Italian Summer foods ideas and recipes

Authentic Italian Summer Foods Worth Trying

By

Alessia Spampinato

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It’s that time of year when cosy, warm meals just don’t hit quite the same way. Can you relate?

Hello and welcome. I’m Alessia, the writer and founder behind Italy with an Italian.

If you too have started craving fresher dishes—made with seasonal produce, quick to prepare, or that last for days and can be enjoyed cold—you’ll love the list of Italian summer foods I’m about to share with you.

I’m not here to remind you of the popular ones you already know and love, like bruschetta and caprese salad.

Instead, I want to share a list of authentic Italian Summer recipes you’ve likely never heard about. These are the type of dishes Italians love and eat during the warmer months.

They’re a mix of cold dishes, and quick warm ones you can eat at room temperature. As I mentioned, many of these can be refrigerated and eaten the next day, or even the one after, making the extra effort worthwhile.

Don’t worry, though. Since I know we’re all busy, I am sharing an easier quicker take on each recipe — one that still delivers that authentic Italian taste you crave, but adapted for modern life and made with ingredients you can actually find wherever you are.

I hope you find a few favorites to try.



Friselle With Tomatoes And Burrata

Let’s start with an antipasti or starter Italian Summer food you’ve probably never tried, unless you’ve been to Puglia.

I am talking about friselle.

Friselle are a harder bread that stores longer. I would categorize them as a hybrid between a bread and a rusk. They have a ring shape that reminds me of bagels, and they are baked twice to have that extra crunch that characterizes them.

This can be the perfect alternative to your usual bruschetta. There are so many ways to enjoy them that are traditionally Apulian or Pugliesi (as we say it), but today, I’d like to share the simplest and most traditional one.

Italian friselle starter

This is what they should look like. I will share another picture next time I make them.

Ingredients:

How to prepare it:

  1. If you are using normal bread, you want to toast it or bake it until extra crispy but not burnt.
  2. Cut your tomatoes into small pieces and add them to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and EVOO.
  3. Brush the friselle or the bread with a little olive oil.
  4. You can use the garlic two ways, either squash it slightly before peeling it (that releases the juices) and brushing it onto each slice. Or you can mince it and mix it in with the tomatoes.
  5. Top the friselle with the tomatoes.
  6. Season some more salt, and optional chilli flakes.
  7. Top with dollops of your cream cheese of choice.



caponata

Sicilian Caponata

I know most of you have heard of caponata, but have you actually eaten it? If you’ve eaten from a can, that doesn’t count. Don’t even mention it please. I know that because I have tried it outside Italy and it tasted horrendeously.

I get it, caponata takes time to make, and that’s why I want to share a quicker easier recipe, so you can try it too.

For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, caponata is primarily a side dish made with eggplant, peppers and other vegetables cooked in a sweet and sour sauce (we call it agrodolce).

In Sicily, we like to enjoy caponata throughout Summer not only as a side dish but also as a main dish for picky dinners, served with a variety of hams and cheeses, and of course a lot of good rustic bread.

Ingredients (yields a nice medium bowl):

How to make it:

  1. Wash, peel and chop all your vegetables into medium cubes. You want to cut the carrot the smallest, as it takes longer to cook.
  2. The traditional recipe calls for frying all of the veggies, but a healthier and less messy option involves cooking them with olive oil in a large pot, mixing from time to time. Make sure you also add the celery, sliced onion and the minced garlic.
  3. Once the vegetables start cooking, you can add the olives pitted, and the tomato passata. Mix, and let them cook with the lid partly on.
  4. In the meantime, you can prepare the sweet and sour sauce. My mum always made it in a separate pot, so that’s what I am going to share with you. Add both the vinegar and sugar in a small pot, mix and let it come to a boil. Continue mixing to avoid it sticks. After 3 to 5 minutes, the vinegar will have evaporated and you are going to get a syrup.
  5. You can take it off the heat and pour it over your cooked vegetables. Mix and leave to cook for another 5 minutes so that the vegetables absorb it.
  6. Take off the heat and leave to cool. A caponata tastes the best the next day after it has sit in the fridge over night. Of course, you don’t have to wait that long to taste it!

Caponata lasts up to 5 days in the fridge.



Cotolette: Breaded Cutlets Milanese Style

Cotolette is not eaten just in Summer, but there’s something about making this in batch, storing them in the fridge and enjoying them over the next two to three days with a side salad that reminds me of my childhood Summers. I know it’s the same for many Italians. In fact, many even take these to the beach.

