Fourth of July Recipes
No Fourth of July is complete without an all-American, star-spangled menu, but coming up with one all on your own can be challenging. We here at SeatGeek have done the legwork for you and compiled the perfect patriotic recipes, for a start-to-finish Independence Day celebration. All the food below is easy to make and easy to serve, so you can enjoy it just as much as your guests will.
Click here for a complete list of Fourth of July party ideas, recipes, playlists and events!
RWB Sangria
You can never go wrong with sangria, and when it looks and tastes this good, it’s sure to be a hit. Get an obligatory red, white and blue theme in with a fresh, summery mix of fruits and booze up the whole thing with some vodka. Or you can get creative and substitute sangria ingredients if anything in the list below isn’t really your thing. Plus, the recipe is ridiculously easy and you can make it in advance.
Ingredients
1 cup blueberries
1 ½ cup pineapple chunks
1 cup raspberries
1 ½ cups strawberries
½ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
½ cup simple syrup
½ cup berry flavored vodka
1 cup triple sec
2 bottles white wine (dry)
Instructions
Slice the strawberries and pineapple chunks into medium-sized pieces. Mix together all the ingredients and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
Pigs in a Blanket
How cute are these? These little piggys aren’t really in a blanket, but it’s the idea that counts. To continue with the star-spangled theme, we’ve found these fun-shaped appetizers. Nothing red, white or blue here but I’d still give this menu item full stars (ha, funny, right?). You can serve these with or without the dip.
Ingredients
1 pound sweet Italian sausage links (Johnsonville)
1 sheet puff pastry (thawed)
1 egg
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
¼ cup – apricot jelly
Instructions
Cut the sausage links into 36 half- inch slices; brown the meat on both sides in a frying pan over medium high heat. No need to fully cook at this time, all you want is to get both sides a little crispy.
Set aside on a plate to cool while you get the pastry ready, lay the pastry out on your work surface then break the egg into a small dish and brush the entire surface of the pastry. Using a mini cookie cutter (I used a star) cut out 36 shapes from the pastry.
Place the meat onto a baking sheet and cover each one with a piece of pastry and secure in place with a tooth pick. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes. While the piggies are baking mix the jelly, mayo and mustard in a small dish, these are good served hot, warm and room temp. Dip and enjoy!
Corn on the Cob with Parmesan Cheese
Now that you’ve got your appetizer down, it’s time to get started on the side dish. This is corn on the cob with a twist: dress up something that is good on its own with butter, spices, and parm’ to make something spectacular. The instructions say to stick these guys in the oven, but if you want to warm up your grilling skills, you can also wrap them individually in aluminum foil and stick them on the grill for about 10 minutes.
Ingredients
4 pieces of corn on the cob, cut in half
½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
Optional: grated parmesan cheese, green onions or parsley for garnish
Instructions
Combine cheese, butter, smoked paprika, garlic powder and sea salt in a small bowl and mix well
Using your hands, spread about 1 teaspoon of butter mixture over each corn half
Wrap corn in aluminum foil and bake on a baking sheet in a 420 degrees oven for 20 minutes. OR, place corn on a baking sheet (not wrapped in foil) and broil for 5 minutes on each side, or until it is nicely browned all over.
Serve on a large platter and sprinkle with optional garnishes
Make ahead: Can be buttered and wrapped in foil up to 2 days ahead. Keep in refrigerator until you are ready to cook it.
Burger Sliders
Everywhere you look you will find burgers on July 4th, maybe because they are delicious, or maybe because they are a classic American food item. Whatever the reason, you should also serve them at your party. These little burger sliders are not only easy to make, but they can also be glammed up with the flavor options below. So whether you want a classic or something fancy, this recipe has you covered.
Ingredients
3 pounds of ground beef
1 tablespoon of sea salt
1/2 tablespoon of black pepper
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of steak sauce
1 egg
18 mini buns
Bacon (optional)
Avocado (optional)
Tomato (optional)
Blue Cheese (optional)
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine beef, salt, pepper, mustard, steak sauce and egg with your hands. Be careful not to compact the mixture. Form 18 patties and place them on a baking sheet. Place in the oven under the broiler on high for 5-7 minutes. Remove and place the patties on buns on a clean baking sheet. Cover with foil. Keep them warm in a 250 degrees oven for up to 30 minutes.
Fourth of July Cupcakes
We started off this list with a RWB item, and we’re going to end this list with one too. A little more time consuming that throwing together fruits and wine, but the fun value of these cupcakes outweighs all of that.
Ingredients
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk (low fat is fine)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp raspberry or strawberry jam (optional)
1 tbsp blueberry preserves (optional)
red food coloring
blue food coloring
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vegetable oil, melted butter and vanilla extract until smooth.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk just until batter is smooth. Take out two small bowls and place 3/4 cup batter into each one. Add 1 tbsp jam and red food coloring to first bowl and whisk to incorporate. Add 1 tbsp blueberry preserves and blue food coloring to second bowl and whisk to combine. Add additional food coloring (batter should be very brightly colored, use at least 15 drops of each color minimum) as needed until desired color is reached.
Divide red batter evenly into prepared muffin cups. Divide blue batter evenly into muffin cups, centering it on top of the red batter (do not attempt to smooth it out!). Divide remaining white batter evenly (again, do not attempt to smooth it out!).
Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cupcake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
6-oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2-2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until well-combined. Gradually add in confectioners’ sugar until the mixture reaches a thick easy-to-spread consistency. If you prefer stiffer icing, add a little extra confectioners’ sugar. Spread on cooled cupcakes.
