Planning a Labor Day menu doesn’t have to be overwhelming. I’ve gathered my favorite make-ahead mains, sides, and sweets so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the holiday. From easy salads to vintage desserts, you’ll find plenty of inspiration here. This post is updated every year with the most relevant content.
Celebrate Summer’s end
Labor Day weekend is the unofficial send-off to summer, and nothing says celebration like a table full of tried-and-true favorites.
Think cookout classics, vintage side dishes, and desserts that bring a little nostalgia to the holiday table.
You’ll find plenty of ideas here.
Make-ahead recipes
Several of the recipes in this post can be made ahead and either kept refrigerated or frozen.
Even if you make them a few days before you plan to serve them, it's a great way to divide the task over several days and have more time to entertain and enjoy the holiday weekend.
Check out our Freezer Baking and Desserts guide for more details about freezing baked goods.
Recipe roundup
I find that this is the perfect event for a great display of easy recipes full of summer colors and bursting flavors.
APPETIZERS
Salsa Ranchera
This old-fashioned Mexican salsa is bold and rustic. Made with roasted tomatoes and chiles, it's smoky and tangy, perfect with corn chips.
Crispy Onion Rings
A batch of these homemade onion rings can lift up the day. They're extra crunchy, thanks to the panko breading.
Garlic Bread Baguette
It's so incredibly easy to make and so delicious! Use purchased bread or bake our no-knead baguettes.
Easy Little Smokies
There's hardly any prep work (4 ingredients!) and less than 5 minutes on the stove are needed to enjoy this appetizer.
Mango Corn Salsa
A flavorful, fresh, and healthy salsa. Use it as a dip with tortilla chips, a topping for tacos and grilled meats, or a side dish.
Eggplant Hummus
Whether you char or bake the eggplant, this dip has a smoky, deep, fabulous flavor! An easy recipe that is ready in 45 minutes.
Homemade Onion Dip
This fantastic dip with caramelized onions is the ultimate appetizer with chips. Easy to make and flavorful!
Mushroom Leek Quiche
Quiche is a fancy tart, with a buttery crust and a creamy filling. Mushrooms and leeks make this recipe an extraordinary one.
SANDWICHES & EXTRAS
Blue Cheese Burgers
Juicy burgers stuffed with melted blue cheese, and served with a mushroom and onion mixture on a warm bun!
Chicken Pesto Sandwich
This Italian-style sandwich recipe is great for grilled chicken. It's easy to assemble and a crowd-pleaser.
Steak Sandwich
This is a flavorful steak sandwich with juicy slices of meat and that wonderful punchy parsley sauce known as chimichurri.
Lentil Burgers
These are a flavorful and easy alternative to traditional burgers, very adaptable to your palate, and customizable.
Quick Pickled Cucumbers
These are super easy to make and exactly what their name implies: a quick, delicious pickle that keeps very well.
Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
Two amazing recipes for the best homemade barbecue sauce. With lots of flavors, easy to make, and they keep for weeks!
Spicy Aioli
A fantastic one-step, 10-minute condiment! I use Sriracha, but other hot sauces also work. Use it as a spread and a dip.
Chimichurri Sauce
Authentic recipe from Argentina. Super flavorful, with garlic and parsley, it's the perfect sauce for barbecued meats.
Fresh Peach Chutney
Spicy, sweet, and tangy, this fresh peach chutney is simple to make and perfect to capture summer's last fruits.
SALADS
Potato Salad with Bacon (no mayo)
If you're not a fan of mayo or want an alternative, you're about to discover a fantastic way to enjoy your potato salad.
The Best Egg Salad
This is an easy recipe (chop and mix) and a vintage classic. The dressing is where the magic is.
Simple Macaroni Salad
As classic as it gets. The key is not to overcook the pasta and to find a good balance of crunchy, creamy and tangy.
Ham Salad (spread)
This is a chop and mix recipe, flavorful and versatile, that doubles as a sandwich filling.
Antipasto Pasta Salad
It's like a deli meat board meets some al dente pasta, with mozzarella bites, a few seasonal veggies and basil pesto dressing.
Classic Potato Salad
This traditional potato salad has soft but not mushy potato pieces, a creamy dressing and crunch from the celery and onion.
DRINKS
With and without alcohol.
Blueberry Margarita
A twist on a classic margarita, this is a cocktail with simple ingredients that can be scaled easily.
Homemade Lemonade
A must for outdoor gatherings. Making it at home allows for customization of the sweetness and tartness levels to suit your taste.
White Wine Sangria
Making sangria takes 10 minutes and lasts for hours, making it a perfect drink for hot day gatherings and brunch. It's a great pitcher cocktail.
Berry Vodka Lemonade
This simple blend of homemade blueberry lemonade and vodka creates a refreshing drink that's a bit sweet, tangy and boozy.
Cucumber Lime Water
Look no further than this cucumber lime agua fresca for a refreshing and hydrating drink. You can have a large jug prepared in the fridge all day.
BARS & COOKIES
No holiday cookout or gathering can be without brownies and cookies.
Lemon Blondies
Also known as lemon brownies, these are sweet, moist, and intensely lemon-flavored bars that are easy to make and glazed to perfection.
S'mores Bars
The easiest way to make s'mores for a crowd, these bars are gooey and as sweet as you want them to be.
Peanut Butter Cookies
This crumbly peanut butter cookie has only three ingredients and is naturally gluten-free. An old-fashioned recipe that never fails.