It’s ok if you are laughing, but many Italians take their entire life to the beach – tables, chairs, tents, fridge, even a barbecue. So taking breaded cutlets it’s not a big deal for us.

Just a note, you can make cotolette with both chicken breast, beef and even veal. Just make sure you use really thin slices, well pounded.

Italian Summer recipes

Ingredients (for four portions):

How to make these:

  1. It’s really simple.
  2. Crack the eggs in a bowl and whisk them with a fork.
  3. Prepare the flour and breadcrumbs in separate bowls.
  4. While the traditional recipe doesn’t call for any of these, you can add some grated cheese (parmesan or pecorino, or a mix of both with your breadcrumbs) for the extra taste.
  5. The same holds for adding some herbs, like oregano or fresh parsley in your egg mixture.
  6. The process involves first dipping your pounded slice of meat in the flours, on both sides.
  7. Then, you want to dip it in the egg, turning it on the other side too. Lift it so that the extra egg wash can come off but don’t shake it.
  8. Then, dip it into the bowl with breadcrumbs, again on both sides, using your hands to pat the breadcrumbs so they are locked onto the meat.
  9. Repeat for all the slices, and set aside on a clean plate.
  10. The tradition calls for dip frying these. My mum used to cook these in oil but only have about 1 cm oil in the pan.
  11. You can also bake them, if you prefer, or try air frying them.



Pasta alla Crudaiola

This is another Apulian Summer dish you’ll really appreciate when you don’t want to cook because you just have to boil the pasta, and nothing else.

Crudaiola comes from the word crudo, which means raw or uncooked, and it’s a fun way to say raw style or uncooked style.

Italian summer pasta

Ingredients (for two):

How to prepare it:



Minestrone Estivo, aka Cold Green Minestrone

Most Italians, especially us in the South don’t make many soups past the end of April. But in Northern Italy they do enjoy this one dish from time to time, especially cold.

It’s a similar recipe to my green minestrone. The only difference is that you eat it cold. That means you can make it the day before, or the morning of, store it in the fridge, and in the evening you just have to plate it, drizzle some extra virgin olive oil and call it a dinner with a few slices of bread.

I would advise on not cooking any pasta inside the minestrone for this Summery version.

homemade green minestrone soup



Stuffed Eggplants

For us Sicilians eggplants are a must Summer vegetable staple, and that’s the same for other Southern regions like Calabria and Puglia.

My favorite recipe to make with them is parmigiana, but it does take a while and it also involves frying, which I personally don’t like. It’s one of those recipes where baking them won’t give you the same result, so I’d rather not share it here since we are speaking about easy fairly quick recipes.

Instead, we could make stuffed eggplants.

Ingredients:

How to prepare them:

  1. Wash the eggplants, remove the stem and cut in half. Cook them in boiling water for 5 minutes.
  2. Drain them and let them cool.
  3. Once cool, use a tablespoon to remove the inner flesh, and add it to a large bowl. Do that for all the eggplant halves.
  4. In that same bowl, add the ground beef, the grated romano cheese, and whisk and egg to combine. Season lightly and feel free to add dried or fresh herbs, like basil or oregano.
  5. Layer the empty eggplant halves on a baking dish, greased or covered with parchment paper, and stuff them with the mixture you just made.
  6. Top each stuffed eggplant with one or two tablespoons tomato sauce, and a few slices scamorza or provolone cheese.
  7. Bake for 30 minutes and serve with a drizzle of olive oil.
  8. You can crisp up the eggplant by air frying them before stuffing them, or air frying them instead of baking them. Or you can also bake them, and then air fry just your portion.



Italian summer food ideas

Couscous alla Trapanese

The secret to this dish is what they call the fumento, that is the fish stock made out of all the fresh fish and seafood.

Because we are making a speedy version, we are going to use a cubed fish stock and a frozen seafood mix. However, to make this dish even better all you have to do is swap those two things: buy a fresh seafood mix from your local fishmonger, and use it to make a fish stock together with a carrot, an onion and a piece of celery.

Ingredients (for two):

How to make the quick version:

  1. Slice the onion and mince the garlic.
  2. Add to a large pan with a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and leave to cook until translucent.
  3. Add some fish stock, and then the seafood and fish mix.
  4. Add the tomato paste and the saffron, and some more fish stock (around 250 ml). Mix and leave to simmer over low heat while you prepare the couscous.
  5. Use the rest of the fish stock to prepare your couscous. Then, add a knob of butter and use a fork to fluff it up.
  6. Add the couscous you’ve made with the seafood, and mix.
  7. Take off the heat and serve with some fresh parsley and a few chopped almonds.



