Our 29 Best Father’s Day Recipes

Lobster BLTs on Potato Rolls

These upgraded BLTs combine tender, sweet lobster meat with smoky, salty bacon, juicy tomatoes, and pillowy potato buns, lightly toasted in bacon drippings. Want to pair them with wine? Go for a tangy Loire Valley white.

Charred Avocado Salad with Cilantro Mayo

This smoky salad from chefs Christopher Kostow and David Guilloty is pure California magic. Searing the firm-ripe avocado transforms it into a creamy treat with a hint of char.

Quick-Cured Salmon Steaks with Grilled Tomatoes and Tzatziki

Salmon steaks are essentially two fillets attached by the spine of the fish. Less expensive, and easier to grill than a fillet, these steaks are quickly cured in a brown sugar-based dry cure. Grilled on-the-vine cherry tomatoes and fresh, cooling tzatziki are the perfect accompaniments.

Smoky Caesar Salad

Anchovies are arguably the best part of a Caesar salad. But since not everyone is a fan, we came up with the perfect substitution: canned smoked trout. Pleasantly salty and less fishy, it gives this make-ahead dressing tons of flavor.

Grilled Pineapples with Barbecue-Spiced Breadcrumbs and Country Ham

Slow-grilling whole unpeeled pineapples concentrates their flavor and tenderizes the fruit, which pairs wonderfully with salty country ham and crispy panko seasoned with barbecue spices. Peel the fruit with a large serrated knife, and serve it hot, thinly sliced like ham.

Grilled Vegetable Flatbread with Smoked Almond Muhammara

In addition to turning heads at your cookouts, this vegetarian masterpiece is packed with make-ahead options and smart shortcuts. You can make the Smoked Almond Muhammara up to three days in advance and stash it in the fridge. Feel free to skip a step and substitute two cups of jarred roasted peppers for the grilled bell peppers as well, plus about 1/4 cup liquid from the jar. Either way, you’ll have delicious results.

Warm Puttanesca Pasta Salad

“The finished dish is fresh, super-flavorful, good warm or at room temperature (with a glass of rosé), and perfect for a deck or patio dinner,” cookbook author Ann Taylor Pittman says about this about this puttanesca-inspired pasta salad. It’s packed with Castelvetrano olives, cherry tomatoes, crispy prosciutto, and more — plus, the dish takes just 30 minutes to make.

Potato Salad with Fresh Corn And Basil

Red baby potatoes are ideal for potato salad because of their tender skins and creamy interiors that hold together, even when cooked. Quickly soaking the onions in vinegar mellows their bite and allows the summery fresh herbs to shine in the dressing. Be sure to taste the salad after chilling and adjust the seasoning before serving.

Skillet Brownies on the Grill

These brownies take on a deliciously smoky flavor on the grill from “baking” in a skillet set over hot coals. After you’re done grilling dinner, prepare to make brownies on the grill by adding a few more lumps of charcoal to maintain a grill temperature of around 350°F. Pull the skillet brownies when they’re still a bit moist, but not wet, in the middle for an fudgy texture in the center and smoky brownie “bark” around the edges.

Lemony Layered Cheesecake

You only need six ingredients to make this tangy icebox cake: mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, prepared lemon curd, kosher salt, whole graham crackers, and some blueberries for serving. After at least eight hours in the fridge, you’ll have a perfect summery dessert.

Roasted Pork Tostadas with Citrusy Cabbage Salad

Here, tender citrus-and-herb-roasted pork shoulder is combined with chewy hominy, crunchy radishes, cabbage, and more to make a tasty tostada topping. F&W Culinary Director at Large Justin Chapple likes to serve the pork salad family-style and let guests build their own tostadas. The pork reheats beautifully, making this dish easy to prepare up to two days ahead; toss the dressing with the reheated pork and remaining salad ingredients just before serving. Substitute black beans for hominy, if you like.

Wild Mushroom Pizza with Homemade Ranch

It’s important not to weigh down your pizza with too many toppings, which can make for a soggy pie. This pizza only requires a small amount of wild mushrooms; choose whatever looks best at the market. That said, we love to serve this pizza with a drizzle of Fancy Ranch dressing (which almost makes it a salad, right?) Fancy Ranch is a homemade ranch dressing gussied up with a few chopped briny anchovies. But why stop with just a drizzle when you can also serve the pizza with a small bowl of the dressing alongside for dipping?

Honey-Pepper Coconut Shrimp

Although his breading technique at Rocky’s Hot Chicken Shack in Asheville, North Carolina is top secret, chef Rich Cundiff was kind enough to create this special riff on his coconut shrimp exclusively for us. A drizzle of syrupy honey glaze, infused with black pepper and lemon, adds a tart-sweet bite.

