Easy Memorial Day Recipes for a Crowd
on May 13, 2022, Updated Feb 24, 2025
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Let’s Welcome: Easy Memorial Day Recipes for a Crowd to kick off summer! Memorial Day weekend is the ultimate transition into Summer, bringing that first taste of all our favorite sunny recipes. It’s all about family and friends get-togethers and backyard barbecue cookouts — think potato salad, pasta salad, grilled steak, salads, pork ribs, beans with bacon, and the classics such as ribs, burgers, and hot dogs, to name a few.
Our Top Easy Memorial Day Recipes for a Crowd
For Memorial Day, we think all things barbecue and outside entertaining. We also think about make-ahead recipes, such as potato or pasta salad. Below are some of our favorites to get started.
- For an easy appetizer, Prosciutto and Melon are our go-to, since they can be prepared in advance and are the first real sight of summer with in-season melon.
- Corn is also very bountiful in the Spring and Summer seasons, so this Grilled Corn with Tajin Lime Butter is the perfect side dish to pair with any other recipes using your BBQ.
- What we love about our Hot Honey Barbecue Ribs is that they are slow-roasted in the oven, and then finished on the grill, meaning, they can easily be prepared in advance and served grilled and warm when guests arrive.
Easy Appetizers
Shrimp Cocktail with Old Bay Mayo
We turn to this shrimp cocktail with old bay mayo anytime we want to make a delicious appetizer. This shrimp recipe really comes together in no time, with the only tedious part being cleaning and peeling the shrimp. Sorry, but it’s got to be done! Serve this alongside any party, or holidays coming up and I promise everything will love you!
Tuna Crudo with Citrus Caper Vinaigrette
This tuna crudo with a citrus caper vinaigrette is the absolute best. Talk about the perfect tuna sashimi appetizer recipe! The best yellowfin tuna recipe. This not only comes together super quickly (hello, no-cook!), but it is quite easy and looks extremely impressive. Have it for dinner, serve it for a party, on top of salad, and mix and match your favorite toppings and flavors.
Truly, this prosciutto and cantaloupe melon recipe is the BEST summer snack, appetizer, starter and even dinner! There is nothing better than a dream juicy cantaloupe, then the salty to sweet combo is absolutely fantastic and the best flavors EVER.
It’s peek summer, and this no-cook, one-blend tomato and melon gazpacho soup recipe is everything! It truly tastes absolutely amazing and is just perfect for the summertime. When it gets warm outside, this is the exact recipe that I gravitate towards. I am a lover of all soups, and this cold-form gazpacho with all my favorite vegetables is just epic!
Side-Dishes to Drool Over
Melon Prosciutto Salad with Sungold Tomato Vinaigrette
This Melon, Mint, and Prosciutto Salad is a special salad for the summer season! With a confit Sungold tomato and pickled cherry pepper vinaigrette, this salad is the perfect balance of sweet, savory, and spicy. Serve it as a side dish, snack, or starter.
Grilled Corn with Tajin Lime Butter
Grilled corn on the cob is a sweet and smoky summer side, perfect for any BBQ. Learn how to grill corn on the cob with and without the husk, paired with Tajin lime butter. Charred and slathered with a compound butter made with unsalted butter, lime, and a sprinkle of Tajín, this recipe adds zesty flavor to any summer meal. For other delicious corn recipes, try our Creamy Corn Soup and Sweet Corn & Mascarpone Risotto with Basil Oil.
Easy Pasta Salad with Jalapeño Basil Vinaigrette
This easy pasta salad with jalapeño basil vinaigrette combines fresh vegetables, zesty flavors, and a homemade dressing that is just epic! This pasta is best cold, and the perfect potluck picnic side dish recipe, or meal prep recipe. As the temperatures rise and summer is in full swing, there’s nothing quite like a refreshing cold pasta salad to satisfy!
Crispy Grilled Potato Salad with Horseradish Sauce
Talk about a SIDE dish. Let’s make this: crispy grilled potato salad with a horseradish sauce. A homemade paste is made and tossed over the potatoes (think garlic, rosemary and dijon mustard), cooked on the grill and tossed with a creamy horseradish sauce.
Grilled and Barbecue Recipes
When game day approaches, we gravitate towards these sambal barbecue chicken wings. The wings pack heat from the sambal oelek, sweetness from the ketchup, and umami from the soy sauce. This dish is grilled until crispy and then tossed in the sauce, finishing topped with red onion and cilantro. Make sure to dip the wings with Jalapeño Dill Ranch!
Grilled Lamb Chops with Charred Jalapeño Chimichurri
These grilled lamb chops with charred jalapeño chimichurri are the perfect dinner! Served with grilled zucchini, the heat of the chimichurri complements the fresh vegetable for a delicious summer meal. For more grilling recipes, try our Adobo Grilled Steak with Chimichurri, and Lemongrass Grilled Chicken Skewers next.
Grilled Peel and Eat Shrimp with Basil Butter
These zesty grilled peel and eat shrimp with basil butter are worth getting your fingers messy! A herbaceous compound butter mixed with basil and garlic is the perfect pairing for this shell-on shrimp. If you’re looking for more shrimp recipes, then check out our Bang Bang Shrimp, and Cilantro Lime Shrimp Fajitas.
Hot honey barbecue ribs! These BBQ spare ribs are tossed with a simple spice blend, baked in the love, and then brushed with homemade hot honey barbecue sauce. Place it on the grill after for a more smoky, spicy, and caramelized finish.
These are our go-to, most perfect easy homemade burgers! It’s extremely simple, it’s quick, and it gets dinner ready in no time. It’s also the most perfect recipe to make for a crowd – because who doesn’t love burgers?
End on a Sweet Note with Dessert
Grilled Peaches with Ice Cream
Grilled peaches with vanilla ice cream = perfect pair. Top with toasted pistachios and a sweet drizzle! Yes for peach season! We’re amping it up a tad with some toasted pistachios and a sweet drizzle – can be anywhere from honey, to agave or maple syrup. Such an easy, no-fuss, summer recipe!
Dreamy and delicious mixed berry cobbler recipe: a la mode of course! This fruit cobbler is made with fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries all tossed with a little lemon juice and zest. Then baked to perfection with a crumble streusel topping. YUM. This is one of my favorite berry cobbler recipes.
Easy Memorial Day Recipe FAQs
Some of the best foods to cook on Memorial Day are potato salad, pasta salad, grilled steak, salads, pork ribs, beans with bacon, and the classics such as ribs, burgers, and hot dogs, to name a few.
A Memorial Day BBQ calls for classic, crowd-pleasing dishes! Some prep-ahead recipes that are perfect to bring to a Potluck are potato salads, pasta salads, and desserts such as fresh peaches, watermelon, or melon. Even something such as gazpacho is a great refreshing starter to bring to a party!
Hamburgers are often the most popular food to eat and cook on Memorial Day, especially on the grill as the weather starts to warm up.
Even More Easy Memorial Day Recipes
Find all our Memorial Day recipes in our index!
If you do make any of these Easy Memorial Day Recipes, leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, we would love to hear what you think! Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram, we love to see what you’re making! If you’d like to stay in touch and get the latest in your inbox, sign up for our Newsletter. We can also be found on YouTube, Facebook, and Pinterest!
