Lazy Summer Dinner Ideas

from the

Mediterranean

The best lazy summer dinner ideas and quick and tasty seaside tapas that are perfect to escape the heat.

We’ve got you, with our top list of dinner ideas for summer!

Updated August 2024

W ith summer in full swing and this one being particularly warm in Spain, it’s time to crack out some lazy summer dinner ideas that give you less time in the kitchen and more time by the pool.

Summer dinner recipes have to be quick and easy. These are our top picks and current obsessions but you’ll find more summer recipes here.

Chilled Seafood Pipirrana Salad

This is the first summer I’ve ever made this and I don’t know how I haven’t used this combo before. The base is a traditional Pipirrana salad and then you just add pre-cooked mixed seafood. The addition of the seafood makes it satisfying enough to be a light main meal and perfect for summer.

I’ve been making this fairly regularly and it never gets old with the delicious Pipirrana dressing teasing you back for more. I hope you enjoy it too!

Chickpea and Caper Salad with Charred Red Peppers

This chickpea and caper salad is vegan and full of deliciously healthy ingredients and is ready in 10 minutes. In keeping with the summer vibes, make this with canned or jarred chickpeas and roasted peppers, and chill it before serving for something truly refreshing.

No-mayo Spanish Potato Salad

A platter of no-mayo potato salad is garnished with red onion and green beans.

This one takes a bit more prep work than the recipes above but is worth every second if you’re craving a healthy but filling salad. The most common potato salad in Spain is the Ensaladilla Rusa, which is a deliciously creamy potato salad with mayo and other goodies. But I used olive oil for this salad to make a smoky paprika-infused dressing and it’s so tasty you won’t miss the mayo, I promise.

Jamon Iberico Salad with orange, chickpeas, and almonds

A large platter of jamon iberico sald sits topped with mozarella, salad greens, chickpeas, and seasoned with salt and pepper

This is a light salad recipe so best served as part of a tapas spread. Easy to throw together in 15 minutes, it’s refreshing and obviously delicious thanks to its star ingredients.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad with Zingy Grapefruit and Lime Dressing

A colorful shrimp and avocado salad sits on a white plate with bright red radishes, pink grapefruit, red onion, and cooked shrimp

Shrimp Avocado Salad with Zingy Grapefruit and Lime Dressing is nutritious, low-carb (17.2 g), and high in protein (14 g). Most importantly, shrimp avocado salad is super easy to make and tastes like summer!

With the mouthwatering combination of avocado and shrimp, the salad is layered with your greens of choice, ripe slices of avocado, red onion, shrimp, and sweet wedges of pink grapefruit, all topped with a refreshing lime dressing that has a hint of ginger. Bring it on!

Gambas al Ajillo | Sizzling Garlic Shrimp

a earthenware dish sits filled with sizzling garlic shrimp called gambas al ajillo in Spanish

The ‘Med’ is perhaps most famous for the azure blue waters and stunning beaches, and when it comes to food, Garlic shrimp is right up there! It’s probably the most popular summer seafood recipe in Spain and with good reason. Such a simple dish but irresistible every single time you make it. Enjoy it as part of a tapas spread or just dig in with some bread and it’s the perfect light summer dinner.