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With the 4th of July approaching soon, it’s time to start planning out the details of the day. Whether you’re planning a summer cookout with a few of your closest friends or hosting a large group at your house, serving delicious food is a must. But where do you even start?
Creating the menu for the day can seem like a doughty task, but we’re here to break the stigma — making it super easy to narrow down your recipe choices. Whether you’re looking for a red, white and blue charcuterie board, a patriotic dessert or a classic, American entree, these 4th of July party foods will be a hit amongst any crowd.
21 Delicious 4th of July Recipes
1. The Best 4th of July Charcuterie Board
Every year, we host our family and a few friends for the holiday, so we’re always trying to think of recipes that will feed a crowd. We wanted this snack board to be a patriotic appetizer with red, white, and blue foods, so we crowded it with cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, blueberries, blackberries, crackers, salami, and more.
2. Bruschetta and Garlic Parmesan Crostini
If you’re in charge of bringing an appetizer to a 4th of July party, make this bruschetta on garlic parmesan crostini. It only takes 15 minutes to make and uses minimal ingredients!
3. Dad’s Famous Guacamole
Our Dad’s Famous Guacamole is simple, packed with flavor and the perfect texture between chunky and smooth. Roughly mashed avocados, mixed with finely diced onion and fresh Roma tomatoes and lots of lime and cilantro. And the best part is, it just takes about 10 minutes to make!
4. Pretzel Crusted Chicken with Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce
There’s something so classic, simple and nostalgic about fried chicken. Everyone loves it and it’s an American staple. This lightly fried, then baked, pretzel crusted chicken is a delicious entree to serve this 4th of July.
5. Puff Pastry Tomato Basil Tart
One of our favorite things about summer is our tomato garden, and make this every 4th of July for our friends and family to enjoy as an appetizer. All you’ll need a frozen puff pastry, some herbs, cheese and tomatoes to whip together this tart in just less than 30 minutes.
6. Fresh Cold Corn Pasta Salad
A cold orecchiette pasta, tossed with cherry tomatoes, grilled corn, mozzarella and pesto to make a delicious lunch or dinner for your next summer get-together.
7. Pretzel Crusted Hot Honey Chicken
Hot honey is all the buzz! And we have to agree that you can never go wrong with a sweet and spicy combo! This pretzel-crusted hot honey chicken is a twist on your usual chicken entree.
8. Firecracker Hot Dogs
It’s criminal not to serve some sort of hot dog recipe on the 4th of July. While we love a classic hot dog, these firecracker hot dogs are such a unique twist on the recipe.
9. Four Cheese Baked Mac & Cheese
Mac. & Cheese is a classic American entree for 4th of July and our recipe is so delicious and easy to make. A creamy cheese sauce made with a blend of four cheeses and topped with crunchy toasted Ritz crumbs. Yum!
10. Cheddar Jalapeño Rolls
We make these cheddar jalapeño rolls for just about every holiday throughout the year — everyone always loves them. Made with a slightly sweet butter dough and filled with a buttery, cheesy thyme filling.
11. Fluffernutter S’mores Bars
Summer is s’mores season and these can guarantee that these fluffernutter s’mores bars will fly off the table. They have all the flavor of a s’more — chocolate, marshmallow, and Hershey bar — with the iconic taste of a fluffernutter sandwich — marshmallow fluff and peanut butter.
12. Key Lime Cheesecake Bars with Ginger Snap Cookie Crust
Cheesecake sprinkled with fresh key-lime zest baked over a gingersnap cookie crust and topped with meringue. They are the perfect bite-sized 4th of July dessert.
13. White Chocolate Coconut Mixed Berry Sheet Cake
A soft, cloud-like white chocolate vanilla cake swirled with berry jam, topped with a whipped cream cheese frosting coconut flakes and fresh berries. It’s has a perfectly light and soft texture and the whipped cream cheese icing keeps the cake light and fresh — perfect and patriotic for 4th of July.
14. The Absolute Best 4th of July Fruit Pizza
This 4th of July fruit pizza has been made since we could remember. Before we started making it our mom, and before her, our grandma would make it every summer. We used our family’s homemade sugar cookie recipe and topped it with a cream cheese icing and red and blue berries.
15. New York Style Banana Pudding (Magnolia Bakery Recipe)
You can’t get any more Americana than Banana Pudding, so why not make it for the 4th of July? This banana pudding is inspired by Magnolia Bakery’s deliciously creamy banana pudding with swirls of pudding, fresh bananas, Nilla wafers and cake crumbles. It is a decadent treat that seems to hit the spot every time.
16. Mango Pineapple Cobbler with Biscuit Crumble
We combined mango, pineapple, and coconut to create a delicious, tropical, fruity base and topped it with a buttery biscuit crumble. One bite of this instantly transported us to summertime. It’s all the flavors of a tropical vacation with the nostalgia of a classic southern dessert.
17. Red, White, and Blueberry Muffins
Breakfast is our favorite meal of the day, and we can never pass up the opportunity to serve muffins. We absolutely love this idea of making red, white, and blueberry muffins. The mixed berries with the addition of white chocolate chips will be such a delicious morning treat.
18. Patriotic Party Mix
Pro tip: serving any type of party mix for any occasion will be a crowd favorite. It does’t take long for people to devour a mixture of some delicious snack items. Made with popcorn, pretzels, red and blue M&Ms and white chocolate, there’s no denying this recipe will be tasty and easy to make.
19. Patriotic Fruit Kabob Skewers
By the 4th of July, temperatures are toasty to say the least, and we’re constantly in the mood for juicy fruit. These patriotic fruit kabobs are tasty and hydrating for the hot day of celebration.
20. 4th of July Oreo Balls
Oreo truffle balls are one of our favorite desserts and are quite addicting. This patriotic take on the classic recipe is so adorable. Plus, they are such an easy dessert to make ahead of time.
21. Frozen Watermelon Herb Margaritas
Looking for a cold drink to serve at your patriotic cookout? If so, these frozen watermelon margaritas are the epitome of summer — made with fresh watermelon, herb simple syrup, tequila, and lime juice and topped with star-shaped blueberry ice cubes.
