Macaroni salad is a go-to, classic side I look forward to at every summer get-together. It’s simple to throw together and, when done right, is a creamy, bright addition to any party, potluck, or picnic spread. Done wrong, though? Bland, soggy, or dry mac salad is SUCH a disappointment. To get perfect mac salad every time, ditch the store-bought and make my guaranteed showstopper recipe instead. Read on for some things to know to make it the best it can be, every time:

How To Make Macaroni Salad

INGREDIENTS

PHOTO: JOSEPH DE LEO; FOOD STYLING: MAKINZE GORE

• Pasta: Elbow is classic here—this is mac salad after all. That being said, you can use your favorite short pasta shape if you don’t have elbow.
• Olive Oil: A little bit of olive oil drizzled over the pasta prevents the noodles from sticking together; it’s a step you don’t want to skip!
• Mayo: Mayo is essential here, but you want to be careful with the amount. Add more than what I call for here, and you risk ending up with a goopy mess.
• Lemon Juice: The key to a glossy mac salad? Having a good amount of acid, in the form of lemon juice here, to loosen up the dressing.
• Sugar: A little bit of sugar won’t make this salad sweet, but it will tie all of our flavors together, and add a hint of sweetness that makes mac salad complete.
• Mix-Ins: Every element selected in this salad brings something to the table to make a great composition. The celery brings freshness, tomatoes offer sweet umami explosions, and Kalamata olives give you that brine and fruitiness that makes your mouth water. Don’t skip these!

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Whether you’re dining alfresco on the patio or are packing a picnic for the beach, summer dinners are all about the sides. Whether you’re hosting a crowd or attending a potluck gathering, consider this your go-to list for the season. From pasta salads and potato salads to grilled vegetables and crisp salads, these recipes will be the star of your summer feast.

Summer ushers in all the best produce (looking at you, tomatoes, watermelon, and zucchini), and we see no reason not to eat our way through it all. Grab your biggest tote bag and get yourself to the farmers’ market ASAP to stock up on the bounty of seasonal fruits and vegetables. From there, you can pair the produce with some of our top-tier sides like this watermelon-feta salad or riffs on a classic Caprese salad featuring juicy tomatoes and fragrant basil.

As the days get longer and hotter, we’re more and more in the mood for crisp, refreshing sides that help us keep our cool. A chilled pasta salad or potato salad (peep our antipasto potato salad) are light and bright. Plus, they require very little cook time (so less time standing next to a hot stove or grill). Ditto for all the summer slaws we’ve created over the years. They’re a lovely complement to heavier, charred bites like burgers, ribs, and hot dogs.

For more warm-weather-friendly meals, check out our favorite summer vegetables, no-cook summer appetizers, and no-bake desserts.

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It’s summertime and the lunching is easy. Or at least it should be! Thankfully, these 45 easy summer lunch recipe ideas are so quick and simple, they’ll get you back in the pool/in the ocean/to your pickle ball game, etc. (you’ll see where we’re going here ASAP). Summer is just not the time to wait in line at the beach snack bar, settle with a mushy sandwich, or deal with lukewarm takeout; these easy salads, bowls, sandwiches, and BBQ-friendly lunch ideas all require very little time in the kitchen, so you can spend that time working on your base tan instead. Just promise us you’ll wait 30 minutes after chowing down on a chicken salad sandwich before doing that cannonball. 😉

If your summer plans include a lot of lugging that beach cooler across the sand, we’ve got plenty of packable beach lunches that’ll help you keep your clutch spot in the sun. We’ve never met a club sandwich or chicken Caesar wrap we didn’t love. Other honorable mentions include our curried chickpea salad and extra-crispy Buffalo chicken nugget burritos. Be sure to bring enough for everyone, because you will be inciting some serious lunch envy if not! And don’t forget to round out your picnic with our Thai peanut chicken pasta salad. It only gets better with time, meaning it’s a summer cooler MVP.

Summer is the time of year we most want to carpe the diem (and by “diem,” we mean “all that summer produce” and “all the lobster rolls/hot dogs/burgers“). Our recipes for summer panzanella, lobster salad, and Big Mac crunchwraps are sure to be lunches you’ll want to eat well past Labor Day, guaranteed.

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Think fast! Imagine all yourfavorite summer foods. Ever wonder why they’re all seemingly served on a stick? Popsicles and corn dogs are cool and all, but grilled skewers and kebabs steal our heart (and plate space) every year. Next time you’re at the store picking up BBQ supplies, pick up an extra pack of grill skewers. They’re a cookout MUST for a few reasons: They turn average ingredients into something spectacular, make grilling extra easy (especially for those of us who aren’t a grill master), and cleanup is a breeze when dinner is served on a stick. Check out our list of 50 easy grill skewer recipes to see what we mean—it’s kebab time!

You may think that skewering your food is a total no-brainer activity, and while you’d mostly be right, we DO have a couple tips to make sure your kebab experience goes off completely without a hitch. Most importantly, you gotta pick the best grill skewers. Right off the bat, we can tell you that the secret to stopping your ingredients from just spinning around and falling off your stick is using a pointy flat or two-pronged skewer—sorry round toothpicks and blunt dowels, you’re out! For smaller, appetizer-type options, like our Greek salad skewers or our melon prosciutto skewers, use a smaller flat wooden option. For bigger, heavier ingredients, like in our bánh mì kebabs or our grilled chicken kebabs, we prefer to use a metal option, two-pronged if you can manage it. If you do go with something wooden, don’t forget to soak your skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before putting them on your grill—otherwise, they might catch on fire, and you don’t need that. Here’s our best order of operations: Cut your meat and veggies into uniform pieces (bigger than your grill grates); marinate or season everything (for at least a half an hour is best); pat your ingredients dry as much as possible (it will help create that charred crust you want); and lastly, skewer!

