The Fourth of July is one of best holidays. It combines friends, family, patriotic pride, and sunny days all into one celebration.
In addition to eye-popping fireworks displays, Fourth of July food is also a huge part of the whole affair. Between all the summer-friendly recipes out there, combined with all the fun ways to incorporate red, white, and blue into your food, the options for creating the perfect Fourth of July menu can get a little bit overwhelming.
Fortunately, there are plenty of recipes out there that require very little prep work and can be scaled up or down, depending how many guests you are hosting for the big night.
We've created a full menu of these fun and easy edible items that will seriously make a splash on Independence Day. It covers all the bases, from appetizers to sides to delicious desserts — and even some decor ideas to spice up your spread. Check down below for these easy Fourth of July food ideas that will have you spending less time in the kitchen and more time celebrating with loved ones.
The Appetizer
While barbecued meats and sugary sweets usually share the spotlight, the humble veggie platter is still an instrumental part of any successful summer cookout. For the perfect Fourth of July appetizer, arrange your veggies into stripes on a baking sheet or square platter. Then add in a square vessel of your favorite dip to make an edible flag — you can even cut out some stars to adorn the dip.
The Side Dish
The ideal side dish is delicious, hearty, and has a little something special that keeps you coming back — that's what makes this potato salad so perfect for the occasion. Potato salad is delicious on its own, but adding spinach and bacon will lend it both freshness and depth.
The Main Course
Though they are technically from Germany, hot dogs have become synonymous with America and its favorite pastime, baseball! So it's a no-brainer to serve hotdogs at your Independence Day shindig — considering how delicious and easy they are. If you want to spice up your dogs a little, try adding BLT toppings, meaning shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and, obviously, bacon.
The Dessert
Desserts are arguably the most fun part of any Fourth of July celebration because they're tasty and colorful — red, white, and blue makes for some seriously delicious flavor combos! But making a delicious patriotic dessert doesn't require you to spend hours in the kitchen, concocting a complicated recipe. In fact, all you need to make these Fourth of July skewers are strawberries, blackberries, and donut holes — they're so tasty and equally as simple!
The Drinks
A party isn't complete without a few cocktails, but making enough for an entire group of people can mean bulking up on a bunch of expensive ingredients. Fortunately, this sangria requires only a few supplies and looks extra festive. A few bottles of wine, watermelon and frozen fruit are essentially all you need — and the wine can easily be swapped out for club soda.
No Fourth of July party would be complete without a few decorations to get people's patriotic spirits soaring. If you want adorable decorations for your party but don't want to spend too much time and money, check out our list of Fourth of July DIYs — all of which would look great next to these easy dishes.
The Fourth of July is all about celebrating with family and friends, not overly elaborate, time-consuming meals. If you and your friends are looking for ways to make the big day as fun and stress-free as possible, make sure to SHARE this menu with them on Facebook.
