Simple summer solstice party foods to celebrate the longest day of the year — from fresh foraged salads to easy recipes that celebrate the sun like sun-kissed fruit platters to floral-infused treats, and even rustic garden bites for fun, festive party foods and picnic recipes for a lovely mid summer celebration menu.
Best Summer Solstice Party Foods To Celebrate The Longest Day With Friends And Family
Summer solstice, or midsummer, is the official start of summer in June and marking the longest day of the year (and shortest night).
This inspires many people to celebrate light and abundance with a festive food gathering of sun-themed food and drink recipes, focusing especially on foods foraged, seasonal recipes, garden foods, and simple light summer recipes.
What kind of food is served at a summer solstice dinner?
- Nature-inspired recipes
- Earthy foraged food recipes
- Sun-shaped foods (kids can have a lot of fun arranging a fruit platter into a sun shape!)
- Seasonal recipes
- Garden recipes
- Cookout party foods
- Bonfire foods (like s’mores)
- Flower teas and herbal teas
- Fresh lemonade
- Sun tea
- Roasted seasonal vegetables
- Fresh salads
Get the ideas for your summer solstice menu and free printable recipes below for fresh summer solstice party foods & summer solstice recipes!
Summer Solstice Salad Recipes
Orzo Summer Salad
Make this tasty orzo salad recipe with chicken or without chicken for vegetarian recipe for summer solstice.
Also called spinach florentine pasta salad, it’s a light lunch or easy side dish for summer solstice dinner made with fresh vegetables, freshly shaved parmesan, and a tangy homemade lemon dressing.
Wheat Berries Salad with Garden Vegetables
This is one of my family’s favorite salads and we often make it as a healthy bowl and add our own fresh vegetables.
If you’ve never cooked wheatberries before, you’re in for a treat!
They’re a cross between rice and pasta (like orzo), with a chewy, firmer texture, which means they stand up nicely to salads and dressings!
Black Bean and Corn Salad
This is the one of the easiest salad or side dishes you’ll ever make!
You can use fresh corn or canned corn, added to black beans and an easy salad dressing.
It’s great alone as a salad, as a summer solstice side dish recipe, or eaten as a party dip with tortilla chips or crackers — which is my daughter’s favorite way to eat it!
Simple Pasta Salad Recipe
This simple pasta salad with pepperoni is such an easy recipe for Italian pasta salad and is always a huge hit when we take it as a potluck recipe to a pitch-in party.
It’s an easy recipe to double or triple, which makes it the perfect simple summer pasta salad recipes for a crowd or easy side dish for large groups.
Cold Asparagus Salad Recipe
There’s just something about the crunchy freshness of this green salad with asparagus that makes it the perfect summer salad for solstice celebration.
This vegetable recipe is great because it makes one of those easy side dishes for a picnic party, but it’s hearty enough for a salad meal on its own.
Apple Salad Recipe
I love this salad so much!
There’s something about the crispness of the apples along with the chewiness of the cranberries (and the secret dressing!) that makes this the best salad recipe for all year!
It’s a perfect salad for your summer solstice menu!
Fresh Party Foods Recipes & Garden Recipes for Midsummer Celebration
For summer parties, these are my tried and tested, go-to recipes that are always a hit with party guests.
Any of these party foods will make great summer solstice recipes:
- One Pan Chili Lime Skillet Corn (if you can only make one, this is the best recipe ever!)
- Fried Green Garden Tomatoes (don’t skip the secret dipping sauce!)
- Roasted Asparagus With Parmesan
- Juicy Grilled Corn On The Cob
- Easy Homemade Pico de Gallo
- Homemade Guacamole Recipe
Summer Solstice Drink Recipes
There are so many drinks that you can make that represents summer in a solstice party — floral infused teas, fresh fruit waters and and vegetable waters (my daughter loves cucumber water!) and even a nice jug of tea brewed by the sun!
Try these summer solstice drinks for parties:
- Dandelion Tea Recipe
- Fresh Raspberry Punch With Lemon Recipe
- Fresh Homemade Lemonade
- Fresh Fruit Water Recipes
- Sun Tea Recipe
Summer Solstice Flower Recipes
If you can, add some recipes with fresh flowers to your solstice party. (I mean, what screams SUMMER louder than fresh flowers?!?
Try these Easy Brownies With Flowers You Can Eat
Or, if you can’t add read flowers, make this super easy recipe: Easy Rice Krispie Cake with DIY Marshmallow Flowers.
(Learn how to make the marshmallow flowers on the recipe, too.)
I love this easy cake recipe because it is a no-bake cake recipe that kids can make for your summer solstice party!
More Light Summer Desserts for Solstice Foods
- Orange Salad Fluff Old-Fashioned Dessert Recipe
- Homemade Blackberry Cobbler Recipe
- No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert
- Easy Snicker Salad Dessert Fluff Recipe with Apples
- Easy Fresh Fruit Dip Recipe
- Homemade Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Walking Fruit Salad in a Waffle Cone
Happy solstice! Enjoy your summer solstice party foods!