Want more summer recipe ideas for your next outdoor celebration? Check out our top 100 best grilling recipes, our favorite summer cocktail ideas, and our best weeknight dinners you can make on the grill too.

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When I’m doing my meal planning for an average week, I’m looking for my weeknight dinners to check off two requirements: quick and easy. I want weeknight dinners that not only taste satisfying, but don’t require too much time, energy, or extra ingredients.That’s where these 30-minute dinners come in. If you need some meal inspo for the week, then these 30-minute dinners have you covered—every single day.

While I wanted to include recipes that are easy and straightforward, I also wanted to keep things exciting by spicing up pantry staples (looking at you, sheet-pan crispy ramen). Many of these recipes share common ingredients (saving you another trip to the store), but are different enough that you won’t feel like you’re eating the same thing all week. Chicken dinners are our bread and butter, but I’ve also given variety by including vegetarian, seafood, and ground beef dinners.

Whether you follow this meal guide by the day or only use it for some weekday mealtime inspiration, there’s a quick and easy dinner here for you that will be on the table in 30—minimal dishes required.

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Nothing’s better than a chicken dinner, whether it’s a weeknight or a special occasion, and nothing’s worse than a sink full of dirty dishes — any night. One Dutch oven is good, but one sheet pan to cook everything from the chicken to the sides? Now that’s a winner winner (you know the rest). We’ve got 27 sheet-pan chicken dinners here to get you started—once you’ve got the technique down, use them as inspiration to make your nights easier again and again.

When it comes to white meat, there are a few flavor combos that always work, and one of our favorites has got to be chicken and lemon. Our sheet-pan lemon butter chicken thighs capitalize on this excellent flavor combo—we add potatoes too, but it’s easy to customize with your favorite veggies for an easy, straightforward meal everyone will love.

Looking for something a little more out there to shake up your weeknight routine or to impress dinner party guests? It’s easy to jazz up that classic with a few additional ingredients, like we did in our lemony chicken & potatoes with feta (and a to-die-for olive, almond, and parsley sauce), our garlicky Greek chicken, or our sheet-pan harissa chicken & sweet potatoes. This simple flavor boost works with a full roast chicken too, and our Perfect Bite roast chicken dinner (great for fans of the show You) or our Peruvian roast chicken with aji verde are proof.

It’s not all about straightforward dinners here either. We’ve also got a couple of sheet-pan chicken apps or snacks here too, like our popcorn chicken, our sheet-pan green chile chicken nachos, or our sheet-pan honey mustard chicken. Eat ’em as an afternoon snack, or serve up the whole tray with a variety of toppings and dipping sauces and call it your evening meal—no judgment from us!

Want even more chicken dinner (or snacks for dinner) inspiration? Check out our favorite creamy chicken dinners, our top better-for-you chicken recipes, and our best baked chicken recipes too.

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Though we’re all for pulling out all the stops for a wildly impressive dinner for a romantic date night or special occasion, most weeknights, we’re looking for something cheap and easy. These recipes hit both criteria, with ease. You don’t have to drop major dough to make something delicious that can be on your table in an hour or less—save money by choosing cheaper proteins (we’re talking chicken, ground beef or turkey, or vegetarian options like tofu) and time by making these dishes all in one pan or via some of our top kitchen shortcuts. Whatever your style, these 100+ cheap and easy meals will please your entire family without breaking the bank.

One of the easiest ways to cut down on dinner costs is to go for cheaper cuts of meat, or utilizing more expensive ones in creative ways. Try adding ground beef, turkey, or chicken to help bulk out old standbys. Try roasting a whole chicken (or buying a rotisserie chicken), then utilizing it for everything from pizza to tacos all week long. Try adding more expensive seafood or steak to pasta or rice to help make smaller, more affordable portions go further, like in our salmon & potato skillet, our marry me shrimp pasta, our creamy steak fettuccine. It’s all about the way you use the protein that matters, not avoiding them altogether.

If you’ve been on the fence about certain kitchen appliances, like slow cookers, air fryers, and Instant Pots, consider this your sign to take the plunge and get one. They help dinners come together SO fast. Check out our more in-depth lists for your air fryer (over 100 recipes!), Instant Pot, and Crockpot.

Even if you’re not ready for another appliance, we bet you have some things in your kitchen already that’ll help you get dinner on the table fast, like sheet pans, a Dutch oven, and casserole dishes. We’ve included a number of our favorite recipes here, like our sheet-pan garlicky shrimp & veggies, our hamburger casserole (no more flipping individual burgers!), our chicken shawarma sheet-pan dinner, or our Mexican beef ‘n rice skillet, but once you’ve got the basics down, feel free to get creative.

One of the best ways to save some money is to go meatless (and not just on Mondays). And we don’t mean by replacing proteins with all those high-priced meat substitutes (though we’re all about those sometimes)—instead we’re talking about making vegetarian meals out of cheap beans, tofu, and plants. Try our spinach & artichoke white bean skillet, our sweet & sour tofu, our cream of mushroom pastina, or our baked feta chickpeas to see how versatile and filling these meals can be.

Want more cheap and easy meals? Check out our favorite 5-ingredient meals, our top 30-minute meals, and former food editor June’s entire Budget Eats series. You won’t believe what she came up with for under $25!

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