Summer Chicken-and-Pepper Stew

This light stew showcases sweet peppers and bright herbs. The classic cooking method builds flavor while gently cooking the chicken for a light and satisfying summer supper. Serve with polenta and crusty bread for soaking up the garlicky sauce.

Sky Juice

This creamy concoction of fresh coconut water and sweetened condensed milk liberally mixed with gin is also known as Gully Wash and tastes equally good by either name. Sip yours with a sea view at The Green Parrot, overlooking Nassau Harbour. Ground nutmeg and cinnamon lend warming sweetness to balance juniper-forward gin in this creamy cocktail. With a base of hydrating coconut water, it’s a pleasantly quaffable drink.

Summer Squash with Poblano, Queso Fresco, and Epazote

Epazote is a leafy herb with a pungent, bright flavor, with notes of citrus, mint, and oregano. It lends a savory depth to the summer squash, and pairs particularly well with dairy. Leaving the queso fresco in larger chunks allows it to soften slightly without completely melting into the dish.

Summer Crab Carbonara with Lemons and Capers

2020 F&W Best New Chef Douglass Williams’ method for this summery carbonara allows you to hold the cooked pasta before adding it to the garlic–oil–pasta cooking liquid emulsion. The result is a simple, creamy carbonara without the stress.

Urdaburger

Smoky, melty “pimentón” cheese, crispy jamón serrano, and a savory-sweet aioli top beef patties in this towering tapas-inspired burger from Urdaneta, a popular tapas spot in Portland, Oregon. Kalimotxo, a Spanish red wine and cola cocktail, is the inspiration for the marvelously mauve aioli.

Extra-Crispy Fried Fish

Adam Evans, of Automatic Seafood and Oysters in Birmingham, Alabama, serves up this perfectly tender and delightfully crispy fried fish that never seems to lose its crunch, even in takeaway containers. His secret is in the dredge. Gluten-free tapioca flour and rice flour team up with effervescent club soda in this light batter that becomes exceptionally crispy — and stays that way up to an hour after cooking. Delicious on its own, this fish also makes great sandwiches and tacos.

Sweet Corn Succotash with Shiitakes and Sugar Snaps

This bright, buttery succotash by 1998 F&W Best New Chef Katy Sparks is a perfect summer side dish that comes together in minutes. “My inspiration for this dish is to take a fresh look at an American classic, succotash, which is usually sweet corn cooked together with lima beans or other green beans,” Sparks says. “I like to lighten it up with summery snap peas and add meaty shiitakes for depth of flavor. Fresh basil in the smoked paprika butter elevates the whole recipe to something that pairs wonderfully with anything you want to throw on the grill: chicken, pork, fish, burgers, eggplant, and peppers.”

Pineapple-Sake Sangria with Jalapeño

This sake-based punch from chef Helene Henderson is refreshing and spicy thanks to an easy-to-make jalapeño syrup. The drink gets a double-dose of pineapple, too — pineapple juice is in the sangria, and fresh pineapple slices serve as a garnish alongside fresh mint.

Smoked Brisket

This smoked brisket is self-taught barbecue expert Matt Horn’s signature recipe — the star of the menu at his restaurant, Horn Barbecue, in Oakland, California. The 2021 F&W Best New Chef spent weeks perfecting this recipe, and says time is the most important ingredient in this dish. You need to be patient while the meat’s internal temperature rises to 203°F (95°C), but it’s worth it when your smoked masterpiece is ready.

Charred Chile–Marinated Grilled Chicken Tacos

To help build deep layers of flavor in these tacos, chef Fermín Núñez begins his marinade by toasting and charring aromatics: dried chiles, cinnamon, allspice, and onions all hit the heat before soaking with juicy chicken thighs for an hour, imparting smoky flavor before they cook quickly on the grill or in the oven. Pair them with fresh tomatillo salsa cruda for a next-level taco night.

Tamarind Chicken

The beauty of this grilled tamarind chicken is both its sharp and piquant flavor and its simplicity. A potent tamarind-and-chipotle marinade renders a richly flavored, juicy, and tender chicken in mere minutes, making it equally suited for a weeknight meal or a dinner party.

Mixed Berry Cornmeal Biscuit Shortcakes

For these shortcakes, macerated fresh berries and homemade whipped cream — flavored with vanilla and lemon zest — are served atop a buttery, tender split cornmeal biscuit for a summery dessert. Stacking and patting down the dough as opposed to kneading it helps you avoid overworking the dough, and also encourages even lamination.

Double Drive-Thru Veggie Burgers

For her “special sauce” on these delicious veggie burgers, vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli swaps out mayo for silken-tofu mayonnaise to make a tangy-sweet vegan take on Thousand Island dressing. The sauce can be refrigerated for up to one week.

By Food & Wine Editors