4,893 summer recipes

If your garden is overflowing with zucchini, it can be hard to think of ways to use them. Well, one way is to create the perfect zucchini bread. This is a family and work favorite. A great taste of zucchini, but not over powering. Enjoy.

Summer grape parfait: a two-ingredient five-minute dessert with seedless grapes and lemon yogurt layered in tall glasses for a refreshing fat-free finish.

Summer soup with potato, leek, watercress, and fresh basil in vegetable stock. A light, peppery vegetarian soup that celebrates green flavors without cream or heavy thickeners.

No-cook summer spaghetti with a cold marinated sauce of Roma tomatoes, green olives, capers, garlic, and fresh herbs tossed with hot pasta.

No-cook summer couscous salad with fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, mint, coriander, parsley, and garlic in olive oil. A light, herby Mediterranean side dish.

Summer pandowdy layers juicy nectarines and blueberries under a cream biscuit crust, then dowdies the top by pressing it into the bubbling fruit. Old-fashioned New England dessert.

Vegetable-loaded summer chili with zucchini, squash, mushrooms, kidney beans, and bell peppers in a cumin-chili tomato broth. Hearty, meatless, and full of garden produce.

Summer risotto loaded with chicken, prosciutto, mushrooms, peas, sweet peppers, and tomatoes, finished with Romano cheese. A one-pot Italian rice dinner ready in 30 minutes with fresh seasonal flavors.

Frozen summer fruit punch made by freezing pineapple, orange, and banana juice into a slush, then topping with strawberries and lemon-lime soda. Crowd-sized recipe serves 30.

Fresh apricot sundae with dark brown sugar, orange zest, and vanilla or raspberry frozen yogurt. A no-cook summer dessert ready in 5 minutes at just 58 calories.

Cold quinoa summer salad tossed with pecans, black olives, mushrooms, plumped raisins, and scallions in a lemon-soy-olive oil dressing. No cooking required.

Store-bought non-fat salad dressing makes this salad as simple as can be. Crunchy vegetables make it tasty and low in fat.

Hearty beef and vegetable stew loaded with tomatoes, potatoes, corn, green beans, peas, and summer squash. Simmered low and slow in a Dutch oven, this feeds a crowd of 10.

Finnish summer soup (kesäkeitto): a creamy Nordic vegetable soup with new potatoes, baby carrots, peas, and green beans in a light half-and-half broth. Built to showcase the season's first harvest.

Rice cakes topped with reduced-fat cream cheese, mandarin oranges, kiwi, and fresh strawberries. A colorful, low-fat no-cook snack ready in 10 minutes.

Three beans mingle with zucchini, fresh tomatoes, and banana peppers in this Southwestern-spiced vegetable soup. Red wine and cumin add warmth to this hearty, healthy bowl.