Spontaneous is your middle name. Maybe even your first name. Point being, you just now decided to throw a 4th bash, and just now realized that involves a little more than texting 30 of your closest friends.
Fortunately, you’ve got a secret weapon: the list below, with all the morning/afternoon/evening red/white/blue food/drink ideas your party could ever need.
Need nibbles for the snack table, the parade, the picnic, or under the fireworks? Bag up a few batches of these crowd-pleasers, with the perfect mix of luscious candy and crunchy Chex™ cereal.
Time to make a patriotic pizza! This sweet high-flying treat has a crispy crust under banana and berry stripes, so you can use it for a brunch, a dessert, or anytime hors d'oeuvre.
A gourmet take on the classic cookout, with bleu cheese adding luscious flavor on top of roasted red peppers. Great for satisfying a bunch of red-blooded American appetites.
Make ’em boozy or virgin, make ’em ahead of time or on the 4th, make ’em big or small, but for Pete’s sake, you can’t NOT make these layered bevs for the holiday.
Summertime is about food on a stick. But in these awesome finger-food treats, the stick IS the food. Luscious, sprinkle-accented pies are great for a buffet and let everyone enjoy their own tiny slice of heaven.
If you’re into street-truck corn, you’ll recognize the familiar charred flavor that gives grilled corn its rock-solid hold on food-lovers’ hearts. Just the right blend of garlic, herbs and buttery yum.
Ask any pitmaster and they’ll all tell you the same thing: The secret to a great grill is in the sauce. We’re offering up a secret ingredient that makes all the difference, so you can prep these ribs ahead of time and be a hero in under 15 minutes.
Howdy, cowpoke. This here’s how to rustle up a mighty fine meal-in-a-packet. If any city slickers complain about a little gravy mess, oblige them by offering corn bread to sop up the delicious drippin’s.
Make it ahead of time, and let the sopping commence on the day of. Creating your own BBQ sauce is super simple when you use ketchup as a catch-all base. Adding blackberries with perfectly blended spices = to die for. Ten times over.
Whoever came up with foil packets for the grill is pretty much our most favorite person ever, except for whoever invented potatoes, and the genius who first added garlic and butter. The net-net: we salute all three in one recipe!
A sweet treat for a 4th breakfast or dessert under the stars, this recipe offers up super-simple shortcake dressed up with dried cherries, fresh blueberries and more.
Talk about flavor fireworks—and super easy. This recipe offers a genius shortcut to fast-tracking your party’s dessert onto the “done” list.
Toss tradition out the window and celebrate Independence Day inspired by our youngest state: Hawaii. Every bacon-wrapped chunk of these kabobs is a deliciously flavored sensation, and you’ll love having any leftovers for tossing into a salad. Who are we kidding? There will be no leftovers.
The lovely artisanal flavor of this watermelon cocktail comes from a sprig of tarragon, making your friends savor every delectable sip. And then demand seconds, of course.
Blender drinks turn up the heat under any party, and these slushy treats are among the best of them: pineapple and coconut flavors blended into red-and-blue delights. Aloha!
Guess what’s NOT hard? Making your own hard lemonade from scratch. Fresh lemon juice, smurshed (yes, that is a word) blueberries, and gin blend together for a grand old oh-say-can-you-see celebration.
Hey, you gotta toss a little healthy into the mix—but you can still make sure it’s a salute to the holiday. This salad adds red watermelon, white jicama and blueberries to keep the Fourth party fueled and fun.
A great solution as a light main entrée, a vegetarian option, or a side for grilled meats. Old Glory colors are mixed into a super-easy Suddenly Salad™—the best news is, you’ll be suddenly ready to feed the whole gang.
Brownies cut in the shape of a star, then jazzed up with frosting and star sprinkles. It’s the chocolatey treat that will send everyone’s happy factor into the wild blue yonder.
And finally, the star of the show: a naturally sweet, perfectly punchy, serve-it-by-the-pitcher watermelon cocktail that will keep glasses raised (and the party roaring) well past the end of the fireworks. God. Bless. America.