Now, more than ever, we’re all looking for some tasty 4th of July desserts, finger foods, drinks & side dishes to enjoy at home this Independence Day!
While we light up some sparklers and hang out with those we’re closest to, eating great food is a very important part of this day!
4th of July Desserts, Finger Foods, Drinks & Side Dishes
So, we decided to put together a roundup of our favorite recipes, ranging from finger foods, side dishes, drinks as well as some sweet 4th of July desserts!
We know that most likely, you’ve got the main dish covered and plan to grill up some hamburgers, hot dogs, and steaks.
But, besides your main dish, you’re going to need 4th of July desserts, finger foods, drinks and side dishes to keep everybody grubbin’ throughout the day!
So we rounded up our favorite summertime recipes and categorized them so you can pick and choose what you’ll have on your 4th of July menu.
Free Printable 4th of July Party Planner
Before we go into our list of amazing recipes, ya gotta have some sort of party plan right?
So, we decided to offer you our free printable July 4th Party Planner Pack!
Just sign up below with your first name and email address and the PDF will be delivered to your inbox!
4th of July Finger Foods
Deviled Eggs
Our Maryland Deviled Eggs with Crab & Old Bay Seasoning recipe has been a huge hit with our readers ever since we posted it!
There’s nothing earth shattering about this recipe except for the fact that you add crab meat and Old Bay Seasoning to them.
Garnish with spring onions, more crab, & more Old Bay Seasoning and you won’t know what hit you, they’re so good!
This Rubbermaid deviled egg covered container (Amazon) is perfect for keeping these bad boys from sliding all over the place and becoming a mess.
Side note: It’s very important that you add a label in front of the tray of deviled eggs, specifying that they contain shellfish, as the yolks can camouflage the crab meat.
Cowboy Caviar
This Cowboy Caviar Recipe is not only ‘pull up a chair and dig in’ good but it’s actually pretty darn healthy!
Make sure you have plenty of tortilla chips for dipping because this stuff goes fast!
Also, be sure to direct people to our recipe online because they will continually ask you for the recipe until they get their hands on it!!
Ask me how I know this!
Crab Stuffed Cucumber Cups
Mmm Hmm! More crab!
We’re from Maryland guys! We love us some crab!
These Crab Stuffed Cucumber Cups are super easy to make!
But your family will think you are such the gourmet cook and that you’ve slaved all day to make them!
Hint: Get yourself an OXO Good Grips Double Sided Melon Baller (Amazon).
It’ll make it super easy to scoop out your slices of cucumber!
Hot Crab Dip
You just can’t have a summer gathering in Maryland without this amazing hot crab dip recipe!
With it’s cheesy, crabby, creamy goodness, you can use a variety of dippers, like tortilla chips, Ritz crackers, celery, or sliced baguette.
Nuts and Bolts
So, this is a Nuts & Bolts recipe that has stood the test of time in my husband’s family.
They’ve made it throughout the years during the Christmas holidays.
But it’s so good, why not make it more often than once or twice a year?
4th of July is the perfect time to serve this I-can’t-stop-eating-it appetizer!
It’s the perfect combination of crunch and spice!
As you can see, we make a huge amount of this recipe because it’s just so darn good!
You can get yourself a nice big, covered roasting pan (Amazon) to make this recipe.
Side Dishes
Crab Salad
This crab salad is super easy to make and so refreshing.
It’s got corn cut right off the cob, red onions, lump crab meat, tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, lime juice, and of course Old Bay Seasoning.
Chickpea Salad
This healthy Chickpea Salad Recipe is so refreshing and yummy!
And it only comes out to 4 Weight Watchers Smart Points. That is, if you’re counting!
With lots of chickpeas, feta cheese, spring onions, parsley and a light olive oil & lemon dressing, it’s the perfect side dish!
Orzo Salad
This Summer Fresh Orzo Salad is a recipe my stepmother has made through the years that’s always been a hit!
I never even knew what orzo was until she made the recipe and I fell in love with it.
It’s kind of like rice but in pasta form.
With fresh basil leaves, sliced cucumbers, and feta cheese, this pasta salad just screams summertime!
Asian Ramen Noodle Chicken Salad
This Ramen Noodle Chicken Salad has the perfect combo of noodles, protein and a nutty crunch!
Using rotisserie chicken, packaged ramen noodles, and packaged shredded cabbage, this salad is ridiculously easy to make and oh so delicious!
Drinks
We’ve got one drink for the kids and one drink for the adults.
Both of which you’ll love!
Chocolate Root Beer Float for the Kiddos
This Chocolate Root Beer Float recipe uses diet root beer and fat free vanilla frozen yogurt.
I promise you, your kids won’t notice the difference! It’s super tasty!
But if you’d rather use the full sugar root beer and ice cream varieties, I won’t be mad at ya!
Watermelon Jalapeno Margarita For the Adults
This Watermelon Jalapeno Margarita is the perfect 4th of July cocktail!
Refreshing watermelon for the heat of a summer day & jalapeno for the ‘heat’ of a night filled with fireworks!
Also, this Watermelon Cutter Wheel (Amazon) will make your life way easier and less messy.
4th of July Desserts
Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake
This Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake recipe has been made in our family since the 80’s.
Somehow our Mom got a hold of this recipe, which was then called Lazy Man’s Cake.
The allure of how easy it is to make, combined with how amazingly delicious it is, makes this recipe a winner for us!
Popcorn Snack Bars
This Popcorn Snack Bars recipe is like trail mix in bar form.
It combines all of my favorite snacky ingredients, like popcorn, nuts, peanut butter chips, coconut, oats, and honey, all together into a handy bar.
Just pick it up and eat it!
No Bake Chocolate Cookies
This No Bake Chocolate Cookies recipe is another super popular recipe on our blog!
They’re made with Kashi cereal, marshmallows, cocoa, butter, and chocolate chips.
And the beauty is, you don’t even have to bake them!
They taste like chocolate covered pretzels. Yum!
Raspberry Crisp
We were inspired to make this Raspberry Crisp recipe after going raspberry picking at our friend Mae’s house a few years ago.
As a matter of fact, we love raspberries so much, they’re a part of our mason jar logo!
Freshly picked raspberries, butter, oats, brown sugar, sugar, & flour are all you’ll need to make this wonderful creation.
Oh! And don’t forget the vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream!
Lemon Bars
Our Lemon Bars recipe is different from traditional lemon bars.
A surprising but delicious ingredient in the crunch crust is pine nuts.
Needless to say, they’re just as lip-puckering delicious, but healthier than conventional lemon bars.
Chocolate Chip Cookies with Peanut Butter & Pretzels
And last but not least is our Chocolate Chip Cookies with Peanut Butter & Pretzels.
These are not healthy, they’re not Weight Watchers, and they don’t have crab in them!
But they are out-of-this-world amazing!
If these cookies are wrong, well then I don’t want to be right!
Above all, have a happy and safe 4th of July!
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