14 Easy Memorial Day Menu Ideas
Plan the perfect Memorial Day party menu whether you're hosting a crowd or keeping it to just your family in your backyard. These delicious recipes are perfect for a cookout with back-up inside dishes in case it rains.
Planning a cookout for Memorial Day? While burgers and hot dogs are classic choices, don't overlook more unique menu ideas like grilled fish, barbecue chicken, and spicy pulled pork.
Here are some of my family's very favorite dishes with all the side dishes you need to serve for the kickstart to summer and honor a special Memorial Day dinner with your loved ones and friends.
Shrimp Boil on the Grill
These shrimp boil foil packets are an excellent option for a cookout because you can customize what goes into each grill packet: all shrimp, all sausage, or mix and match depending on each diner!
With tender potatoes and sweet corn cobs, everything you need for the dinner is included in each packet.
Just add a platter of fresh watermelon to go with it!
Grilled Meatball Skewers
To keep grilling extra easy, use my grilled meatball skewers recipe to cook teriyaki meatballs all in long kabobs that cook evenly.
Then thread skewers of all bell peppers, all red onions, and chunks of fresh pineapple for an easy side.
Bacon Cheeseburgers
Burgers and Memorial Day go hand-in-hand. Set up an easy burger bar with mix and match toppings including:
- Bacon: My peppered bacon is baked right in the oven and very easy.
- Sliced cheese
- Fresh tomatoes
- Fresh basil leaves
- Onions: you could offer my pickled red onions or caramelized onions if you want to upgrade the traditional sliced raw onion
Set out bowls of chips and a platter of raw veggies with my easy dill dip for dipping.
Turkey Burgers {Oven or Air Fryer}
It's always good to have a Plan B in case the weather doesn't cooperate with a cookout.
If you want to make your Memorial Day burgers inside, you could broil my turkey burgers in the oven or even pop them in an air fryer to cook in under 10 minutes.
They pair well with all the traditional burger toppings mentioned above, but I would also add fresh arugula to the table.
Serve with chips or baked tater tots or french fries with my spicy sauce for dunking.
Grilled Chimichurri Steak
Plan ahead for the 24-hour marinating time and prep my easy chimichurri flank steak for the grill. Reserve some of the marinade to use as a sauce drizzled over the top.
Serve over a bed of white jasmine rice with sliced fresh tomatoes on the side.
Alabama BBQ Chicken
You could grill or bake my Alabama bbq chicken breasts, they start with a dry rub and have my delicious Alabama white sauce drizzled over the top.
Pair with some roasted mini potatoes and onions or a big pan of make ahead mac and cheese.
Boneless Pork Ribs
If you want to enjoy ribs but want to prep them in the oven, don't miss my baked boneless pork ribs recipe.
Brush my light and sweet bbq sauce over the top after they're done and serve with a bowl of chow chow relish on the side.
These pair well with my crockpot mashed potatoes or even this pineapple and sweet potato mash.
Pulled Pork
I love to throw a pork butt into the crockpot for making easy pulled pork for a bbq plate or pulled pork sandwiches.
Set out a platter of ciabatta rolls, a variety of bbq sauces like my tomato-based bbq sauce or this Alabama white sauce, and a jar of chow chow for topping.
Serve it with salty potato chips, my southern macaroni salad and platters of watermelon.
Mexican Carnitas
You could keep a crockpot filled with my Mexican pulled pork carnitas warm on the buffet table and then warm the tortillas right on the grill!
Serve it with big bowls of Mexican slaw for tacos, bowls of fresh limes, chopped green onions, sour cream, and a variety of hot sauces or salsas.
My tomato-based homemade salsa is a great pick but for summer you could try my chunky corn salsa or this sweet and spicy peach salsa.
Chili Dog Bar
If kids are going to be at your party, hot dogs are a must-have. You could upgrade this to a fun main dish for the grown-ups too by adding a pot of my ground beef chili for making chili dogs.
Offer shredded cheese, chopped green onions, sour cream for mixing and matching.
Serve with platters of soft hot dog buns and corn on the cob.
Grilled Tilapia
Looking for a lighter menu for Memorial Day? We love making grilled tilapia on cedar planks for serving alongside my Savannah red rice and corn on the cob.
It tastes like our favorite beachy restaurants right at home.
Sweet Corn and Bacon Pizza
This sweet corn pizza could make a fun vegetarian entree if you skip the bacon or you could slice it up into small squares for a fun appetizer.
You could easily prep the whole thing on the grill if you want to take it outside.
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Prep a batch of my buttermilk fried chicken and plan to serve it hot or cold picnic style.
Pair it with your favorite potato salad or my southern macaroni salad. My kids love it with baked mac and cheese.
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