Classic Memorial Day Recipes & Guide

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These classic Memorial Day recipes will help you plan the perfect cookout menu for you, your family and friends. Plus, I’ve got helpful tips for preparing ahead of time and ways to make hosting outdoors so much easier!

a collage of classic memorial day cookout recipes and menu ideas

The way we’ve observed Memorial Day as a country has changed a bit over time, but my family has always observed it with cookouts, summer’s first swim and just a whole lot of fun from the vantage point of a lawn chair.

How to Have a Memorable Cookout
Burgers, BBQ & More
Sauces, Rubs & Seasonings
Cookout Salads
Cookout Side Dishes
Picnic Appetizers & Finger Foods
Dips for Cookouts & BBQs
Cookout Desserts
Drinks Everyone Can Enjoy

How to Have a Memorable Cookout

If you’re planning a cookout this year, the time to get started is now, even if your gathering is going to be small! Planning and doing a little preparation will make the long 3 day weekend be so much more relaxing, head off any disappointments and help everything come together smoothly.

Things you’ll want to do now should include:

meal planning. The Memorial Day recipes below should make that a breeze! You can browse through them all or use the table of contents to navigate to different food groups. Choosing 1-2 items from each food group will ensure that you have a gorgeous spread that leaves nothing out!

grocery shopping. After making your Memorial Day Menu, you might want to do a little shopping for those big items that might not be available to you later in the week, order any special cuts of meat, buy your paper goods and gather your flags!

yard maintenance. It’s also prudent to take a close look at your yard. Any sprucing up or spraying for insects you want to do before the big day? Now’s the time! 10 Tips for Summer Entertaining lists everything you need to know about getting together and enjoying your backyard!

Cookout Fun. Now that the yard, porches and patios are cleaned up and ready, it’s time to add in the fun. My 5 Backyard Hostess Essentials make sure memories are made!

Burgers, BBQ & More

A Grilled Pineapple Burger with melted cheese and sesame seed bun.

Hawaiian Burgers with Pineapple & Fresh Avocado Salsa

Grilled hot dogs with pineapple relish in a picnic basket.

Hawaiian Dogs & Pineapple Relish

Easy Cajun/ Creole Spicy Shrimp Foil Packets for the oven or grill

Spicy Creole Shrimp Foil Packets

A pork tenderloin being shredded with a fork.

Cherry Cola BBQ Pulled Pork

Shredded Chicken BBQ Sandwich

Easy summer dinner with grilled garden vegetables and smoked sausage foil packets

Grilled Garden Vegetable & Sausage Packets

Sauces, Rubs & Seasonings

Homemade Cornmeal Fish Fry Mix

Tartar sauce is a classic fish and seafood condiment that's easy to make.

Tasty Homemade Tartar Sauce

Louisiana Remoulade Sauce

Smoky Sweet Coffee Rub

All Purpose Creole Seasoning

Honey & Pineapple Mustard

Campfire Fry Sauce

sweet and spicy bbq sauce is delicious served with chicken, pork or beef.

Sweet & Spicy Tennessee BBQ Sauce

Cookout Salads

Instead of pinto beans, this cornbread salad has black eyed peas in its layers.

Southern Cornbread Salad

creamy coleslaw with a tangy homemade mayo based dressing is a southern favorite

Creamy Southern Coleslaw

Creamy Dill Potato Salad

Southern Black Eyed Pea Salad

An overhead look at a classic potluck or cookout salad with crunchy broccoli and a tangy, creamy homemade dressing.

Crunchy Broccoli Salad with Strawberries

Mexican Street Corn Pasta with cool mayo & sour cream chile lime dressing

Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

Classic 7 Layer Pea Salad

refreshing summer watermelon salad with cucumbers, feta, strawberries & jalapenos

Spicy Strawberry Watermelon Salad

Deviled egg potato salad texture, ingredients and garnish of papriks

Southern Deviled Egg Potato Salad

Easy, Creamy Bacon Salad with Homemade Ranch

Bacon Tomato Pasta Salad

Confetti Frito Corn Salad

light and easy pesto pasta salad with cheese tortellini and artichokes

Artichoke Pesto Pasta Salad

chunks of watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, mint and a honey lime dressing to serve as a side dish or dessert.

