21 Easy Dishes to Make While You’re On Summer Vacation These recipes will help you work smarter, not harder, in the kitchen of your rental. Close Credit: Ren Fuller When you're away from home and work, you have more time for planning meals and cooking—in theory. But that's when you want to be doing all the other, more vacation-y things you love to do. You need recipes for dishes that don’t require a lot of thinking or ingredients, like the ones we're sharing here. Whether you’re going away for a weekend or a couple of weeks, it’s not possible (or fun) to bring your entire kitchen with you. Part of the fun of being in a vacation house is making do with what’s on hand and learning to adapt to the new setting. Making a few recipes that can be prepped in advance or served at room temperature is a sensible strategy. Using simple ingredients to create dishes that can be used in a variety of ways: lunch, snacks, or combined with another meal—is a good idea too. Take these recipes with you and consider them your summer meal repertoire. They’re going to stretch your energy—and your vacation time—just a little bit further. When you pack, bring the bare minimum—but if a kitchen tool is important to you (such as a sharp chef’s knife, mortar and pestle, or microplane zester) be sure to make space for it in your bags. 34 Summer Dinner Recipes That Are Fast, Easy, and Packed With Seasonal Produce 01 of 21 Grilled Chicken With Mango and Mint-Line Dressing Credit: Sidney Bensimon The beauty of this dish is not just in the bright, tropical flavors but also in the leftovers (if there are any!). Any grilled chicken can be chopped and served in salads, sandwiches, or tacos. View Recipe 02 of 21 Perfect Frittata With Zucchini and Provolone Credit: Brie Goldman A frittata is a lazy-day solution; make it in the morning and eat at room temperature later. You can stuff a piece of frittata into a roll for a picnic sandwich or cut it into cubes and serve them with toothpicks to nibble on with a glass of wine. We have step-by-step instructions and tips for working with the ingredients you may have on hand because this versatile recipe works with different vegetables and cheeses. View Recipe 03 of 21 Pasta Peperonata With Tuna and Olives Credit: Lennart Weibull Conjure up a Sicilian summer with this pasta. Sweet bell peppers cook until they collapse. They can be found in most grocery stores, while canned tuna, olives from a jar, and a box of golden raisins are all pantry items. View Recipe 04 of 21 Greek Turkey Burgers Credit: Sidney Bensimon Here's a light and fresh-tasting spin on everybody’s go-to burger dinner. Instead of a bun, we use a pita paired with small turkey patties. The whole thing can be deconstructed and served on a platter or folded into sandwiches, depending on what your crew likes. View Recipe 05 of 21 Shredded Cabbage Slaw With Ginger Vinaigrette Credit: Marcus Nilsson This slaw features two kinds of cabbage and carrots, so it’s colorful and crunchy too. It serves up to eight, which is perfect even if you’re only 2 to 4 people, because leftovers keep well in the fridge and make a great addition to sandwiches and tacos. View Recipe 06 of 21 Shrimp With Zucchini and Spicy Couscous Credit: Johnny Miller One-pot cooking is just the thing when you don’t want to keep track of too many things. Layers of ingredients are added and cooked in a wide pot, resulting in this paella-like dish you can bring to the table for serving. View Recipe 07 of 21 Dill, Potato, and Egg Salad Credit: Petrina Tinslay A fantastic version of potato salad is just what the summer table calls for. It’s versatile and loved by all. Go ahead and boil some extra eggs while you’re at it- they’re great to have around for nibbling or adding to other salads. View Recipe 08 of 21 Korean Beef Chuck Roast Credit: Bryan Gardner A stovetop, savory braise is smart cooking when you’re on vacation; the meat will taste best the day after it’s been cooked and cooled, and can be shredded for sandwiches and tacos throughout your stay. Since small grocery stores might not carry all the ingredients, such as sake, mirin, and gochujang (Korean pepper paste), why