25+ Best Memorial Day Recipes

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It’s time to kick off summer with the best Memorial Day recipes! You’ll find tons of grilled favorites, crowd-pleasing side dishes, and sweet treats brimming with fresh fruits.

Grilled shrimp skewers on a plate with lemon slices, parsley and the marinade.

As a SoCal native, Memorial weekend is one of my favorites. It officially marks the beginning of summer, which means grilling season is in full swing, the sun is shining bright, and the weekends are spent outdoors almost 90% of the time.

So to make this three-day weekend extra festive, I’ve put together some of my best recipes that I guarantee your crowd will love! My personal favorites are grilled shrimp skewers, a heaping bowl of coleslaw, and a refreshing pitcher of sangria. But I’ve got tons more Memorial Day recipes for you to choose from in this list.

Most importantly, let’s not forget that this special day honors those who have lost their lives serving in the U.S. military. So cheers to a weekend of commemoration, gratitude, friends, family, and good food!

Memorial day recipes with grilled kabobs and grilled peach.

The Best Grilled Recipes Start Here

Memorial weekend is all about the grill! Get ready to devour the best grilled seafood and juicy, flavorful meats.

  • Garlic Grilled Shrimp Skewers: Juicy jumbo shrimp are marinated in the most delicious garlic herb mixture. And yes, it only takes 10 minutes to grill these bad boys up.
  • Carne Asada: With any long weekend, you can never go wrong with grilled steak and these easy carne asada tacos!
  • Greek Chicken Kabobs: These skewers are threaded with lemony chicken, and colorful vegetables, and served with homemade tzatziki. It doesn’t get any fresher than this.
  • Grilled Fish Tacos: For a refreshing take on tacos, you won’t want to miss this version topped with an insanely good carrot citrus slaw.
  • Turkey Burgers: We love a good burger here, and these turkey burgers are a lot more moist and flavorful than you think! Plus, you can add a schmear of this garlic aioli on top.
  • Greek Chicken Burgers: For a Mediterranean spin, these chicken burgers with tzatziki sauce are summertime on a plate.
  • Chicken Souvlaki: Grilled chicken skewers that are marinated in garlicky herby Greek flavor.
  • Grilled Watermelon: If you haven’t tried grilled watermelon, with hints of smoky, fresh, and cilantro lime flavors – this is your sign to do so.
  • Grilled Corn on the Cob: Grilled corn is a quintessential summer grilling recipe. But if you want to give it a big flavor, make this grilled elote topped with cotija cheese, lime juice, and cilantro.
  • Cedar Plank Salmon with Maple Ginger Glaze: This is an easy, delicious way to grill salmon. Plus, that maple ginger glaze is to die for.
  • Grilled Peach and Burrata Salad: Don’t forget about grilling fruits! Sweet peaches are perfectly grilled and paired with creamy burrata for the perfect summer salad.
Slices of tomato and mozzarella on a plate with fresh basil leaves.

Crowd-Pleasing Side Dishes

Let’s be honest, the sides are just as important as the mains. I’ve got the classics like potato salad and coleslaw. But here’s a few more tasty sides that will add big flavors and bold colors to the table.

Memorial day recipes with guacamole and mango salsa.

Memorial Day Appetizers To Start The Party

There’s nothing like finger foods to get the party started. Especially when there’s a big bowl of guacamole involved.

  • Best Ever Guacamole: As always, a bowl of my best ever guacamole is a must!
  • Pico De Gallo: The freshest chunky salsa made for scooping with tortilla chips. And when you can’t decide between guacamole and pico de gallo – this avocado salsa is it.
  • 7 Layer Dip: When you can’t decide on one dip, this seven-layer dip is the next best thing. Plus, it can easily be made ahead of time to make assembly a breeze.
  • Ceviche: The most simple and fresh blend of lime-marinated white fish, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, avocado, and cilantro. It’s the ultimate ceviche!
  • Mango Salsa: I’m such a mango lover, and this salsa is the best combo of juicy sweet with a kick of jalapeno heat!
Red sangria in a glass with orange slice garnish and pitcher in the background.

Hello Drinks and Cocktails!

Go the extra mile and whip up any of these drinks for your guests – they’ll love them! And yes, I’ve got both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options that are equally delicious.

  • Red Sangria: Nothing is more festive than a beautiful sangria pitcher filled with fresh fruits!
  • Classic Margarita: For all the tequila lovers, you can’t go wrong with this classic cocktail.
  • Agua Fresca: Grab all your favorite fresh fruits and turn them into refreshing fruit juices. Bonus – the kiddos will love these.
  • Lavender Lemonade: A pitcher of fresh squeezed lemonade always hits the spot. But the lavender takes it to the next level.
Memorial day recipes with a berry sheet cake and berry crisp.

Memorial Day Patriotic Sweet Treats

Since a red, white, and blue theme is a given, here’s a few favorite Memorial day desserts that fall right into that category. They’re deliciously sweet, so easy to make, and make summer berries shine bright!

Want more recipe roundups? Check out my Best Mango Recipes, Best Chicken Breast Recipes, and Easy Salmon Recipes!

If you make any of these Memorial Day recipes, let me know how it turned out! I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.

Best memorial day recipes with grilled shrimp and berry sheet cake.

25+ Best Memorial Day Recipes

5 from 6 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Total: 50 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Author: Lisa Bryan

Description

Kick off summer with the best Memorial Day recipes including grilled favorites, crowd-pleasing side dishes, and fruity desserts like this fluffy berry sheet cake!

Ingredients 
 

Dry Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

Berries

  • 12-14 ounces fresh berries (approx 3 cups), make sure they're completely dry (if recently washed)

Instructions 

  • Preheat your oven to 350F and grease a 9×13-inch sheet pan, or a 1/4 sheet jelly roll pan.
  • Add all of the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir together until combined.
  • Add all the wet ingredients to a separate mixing bowl and whisk together. Then, pour the wet mixture into the dry and whisk for 30 seconds, until you have a thick batter.
  • Pour the batter into the greased pan and use flatten the top with a spatula.
  • Sprinkle the berries evenly on top and transfer the sheet pan into the oven. Cook for 35-40 minutes, or until golden across the top.
  • Let it cool, slice and serve!

Nutrition

Calories: 244kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 214mg | Potassium: 56mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 53IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Healthy Memorial Day Recipes, Memorial Day Recipes
Did you make this recipe?Mention @downshiftology or tag #downshiftology!

This Memorial Day recipes roundup was originally published May 2021, but updated to include new recipes I know you’ll love!

About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.

5 from 6 votes

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16 Comments

  1. Question: I love the sound of this recipe, but am having trouble finding organic almond flour – I have problems with the fungicides used on commercial nuts so always buy organic. I guess I could make my own, but would rather not have to run my oven long enough to make the flour during the hot weather. Do you think I could replace the almond flour with tiger nut flour?

  2. These are some seriously delicious looking recipes! Definitely going to give these a try this year; looks too good to pass up!5 stars