Berry Watermelon Fruit Salad

A close up of the broccoli slaw with apples and brussel sprouts

Broccoli Slaw with Apples & Brussel Sprouts

Southern Tomato Cucumber Salad with Vinegar Dressing

A creamy macaroni salad filled with pickles, red bell pepper, onion and celery

Southern Macaroni Salad

Cookout Side Dishes

Cheesy BBQ Bacon Potato Foil Packets

A spoonful of Hawaiian Baked Beans fresh from the oven.

Hawaiian Baked Beans with Pineapple & Bellpepper

Foil packets make this Mexican Street Corn recipe with mayonnaise, sour cream, cotija cheese, lime and chile seasonings easy.

Mexican Street Corn Foil Packets

Garlic Parmesan Sweet Potato Wedges

Ultimate Pepper Jack Mac & Cheese

Southern Baked Beans with ground sausage patties on top being served.

Southern Baked Beans and Sausage

country style fresh green beans and new potatoes with crumbled bacon as a vegetable side dish

Southern Green Beans & New Potatoes with Bacon

Brown Sugar Roasted Pineapples

A serving of Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole in a spoon

Easy, Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole (no canned soup)

Picnic Appetizers & Finger Foods

Tomato & watermelon bruschetta being served

Summery Watermelon Bruschetta

A jar of refrigerator pickles made with lemonade, garlic, pepper and dill.

Lemonade Refrigerator Pickles

Sweet & spicy bread and butter pickles are a quick refrigerator pickle with a semi-homemade recipe that requires no canning.

Sweet Heat Bread & Butter Pickles

Homestyle Deviled Eggs

Easy Italian Homemade Marinated Olives in a jar

Easy Italian Marinated Olives

A party platter filled with cored cherry tomatoes stuffed with cream cheese, fresh herbs and bacon.

Bacon Cream Cheese Stuffed Tomatoes

New Orleans Muffuletta Skewer Appetizer on a party tray

New Orleans Muffuletta Skewers

Fresh Sweet Corn Relish

An upclose of a Ham & Dill Pickle Pinwheel

Ham & Dill Pickle Pinwheels with a Spicy Kick

a platter of cheeseburger skewers for a party

Mini Cheeseburger Skewers

Dips for Cookouts & BBQs

green chile & corn salsa with tomatoes, lime and cilantro as a dip.

Green Chile Corn Salsa Dip

Fresh Salsa with Cilantro & Lime

Fresh Guacamole: Our Favorite Tex-Mex Dip

fresh pineapple salsa is a wonderful appetizer dip or topping for grilled chicken and fish.

Summery Pineapple Salsa

Ham and pineapple dip with cream cheese, green onions, pecans and mayo is a quick and easy appetizer dip

Ham & Pineapple Hawaiian Dip

Serve cucumber tzatziki whipped feta dip with naan, fresh vegetables, sandwiches or any meat off the grill

Whipped Feta Tzatziki Dip

Creamy Peppercorn Parmesan Cheese Dip

Dipping some strawberry salsa with a chip

Fresh Avocado Strawberry Salsa

Classic Mexican 7 Layer Dip

Cookout Desserts

Easy Fresh Strawberry Pie

A layered red velvet cake trifle with white chocolate Cheesecake filling

Red Velvet Trifle

Red Velvet Trifle is ideal for Memorial Day. Luscious layers of red velvet cake, chocolate sauce, white chocolate cheesecake and whipped topping make one decadent dessert that anyone can make! Plus, it red and white stripes are perfectly partriotic!

No Churn Blueberry Lemon Ice Cream

No ice cream maker? No problem! This easy recipe for homemade No Churn Lemon Ice Cream with a rich blueberry swirl comes together in a snap with condensed milk, whipping cream, instant pudding mix, lemon zest and blueberries.

Buster Bar Ice Cream Dessert

Loaded with salted peanuts and layer of vanilla ice cream on an easy homemade Oreo crust and topped with the best fudgey chocolate topping you’ve ever tasted, this homemade, family-sized take on Dairy Queen’s Buster Bar is one of those summer treats that is just knock-your-socks off good.