our recipe here for Homemade Strawberry Shortcakes
Looking for more recipes for summer? Try our Grasshopper Ice Cream Pie, our Croissant Chicken Salad, our Yogurt Marinated Chicken, our Southwest Chicken Bowls, or our Grilled Chicken Gyros.
We hope these menu ideas help you plan for your 4th of July holiday, and we wish you a safe and happy 4th!
Perfect on time! I was looking for July 4th recipes and found this amazing collection of recipes! Thanks for sharing, every dish looks fantastic:)
What a great collection! Bookmarking this to make a few this week — thank you!
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy them! Some of these we have made for years, we love these recipes. Thanks for stopping by and for the great feedback!
So many good options here. I want to make them all!!!!!
Thank you so much! I appreciate your feedback, these are some of our summer favorites and we look forward to making them each year.