30+ Easy and Delicious Beach Vacation Recipes

If you are like most people, this summer, you will likely spend a week or two at the shore or beach with family members. While renting a home and preparing meals at home is more affordable than staying in a hotel and eating out every night, planning dinners for the week can also be a source of stress. Below, I will share my favorite recipes to minimize your daily cooking and how to create your own custom beach vacation meal planning sheet. No one wants you to spend a long time cooking while you are on vacation. Whether you are making Keto meals or just family dishes, these recipes will help you keep your meal prep to a minimum. These delicious vacation rental recipes include freezer dinner dishes and slow cooker (affiliate) recipes as well. Come along, and let's start cooking!

Jump to:

• Key Takeaways
• Do this before planning your meals!
• Beach Vacation Meal Planning Tips
• Make Your Own Beach Vacation Recipes Meal Planning Sheet
• Pasta and Chicken Salads
• Quick and Easy Pasta Salad Recipe for a Crowd
• Light Waldorf Chicken Salad on Romaine Lettuce
• Yummy Curry Chicken Salad Recipe
• Chicken Salad with Walnuts and Cranberries Recipe
• Slow-Cooker Dinners
• Delicious Beef Yam Stew Recipe {Slow Cooker, GF, DF}
• Easy Beef Ragu Recipe {Slow Cooker, GF, DF}
• Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Bean Stew Recipe
• Slow Cooker Easy Beef Stew Recipe
• Italian Black Beans and Rice Slow Cooker Recipe
• Chicken Cacciatore Recipe in the Slow Cooker
• Homemade Soups
• Delicious Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup Recipe
• Turkey Lentil Soup Recipe For The Family
• Chicken Taco Soup Recipe {slow cooker, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free}
• Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe in a Slow Cooker
• Low-Carb Stuffed Peppers Soup Recipe
• Freezing Meatloaves
• Delicious KETO Turkey Meatloaf Recipe
• How to make a KETO Freezer Meal Mini Meatloaf Recipe
• Delicious Instant Pot Meatloaf Recipe
• Amazing Italian Meatloaf Recipe
• Mac and Cheese Recipe Options
• How to Make Dairy-Free Mac and Beans recipe
• Spinach and Artichoke Mac n Cheese Recipe
• Taco Mac and Cheese with Beans and Tomatoes
• Meatless Buffalo Mac and Cheese Recipe
• Lasagna option in a Crock Pot
• Slow Cooker Spinach Baked Ziti Recipe
• Easy Crock Pot Lasagna Recipe
• Homemade Chili Recipes
• Quick Sunday Chili
• Keto Spicy Chili Recipe in Slow Cooker
• Delicious Zucchini White Chili Recipe
• GF Chipotle Instant Pot Chili Mac Recipe
• White Turkey Chili Recipe
• Slow Cooker Chicken Chili Recipe
• Easy Turkey Chili Recipe {Freezer Meal, Make Ahead, DF, GF}
• Chicken Chili Instant Pot Recipe
• Amazing Texas Chili Recipe
• Dairy Free Gluten Free Pesto Beef Burger Recipe
• Asian Infused Turkey Burger Recipe
• Keto Freezer Meal Ranch Burger Recipe
• FAQs
• Visit our other recent recipe collections!

Do this before planning your meals!

First things first, you need to determine what the rental kitchens have for you to use. If it's a place you've been before, that will make it much easier to decide on your low-cost meal plan. However, if this is not the case, you will need to obtain some information from the realtor's office and see what they are providing for your use. Ensuring you have a fully equipped kitchen will make your meal planning easier and help avoid issues with your meals at the rental house.

Beach Vacation Meal Planning Tips

First, let's discuss how to create your vacation meal plan.

It's best to determine how many meals you would like to have made for your trip. You can check out my post on 'How to Easily Pack for a Shore Vacation Without Stress,' where I share a checklist (affiliate) that helps you organize your thoughts in order and belongings for your vacation.

It's a good idea to make your own meal vacation checklist (affiliate). Start with the days you will be on vacation. List them all on a piece of paper. Then, have an area for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. This will help you plan when you need meals and when you plan to eat leftovers and dine out. Fill in the other meal activities accordingly so you do not make too much food.

Now, go through and add the recipes you want to make (feel free to pick from the ones below) or pull from your collection of family favorites. You can add the name of the recipe, page, or website where you found it.

Place the paper recipes in a folder or create a digital folder on your device or computer (affiliate) for the digital recipes. Then, go through and add up all the ingredients you need for each recipe. You may have 12 onions for all four recipes, for example. And add them to your meal planning shopping list (grocery list).

Now, determine when you plan to cook these meals. Answer these questions.

• Will these meals be prepared before you go on vacation, and just heated through?
• Will you need to bring a small appliance, such as a slow cooker (affiliate) or an air fryer (affiliate), with you?
• Do some of the meals require more prep than others? When will you plan on doing those meals?
• Will the family be OK with eating the same breakfast for at least a few days?
• Are the kids okay with eating the lunches you plan to make for the other days?
• What are your family's favorite things to eat? Make a list.

Answering all these questions before you determine the meals and buy the ingredients will save you a lot of money and heartache for the week.

Below are some additional tips that help decide on the recipes you will make for vacation:

• Use simple ingredients. Prepping your meals with fresh, easy-to-find ingredients can help with cost savings.
• Using ingredients like already-cooked rotisserie chicken to buy will speed up the process of making your meals.
• Tomato sauce (affiliate) is an excellent addition to your meals, whether you decide to make pasta and sauce or add it to your slow cooker (affiliate) recipe as a part of your freezer meal.
• Sometimes, local markets would be more expensive since the beach adds a premium to the food you buy there. Making meals at home will save money during the week.
• Bring a good knife for cooking. A chef's knife (affiliate) is beneficial when prepping in a vacation house. Sometimes, the cooking utensils (affiliate) at the rental property are not of excellent quality. So bring what you need to enjoy cooking on vacation.
• Bring your crockpot. Not all vacation houses will have a slow cooker (affiliate), so you may want to bring your own. Be sure that yours is newer and reliable for safety purposes. Ask your rental company if you can bring it with you.
• Bring ice packs and a cooler when transporting your food. We used two coolers to transport my frozen dinners, and it worked wonderfully.
• Bring extra trash bags (affiliate). If you do not want to bring things back, you will have enough trash bags (affiliate) to dispose of items at the end of the trip.

Make Your Own Beach Vacation Recipes Meal Planning Sheet

I started the meal planning sheet with Saturday's dinner, as it is usually when renting that you arrive in the afternoon. And I ended on Saturday morning because, usually, the rental office wants you to leave in the morning so they can prepare the house for the next tenants.

Below is an example of what the meal planning sheet would look like for your beach vacation recipes.

If you want to pick up a copy of this meal planning checklist (affiliate), feel free to sign the form below and get this checklist (affiliate) plus all our other free ebooks/checklists (affiliate).

Pasta and Chicken Salads

Preparing food ahead of time works great when going away. A pasta salad is a wonderful option. The vinegar-based dressing in this recipe below will keep the food fresh for at least a few days.

Chicken salad is a quick way to use up leftover chicken breast. It's great for lunch in a sandwich or a light dinner on top of a salad.  These are my favorite go-to chicken salad recipes. It does need to be refrigerated and is perfect for the first night at the rental property.

Here's the Pasta and Chicken Salads table to help you determine what recipe works best for your family.

Recipe	Prep Time	Cook/ Chill Time	Total Time	Yield	# Ing.	Notes
Quick and Easy Pasta Salad Recipe for a Crowd	10 min	15 min	25 min	12	7	Only one made with pasta as the base; no refrigerator time needed before serving
Light Waldorf Chicken Salad on Romaine Lettuce	20 min	1 hr chill	1 hr 20 min	8	11	Longest total time and most ingredients; served on romaine "boats" instead of a bowl
Yummy Curry Chicken Salad Recipe	15 min	20 min chill	35 min	6	9	Only one with a spice (curry powder) as the flavor driver
Chicken Salad with Walnuts and Cranberries Recipe	15 min	20 min chill	35 min	6	9	Smallest yield of the four

Quick takeaways: all four hold up well in the fridge for a few days, making them solid first-night or make-ahead options. The pasta salad is the only one not built on rotisserie chicken, and it also serves the most people (12) for the least active time. The three chicken salads are nearly identical in effort (15-20 min prep + a short chill), so the real choice between them comes down to flavor profile (fruit-and-nut, curry, or walnut-cranberry) rather than time savings.

Slow-Cooker Dinners

Slow-cooker meals are convenient when staying at a beach vacation rental property. There is even a vegetarian version. It's nice not to eat meat daily, so this one is a good option. The beans fill you up, and you don't have to spend much money. It's a win-win in my book. The ones below are super easy to put together at home, then freeze, and then reheat while you're on vacation.

Chicken cacciatore is a delicious dish and wonderful for a vacation meal. This one is a quick, throw-together recipe that you can prepare in the morning and have ready by dinner time.

Here's the Slow-Cooker Dinners table to help you determine what works best for your family:

Recipe	Prep Time	Cook Time	Total Time	Yield	# Ing.	Notes
Delicious Beef Yam Stew	20 min	6 hr 30 min	6 hr 50 min	6 bowls	18	Longest ingredient list and prep of the group; requires browning meat/veggies on the stovetop first
Easy Beef Ragu	10 min	4 hr 7 min	4 hr 17 min	4 cups	11	Shortest total time; ground beef needs no browning-and-transfer step like the chunked stews
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Bean Stew	15 min	6 hr 5 min	6 hr 20 min	4	13	Only vegan/meatless option in this group
Slow Cooker Easy Beef Stew	10 min	8 hrs	8 hr 15 min	8	14	Longest cook time and largest yield; classic potatoes-carrots-peas stew
Italian Black Beans and Rice	10 min	4 hr 30 min	4 hr 40 min	6	10	Fewest ingredients; rice cooks right in the pot, so it's a full one-pot meal
Chicken Cacciatore	10 min	6 hrs	6 hr 10 min	4	14	Only chicken-based dish; needs a side of pasta or rice cooked separately

Quick takeaways: all six are true dump-and-cook recipes (10-20 min hands-on prep), so the real differentiator for vacation planning is total cook time and how much pre-chopping is involved. The Beef Ragu and Black (affiliate) Beans and Rice are the fastest (~4-4.5 hrs) if you want dinner sooner after arrival. The Beef Yam Stew has by far the most ingredients and prep steps (browning meat and veggies separately before the slow cooker), making it better made ahead at home rather than assembled at the rental. The Easy Beef Stew yields the most servings (8), so it's the best pick for a full house.

Homemade Soups

Creating homemade soups (pre-cooked) is an excellent option for dinner. If you have several slow cookers (affiliate), you can set them up the day before you leave, make the meals, and then freeze them all for the trip. Then, when on vacation, you need to reheat them.

You can make these below in the morning, put them in the slow cooker, and they will be ready for dinner that night. Easy peasy.

If you like ground beef, you can also make this soup recipe in a Dutch oven (affiliate). It is hardy and great for a crowd.

Below are homemade soup options compared so you can decide which one works for your family.

Recipe	Prep Time	Cook Time	Total Time	Yield	# Ing.	Notes
Delicious Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup	15 min	3 hrs	3 hr 15 min	4	10	Only vegetarian option; shortest cook time of the group
Turkey Lentil Soup	10 min	55 min	1 hr 5 min	8	12	Fastest total time and largest yield; stovetop, not slow cooker
Chicken Taco Soup	10 min	6 hrs	6 hr 10 min	6	8	Fewest ingredients of any soup here; mostly canned/pantry (affiliate) staples
Chicken Tortilla Soup	15 min	6 hrs	6 hr 15 min	4	9	Truly and dump version: place a whole breast of chicken in with the other ingredients.
Low-Carb Stuffed Peppers Soup	~15 min active	6 hrs	6 hr 15 min	4	14	Only keto/low-carb option; requires browning beef and sauté (affiliate)ing veggies before the slow cooker

Quick takeaways: the Turkey Lentil Soup is the standout for a fast first-night dinner - it's on the stove in about an hour and feeds the most people. The Chicken Taco Soup is the easiest "dump and go" option (fewest ingredients, mostly cans). The Vegetable Soup and Stuffed Peppers Soup are the two dietary-specific picks (vegetarian and keto, respectively) if you're covering different eaters in the house.

Freezing Meatloaves

I like freezing them after they are cooked. Then, when we want to reheat them, I cut them into slices and sauté (affiliate) them in a skillet with a little oil for a quick meal with a side of salad or veggies. Below are a variety of options from using turkey to beef.

If you like individually sized meatloaf, a mini meatloaf low-carb recipe may be for you.

NOTE: Since this one is so few in number and you can make them at home, freeze them, and bring them cooked with you, I didn't create a table comparison for this category.

Mac and Cheese Recipe Options

You can't forget about mac and cheese!

Let's not forget the super-easy slow-cooker mac and cheese. This one adds veggies and artichokes to it and can be placed in the slow cooker in the morning for a delicious dinner that night.

If you are avoiding dairy, this mac and cheese recipe may be perfect for you. This recipe uses beans to make the sauce.

Note: Mac and cheese takes the same time to cook. So I didn't create a comparison table for this one.

Lasagna option in a Crock Pot

Yes, it's a thing, and you can do it too! It's delicious, and you won't want lasagna any other way. If you bring your slow cooker, you can easily prepare this lasagna dish for your vacation.

The baked ziti recipe is also great for a crowd. Kids love it because it is so comforting, and moms love it because they don't have to stand over the stove in the summer. It's a win-win.

Note: Both of these pasta recipes take about the same time, so there is no table comparison for this group.

Homemade Chili Recipes

You can substitute the flour with a gluten-free variety if you are gluten-sensitive or have a gluten allergy. I like to double the recipe and then freeze it in portion-controlled sizes. These are my favorite chili recipes.

If you prefer a non-beef chili dish, try this one. This turkey chili recipe freezes well. This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled in size for larger groups of vacation attendees.

If you'd like to try a chicken chili recipe, consider this one. It has zucchini and cannellini beans and is also a slow-cooker recipe. Great for cooking ahead or making while at your beach home.

