Father’s Day cookout ideas: make the best menu for Dad
Mother’s Day gets a lot of attention for good reason, but dads deserve some celebration too. Here are 17 Father’s Day cookout recipes you can mix and match to create a casual dinner to honor the dads in your life.
Pick your favorite recipes to make your own DIY Father’s Day menu. If you’re getting together with multiple families, divide and conquer your responsibilities, and you can have a fun family dinner just for Dad.
While Mother’s Day growing up for me meant the dads cooked (sometimes with hilarious results), Father’s Day was a decidedly more relaxed affair. My Dad and older cousin could often be found in the backyard playing horseshoes and philosophizing while the brisket cooked. If Moms like pretty dainty things, Dads like more utilitarian practical foods that are inherently a little messier. And that’s a good thing.
In that spirit, I wanted to create a list of relaxed sort of recipes that go hand and hand with a backyard BBQ feel just for Father’s Day. My uncle is no longer with us, but I have to think he’d be thrilled to serve up his slightly charred hot dogs on some homemade hot dog buns, lol.
Homemade sauces you can’t miss for Father’s Day
5 minute homemade hot honey is cheaper and better
Skip the pricey stuff at the store and make your own hot honey with customizable heat and more flavor than anything you could buy. Drizzle it on some fried chicken for a Dad-friendly main.
Keto BBQ sauce: no science sugars, just good
With just 1.5 net carbs in a serving, you can easily add this sauce to your dinner without going over your carb count for the day on a keto diet. Dad’s pulled pork that’s been smoking in the backyard all day will definitely be elevated by this 5-minute prep sauce.
BBQ sauces for Father’s Day
Don’t forget to add sauce. These recipes take no longer than 5 minutes of prep and give you a world of possibilities for mixing and matching with cookout friendly foods. Dad will appreciate the big flavor these sauces bring!
Father’s Day bread recipes to go with your favorite backyard BBQ foods
Homemade hamburger buns: feather light, gorgeous, and easy to make
Have a burger on one of these buns, and it’ll be tough to go back to the package again. These buns are freezable, take just a few minutes to make the dough and shape later, and full of so much flavor and softness that still holds up to meaty fillings.
No-knead Beer Cheese Bread: easy savory and made for soup
This bread is awesome for going with any kind of crockpot main. Smoked ham will be that much better in a sandwich built on this bread.
Homemade Texas Toast is the better BBQ side
The ubiquitous BBQ side of griddled butter-soaked bread from the great state of Texas gets a serious upgrade starting with easy and fast to make English muffin bread which toasts up into butter-soaked crispy edged Texas toast that will put the squishy white bread stuff to shame.
Super Soft Garlic Bread Rolls: Quick win for Busy Weeknights
These rolls are the ultra savory dinner rolls with fluffy soft insides that you’ll want to make on repeat for any garlic bread craving. Use them to sop up sauce in sloppy joes or BBQ meatballs
How to make Homemade Pita Bread that puffs up every time
Homemade pita is a staple of our Summer grilling season because it goes with everything! Use it to roll up some grilled kebabs or lamb meatballs with some hot honey or bbq sauce, and you’ve got an instant Dad favorite.
Homemade Cheese Crackers are miles better than the box
Everybody loves party nibbles and homemade cheese crackers just might be the best snack in that genre. Pick a flavorful cheese, and you’ve got a perfect snack to go with drinks while your meat finishes grilling.
Make better sandwiches at home with this hoagie buns recipe
If you love party sandwiches, hoagie buns will be your jam. Dad will love them stuffed with saucy meatballs or your favorite crockpot Italian beef recipe.
Sheet pan bread: easy sandwich bread that will actually change your life
This bread is genius, baking up into a horizontally split loaf you can fill and cut into a mess of sandwiches for a huge crew of people. It’s pretty much a party in a sheet pan, perfect for stuffing with Father’s Day BBQ meats.
Hot Honey Beer Bread is crazy easy and so so good
Fast and easy, this one-bowl wonder can be in your oven in 5 minutes to reward you with the smells of beer and spice and sweetness for the next hour. There’s almost no dinner that’s not made better by the addition of beer bread, but it works best with Holiday dinners or slow cooker meals.
Homemade Hawaiian Sweet Rolls are so much better than the package
Ultra soft rolls perfect for party sandwiches and sliders. One of my most popular posts ever, these tender little buns make the process of building sliders for a crowd of people so easy.
Homemade hot dog buns are a cinch to make yourself and loads better
A hot dog in these buns is a revelation; a beer brat in these buns will make your Summer 1000% better. The best part is that homemade hot dog buns can’t be simpler to make.
Homemade breads for Dad’s best meal yet
Homemade breads are one of the easiest things you can add to any dinner party menu. They’re cheap to make, don’t require a lot of babysitting and can feed a lot of people without a lot of effort. Best yet, all of these will make your smokey ribs, burgers, or crockpot French dip beef just sing.
Handheld meals Dad will appreciate
Cheeseburger Pizzas for an easy fun burger night
Build quick and easy pizzas on pita bread with all your favorite cheeseburger fixings. Since the bread can be made ahead of time, you can make these up for Father’s Day in just minutes.
Sloppy Joes Buns are the weeknight hack for easy meals later
Sloppy Joes are one of the best Dad meals of all time, and here we wrap them up in soft bread, making for an easy freezable savory bun with all the sloppy flavor of the original.
The best krautburgers: a full meal in your hand for happy families
Soft yeast dough enveloping a savory filling of ground beef and cabbage with the punched up flavor that’s missing from most bierocks and Runzas. These are a true family favorite, and Dads will love the beefy cabbage filling.
BLT Pizza: easy dinner with your last best tomatoes
Simple overnight pizza dough stretched into a thin crust wonder topped with peppered tomatoes, perfect bacon and mayo drizzled arugula. Add extra bacon for Dads!
All-in-one handheld meals
Easy main dishes and sides in one handy dish for making your Father’s day meal less fussy.
