Recipes Holidays + Events 30 Delicious Recipes to Make in June From honey-peppered coconut shrimp to piña colada pie, these are the delicious dishes you should be making this June. By Food & Wine Editors Updated on May 26, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer and John Somerall / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis June is here and that means grilling season. We've got a slew of top-notch grilled steak and chicken recipes to check out, as well as whole branzino and taco recipes that are perfect for this time of year. But it's not all about the savory. Fruit season is kicking into high gear after all, so a pie or two is a must. Our old-fashioned blueberry pie and tres leches cakes are sure to be a favorite. Read on for our 30 favorite finger-licking recipes to make this month. 01 of 30 Yogurt-Marinated Grilled Chicken Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Jillian Knox Yogurt marinade for grilled chicken is the best of all worlds: It makes for flavorful, moist meat and can be tossed together the night before without sacrificing quality. Get the Recipe 02 of 30 Old-Fashioned Blueberry Pie Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Debbie Wee Showcase summer's blueberry bounty in this traditional pie with a flaky pastry crust that's bound to be a hit for years to come. Get the Recipe 03 of 30 Balsamic Marinated Flank Steak William F. Dickey II The long, flat cut comes from the abdominal muscles of the cow, making for lean, relatively chewy meat that's often used interchangeably with skirt steak. The balsamic vinegar in the marinade not only imparts complex flavor but also serves to tenderize the meat by breaking down muscle fibers; it comes together quickly in a blender with garlic, rosemary, oregano, and a touch of mustard. Get the Recipe 04 of 30 Birria Tacos Greg Dupree A combination of two meats creates the best balance of tender texture from chuck roast and succulence from short ribs. The beef's slow-cooked flavor comes from the adobo sauce. Get the Recipe 05 of 30 Roasted Branzino with Caper Butter Photo by Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Whole branzino roasted with lemon and rosemary is a foolproof way to ensure flavorful, perfectly cooked fish. A caper compound butter takes the dish over the top. Get the Recipe 06 of 30 Grilled Vegetable Flatbread with Smoked Almond Muhammara Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen This vegetarian masterpiece of a flatbread is topped with a mix of vegetables — such as zucchini, red onion, and baby bell peppers — as well as a homemade Smoked Almond Muhammara and a generous sprinkle of fresh herbs. It'll turn heads at your next cookout, and, as a bonus, also has helpful make-ahead options and smart shortcuts. You can make the Smoked Almond Muhammara up to three days in advance and stash it in the fridge; if you'd like, skip grilling the bell peppers for the muhammara and substitute in two cups of jarred roasted peppers instead, plus about 1/4 cup of liquid from the jar. You can also cut the flatbread in half if you're working with a small grill, or use lavash instead. Get the Recipe 07 of 30 Lobster BLTs on Potato Rolls Photo by Greg DuPree / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer These next-level BLTs combine tender, sweet lobster meat with smoky, salty bacon; juicy tomatoes; and pillowy potato buns, lightly toasted in bacon drippings. In the mood for wine? Pair the sandwiches with a tangy Loire Valley white. Get the Recipe 08 of 30 Pörkölt-Style Grilled Chicken Thighs with Stone Fruit, Fennel, and Paprika Salad Aubrie Pick Sarah Copeland’s summery grilled chicken thighs with stone fruit, fennel, and paprika salad features paprika in the marinade and as a dressing. Get the Recipe 09 of 30 Grilled Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary © Thomas Heinser Chef Cal Peternell's easy method for cooking lamb leg on the grill results in tender, flavorful meat in only 20 minutes after it's finished marinating. Get the Recipe 10 of 30 Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries This luscious dessert from chef Soledad Correa of Chile's Casa Silva restaurant is ideal for the warmer months. Get the Recipe 11 of 30 Chile-Coconut Watermelon Crudo Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen This sweet, spicy, and punchy upgrade to classic slabs of salted watermelon is the palate-pleasing appetizer your cookout guests deserve. Fresh coconut water is much sweeter and has a greater depth of flavor than bottled versions, so crack open a coconut if you can. If using store-bought coconut water, select a brand with no additives for the best-tasting crudo. Reserve the strained spicy marinade to use as a fruity base for a tequila cocktail. Get the Recipe 12 of 30 Stone Fruit Salad with Collard-Peanut Pesto Photo by Jessica Pettway / Food Styling by Micah Morton / Prop Styling by Paola Andrea "Nowadays, when I serve plums and nectarines, like in my Stone Fruit Salad with Collard-Peanut Pesto, I'm transported to parties where we dapped, hugged, boogied, and kissed under the moonlight," says writer