Recipes Holidays + Events 31 Recipes to Make in August By Food & Wine Editors Updated on July 28, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer & John Somerall / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis August is the last full month of summer, and we're celebrating with dishes that make the most of the season's produce before cooler fall temperatures hit. Think berries, corn, stone fruit, and, of course, plenty of tomatoes. With 31 recipes to choose from, you'll have plenty to carry you through every day until September. 01 of 31 Plum Upside-Down Cake © Nicole Franzen This pretty cake from pastry chef Joanne Chang is moist and buttery, with plenty of sweet and tangy caramelized plums on top. Once made, it can be stored in an airtight container overnight at room temperature. Get the Recipe 02 of 31 Corn Husk–Grilled Goat Cheese with Corn Relish and Honey Victor Protasio Cookbook author and F&W Cooks contributor Andrea Slonecker calls this dish "the perfect pre-dinner snack on a summer evening." To serve, cut a slit in the top layer of the charred husks, top the goat cheese with a drizzle of honey and the corn relish, and enjoy with grilled crostini. Get the Recipe 03 of 31 Roasted Curry Tomato Pie Greg DuPree Turmeric gives the rustic crust of this tomato pie a glorious golden glow, but the real star (other than the ripe summer tomatoes) are the sweet and tangy tamarind onions, which complement the spiced, cheesy filling beautifully. Want to pair the pie with wine? Pour a glass of cassis-scented Provençal rosé. Get the Recipe 04 of 31 Grape-Margarita Paletas Photo by Johnny Autry / Food and Prop Styling by Charlotte Autry Oven-roasted grapes develop a concentrated, caramelized flavor; paired with tequila, they give these deeply purple ice pops a grown-up twist. Use seedless grapes to prevent the juice from turning bitter when puréed. Get the Recipe 05 of 31 Grilled Shrimp and Lettuces with Charred Green Goddess Dressing Eric Wolfinger Green goddess dressing — a retro favorite — gets a smoky upgrade from charred parsley and scallions. Barely grilled baby lettuces double down on the flavor while retaining their sweet crunch. Get the Recipe 06 of 31 Tomato, Basil, and Cucumber Panzanella with Grated Tomato Balsamic Vinaigrette Victor Protasio This summer blockbuster panzanella from Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, pairs oven-roasted sourdough croutons with juicy ripe tomatoes, raw red onion, and crisp cucumbers. Grated tomato adds a gentle acidity and chunky texture to the vinaigrette, helping it cling to every bite. Get the Recipe 07 of 31 Summer Squash with Poblano, Queso Fresco, and Epazote Aubrie Pick Epazote is a leafy herb with a pungent, bright flavor, with notes of citrus, mint, and oregano. It lends a savory depth to the summer squash, and pairs particularly well with dairy. Leaving the queso fresco in larger chunks allows it to soften slightly, but not completely melt into the dish. Get the Recipe 08 of 31 Cold Crab Spaghetti Eric Wolfinger Late summer in Louisiana is boggy hot; this refreshing dish from chef Isaac Toups comes to the rescue with sweet-tart segments of juicy tangerine and uses just a teaspoon of Dijon to create a creamy, balanced sauce. Thai chile brings a touch of heat, while a flurry of mint, basil, and parsley highlight the natural sweetness of fresh crab. Get the Recipe 09 of 31 Grilled Boneless Short Ribs with Scallion-Sumac Gremolata Eric Wolfinger Typically cooked low and slow, these boneless short ribs get perfectly tender on the grill. A quick brush with fish sauce adds a layer of umami, while the brown sugar rub provides a shortcut to charred flavor. Thinly sliced and topped with a charred scallion gremolata, they're right at home on your late-summer plate. Get the Recipe 10 of 31 Chorizo-and-Kimchi Dogs Victor Protasio These loaded hot dogs from chef Claudette Zepeda are an homage to the Sonoran hot dog. The cilantro crema and kimchi slaw toppings can be made up to two days ahead of time, making day-of preparation fast and easy. Get the Recipe 11 of 31 St. Louis–Style Cheesecake with Blueberries Johnny Autry Hidden beneath a mound of juicy summer berries, a thin layer of sweetened sour cream crowns this luscious no-fuss cheesecake based on chef Andrae Bopp's great-grandmother's recipe. Dollop the fluffy batter into the pan gently for the best results. Get the Recipe 12 of 31 Ultimate Veggie Burgers Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis These veggie