Capponada Salad From The Ligurian Coast

If you are among those people who love eating salads in Summer, here’s a new one for you to try, provided you love fish. It comes together really quickly, making it a lovely lunch as well as a quick starter when hosting.

Italian summer foods

Ingredients (for one main or two sides):

How to make it:

  1. If you are using fresh croutons, just cut the bread, drizzle some oil, season with salt and pepper, and toast it in a pan or in the oven. You can also replace this with a few slices of toasted bread and enjoy them separately with the salad, or a few crackers.
  2. Put all the ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. Drizzle the vinegar and olive oil and mix.
  4. It’s that simple.



Italian summer food

Spaghetti alla Nerano From Naples

If you liked my quick crudaiola pasta recipe, here’s another one that’s super easy to make and tastes incredible. This is also vegetarian.

It takes its name from the village of Nerano, which is part of the metropolitan city of Naples.

Ingredients (for two):

How to prepare it:

  1. Wash and peel your zucchini, and cut them into medium sized cubes.
  2. Stir fry them with a generous amount of olive oil in a large pan.
  3. When nearly cooked, you want to add the minced garlic and some more oil if needed and let them cook at low heat with the garlic mixed in.
  4. Take them off the heat but leave them in the pan, season them and add the basil.
  5. In the meantime, boil the water for your spaghetti and cook them.
  6. Grate the two cheeses.
  7. Take some cooking water and add it to the pan with the zucchini and garlic, turn the heat on and mix. Keep the heat low.
  8. Drain the pasta and add it to your large pan with the zucchini. Add more pasta water if needed.
  9. Add the grated cheeses and leave to melt.
  10. Serve.



Baccalà Salad

In case you don’t know, baccalà is what Italians call salted cod. This recipe usually involves using the fresh salted cod, but for the quick version we are making today you can use a canned version or even a simple canned cod.

Italian summer salad

Ingredients (for 1 main or 2 sides):

How to prepare it:

  1. The only thing we need to cook here are the cherry tomatoes. You want to slice them in half and cook them with some olive oil in a pan until they become soft and almost caramelized.
  2. Once done, you can add those with all of the other ingredients inside a bowl.
  3. Drizzle with olive and add the fresh basil and mix.
  4. Season lightly if you are using the salted cod.



pasta con le sarde

Pasta Con Le Sarde from Sicily (Sardines Pasta)

The traditional recipe uses fresh sardines (we call them sarde in Italy), but I am giving you a quicker version you can make with canned ones.

This is a very authentic Sicilian dish, loved throughout the island, but especially linked with port city of Palermo.

Ingredients

How to make it:

  1. Slice your onion and sauté them in some oil in a pan with the anchovies until they are translucent.
  2. In the meantime, soak the sultanas in some water, or you can do that 30 minutes before you start cooking this.
  3. Add the sardines, the drained sultanas, the pine nuts, the wild fennel, the saffron, and the optional chilli flakes. Mix and leave to cook over low heat for just under 10 minutes.
  4. In the meantime, cook the spaghetti and save some pasta water.
  5. Toast the breadcrumbs with a pinch of salt in a separate pan until golden.
  6. Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the sardines. Add some pasta water to help amalgamate everything.
  7. Finally, you can add the toasted breadcrumbs, mix and serve. It’s delicious.



Sicilian Swordfish Rolls

This recipe might feel more time consuming, but in reality, it’s not. You just have to get the swordfish already prepared and filleted for you, make the filling, stuff the rolls, and bake them.

These rolls are popular throughout Sicily but especially in cities like Messina and Palermo.

Italian Summer fish recipes

Ingredients:

How to make them:

  1. Mince the garlic and add it to a bowl.
  2. Add the other ingredients too: the pine nuts, the drained sultanas you soaked, the mashed anchovy, the chopped parsley, the grated cheese, and two tablespoons breadcrumbs.
  3. If you want to use them, you can add the cut tomatoes too.
  4. Add two tablespoons of olive oil and mix well.
  5. Brush each slice of swordfish with some oil, and stuff it with the filling you made.
  6. Then, add the rest of the breadcrumbs in a bowl and grate the lemon zest. Mix well.
  7. Use a toothpick to close your stuffed fish fillets.
  8. Pass each fish roll in the breadcrumbs all around, and put on a baking dish covered with parchment paper or kitchen foil.
  9. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F).