not bring it with you? View Recipe 09 of 21 Salmon Nicoise With Caper Dressing Credit: Bryan Gardner All the parts of this dish can be made in advance, even the salmon. When ready to serve, arrange new potatoes, green beans, and corn wheels on a platter and spoon our lemony caper dressing over everything. View Recipe 10 of 21 Blistered Eggplant With Tomatoes, Olives, and Feta Credit: Bryan Gardner Summery vegetables in the Mediterranean mode can make a meal or be part of a larger spread. While this recipe uses a broiler for the eggplant slices, you could use a grill instead if you feel like hanging out on the patio while you make dinner. View Recipe 11 of 21 Marinated-Artichoke and Green-Bean Pasta Salad Credit: Ren Fuller This pasta salad has the crunch of the beans and surprise of artichoke hearts, plus it uses ingredients you can get at most grocery stores. It’s herbaceous too, thanks to a fistful of green—parsley leaves, that is. View Recipe 12 of 21 Zucchini Quesadillas It always pays to pick up flour or corn tortillas (or both!) when stocking your vacation kitchen. Quesadillas can be filled with seasonal vegetables like the thinly sliced zucchini and corn shown here. You can add canned beans, chorizo, leftover cooked chicken, or beef; the list is endless. The key is having plenty of good melting cheese on hand: Pepper jack, Monterey jack, Oaxaca cheese, mozzarella, or cheddar. View Recipe 13 of 21 Drunken Mussels With Chorizo and White Beans Credit: Con Poulos A savory dish like this brings out all the summer feels. It’s astounding how much flavor you can achieve from such a short recipe list, and in a short time cooking too. View Recipe 14 of 21 Chilled Corn Soup With Tomato-Bacon Toasts Credit: Armando Rafael Summer ingredients at peak flavor are served with a twist here, in two parts. Choose the ripest tomatoes for your toasts. The corn soup can be prepared and blended any time during the day and left to chill. View Recipe 15 of 21 Fish Tacos With Cabbage and Lime Everyone loves taco night, and assembling their own tacos adds to the casual fun of a summer meal. Broiled fish makes this very quick to do, and mess-free, with no time needed for lighting a grill, and no deep frying. View Recipe 16 of 21 Grilled-Chicken-and-Zucchini Salad Credit: Ren Fuller Simple ingredients cooked over a grill or on the grill pan might seem obvious, but it’s the little touches that make the difference. Here, a garlic and yogurt marinade adds a layer of flavor to chicken cutlets. Serve with grilled zucchini and a crunchy salad, sit back and look at the view. View Recipe 17 of 21 Spaghetti With Shrimp, Kale, and Burst Tomatoes Credit: Chris Simpson Work smarter, not harder, that's the mantra for vacation cooking. Cook kale in the pasta water, then drain and toss it together in the pot with the tomatoes and shrimp. And, serve this rustic pasta straight from the pot. View Recipe 18 of 21 Rice-and-Bean Salad Bowl With Tahini Sauce Credit: Johnny Miller Combining pantry ingredients and a fabulously simple sauce creates a template for whatever you’re in the mood for. Add fresh ingredients of your choice, and you’ll be making bowls like this every day during your vacation. View Recipe 19 of 21 Grilled Whole Fish With Lemon and Thyme Credit: Paola + Murray A whole fish is a stunning and incredibly simple way to get dinner done. It goes with a variety of salads and side dishes, but the fish will be the star. View Recipe 20 of 21 Green Bean, Shell Bean, and Sweet Onion Fatoush Credit: NGOC MINH NGO When fresh summer shell beans are available at farmers markets, snap them up–it’s fun to sit and shell them amongst friends while chatting at a table outside. If they’re not in season yet, use canned beans in their place. The pita can be toasted in the toaster oven or broiled if a grill isn’t available. View Recipe 21 of 21 Crab Rolls Credit: Bryan Gardner If you’re vacationing in a place where fresh crabmeat is widely available, make a simple crab salad and serve it on toasted and buttered buns. Nobody will be mad at you for not turning on the oven. View Recipe Explore more: Food & Cooking Recipes Quick & Easy Recipes