Lemon Crinkles
Since Lemon Crinkle Cookies are a crowd-pleaser, let me tell you this is the only recipe you'll ever need. They’re simply sensational!
Buckeye Fudge
This is an easy peanut butter chocolate fudge. It's a no-bake recipe that uses few ingredients and keeps very well.
Peanut Butter Brownies
Incredibly gooey and delicious, this recipe takes these little morsels up a million notches!
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Melt-in-your-mouth, easy-to-make almond cookies using 4 ingredients that will bring raves.
Chocolate Nut Cookies
These cookies have nuts, a shiny, crackly skin, and a fudgy center with chocolate chips that is gooey and incredibly rich.
Cheesecake Raspberry Brownies
A layer of chocolate batter is swirled with a cheesecake mixture and raspberries. Fudgy and scrumptious.
Walnut Chip Oat Cookies
Chewy, soft oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips and walnuts. An easy one-bowl recipe that can be made ahead and frozen!
CAKES & DESSERTS
I narrowed down my favorite dessert recipes for this time of year, which was difficult.
Strawberry Shortcakes
The soft biscuits can be made ahead, and the shortcakes can be assembled shortly before serving.
Apple Pie Crumb Bars
This recipe is a great alternative to apple pie. It has a shortbread base with apple slices and a buttery crumb topping.
Cherry Cheesecake
Our signature baked cheesecake is topped with a fresh cherry sauce. It requires no water bath and you can make it ahead.
Dump Cake Recipe
Also known as a cobbler with cake mix, this recipe has a layer of canned pie filling and a topping made with a boxed cake mix.
No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake
This dessert is for when you don't want to turn on the oven. It requires few ingredients and the result is creamy and crunchy.
Peach Cobbler
A simple peach cobbler with a juicy fruit layer and a buttery biscuit topping. It's out of the oven in an hour and can be frozen.
Lemon Blueberry Cake
This pound cake is sweet and perfectly dense, with a lot of lemon flavor, with juicy blueberries and a quick lemon glaze.
Caramel Apple Dump Cake
A layer of apple pie filling is topped with a 2-ingredient crumble for a cobbler-like dessert everyone will rave about.
Chocolate Sheet Cake
An old-fashioned sheet cake with great chocolate flavor. The top layer is crackly outside but remains gooey and soft inside.
Zucchini Bundt Cake
It has a crunchy cinnamon streusel that you'll want more of and the crumb is fluffy and bursting with grated zucchini.
Peach Dump Cake
An easy dessert, similar to a cobbler, that includes a shortcut: cake mix. A layer of juicy peaches with a crunchy topping that bakes to a golden brown.
NO BAKE PIES & TARTS
Traditional pies and wonderful desserts that your pickiest eaters will approve of.
Chocolate Peanut Butter
An easy no-bake chocolate peanut butter dessert, and let me tell you that a sliver goes a long way. It can be made ahead as it keeps well and can be frozen.
Pineapple Cream Cheese
A no-bake mouthwatering pie; a dessert that's as easy to make as it is to devour. And incredibly delicious.
Strawberry Jello Pie
A great seasonal dessert with homemade crust, a sweet, well-balanced filling, lots of strawberry flavor, and cream topping.
Cheesecake Pie
This is an easy cheesecake recipe. You'll get more crust and less filling than with a regular cheesecake, and trust me, it's fantastic!
Chocolate Cream Cheese Pie (no-bake)
This dessert has a chocolate crumb crust, cheesecake filling and whipped topping. Together, they're fantastic.
Banoffee Pie
A cookie crust, gooey dulce de leche, a mound of whipped cream, and chocolate shavings. Easy to put together and delicious!
Frozen Strawberry Pie
A no-bake dessert, similar to an icebox pie. It has a crumb crust, a layer of strawberry sauce, and condensed milk in the filling.
ICE CREAM (no-churn)
Super easy and a crowd-pleaser!
Oreo Ice Cream
A no-churn vanilla ice cream base with crushed cookies, a creamy texture and an irresistible cookies-and-cream flavor.
Vanilla Ice Cream
This no-churn ice cream is creamy and irresistible. With only 3 ingredients, it is easy to make and a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
Strawberry Ice Cream
An easy ice cream with an outstanding fresh strawberry flavor! A no-churn, 4-ingredient recipe made mostly in the blender.
Lemon Ice Cream
This recipe is very easy to make and big in flavor. With a ripple of lemon curd, it has a smooth, velvety texture and irresistible taste.
Chocolate Ice Cream
With just 4 ingredients and no added sugar, it has a deep chocolate flavor with a smooth, velvety texture and irresistible taste.
Creamy Cheesecake
A homemade vanilla ice cream that tastes like cheesecake, with a creamy texture and irresistible flavor.
Chocolate Baileys
This is a fantastic no-churn ice cream with deep chocolate and Baileys flavors that don't overpower each other.
So, these are recipes to celebrate the last of summer days. Enjoy the day and eat deliciously!
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Liz says
SO many terrific suggestions, Paula! I may have to rethink our holiday menu!!! xo
Abbe@This is How I Cook says
What great end of summer ideas. Between the plum tart and the potato salads, I am full!
Paula Montenegro says
Thanks Abbe!
Bertha Eastwood says
Thanks for the great recipes and easy to make
Paula Montenegro says
Thanks for stopping by Bertha!