Ultimate Memorial Day Guide

By Food & Wine
May 05, 2017
Nicole Franzen
Memorial Day weekend is summer’s unofficial kickoff—the year’s first big opportunity for drinking and grilling and being merry. Celebrate with the best recipes, cocktails and tips F&W has to offer.
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The Most Essential Memorial Day Recipes

TINA RUPP

From cheese-stuffed burgers to garlicky chicken legs, here are the essentials for a great Memorial Day party.

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Memorial Day Picnic Ideas

JOHN KERNICK

Celebrating Memorial Day with a picnic? Get inspired by these easily portable and delicious recipes, from a bacon, cheddar and onion quiche to Riesling sangria with lychees.

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Memorial Day Party Ideas

MARCUS NILSSON

Celebrate summer by throwing a phenomenal Memorial Day party, and serve your guests beef burgers with sweet-n-smoky ketchup, watermelon and charred-tomato salad, raspberry, lime and toasted coconut pops and much more.

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7 Mad Genius Memorial Day Tips

EVA KOLENKO

How to have the best Memorial Day ever.

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10 Top Potluck Dishes for Memorial Day

Tom Hopkins

Here, 10 terrific, crowd-pleasing dishes that travel beautifully.

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30 Summer Party Recipes for Memorial Day

KEN KOCHEY

From curry lobster rolls to grilled miso shrimp, we have every recipe you may need for an epic Memorial Day party.

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25 Make-Ahead Dishes for Your Memorial Day Party

FREDRIKA STJÄRNE

Perfect for entertaining, these make-ahead dishes will make your life as a host so much easier.

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9 Portable Dips for a Memorial Day Party

CON POULOS

These nine tasty dips can be made ahead of time, and they'll all travel well to your Memorial Day party.

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10 Best-Ever Burgers for Memorial Day

JOHN KERNICK

It’s time to start grilling! Here are 10 juicy, delicious burger recipes.

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8 Super-Tasty Meatless Burgers for Memorial Day

KRISTEN STEVENS

Mushrooms, grains and lentils are just a few ingredients that can serve as the base for a great meatless burger patty. Here, eight excellent veggie burgers to make this weekend.

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This Hamburger Cake Is The Perfect Memorial Day Dessert

ABBY HOCKING

The only thing better than a cheeseburger and fries is a cheeseburger and fries for dessert.

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28 Essential Grilling Recipes to Kick Off Barbecue Season

KANA OKADA

Go grill!

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20 Ultimate Grilling Tips for Memorial Day Barbecue

Eva Kolenko

20 more ways to up your grilling game.

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30 Days of Grilling

Con Poulos

Don’t stop at Memorial Day.

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20 Ways to Boost Your Grilling Game on Memorial Day

CON POULOS

Brush up on your grilling skills for the start of the season.

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12 High-Low Grilling Recipes You Need Now

Chris Court

These fabulous recipes include apple-glazed barbecued baby back ribs and Tuscan-style veal chops.

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7 Must-Try Memorial Day Marinades

TINA RUPP

Give your Memorial Day cookout a flavor boost with a marinade. Here, seven globally-inspired recipes to try.

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9 Grilled Seafood Recipes for Memorial Day

CON POULOS

From bacon-wrapped shrimp to healthy salmon tacos, here are 10 terrific grilled seafood dishes to make for Memorial Day.

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7 Kid-Friendly Foods to Grill for Memorial Day

CON POULOS

Get ready for family cookouts.

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23 Quick Grilling Recipes for a Last-Minute Memorial Day Barbecue

JOHN KERNICK

Throw together a quick barbecue this Memorial Day with these quick recipes.

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7 Cheese-Filled Snacks for Memorial Day

MARIE HENNECHART

Kick off summer with cheesy party snacks.

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20 Grilling Tools for Your Memorial Day Barbecue

Hestan Outdoor

A guide to the best grilling equipment for your Memorial Day barbecue party.

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9 Accessories That Make It Easier to Drink in the Pool

Courtesy of Amazon

Memorial Day Weekend is full of water-bound parties, so make sure you’re ready with these genius accessories, from floating coolers to inflatable beer pong.

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13 Cocktails for Grilling

CEDRIC ANGELES

These refreshing cocktails are made for sipping while grilling. Try the Riesling sangria with lychees, and blackberry-mint juleps.

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7 Best Pitcher Drinks for Memorial Day

Christina Holmes

From sangria studded with grilled-fruit to refreshing cucumber margaritas, here are seven terrific pitcher drinks to make this Memorial Day.

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25 Modern Summer Cocktails to Mix This Memorial Day

JOHN KERNICK

Refresh and impress with delightful cocktails like strawberry-lemon mojitos and frozen cucumber-honeydew drinks.

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10 Accessories That Will Up Your Outdoor Drinking Game

Sur La Table

You’ll be drinking outside all Memorial Day Weekend and we can guarantee these will come in handy.

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13 Grilled Corn Recipes You’ll Obsess Over

Paul Costello

Corn season is upon us! Get on it!

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36 Summer Vegetable Recipes to Make This Memorial Day

Chris Court

It’s just the beginning of summer produce season!

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30 Summer Salads to Munch On This Memorial Day

CON POULOS

Every good barbecue has a fresh salad on the side.

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36 Grilled Vegetable Recipes for Your Memorial Day Barbecue

CHRISTINA HOLMES

Whether you're looking for delicious side dishes or ideas for vegetarian mains, throwing veggies on the grill is always a great idea.

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7 Ways to Eat More Watermelon on Memorial Day

BUFF STRICKLAND

Nothing says summer like watermelon. Here are eight ways to use it.

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26 Summer Desserts for Memorial Day Entertaining

CON POULOS

Kick off a season of summery sweets this Memorial Day with minted watermelon popsicles, plum crostata and more.

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Beer-Spiked Desserts for Memorial Day

HECTOR SANCHEZ

Up your Memorial Day dessert game with these awesome beer-spiked recipes.

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12 Grilled Desserts for a Sweet Ending to Your Memorial Day Weekend

CON POULOS

These fantastic recipes include banana-Nutella s'mores and grilled pound cake with peaches and cream.

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Memorial Day Cupcakes

FRANCES JANISCH

Your Memorial Day party needs cupcakes!

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Memorial Day Cakes

LUCY SCHAEFFER

From a skillet graham cake baked on the grill to a delicious plum upside-down cake, these summery cakes are the perfect sweet additions to your Memoral Day festivities.

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Red, White and Blue Desserts

CEDRIC ANGELES

These terrific recipes include red velvet cake with cream cheese ice cream and classic blueberry cobbler.

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10 Healthy Dishes for Post-Memorial Day Detox

GUY AMBROSINO

After this past weekend’s burgers and hot dogs and pitchers of cocktails, you might be interested in something healthy. Here, 10 light and delicious dishes to help you recover from Memorial Day.

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7 Healthy Salads to Detox After Memorial Day Weekend

Nicole Franzen

After a weekend filled with juicy burgers and glasses of rosé, you might be looking for something on the lighter side.

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