burgers hit every satisfying, savory note with a hearty mix of pearl barley, chickpeas, mushrooms, and crispy panko. For the sturdiest patties, evenly distribute the panko by stirring the mixture until very well-combined. Get the Recipe 13 of 31 Loaded Pita Nachos with Lentil Chili and Feta Queso Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell In this recipe for plant-based nachos, pita chips are drizzled with a feta queso and then laden with lentil chili, harissa-spiked pickled cabbage, and a dollop of creamy labneh. Make the chips, queso, and cabbage ahead of time to help this dish come together easily, or use store-bought pita chips. The tangy feta queso gets its smooth body from the addition of red lentils and is a versatile ingredient on its own, says Cassie Piuma of Sarma in Somerville, Massachusetts: "We use this queso in mac and cheese and sub it in as a sauce for eggplant parm or moussaka." Get the Recipe 14 of 31 Carnitas Jackfruit Tacos Photo by Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell For her jackfruit tacos recipe, Jocelyn Ramirez, cookbook author and chef at Todo Verde in Los Angeles, uses cumin, chile flakes, and salt to capitalize on the pulled-pork texture of jackfruit, transforming it into a plant-based taco filling that tastes like carnitas. Get the Recipe 15 of 31 Summer Fruit Cobbler with Vanilla-Mascarpone Biscuits Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer & John Somerall / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Let the farmers market be your guide when it comes to this cobbler — any mixture of fresh summer stone fruits and berries can be cooked down to make the perfectly sweet-tart, jammy filling. Tender vanilla-mascarpone biscuits have a shortcake-like texture and a delightfully crunchy top from the turbinado sugar. They're also highly customizable: You can swap the mascarpone in the biscuit topping for crème fraîche or sour cream if that's what you have, and trade the semolina for fine cornmeal for a more crumbly texture. Get the Recipe 16 of 31 Okra Tempura with Lime "Fonzu" Dipping Sauce Photo by Linda Xiao / Food Styling by Kate Buckens / Prop Styling by Maeve Sheridan For those who aren't fond of okra's gooey quality, there are two surefire ways to keep it in check: high-heat cooking and a dose of acid. Food & Wine Executive Editor Karen Shimizu's recipe for okra tempura with a zippy dipping sauce incorporates both. The "fonzu" sauce — inspired by ponzu — uses lime juice instead of harder-to-find yuzu and a shortcut of fish sauce instead of steeping in katsuobushi. Scoring the okra from the tip almost all the way to the stem before frying it provides more surface area for the tempura batter to cling to, for extra crunch, while leaving the okra substantial enough to stay tender on the inside. Get the Recipe 17 of 31 Dinkies Cheezesteak Photo by Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell This gloriously sloppy sub is the creation of Pinky Cole, founder of the popular Atlanta-based Slutty Vegan, and Derrick Hayes, Philly native and founder of Big Dave's Cheesesteaks. In Cole's Dinkies Cheezesteak — a plant-based version of Hayes' meat-packed hoagie — plant-based meat gets piled into toasted rolls with tender peppers, onions, and gooey pools of vegan cheese. Slutty Vegan's signature seasoning blend is available online, or you can substitute regular seasoned salt. Get the Recipe 18 of 31 Kachumber Gazpacho Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Cookbook author and F&W Cooks contributor Hetal Vasavada channeled her love for kachumber — a fresh, cucumber-based Indian salad — to inspire this exciting riff on the classic chilled summery soup. Warm spices and a hint of chile add flavor and heat without overwhelming the fresh tomatoes; sev — a crispy chickpea noodle snack — adds a pleasant crunch. Get the Recipe 19 of 31 Grilled Halibut with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen A generous five cloves of garlic give this punchy, well-balanced sweet roasted red bell pepper sauce (made using jarred, roasted red peppers) a mildly spicy bite. It's a terrific marinade for mild white fish, infusing fillets with flavor without making them tough. When marinating the fish, be sure to first set aside a generous portion of the marinade, which does double duty here as a sauce for the cooked fish. Serve with crusty bread for sopping up extra sauce, and juicy grilled squash on the side. Get the Recipe 20 of 31 Plum Gin Fizz Photo by Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Sue Mitchell This fruity gin fizz isn't overly sweet, allowing the flavor of the caramelized plums to shine. A botanical gin works well with the fruit in this cocktail, adding herbaceous and fruity notes. To play up the deep color of the plums, try Empress 1908, a royal purple–hued, botanical-style spirit. For a vegan version, in place of the egg white, substitute three tablespoons of unsalted or low-sodium aquafaba. (Note that you won't get quite as much foam.) The same roast-and-puree technique can be used for more stone fruits, such as apricots and sour cherries. Get the Recipe 21 of 31 Chicken Soup with Ginger and Cilantro Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver This seasonal twist on a classic is loaded with summer market finds like tomatoes, zucchini, and bell peppers. Quick-cooking boneless chicken pieces are gently simmered in a ginger-and-cilantro-infused broth with a dash of soy sauce. The eye-catching garnish tray doubles as a colorful centerpiece, allowing guests to pile their bowls with aromatic fresh herbs, spicy chiles, and juicy citrus. Get the Recipe 22 of 31 Peach Salad with Peanuts and Chile Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Spicy chiles and sweet peaches come together in this simple, summery salad perfect for backyard parties. Lemon vinegar and manuka honey lend each bite a sweet-tart zing and silky texture, amplifying the juiciness of fresh peaches. The sweet honey mellows the sharp and punchy lemon vinegar, adding brightness without overpowering the delicate fruit. Get the Recipe 23 of 31 Grilled Lamb Chops with Herby Yogurt Sauce Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Plain yogurt is an excellent base for a marinade. It slowly tenderizes meat, rendering it juicy but never mealy or tough, and leaves a pleasantly tangy flavor behind. This simple sauce, a blend of yogurt, shallots, salt, and lemon, is a perfect match for lamb's richness. This recipe cleverly sets aside a portion of the seasoned yogurt to puree with tender green herbs and lemon juice for a quick finishing sauce after the lamb is done. Serve the lamb with a quick salad of couscous and cucumbers for a meal. Get the Recipe 24 of 31 Vaghareli Corn Flautas with Chutney Crema Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen The corn in this recipe gets a punch of flavor by being sauteed in oil that has had spices bloomed in it. "Vaghar in Gujarati means to sauté, and is used to refer to oil that has had spices tempered in it," explains Hetal Vasavada. "This technique is also called chhonk, tadka, and poron, and has many other names in other Indian languages. Typically, vaghar is added to a dish after it's been done cooking (as with a dal). However, when you reverse the method and temper the oil and spices first and then add ingredients into it, it's referred to as vaghareli." For her inspired twist on Mexican flautas, Vasavada makes vaghareli makai (corn). The spiced kernels are combined with mild cheese, rolled up in tortillas, and deep-fried. Serve the flautas piled high with colorful garnishes alongside a ginger-lime avocado crema for a vibrant summer entertaining staple. Get the Recipe 25 of 31 Halloumi-and-Vegetable Skewers with Pomegranate-Tahini Sauce Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Pomegranate molasses is the secret ingredient in this simple marinade. Its punchy, sweet, earthy notes add long-cooked depth of flavor to cheese and vegetable skewers in just 30 minutes of marination, with pleasantly bitter tahini rounding things out. The pomegranate-tahini marinade goes the extra mile as a final drizzle for the skewers; thinned with fresh orange juice, it supplies the perfect, sweet-savory finish to the dish. Be sure to soak wooden skewers in water before threading on the cheese and vegetables to prevent flare-ups while grilling or broiling. Get the Recipe 26 of 31 Vichyssoise Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver This simple chilled potato soup is packed with buttery, sweet sautéed leeks and pureed for a silky-smooth texture. A swirl of half-and-half adds the perfect amount of richness to balance the starchy potatoes without weighing down the light and creamy vichyssoise. Topped with crunchy garlic croutons, shaved pecorino Romano cheese, and a scattering of sliced scallions, this soup deserves a spot in your summer rotation. Get the Recipe 27 of 31 Chocolate-Raspberry Icebox Cake Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver This Chocolate-Raspberry Icebox Cake is the answer to summer days when you want to serve a beautiful cake but it's too hot to turn on the oven. It's creamy, it's dreamy, and it's so simple to make. Crushed cookies, fresh raspberries, and layers of tart raspberry sorbet and vanilla ice cream transform into a gorgeous marbled layer cake in about 15 minutes — no frosting required. The raspberries sink into the milky, sweet layers of ice cream, adding a tart flavor and pops of color to the cake, and crunchy chocolate cookie crumble layers are the perfect sweet and salty counterpoint, adding satisfying texture and a hint of bittersweet flavor. Finally, after a deep chill in the freezer, the cake is topped with whipped cream and more raspberries. The finished cake slices beautifully, revealing deep pink, creamy white, and rich dark-chocolate cookie swirls. Get the Recipe 28 of 31 Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread) Photo by Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Pão de queijo is a classic Brazilian snack and breakfast bread. Light and airy, with a delightful chew and savory, cheesy flavor, each puff has a lightly crispy exterior and a tender, bubbly center. Felipe Donnelly's version is a must-have at his New York City restaurant, Comodo. It's the perfect two-bite snack with hints of cayenne and nutmeg. Get the Recipe 29 of 31 Sour-Cherry Mezcal Margarita Photo by Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Sue Mitchell This fruity spin on a margarita combines smoky mezcal, citrusy Cointreau, and sweet-tart cherry puree in a vibrant red drink perfect for late-summer sipping. Bright, pleasantly tart sour cherries are in season for a limited window, so this simple roasted puree is an easy way to preserve their flavor. Try it on ice cream or over pancakes, too. Get the Recipe 30 of 31 Smoked Bluefish Spread Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen At her summer home on Martha's Vineyard, scholar and cookbook author Jessica B. Harris serves this bluefish spread with crackers as hors d'oeuvres (with a Ti' Punch cocktail) to dinner party guests and at participants in her "five to sevens" — gatherings on the porch with drinks and small bites, so-called because they take place between the hours of five and seven o'clock. Smoky, rich, and creamy, this delicious spread brings together luscious smoked bluefish with light and fluffy whipped cream cheese, tangy whole-milk yogurt, and a dash of acidic hot sauce and horseradish. Don't skip on chilling the dip for at least one hour; time in the fridge allows the flavors and textures to meld. Be sure to re-season the blue fish spread with lemon juice and hot sauce after chilling as these ingredients will often mellow over time. The delicate crunch and neutral flavor of lavash or water crackers allow the smoky dip to be the star of the show. Bluefish is a popular and abundant fish on the Vineyard. Another smoked, oily-fleshed fish, such as whitefish, mackerel, or trout, may also be used here. Get the Recipe 31 of 31 Ti' Punch Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this Guadeloupean cocktail from Jessica B. Harris — it packs a ton of flavor due to its use of white rhum agricole. Unlike most rums, which are made from fermented molasses or sugarcane byproducts, rhum agrciole is made from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice, which gives it wild, vegetal, grassy flavors and aromas entirely unlike other rums. (Rhum is the French spelling of "rum.") "This is a classical drink of the Creole world," Harris wrote of Ti' Punch in her 2013 book, Rum Drinks: 50 Caribbean Cocktails, from Cuba Libre to Rum Daisy. "It is, in fact, a French Antillian cousin of Brazil's caipirinha. In some parts of the French-Caribbean, it's called a C.R.S for its three ingredients: citron (lime), rhum (no translation necessary!) and sucre (sugar)." Harris prefers unrefined cane sugar for the molasses note it brings to the drink, which complement the more verdant cane sugar-notes from the rhum agricole. Serving Ti' Punch at room temperature as is traditional opens up the aromatic, herbal notes in the rum. If you prefer, you can serve it chilled for a smoother drink; just be sure to dissolve the sugar before adding the ice. Harris likes to serve this potent cocktail with hors d'oeuvres to kick off her dinner parties; try pairing it with her Bacon-Wrapped Watermelon Rind Pickles for a treat. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit