what to cook at a vacation house
simple ingredients and simple meals, to best enjoy your vaca
You’ve been asking for it… we’ve been working on it…
The WTC vacation house meal plan is here just in time for peak summer travel!
We’ve compiled a 5-day meal plan with recipes that are perfect for a beach trip, mountain week, lake vacation, etc. The recipes call for only a few simple spice blends that you can pack with you (and/or that your rental house may already have in the pantry!). The meals can also be easily doubled or tripled if you’re staying with extended family or a bunch of friends.
In our experience, there aren’t typically a ton of leftovers when you’re cooking for a group on vacay. So instead of working lunches around dinner leftovers, we’ve rounded up 5 super simple and crowd-pleasing summer lunches. BUT, we also know that lunchtime on vacation is meant to be fluid. Some people are going to want to pack plain turkey and cheese sandwiches, watermelon, and chips everyday so they don’t have to move from their beach chairs. Others may want a full-on sit-down midday meal. Others may prefer to graze on snacks all afternoon.
Because of that, we’re including 5 perfect-for-vacation lunch ideas, but did not include them in the grocery list as lunch plans are likely to vary from group to group. To add ingredients to your shopping list, copy and paste the text from this Google doc into another, and add your extra items.
One last note: If you’re not vacationing somewhere that has access to fresh seafood and want to swap the seafood-centric meals out, here are our top picks:
slow-roasted pork butt, 3 ways: pulled pork sandwiches or chop plates would be easiest!
chicken parm burgers: go easy on yourself and buy frozen sweet potato fries instead
messy meatball sliders: so simple, so delicious, no fancy spices needed
Happy summer! We hope you enjoy!!
xx
Caro + Molly
PS: Click here or download the PDF below for a shopping list for DINNER INGREDIENTS broken down by aisle. To modify the list (like to add lunch ingredients or to double or triple a recipe), copy and paste the Google doc’s text into another Google doc or note and tweak as needed.
PPS: Wondering what to cook for dinner the other two days? Eat out one night, and do a frozen pizza party the other!
PPPS: At the very bottom of this post, you’ll find a few other ideas for vacation breakfasts, drinks, apps, etc.!
DINNER #1: Lowcountry boil
Cover the table with newspapers, pull out as many little ramekins as the rental house can muster, and get to boiling! There’s a sub-recipe for homemade cocktail sauce in the post, but if you’re looking for a store-bought version, I highly recommend Kelchner’s. I also included a sub-recipe for lemon butter, but skip the garlic powder if your rental house doesn’t have it!
DINNER #2: Grilled steak, corn, and a caprese salad
You don’t need a recipe for this! Just season steaks (I love flat iron steaks) with your favorite spice rub, boil (or grill) a few ears of corn, and whip up a simple caprese with ripe tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, EVOO or olive oil, salt, pepper, and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze. If you want to follow a recipe, this grilled steak caprese can be your guide — but use your favorite store-bought steak dry rub or blackening seasoning rather than buying all of the separate spices listed in the recipe.
NOTES:
You can cook your steaks in a cast-iron skillet on the stove if your rental house doesn’t have a grill!
We’ve included enough ingredients in the shopping list to feed a group of 4-6.
DINNER #3: Jerk chicken with coconut rice and strawberry salsa
This meal is SUCH a crowd pleaser. Also, we couldn’t write a summer vacation meal plan and *not* include some coconut rice. You can grill the chicken or cook it in the oven or on the stovetop — whatever works best for where you’re staying.
DINNER #4: Sunshine pasta with a bagged Caesar
Tomato season is upon us and it’s time to let those juicy heirlooms turn into the perfect pasta sauce by taking a bath in the hot summer sun. Add a bagged Caesar to make it a meal. If you have some “must-have-meaters” in the group, you could also grill or roast some shrimp or make these meatballs.
DINNER #5: 20-minute fish tacos
Taco time! Although this recipe only calls for three spices (garlic powder, chili powder, and smoked paprika), you can use a spice blend like taco seasoning or blackening or jerk seasoning to make it even more vacation house friendly. These have been super popular and if you need to add a side, I recommend grilling corn!
LUNCH #1: Lowcountry boil leftovers
This is the one exception to the not-basing-lunches-around-leftovers rule. For some reason, my family always winds up with Lowcountry boil leftovers. If yours does too, here’s what to do with them!
First things first: Peel the shrimp or pick all of the crab/lobster meat out before storing the leftovers. Trust me on this one. You're so much more likely to not let it go to waste if it's ready to use the next day with little effort. Secondly, store all leftovers separately to keep everything from tasting fishy.
And now, here’s what to make:
Shrimp (or crab or lobster!) and corn summer salad // Mixed greens, shrimp, corn cut off the cob, thinly sliced red onion, thinly sliced stone fruit, chopped almonds or pistachios, and avocado. Dress it with an apple cider vinaigrette.
Old Bay potato salad // Potatoes, red onion (mince it if you don't like big slices!) mayo, light-colored vinegar like apple cider or red wine, mustard, Old Bay, salt, and pepper. Eyeball the ingredient amounts depending on how many potatoes you have left over. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before eating. Lots of fresh herbs like parsley and dill would also be great in here!
Meat and cheese board // Our favorite way to finish up leftover kielbasa is to throw it on a plate with crackers, cheese, and mustard for an afternoon snack.
LUNCH #2: BLTs
Bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo (preferably Duke’s), toasted bread. No further explanation needed.
LUNCH #3: 2-ingredient tzatziki chicken salad
Any chicken salad is ideal to have on hand for vacation lunches, but what I love about this chicken salad is that it’s literally two ingredients: store-bought tzatziki (I typically use Cedar’s Cucumber Garlic) + shredded chicken (you can use a store-bought rotisserie chicken or chicken breasts that you’ve boiled).
Mix 1 cup shredded chicken with 1/3 cup tzatziki (or multiply as needed for your group!). Optional: If your chicken is really dry, consider also adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of mayo. Sometimes I add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and even some lemon juice if I want to jazz it up more. Serve it as sandwiches, over salad, or with crackers and fruit.
LUNCH #4: Tomato galette
Two summers ago I whipped one of these up for lunch during my family’s annual beach trip to Bald Head Island, NC, and honestly I felt like I’d just won an Oscar, I was so overwhelmed with compliments. Every single family member lost their mind over it.
It is so incredibly easy, and even easier if you skip the homemade crust and just use a store-bought crust. I highly approve of that move!
LUNCH #5: Hawaiian roll ham sliders
If you follow me on IG, you know that Hawaiian roll sliders are a favorite move of mine to feed a group. These ham sliders are always a hit, and you can use any jam you’ve got. If you already own fig jam, pack it for your trip! If you have strawberry jam for PB&J sandwiches, use that instead — it’ll be great.
You could also borrow the method (slice the still-stuck-together rolls in half horizontally, dress and fill them, brush the top layer of buns with butter, and bake) but mix up the contents. Turkey and cheddar would be great. Shredded chicken, cheese, and pesto would be too.
A FEW MORE IDEAS FOR WHAT TO COOK ON VACAY!
Breakfast:
Dessert:
Blueberry cheesecake skillet pie (you can sub in peaches or strawberries!)
Drinks:
A perfect app:
And FYI...
Here’s how to cube a watermelon
📍 If you used — or plan to use — this meal plan on a summer trip, let us know where you cooked it!! I’ll be using it this week at the cabin with friends, and in a few weeks on Bald Head Island, NC, with my fam!
NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES!!! This is a MVP move! Thank you!!!!
I'm going to pretend I'm on vacation and make these lunches and dinners for the vibes.