Nicole A. Taylor, of her Juneteenth celebrations. In this savory fruit salad, roasted peanuts, collard greens, and Parmesan yield a hearty pesto that's the perfect partner for honey-dressed wedges of plums and nectarines. Fonio, a West African grain similar in texture to couscous, soaks up the pesto, flavoring each bite of this salad. Get the Recipe 13 of 30 Smoke-Grilled Tri-Tips with Jeow Som Dipping Sauce Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer and John Somerall / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis 2020 F&W Best New Chef Donny Sirisavath shared this recipe, which is a nod to his Laotian heritage and Texas upbringing, when his parents grilled brisket over hardwood coals for family gatherings. Here, thick and meaty tri-tip steaks get seared on the hot zone of the grill and then slowly smoke-grilled until medium-rare. Let them rest, and then thinly slice them against the grain and serve with Sirisavath's Jeow Som, a fiery, fish sauce–flavored dipping sauce. A quick soak in beer tenderizes thick tri-tip steaks, and a marinade of garlic, lemongrass, cilantro, and fish sauce builds big flavor. Sirisavath loves using oak or mesquite wood here, placed at the center of the grill, alongside the lit coals, where they smolder and add a rich aroma. Get the Recipe 14 of 30 Gina Mae's Baked Beans Photo by Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Scholar Regina Bradley (nicknamed Gina Mae as a child) added a few special touches to her husband's baked beans recipe to make it her own. "A cookout's DNA is found in the sides and who made them. This task is not for the faint of heart or the thin-skinned," wrote Bradley, in an essay on the hierarchy of the cookout for Food & Wine. "If your beans taste burnt or your potato salad has raisins or olives, we talking bad about you 'til your grandchildren hear about it." For this summer-perfect side, Bradley dresses up store-bought barbecue sauce with extra brown sugar; apple cider vinegar balances the smoky sweetness. Get the Recipe 15 of 30 Charred Broccolini Caesar with Kale and Chickpeas Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Smoky, charred Broccolini and chickpeas give this take on Caesar salad the heft it needs to be a main course. Texture is the secret to a salad's wow factor. Here, Little Gem lettuces, hearty kale, and crisp-tender Broccolini bring three levels of crunch, and provide plenty of leafy nooks and crannies to catch the thick, anchovy-laced dressing. Get the Recipe 16 of 30 Slow-Roasted Salmon with Walnut-Olive Vinaigrette Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis A vinaigrette bolstered with chopped olives, toasted walnuts, and fresh parsley is a bold finishing touch for roasted salmon basted with smoked paprika and lemon. The combination of basting and slow roasting yields incredibly tender salmon; the walnut-olive vinaigrette adds a briny, buttery crunch. Get the Recipe 17 of 30 Pollo al Pastor with Charred Tomato Salsa Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer and John Somerall / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis In this flavor-packed chicken, Juan Pablo Loza, director of culinary operations at Rosewood Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, shares his obsession for the al pastor style of cooking. This dish takes its inspiration from a traditional way of roasting chicken in Michoacán, where butterflied whole chickens are marinated with citrus, and speared with thick wooden stakes hammered into the ground. Splayed open, the chickens slowly cook vertically over a bed of coals, resulting in juicy meat and bronzed skin. Here, the cooking style is adapted to a horizontal grill basket set over two stacks of bricks on the grate, positioning the chicken up and away from the hot coals. An oak or mesquite log set alongside lit coals at the center of the grill perfumes the bird with smoke. Get the Recipe 18 of 30 Grilled Mushrooms with Smoked Crème Fraîche Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer and John Somerall / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Wood can be as essential and impactful an ingredient as fat or salt. As it burns, wood releases chemical compounds that deliver delicious flavors and aromas to food. In this dish, inspired by the cooking of Swedish mushroom forager and chef Elle Nikishkova, applewood and juniper add layers of flavor to oyster and chanterelle mushrooms and rich crème fraîche. Seasoning the oyster and chanterelle mushrooms with salt and pepper and letting them rest for a long stint in the refrigerator before cooking draws out moisture, helping them caramelize quickly on the grill while staying meaty and tender. When you're ready to smoke the mushrooms, place an applewood log alongside coals or place wood chunks directly on coals. For the crème fraîche, place a juniper branch or juniper berries directly onto the coals. Get the Recipe 19 of 30 Urdaburger Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Smoky, melty "pimentón" cheese, crispy jamón serrano, and a savory-sweet aioli top beef patties in this towering tapas-inspired burger from Urdaneta, a popular tapas spot in Portland, OR. Kalimotxo, a Spanish red wine and cola cocktail, is the inspiration for the marvelously mauve aioli. Get the Recipe 20 of 30 Honey-Pepper Coconut Shrimp Photo by Greg DuPree / Prop Styling by Christine Keely / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer Although his breading technique at Rocky's Hot Chicken Shack in Asheville, North Carolina is top secret, chef Rich Cundiff was kind enough to create this special riff on his coconut shrimp exclusively for us. A drizzle of syrupy honey glaze, infused with black pepper and lemon, adds a tart-sweet bite. Get the Recipe 21 of 30 White Rum and Aperol Spritz Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell Mildly spicy poblano liqueur and tangy passion fruit liqueur add delicious complexity to this white rum–spiked Aperol spritz from Ten to One distillery CEO/founder Marc Farrell. Boozy heat from white rum gives a pleasant bite to a bubbly summer staple. Choose your fizz: Use sparkling water to let the spirits and liqueurs shine through, or use a splash of sparkling wine to tame the tart piquancy of the drink for a mellower sip. Get the Recipe 22 of 30 Nina's Potato Salad Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox & John Somerall / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis "One of our first — and favorite — Horn side dishes is our potato salad," says 2021 F&W Best New Chef Matt Horn, of his wife Nina's popular recipe. "This is our take on the classic recipe that goes perfectly with barbecue!" This crowd-pleasing side is neither too rich nor too light, hitting the perfect balance of tart and creamy to perfectly complement a smoked brisket. Get the Recipe 23 of 30 Burnt Ends with Bourbon Sauce Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox & John Somerall / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis The crispy, caramelized "burnt" pieces of a smoked brisket are often the best part because the flavor is concentrated and the texture is pleasingly chewy. This recipe creates an entire baking tray of crispy pieces, so there are plenty to go around. Chef Matt Horn likes to serve these with slices of white bread, and he shared his step-by-step process for making Burnt Ends with us, from seasoning the brisket to caramelizing the sauce on the cubed meat. Get the Recipe 24 of 30 Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Lemongrass-Lime Aïoli Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley Sweet, mild, grilled mahi-mahi harmonizes with an aïoli featuring lemongrass and lime. The creamy aïoli comes together in seconds using an immersion blender, resulting in a silky texture that's less likely to break and adding richness and zest to a classic summer meal. Get the Recipe 25 of 30 Lamb Sliders with Yogurt-Tahini Sauce Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley A symphony of herbs — in the form of za'atar — and little bits of toasted pine nuts add bright flavor and texture to ground lamb patties that accompany a fresh summer salad. Get the Recipe 26 of 30 Piña Colada Pie Photo by Greg DuPree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christina Daley In this swoon-inducing dessert, the classic tropical flavors of a piña colada cocktail are transformed into Piña Colada Pie featuring layers of silky coconut custard and a caramelized pineapple jam made by simmering fresh pineapple with brown sugar. Adding rum to the hot pineapple mixture burns off the harsher taste of the alcohol while leaving a pleasant kick. Spread across a buttery shortbread crust, the jam is ultimately layered with a double-coconut custard and piled high with a cloud of coconut cream whipped topping. Served ice-cold, this make-ahead pie is destined for your next summer gathering. Get the Recipe 27 of 30 Jamaican Pepper Crawfish Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell In this easy version of the popular Jamaican street food, whole crawfish are steeped in a spicy mixture of water infused with fruity Scotch bonnet chiles. Get the Recipe 28 of 30 Grilled Swordfish with Carrot-and-Walnut Salsa Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christine Keely Steeped in a savory kombu marinade, these swordfish steaks are paired with a nutty, slightly piquant gremolata-like salsa with roasted walnuts and Calabrian chiles. Get the Recipe 29 of 30 PEI-Style Smoky Clam Chowder Graydon Herriott Finnan haddie, or cold-smoked cured haddock, gives this brothy chowder a deep, clean, smoky foundation that highlights sweet clams without overwhelming them. Using a mixture of lightly mashed potatoes and half-and-half to thicken and enrich the soup gives it a silky, but not heavy, texture. Get the Recipe 30 of 30 Limoncello Aubrie Pick While maybe not a recipe to make and enjoy in June, it's definitely one you should get started asap. This summery drink embodies the best of the Amalfi Coast, but takes at least a month of prep time — but we can assure you the wait is well worth it. So consider this your reminder to get started now so you can enjoy in July. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit