Food Recipes 27 Labor Day Recipes With Endless Summer Vibes Celebrate late summer flavors for a season finale. By Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann is an editor, baker, and confectioner with more than 15 years of experience in content creation, recipe development, and pastry production. She's obsessed with the fine details and ingredients that take dishes from tasty to outright otherworldly. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 25, 2024 Close Photo: Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva Even though summer's official end isn't until the third week of September, Labor Day is widely considered the season's last hurrah. It's a great opportunity to gather some friends, show your grill some love, and relish all the fruits and vegetables that are ready to strut their stuff this time of year. Corn is at its sweetest, tomatoes are still succulent, melons and blackberries are full of flavor, and okra is just hitting its stride — among many others. From tomato pie bars and pimiento-stuffed burgers to miso caramel blondie sundaes, put together a menu of endless summer vibes with these recipes for Labor Day food. 01 of 27 Chorizo and Kimchi Dogs Victor Protasio At chef Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins’ regional Mexican restaurant in San Diego, this dish is served as an homage to the Sonoran hot dog. Easy hacks like crumbled chorizo make this restaurant favorite easy to pull off for backyard entertaining. Get the Recipe 02 of 27 Tomato Tarte Tatin Food & Wine / Photo by Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Chelesa Zimmer / Prop Styling by Phoebe Hauser This savory take on a seasonal tarte tatin swaps apples for little colorful summer cherry tomatoes, which have the most poppable texture and sweet tomato flavor. The fruit tops crispy puff pastry, along with caramelized onions. Get the Recipe 03 of 27 Lemony Polenta Cake With Peaches Carson Downing / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Gabriel Greco This late summer treat is scented with lemon and almonds and gets its richness from sour cream. Get the Recipe 04 of 27 Grilled Corn Salad With Coconut-Peanut Chaat Photo by Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Brockman Make sure you grill corn for this salad before summer ends. It combines sweet, lightly charred fresh corn with a topping that stars ingredients including flaked coconut, curry leaves, and peanuts. It's a side dish or main that's bursting with flavor and texture — salty, nutty, crunchy, juicy, sweet, savory, and crisp. Get the Recipe 05 of 27 Grilled Burgers Stuffed with Pimiento Cheese Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Micah Morton / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen These decadent burgers are stuffed with pimiento cheese for an inside-out cheeseburger packed with flavor. One bite is all you need to see how different they are from the usual. If you like, prepare these burgers a few hours in advance of cooking, and store them, covered, in the refrigerator. Once they're grilled, you'll want to eat them immediately so the cheese inside is still warm. Get the Recipe 06 of 27 Crunchy Eggplant and Corn Salad with Mint and Feta Victor Protasio Tossed here with hearty breaded and roasted eggplant, fresh mint, and tangy feta, fresh corn is one of the great joys of late summer. In this quick-cooking recipe, corn is just lightly charred to add a bitter note, offsetting its sweetness. A glug of hot chile oil drizzled on top finishes off each plate. Get the Recipe 07 of 27 Chile Crisp Shrimp Rolls with Cucumber Salad Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Christine Keely Toasted brioche buns are piled high with succulent shrimp and crisp celery slaw in this riff on a classic shrimp roll. Melted butter, chile crisp, and tangy rice vinegar coat the shrimp in color and flavor. A simple shaved cucumber salad rounds out the plate and offers a cooling finish. Get the Recipe 08 of 27 Sugared Melon With Cardamom and Mint Cedric Angeles Sugar, cardamom, and fresh mint are all you need to transform ripe melon into a memorable dessert. Muskmelons, such as cantaloupe and honeydew, are sometimes treated like an afterthought — that's why chef Vishwesh Bhatt sometimes calls this recipe Don't Forget the Melon. "If you have the right melon that's nice and ripe, it's just so good," he says. Get the Recipe 09 of 27 Tomato Pie Food & Wine / Photo by Robby Lozano / Food Styling by Chelesa Zimmer / Prop Styling by Phoebe Hauser Juicy tomatoes, two types of cheese, mayonnaise, onion, and basil combine for a savory pie filling that’s a creamy taste of summer. Get the Recipe 10 of 27 Potato Salad with Fresh Corn and Basil Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Red baby potatoes are ideal for potato salad because their tender skins and creamy interiors hold together, even when cooked. Quickly soaking the onions in vinegar mellows their bite and allows the summery fresh herbs to shine in the dressing. Be sure to taste the salad after chilling and adjust the seasoning before serving. Get the Recipe 11 of 27 Cevapi with Ajvar and Kajmak Morgan Hunt Glaze / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Caleb Clark These Balkan sausages made with beef and lamb have a wonderful subtle smokiness from the spices and grill. Chef Joe Flamm serves them with avjar, a sauce made from roasted peppers, eggplant, and garlic. A dollop of kajmak, a Serbian and Croatian fresh cheese, adds a bit of tanginess to balance the rich meat. Get the Recipe 12 of 27 Peach, Tomato, and Feta Salad with Candied Jalapeño Dressing Guillermo Riveros / Food Styling by Dana Beninati Tangy, sweet tomatoes and peaches are one of our favorite combinations for late summer eating. Here, they star in a salad atop a bed of peppery arugula and basil. The salad gets even more zip with a sweet-spicy vinaigrette made with candied jalapeños or pepper jam. The feta and sliced onion scattered on top add more contrast and flavor, and the final sprinkle of za'atar lends this salad an extra level of texture. Get the Recipe 13 of 27 Summer Squash Carpaccio Jennifer Causey "When summer squash is freshly picked, all it needs is a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and maybe a hit of lemon juice," chef Marcela Valladolid writes. "Here, I've taken it to next-level magic by adding sweet dates, fresh mint, and toasted pepitas spiced with Tajín seasoning to the thinly sliced summer squash. For a gathering with friends in the garden or a light lunch, this has become a favorite of mine." Get the Recipe 14 of 27 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. Get the Recipe 15 of 27 Pollo Yucateco Asado (Yucatán-Style Grilled Chicken) Eva Kolenko / Food Styling by Carrie Purcell / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva These juicy grilled chicken thighs are marinated in achiote powder and spiced orange juice, giving them a peppery and sweet aroma. Get the Recipe 16 of 27 Tomatillo Salsa Cruda Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva Chef Fermín Núñez's raw tomatillo salsa combines tart, fresh tomatillos; jalapeño and serrano chiles; tender scallions; and pungent cilantro for a juicy, refreshing salsa perfect for topping tacos, eggs, or tortilla chips. Get the Recipe 17 of 27 Italian Beef Sandwiches Fred Hardy / Food Styling by Melissa Gray / Prop Styling by Shell Royster Topped with bright homemade giardiniera and roasted sweet peppers, these Italian beef sandwiches have lots of beefy flavor and a deeply satisfying jus. Get the Recipe 18 of 27 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. Get the Recipe 19 of 27 Grilled Halloumi Burgers with Citrus Tapenade Photo by Jennifer Causey / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn When grilled or sautéed, halloumi develops a charred crust that yields to soft cheese inside. Here, we cut the halloumi across the equator for the centerpiece of the burger, and season it with cumin, salt, and pepper. It's then topped with a citrusy olive tapenade with just enough crushed red pepper flakes to lend it a touch of heat. Get the Recipe 20 of 27 Grilled S’mores Pie Grilled S'mores Pie. Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee This decadent pie with a chocolate ganache filling is topped with gooey toasted marshmallows, giving you all the flavors of s’mores but in a pie cooked on a grill. Get the Recipe 21 of 27 Warm Puttanesca Pasta Salad Victor Protasio Cherry tomatoes are the star of this vibrant dish, which also includes crispy prosciutto, fragrant herbs, anchovies, and punches of garlic. A couple tablespoons of petite capers pull their weight, lending an unmistakable briny goodness. Get the Recipe 22 of 27 Tomato Pie Bars Photo by Linda Xiao / Food Styling by Kate Buckens / Prop Styling by Maeve Sheridan In his riff on tomato pie, food editor Josh Miller uses crushed saltine crackers and Parmesan cheese to give these tomato pie bars a crispy, savory bottom crust and enhances the rich, savory filling with mildly spicy curry powder and chipotle chile. A topping of juicy slices of tomato brings the finished tomato pie bars into perfect balance. Get the Recipe 23 of 27 Okra Mac and Cheese with Andouille Sausage Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Lydia Purcell New Orleans chef Kevin Belton brings okra’s thickening power and a little Louisiana flair to his baked mac and cheese. It's loaded with andouille sausage, Creole seasoning, white cheddar and Gruyère cheeses, and of course, okra. Get the Recipe 24 of 27 Miso Caramel Blondie Sundae Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley For this crunchy, nutty, sweet-and-salty ode to the iconic hot fudge brownie sundae, white miso tempers the ripple of sugary caramel in the cakey blondies with a savory undertone. Use our No-Churn Vanilla Ice Cream recipe to make your own over store-bought. Get the Recipe 25 of 27 Grilled Short Ribs with Smoky Blackberry Barbecue Sauce © Christina Holmes This delicious barbecue sauce gets its smoky flavor from berries that are grilled in a perforated pan; you can use sturdy foil or a foil pan with holes punched in instead. Chipotle chiles packed in adobo amplify the smokiness of the berries. Get the Recipe 26 of 27 Bacon-Wrapped Cherry Peppers © Lucas Allen This genius hors d'oeuvre from 2005 F&W Best New Chef Colby Garrelts calls for just three ingredients. The recipe comes together in only half an hour and can be made ahead of time, so it's great for parties. Get the Recipe 27 of 27 Layered Blackberry and Turmeric Lemonade Charles Masters This spritzy, summery drink is a showstopper with its distinct pink and yellow layers. It's also incredibly versatile: Swap in raspberries or strawberries for the blackberries, double the recipe for a crowd, or serve the homemade soda and the turmeric-spiked lemonade on their own. 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