August Dinner Ideas (with Step-by-Step Recipes)
Figuring out ‘what’s for dinner’ can be tough at the best of times: on a warm summer’s day, it is even more challenging!
So I’ve really pulled out the stops to bring you an entire menu of tasty dinner ideas to make every night of August. There’s a great mix of suggestions, from burgers to salads, crispy fish to creamy pasta. Where required, I’ve also suggested sides you could make with the dish to make it a complete family dinner.
August can be a tricky one when it comes to dinner. Fall isn’t quite here yet, so it’s still too warm for many of your trusted comfort foods. However, even in the summer sun, you still need dinner ideas that are filling without being too substantial. I really hope you enjoy cooking some new dishes and, hopefully, discover a few new family favorties for the monthly roster along the way!
Dinner Ideas (August)
Via ‘Ordinary and Happy,’ I bring you this month-long menu. Below, you can see all of the dinner suggestions placed beautifully into an August calendar.
This is perfect for an at-a-glance look at the month when doing your meal planning. Naturally, you can switch days around and adjust as you need for your schedule. This calendar gives you a bird’s-eye view of the whole month, making it much easier to plan dinner and change or swap some dishes, if needed.
With our month-long dinner plan in place, let’s take a closer look at all of the recipes.
Burger night with various toppings
Friday night is a great time for burgers. Whether you’re craving a beef burger, a mushroom burger, or a turkey burger, take a look at this collection of burger recipes for inspiration. If you want to cretae your own burger recipe, see this list of burger toppings for inspiration (including ideas specific to chicken burgers and salmon burgers).
Stuffed chicken breast with new potatoes
Since Saturday allows for a bit more time for cooking dinner than a regular weeknight, try something a bit special like this stuffed chicken breast recipe. The chicken is extra-tender due to marinating it in a Greek yogurt (or plain yogurt) mixture. You can marinate it for just 30 minutes, or you can prep it the night before or the morning of, ready to go for Saturday dinner. You can serve it with a side like these new potatoes with lemon-garlic butter or Parmesan roasted broccolini.
Smoked salmon burrata sandwich
I love making this smoked salmon and burrata ciabatta sandwich for a quick dinner (as they take 5 minutes). I highly recommend using homemade pesto for this one (instead of store-bought), which will only add 5 extra minutes to the sandwich recipe.
This smoked pancetta and mushroom pasta makes for another easy weeknight meal. I highly recommend using smoked pancetta for it, but you can substitute with smoked bacon lardons if you can’t get pancetta.
Chicken quesadillas with avocado
These dinner quesadillas take 20 minutes to make and are quite hearty thanks to the addition of shredded roasted chicken, bell peppers, tomatoes, sour cream, and mashed avocado.
This is quite an easy-to-make soup recipe and, best of all, you can use easily accessible and inexpensive white button mushrooms or you can choose to up the flavor with cremini mushrooms or portobello mushrooms.
While I generally make this frittata for brunch at home on the weekends, it’s equally great for a weeknight dinner. It’s really easy to make it, with the only prep being whisking the eggs and chopping the other ingredients before mixing it all together and baking it for 18-20 minutes.
Yogurt-marinated chicken breast with salad and/or potatoes
These marinated chicken breast fillets are so versatile. You can pair them with a salad, rice, couscous, potatoes, pasta, or roasted veggies. I particularly like them with an arugula avocado tomato salad & air fryer parmesan baby potatoes.
These salmon quinoa bowls are made with salmon fillets, quinoa, avocado, roasted peppers, and a lemon-herb-garlic creme fraiche. If you’re looking for a substitute for creme fraiche, you can try Greek yogurt or sour cream.
Tomato feta salad with bread or flatbreads
This tomato feta salad makes for a great no-cook recipe. Serve it with flatbreads or your favorite bread (personally, I think sourdough, ciabatta, and olive breads work great with this salad).
This pasta is made all in one pot and with just a few ingredients: parmesan, lemon, basil, garlic, butter, and chili flakes. You can serve it on its own or pair it with some chicken, like the yogurt-marinated chicken breast above or simple grilled chicken.
For this steak panini recipe, I’ve used sirloin steak, roasted peppers, arugula, and blue cheese. If you’re not a fan of blue cheese, substitute with a soft, mild goat cheese or Camembert for a similarly bold flavor. If you prefer a milder flavor, you can use provolone, havarti, or swiss.
Halloumi wraps with side salad
You can have these halloumi wraps ready in twenty minutes. Consisting of warm halloumi slices, mashed avocado, tomato slices, and other veggies with a garlic yogurt sauce wrapped in a soft tortilla, this is a great option for a veggie dinner. I like to pair the wraps with a fresh salad or some air-fryer fries.
Crispy fish fillets with fries
These crispy fish fillets are great for bringing a piece of the English coastline to your dinner table. I make them with basa fillets, but you can use any type of white fish fillet. Coated in breadcrumbs and air-fried, you can serve them with French fries, lemon wedges, and homemade tartar sauce for the English chip shop experience, or a green salad for a lighter dinner. For a beer-battered fish and chips recipe, you can also take a look here on Nomad Paradise.
Shakshuka (eggs baked in tomato sauce)
I’ve added zucchini (courgettes), bell pepper, and both cheddar and feta cheese to my take on a shakshuka, which is essentially eggs baked in a rich tomato sauce. Serve it with bread like sourdough or a baguette for an easy dinner. You can also serve this for brunch on the weekends.
