Summer is the time when you want to feel refreshed, and you may have the urge to snack on ice cream, drink a cold beer, and go for a wine cooler as well. However, as much as there is nothing wrong with enjoying yourself once in a while, especially during summer – you want to ensure that you keep up with your healthy eating. That is because you can enjoy vegetables and fruits as well.
There are some refreshing summer vegetable recipe ideas that you can enjoy with your family and friends, and they can go very well in any type of picnic setting.
So let’s go over some refreshing summer vegetable recipes now!
Delicious Summer Vegetable Recipes
Summer Caprese Zoodles
If you love noodles but don’t want to take in the carbs they contain, you have a great alternative. You can enjoy zoodles! That is noodles that are made of zucchini. Yum! However, if this appeals to you and you don’t have a spiralizer, you need to buy one.
That is the only way you will make zoodles from your zucchini. You will love this summer zoodle recipe that will go very well with any barbecue!
Ingredients
The ingredients that you will need for it are:
- Four large zucchini
- Two cups of halved cherry tomatoes
- One cup of small mozzarella balls
- One-quarter cup of fresh basil leaves
- Two tablespoons of olive oil
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of pepper
Recipe
Step # 1: Take your spiralizer, start making those noodles from your zucchini, and place them into a large bowl.
Step # 2: Add the salt, pepper, and olive oil to it and stir it around.
Step # 3: Allow it to sit for about 15 minutes, and then you can add the basil, mozzarella balls, and tomatoes to the bowl.
Step # 4: Put some balsamic dressing on the zoodles and stir it around.
Step # 5: Go and enjoy it. That will be a hit with your friends and family, and you will be the one known to make this delicious summer vegetable dish.
Zucchini Tomato Bake
The zucchini tomato bake is another excellent summer vegetable recipe. You may wonder how that is possible since this is a hot dish. Isn’t corn on the cob barbecued hot too? You have barbecue chicken and burgers as well that are hot.
Therefore the zucchini tomato bake makes a great summer vegetable recipe. It makes an excellent addition to the barbecue as well! You cannot go wrong with it.
Ingredients
Therefore, you will want to head to the grocery store and pick up the following ingredients:
- Three medium chopped zucchini
- One cup of halved cherry tomatoes
- Two minced garlic cloves
- One-third of a cup of grated Parmesan cheese
- One teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
- Two tablespoons of crushed basil
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of pepper
Recipe
Step # 1: The first thing you want to do is preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 176.6 Celsius.
Step # 2: Next, take a large bowl, mix the garlic, tomatoes, and zucchini, and add olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Step # 3: Next, take out a small baking dish, put the mixture into it, and add some Parmesan cheese.
Step # 4: Put it in the oven and bake it for about 35 minutes. Ensure that it is golden by then.
Step # 5: After it is done, then add the basil to it, and then serve.
This dish makes an excellent addition to any barbecue lunch or dinner
Mexican Corn Salad
When you are mixing vegetables with summer, you cannot go without a corn recipe! Corn is an integral part of summer dishes, and you will love the Mexican corn salad recipe.
That is another excellent barbeque dish to serve to your family and guests.
Ingredients
What you will need to do is to head to the grocery store and grab the following ingredients:
- Six ears of corn
- Two and a half tablespoons of cilantro, the other half is for garnishing
- One and a half tablespoons of chili powder, the other half is for garnishing
- Two limes for juice
- One-half cup of mayonnaise
- One-quarter cup of feta or cotija cheese and some extra for garnish
- A teaspoon of salt
Recipe
Step # 1: The first thing to do is take a sharp knife and scrape the kernels off of the corn carefully and place them into a bowl for the time being.
Step # 2: Next, take a medium saucepan and add one-half cup of water to it, and put it on the stove, so you bring it to a simmer.
Step # 3: While the water is simmering, squeeze the limes so you can get the juice into a cup.
Step # 4: Next, add the corn kernels and cover them. Keep cooking it until the kernels are soft, and that will take about four minutes.
Step # 5: After that, drain the kernels and pat them dry.
Step # 6: Use the bowl that you used to place the corn.
Step # 7: Then you will want to add back the corn and then add the cilantro, chili pepper, mayonnaise, cheese, and lime juice.
Step # 8: Next, add Add the salt to it and mix it well. Finally, add the remaining cheese, cilantro, and chili powder to the top.
Enjoy your salad with your family and friends!
Check out more recipes like this HERE.
Conclusion
Those three summer vegetable recipes’ should give you some good ideas if you want to host a barbecue with your friends, family, or colleagues. But, of course, you can find other summer recipes online or even in your grandmother’s old cookbook if you have them.
The great thing about those chosen recipes is that they are refreshing, healthy, and delicious. In addition, they contain the right amount of energy to do your summer chores, such as gardening or simply taking a walk later on, or going dancing.
What will be even better is growing some of your vegetables and using them in the recipes! That will make you quite proud.
Find out everything there is to know about gardening, HERE.