All these recipes are below.

Here's the Homemade Chili Recipes table to help you determine what recipes are best for you and your family.

Recipe	Prep Time	Cook Time	Total Time	Yield	# Ing.	Notes
Quick Sunday Chili	15 min	1 hr 5 min	1 hr 20 min	5	13	Stovetop beef chuck chili with corn and red beans
Keto Spicy Chili in Slow Cooker	15 min	5 hrs	5 hr 15 min	4	16	Most ingredients of the group; no beans (keto), uses 3 types of canned tomatoes/chilies
Delicious Zucchini White Chili	10 min	25 min	35 min	6	11	Fastest stovetop option; ground turkey + cannellini beans + zucchini
GF Chipotle Instant Pot Chili Mac	10 min	15 min	25 min	4	13	Fastest total time overall; only one with pasta built in (gluten-free chickpea shells)
White Turkey Chili	15 min	30 min	45 min	4	12	Stovetop, cannellini beans + green chilies, thickened with a flour slurry
Slow Cooker Chicken Chili	10 min	6 hrs	6 hr 10 min	4	9	Fewest ingredients; whole chicken breasts go in raw, shredded at the end
Easy Turkey Chili (Freezer Meal)	10 min	37 min	48 min	6	11	Built specifically for freezing; classic tomato-kidney bean base
Chicken Chili Instant Pot	10 min	1 hr 30 min	1 hr 40 min	8	11	Largest yield along with Texas Chili; uses dried (not canned) black (affiliate) beans cooked right in the pot
Amazing Texas Chili	15 min	2 hrs	2 hr 20 min	8	10	Longest cook time; no beans, classic "bowl of red" style with big cubed chuck roast

Quick takeaways: if you want dinner on the table fastest, the GF Chipotle Chili Mac (25 min) and Zucchini White Chili (35 min) are the clear winners. For a big group or make-ahead batch cooking, Chicken Chili Instant Pot (affiliate) and Amazing Texas Chili both serve 8. The Slow Cooker Chicken Chili is the easiest, hands-off option (raw chicken, dump-and-go). The Keto Spicy Chili is the one to reach for if anyone's low-carb, since it skips beans entirely.

Lastly, our Delicious Vacation Rental Recipes are also available for specific dietary needs.

Low Carb Recipes

You can still stay on your diet when on vacation. Just make some low-carb dinners! And, a quick freezer dinner can even be keto-friendly. This meat burger recipe is incredibly easy and can be frozen, then reheated in a skillet or on the grill when you arrive at your rental.

Here's the Low Carb Recipes table to help you compare recipes and pick the right one for you and your family.

Recipe	Prep Time	Cook Time	Total Time	Yield	# Ing.	Notes
Dairy Free Gluten Free Pesto Beef Burger	10 min	20 min	30 min	4	9	Requires a blender (affiliate)/food processor to make fresh basil pesto; most involved prep of the three
Asian Infused Turkey Burger	5 min	20 min	29 min	4	10	Fastest prep; needs a grill and a quick homemade chili-garlic mayo sauce
Keto Freezer Meal Ranch Burger	10 min	20 min	30 min	4	3	By far the fewest ingredients of any recipe in the whole roundup; built specifically to freeze

Quick takeaways: all three are quick, low-effort dinners (~30 min total, serve 4) that fit easily into a beach-week rotation. The Ranch Burger is the simplest by a wide margin - just beef, onion, and seasoning - making it the best choice for a low-prep night or a make-ahead freezer meal packed before the trip. The Pesto Burger needs a blender (affiliate), so it's better suited to a rental with a working food processor. The Asian Turkey Burger is the one to grill outside if the rental has a barbecue.

Many of my recipes are low-carb; feel free to visit them all here.

Well, there you have it-my home-cooked recipes plus how to make your own beach vacation meal planning sheet for your next unforgettable vacation rental home at the beach. I hope this helps you plan your vacation dinner with little effort. Please share your favorite recipes in the comment section below.

Want more recipes? Here are some other shore house recipe posts for your next vacation:

The 15 Fresh Summer Recipes Perfect for the Beach House Kitchen

12 fresh recipes for your summer vacation

Feeling overwhelmed with what to pack for your shore vaca? If you are looking for some help on how to prepare for your shore vacation rental, check out our recent post that includes FREE Shore Rental Packing checklists.

FAQs

Below are Amazon (affiliate) cookbooks that share recipes for make-ahead and slow cookers (affiliate). (affiliate) If you click through and purchase from Amazon (affiliate), we will receive a referral fee at no additional cost to you.

Looking for fabulous cookbooks? Check out the ones below

Cookbook: Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking: 30th Anniversary Edition

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The Ultimate Gluten-Free Cookbook

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Cookbook: The Best Mexican Recipes

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