Fourth of July - America’s Independence Day and the peak of summer festivities. To celebrate our great nation, I’ve compiled a recipe guide packed with delicious and festive ideas to make your Fourth of July bash a hit! This recipe guide is packed with recipes for appetizers, mains, sides, drinks, desserts, and some tips for planning and inspiration. I hope these recipes give you inspiration for your patriotic feast!
Appetizers
Caprese skewers with blueberry balsamic glaze: Refreshing caprese salad on little skewers drizzled with a homemade blueberry balsamic glaze. Tip: If you don’t want to spend time skewering the caprese, you can easily make it into a salad. Just add your tomatoes, mozzarella, and blueberries to a serving platter or bowl, drizzle with the blueberry balsamic, and garnish with fresh basil.
Guacamole: Cool and creamy guacamole; you just can’t go wrong. And don’t forget the tortilla chips. Tip: You can also opt for store-bought guacamole to save on prep time.
Jalapeno poppers: These are one of my favorite appetizers to grill up in the summer. The balance of the spicy jalapeno peppers, creamy cheese, and crispy salty bacon is just so scrumptious. Tip: I like to make a big batch of these ahead of time by stuffing and wrapping the jalapenos in bacon, then freezing them in freezer bags. Just remove them from the freezer whenever you’re ready to grill or bake.
Fourth of July baked brie: Baked brie topped with blueberries, strawberries, and finished with an orange honey glaze. Tip: You can create a charcuterie board centered around this appetizer and make it the centerpiece. Serve with graham crackers, pretzels, and more fresh fruit.
Patriotic charcuterie board: This post gives you a complete list of everything you need to assemble a beautiful Fourth of July charcuterie board.
Main dishes
Classic burgers: This is a comprehensive guide to grilling juicy and flavorful burgers. Learn tips for choosing the right meat, shaping patties, and achieving the perfect cook. Tip: Don't overwork the meat when forming patties to keep them tender. My personal favorite way to make a burger is with mayo, mustard, cheese, and topped with grilled or sautéed onions.
Red, white, and blueberry bacon burger with basil aioli: This is a stellar and creative riff to spruce up any Fourth of July spread. Grilled burgers with havarti cheese, a blueberry balsamic compote, red onions, peppery arugula, crispy bacon, and an herbaceous basil aioli all in a brioche bun. If you love sweet and savory, this is the burger recipe for you! Tip: You can make the basil aioli and the blueberry compote ahead of time.
Hot dog bar: Everything from classic ketchup and mustard, Chicago style, Mexican street corn-inspired, and caramelized onion and cheddar - there’s a ton of fun hot dog variations packed in this post to elevate your hot dog game.
Hot honey chipotle chicken nachos: Smoky spiced chicken and sweet tangy BBQ, drizzled with honey and topped with a vibrant pico de gallo - these hot honey chicken nachos are anything but average.
Grilled brats: Learn how to grill bratwurst perfectly, ensuring they are cooked through with a nice char. Serve in buns with your favorite toppings.
Sides
Red, white, and blue salad: Strawberries, blueberries, and crumbles of creamy goat cheese make the perfect patriotic side salad for your Fourth of July spread!
Hot honey cornbread with candied cornflakes: This is not your grandma’s cornbread - it’s a hot honey cornbread (with the tender crumb of a cake) and crowned with crunchy candied cornflakes. It’s sure to be the talk of the BBQ.
Baked beans: Baked Beans are a classic BBQ side dish, adding a sweet, savory, and smoky complement to grilled meats and veggies. They’re even better when homemade.
Cucumber salad: Light, tangy, and refreshing cucumber salad to brighten up a summer BBQ feast.
Pasta salad: A tangy pasta salad studded with salty salami, cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumber, mozzarella pearls, briny olives, and finished with a zippy Italian dressing.
Grilled potato wedges: Smokey grilled wedges that are tender inside and crispy on the outside.
(Non-alcoholic) drinks
Blueberry lemonade: Fresh blueberries and sparkling water elevate a traditional lemonade, making it feel a bit more special.
Frozen lemonade: Creamy and a bit more decadent, but such a lovely treat for the hot summer days. Your kids will go nuts for these frozen lemonades!
Strawberry sweet tea: A strawberry-infused southern iced tea!
Red, white, and blue refresher: These fun layered drinks have strawberry daiquiri mix, pina colada mix, and blue Gatorade for a fun, fruity, and creamy drink that is super festive and refreshing.
Bomb Pop drinks: The nostalgic summer Bomb Pops are the star of the show in these drinks. It’s as simple as adding Sprite or any lemon-lime soda to a glass and stirring in a bomb pop. There’s also an option to make an adult version as well.
Desserts and sweet treats
Patriotic Rice Krispie treats: Nostalgic Rice Krispie Treats dunked in blue and red candy melts and decorated with starry sprinkles and stripes of icing to resemble our great American flag. This recipe uses store-bought Rice Krispie Treats, but if you’re feeling fancy, you can certainly make your own.
American flag fruit platter: A simple fruit platter served like an American flag, complete with sweet red strawberries and raspberries, plump blueberries, and white strips from white chocolate-covered pretzels!
Red, white, and berry sheet pan shortcake: This genius recipe is a spin on a classic strawberry shortcake, but it's one giant shortcake that is brimming with all kinds of fresh berries and dolloped with a luscious mascarpone whipped cream. Such a beautiful and vibrant twist on an American classic that is perfect for a crowd.
Red, white, and blue trifle with raspberry sauce: Another show-stopping dessert option with patriotic flair, best served in a trifle dish to display the lovely red, white, and blue layers. Tips: You can use homemade or store-bought options for the pound cake, vanilla pudding, and whipped cream. If making from scratch, you can certainly make this trifle further in advance, but no matter what route you take, it is the perfect dessert to make ahead of time to allow the flavors to marry.
Ice cream sandwich cookies: Cold, creamy, and refreshing ice cream sandwiches, a wonderful handheld treat for the 4th. Vanilla cookies rolled in red, white, and blue jimmie sprinkles with vanilla ice cream in between. Tip: Not only can you make these ahead of time, but feel free to get creative with the variations and use this recipe as a guide/method. Try making chocolate chip cookies, brownie cookies, snickerdoodles, or any cookie you’d like. The same goes for ice cream; chocolate, strawberry, cookies and cream, etc. The possibilities are endless!
Will you be making any of these recipes for your Fourth of July gathering? Let us know in the comments.
Happy Fourth of July!