Memorial Day is a great time to spend the day with family and friends cooking out in the backyard. It’s a great way to usher in the beginning of summer, with friends and food! Obviously, you’ll want the first cookout of the year to be a hit, and sometimes it can be hard to plan the perfect menu! Here are a few tips for what you can make for it to be a success!

Side Dishes

It’s usually good to have quite a few side dishes, so that everyone can have their favorites. Fruit is a good place to start, as watermelon, a fruit salad, or pineapple can be very refreshing. Speaking of fruit salad, salad is always a good idea. But don’t rely on lettuce to make your salads. Instead, pasta salad, macaroni salad, or potato salad are always good to have a heaping spoonful of! And, most store sell delicious pre-made versions, so you don’t have to worry about making another dish from scratch. And, if you want a warm side dish, baked beans are usually a hit!

Main Dishes

A cookout doesn’t have to just be burgers and hot dogs, although those are always favorites! Maybe try some Italian sausage or bratwurst as something a little different. They’re fantastic plain, but also taste good with different types of mustard. And, if you do want to stick with hamburgers, there are different recipes that you can try to spice things up. You can stuff your burgers, buy some different flavors at the store, or you can try this recipe that copy’s Red Robin’s Banzai Burger: https://topsecretrecipes.com/red-robin-the-banzai-burger-copycat-recipe.html.

Dessert

Arguably the most important part of any cookout is the dessert. The most satisfying dessert can be the easiest. You can grab ice cream sandwiches, popsicles, or make some brownies to eat with ice cream. Mainly, you just want something cold to eat, so that you’ll feel refreshed at the end of your cookout.

Cookouts don’t have to be stressful, and coming up with a solid plan for Memorial Day will make the holiday a blast!