Chicken thighs and veggies (sheet pan)
It only takes 15 minutes to prep my sheet pan chicken thighs with roasted veggies. Once everything has been placed on a sheet pan, it’s roasted in the oven. The cleanup is minimal, and you can even serve the juicy chicken and roasted veggies with an arugula avocado side salad.
This salad is perfect for a summer evening. It can be ready in 20 minutes and pairs salty grilled halloumi with sweet orange slices on a bed of arugula, lettuce, and red onion, with a honey-mustard dressing. It’s topped with chopped mint and flaked almonds. The salty tanginess of the halloumi and sweet acidity of the orange are just two of the many complementary combinations in this salad!
You can have this rich and silky smoked salmon pasta with lemon ricotta sauce, capers, and chives ready in just 15 minutes. This one is ideal for a really busy weeknight. If you do have more time, you could serve it with some parmesan garlic bread.
What makes this juicy beef burger extra tasty is that the patty has a filling of sundried tomato, parmesan, and goat cheese. I top mine with arugula, tomato, cheese, and a lemon-garlic mayo in a fluffy bun and serve it with a salad or rosemary potato wedges or fries. If you’re having friends over for dinner in the backyard on a warm summer evening, this could be a great choice.
Ready in 15 minutes, this turkey wrap works for both lunch and dinner. It’s made by wrapping deli turkey slices, cheese slices, shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato, avocado, and fresh basil pesto in a tortilla and toasting it in a skillet.
For a hot summer’s evening when you want something lighter and refreshing, you can have this couscous salad ready in 15 minutes. It has roasted chickpeas and a selection of fresh veggies and herbs with a lemon vinaigrette. It’s great with warm pita or sourdough bread, too.
Nachos with chicken, refried beans, and guacamole
If you have company, my loaded nachos can really feed a crowd. You can have it ready in 30 minutes. It’s made by assembling tortilla chips, refried beans, shredded roast chicken, jalapenos, and cheese in layers on a sheet pan and baking it in the oven for up to 10 minutes. Once cooked, you can top it with some homemade guacamole or mashed avocado, sour cream, and anything else you like!
Chicken meatballs/patties with rice and salad
These kotleti-style chicken meatballs are a childhood favorite of mine. They are made by making oblong patties from a mixture of ground chicken, egg, onion, parmesan, breadcrumbs, garlic, and herbs. The patties are first pan-fried, then steamed. For a warm summer evening, I’d recommend serving them with rice and a fresh salad.
This is a tasty summer salad you can have ready in 15 minutes. It’s made by pan-frying halloumi cubes until golden brown and laying them on a bed of arugula tossed with an olive oil, lemon, and mint dressing with watermelon cubes and roasted almonds. You can also make this salad with feta instead of halloumi for a classic watermelon salad option. If you have leftover watermelon, you could make a watermelon granita.
This Greek-inspired pasta salad has so much Mediterranean flavor. It’s simple to make, and mixes farfalle pasta with tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, bell pepper, olives, and feta cheese, with a lemon, honey, mustard, and herb dressing. It can be ready in under 30 minutes. Enjoy it cold with fresh bread.
You can have these delightful no-cook smoked salmon wraps ready in 10 minutes. Containing avocado, cucumber, and a lemon-chive cream cheese, you can enjoy them as a light dinner.
Potato frittata with mushrooms and feta
Ready in just over 30 minutes, this potato frittata with mushrooms and feta is great for all times of the day. I just love how comforting a hot slice is! This one-pan dish consists of egg, yogurt, potatoes, mushroom, onion, lemon, and herbs, topped with crumbled feta. I like to serve the frittata with feta and tomato salad or parmesan and arugula salad.
Salmon skewers with avocado sauce
These salmon skewers are rich, zesty, and packed with flavor. They are made by pan-searing or grilling marinated salmon skewers and topping the salmon with an avocado basil sauce to serve. If you don’t have skewers, you can cook the salmon fillets whole as well and use the same sauce on top.
You can make this chicken bagel in 15 minutes. It puts either grilled or pan-seared chicken breast covered in homemade pesto in a soft bagel with sliced tomato, mozzarella, and arugula. You can wrap it for a to-go lunch or dinner, or pair it with a fresh salad if you have a little more time.
Roasted tomato soup and bread or grilled cheese
If you have some juicy, in-season tomatoes, then this roasted tomato soup is a great way to use them. It gets it rich, caramelized flavor by first oven-roasting the tomatoes with sliced onions and a mixture of spices and balsamic vinegar, before blending them with stock.
It’s made creamier with heavy cream in a cooking pot, and I like to serve it with a side of fresh bread or this parmesan garlic bread.
Finally, finish the month with this rich, tart, and sweet pesto pasta salad. This is a great dish for some al fresco patio dining. I’ve used fusilli pasta in this recipe, but you can opt for other types of short pasta. You can serve it cold, as is, or with some grilled chicken and fresh bread.
And that, quite nicely, takes us to the end of the month and the start of September!
I’m hopeful this list will take a lot of the frustration out of planning dinner. I know what it’s like on those evenings you’re tired, haven’t long got in from work, and you still need to cook something relatively quick and tasty that the whole family will enjoy.
I would love to know which of these dishes were your favorites, so let me know in the comments below. Also, don’t forget to save this selection of recipes to one of your meal planning or summer dinner boards when you get a moment.
