5 Peak Summer Recipes to Make in August

By
Megan Scott
Meg Scott
Megan Scott
Megan is a recipe developer and editor with 12 years of industry experience, most recently as culinary director at a marketing agency. In 2019, she also co-authored the 9th edition of the classic cookbook, Joy of Cooking.
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Published on 07/25/23
Fresh Peach Crumble

The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Peak summer cooking is first and foremost a story of seasonal produce. Tomatoes, peaches, corn, zucchini, and all the beloved fruits and vegetables that seem to come into abundance at exactly the same time, delightfully overwhelming our countertops and crisper drawers.

But peak summer cooking is also a mindset, a perfect balance between effort and ease. Enough effort to do justice to perfect produce, but easy enough that we're not hunkered down in the kitchen and can be free to live our best summer lives. These recipes are an homage to finding that balance.

From a corn fritter with an ingredient list you could write on one side of a Post-It note to a no-bake pie so easy a child could make it unsupervised, these recipes are made for the fullness of summer days.

  • 01 of 05

    Southern Fried Green Tomatoes

    southern fried green tomatoes served on a plate

    The Spruce/Cara Cormack

    Green tomatoes are the poster children of late summer. While you can use them to make pickles, soup, and even pie, we think they're at their best cornmeal-battered and shallow-fried. The slight tanginess of the tomatoes bursts through the rich fried coating for a combination of flavors you can only get at a very specific time of year. That makes it all the more special.

  • 02 of 05

    Fresh Corn Fritters

    Corn fritters recipe

    The Spruce / Diana Chistruga

    These fritters are all about the corn. They have only five ingredients (including salt and the oil they're cooked in) and juuuust enough egg and flour to hold everything together. This is the perfect simple recipe to show off the beautiful flavor of fresh sweet corn. For a little extra credit, serve them with a green sauce like mojo de cilantro.

  • 03 of 05

    Fresh Peach Crumble

    Fresh Peach Crumble

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

    After you've gotten tired of standing over the kitchen sink messily eating peaches, this iconic summer dessert is the best way to use them. We provide instructions for peeling the peaches, but that's by no means a requirement to make this crumble. We do, however, require you to serve it with ice cream or whipped cream. Them's the rules.

  • 04 of 05

    No-Bake Yogurt and Cool Whip Pie

    Cool whip pie recipe

    The Spruce / Emily Hawkes

    Made with just Cool Whip, yogurt, a premade graham cracker crust, and fresh fruit, this no-bake pie is completely customizable. Use different flavors of yogurt depending on the fruit you want to use for the top of the pie, or you can use a plain Greek yogurt for a tangier pie and pile an assortment of fresh fruits on top. This is also the perfect recipe to make with kids on a lazy summer afternoon.

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  • 05 of 05

    Yellow Squash Casserole

    A yellow squash casserole in a large backing dish, with a plated portion of casserole

    The Spruce Eats / Bahareh Niati

    It wouldn't be summer in the South without at least a few heaping helpings of a cheesy squash casserole. This one gets its creamy texture from pre-cooking the squash and mixing it with cheddar cheese and mayonnaise. The buttery crumbs on top provide some texture (substitute Ritz crackers for the plain breadcrumbs if you're feeling fancy).