Italian summer food

Pane Carasau No Bake Lasagna

Pane carasau is a really thin bread from Sardinia. It’s really crispy, which means it’s going to absorb the juices of our Summer lasagna ingredients beautifully and also help us avoid having to turn the oven on.

This dish is not super popular throughout the rest of Italy because of that bread, but Italians usually make a similar Summer lasagna version using lasagna sheets that they boil, stuff and serve cold.

If you prefer, you can make this with regular lasagna sheets boiled, or use wraps instead of the pane carasau.

Ingredients:

How to prepare it:

  1. Wash, peel and chop your vegetables. Mince the garlic.
  2. Sauté the vegetables with the garlic and olive oil in a pan until cooked.
  3. Season the ricotta, and mix it with 30 gr grated parmesan. You can also add a pinch of nutmeg.
  4. Add a layer of ricotta to the bottom of the dish.
  5. Proceed with the bread layer.
  6. If you use the pane carasau, you’ll need to wet it in some warm water.
  7. Alternatively, you can use wraps or boiled lasagna sheets. If using wraps, I suggest lightly toasting them before.
  8. Layer one of those.
  9. Then, top with the vegetables mix.
  10. Add a few dollops of pesto.
  11. Spread the ricotta on top, and sprinkle some more parmesan.
  12. Repeat at least one more layer, and continue until you finish with the ricotta on top.
  13. You can refrigerate the lasagna and serve cold, or enjoy right away. Don’t forget to drizzle with some olive oil and a few fresh basil leaves.




Baked Stuffed Peaches With Amaretti & Chocolate

If you need something different than the usual tiramisu or cannoli, try this one next time you fancy something sweet but quick.

This recipe is a tradition of Piemonte, Turin’s region.

Italian Summer desserts

Ingredients:

How to make them:

Cut the peaches in half, remove the pit, and use a tablespoon to take some of the pulp out – not all of it just the centre on each side.

You can use a blender and pulse the amaretti cookies, the almonds with the sugar, cocoa and marsala. Or you can chop everything with a knife and mix with a tablespoon in a bowl. Make sure to also add the peach pulp you extracted.

Some people also add one egg. You can do it either way.

Use that mix to stuff the peaches, layered in a baking dish.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. You can enjoy them both warm or cold with a scoop of vanilla, chocolate, or amaretti ice cream.



Italian summer food

Ricotta Gelato – No Ice Cream Maker Needed

Ricotta ice cream is typical of Rome and it’s also a healthier option, especially since we are making a very stripped down version that uses no cream.

Ingredients:

How to make it:



Speedy Zuccotto Fiorentino (A Semifreddo)

This is an upside down dessert that originated in Tuscany but it’s popular throughout Italy.

The traditional recipe uses a cream made from ricotta, but I am going to share a quick version with ice cream.

Ingredients:

How to make it:

  1. Take a glass bowl, or it can be stainless steel and cover it with plastic wrap. Make sure the wrap comes out long enough to wrap around the top.
  2. Cut slices of cake sponge and layer them on the bottom of the bowl, and all around it.
  3. Mix the water and the liquors, and use a kitchen brush to wet the sponge.
  4. Mix chopped dark chocolate and some candied fruit in with the vanilla ice cream.
  5. Fill half of the bowl with that.
  6. Next, top with the chocolate ice cream. The chocolate layer is usually smaller than the white one, but you can choose your favorite ratio.
  7. Top with more slices of sponge and brush them with the liquor water you made.
  8. Quickly cover with the wrap, and freeze overnight.



More Italian Recipe Ideas

If you’ve enjoyed reading this list, I am pretty sure you will love my weekly Italian newsletter. It’s called Buona Settimana and it lands in your inbox every Sunday. Inside it, I share my easy recipes, and we talk about fashion, travel, and life. You can join now through one of the boxes on this page.

In the meantime, you can also find more Italian food ideas in these other posts:

Easy Italian Recipes For Beginners (+ Key Food Habits)

Italian Christmas Food: 11 Staples Italians Can’t Do Without

Italian Easter Food Traditions

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Thank you so much.

A presto,
Alessia


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Alessia
Alessia Spampinato
Alessia is the founder of Italy with an Italian. She is an Italian, born and raised in Sicily, with a big passion for content creation – writing, photography and anything in between – almost as big as her love for travelling, biscotti al burro and Italian vistas.