The Perfect Fourth of July Menu

The Fourth of July is only a few days away! If you’re throwing a party or even just having some people over, set up a menu so everyone knows what there is to eat! We've created a FREE printable menu below! We've added our favorite summer party items to it. Scroll down for the recipes!

Want to create your own menu? No problem, Sweeties! Scroll all the way down to get a blank printable menu that you can use to add in your own items!

Appetizers

When it comes to appetizers, you’ll want something sweet and fun, as well as something savory. And since you’re probably hanging out outside, it’s best to go with appetizers that are easy to eat!

Patriotic Parfait

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 10 oz. angel food cake
• 2 cup strawberries
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 8 canning jars

Instructions

• In 1-quart saucepan, stir together sugar and water. Heat to boiling on high, stirring occasionally; stir in blueberries and lemon juice. Remove from heat. Let cool completely.
• In large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, whip cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold in cooled blueberry mixture.
• Place a single layer of angel food cake on bottom of 1 canning jar. Top with 2 tablespoons strawberries, then 2 tablespoons blueberry whipped cream. Repeat layering of cake, strawberries, and whipped cream. Repeat with remaining 7 jars.
• Serve immediately, or replace screw caps and refrigerate up to 1 day.
• Before serving, top each parfait with 1 tablespoon coconut.

Full recipe from Good Housekeeping: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/a14284/patriotic-parfaits-recipe-ghk0712/

Burger Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp. yellow mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 16 oz. baby bella mushrooms
• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 slices cheddar, quartered
• Sliced cherry tomato, for garnish
• Sliced gherkins, for garnish

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°
• In a medium bowl, combine ground beef, Worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and stir until fully combined. Form into small patties (approximately the size of your mushrooms).
• In a large bowl, toss mushroom caps with oil and season with salt. On a parchment lined baking sheet, place the mushrooms stem side up.
• Place your tiny burgers in the wells of the mushroom caps and bake for 20 minutes. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and place slices of cheddar on burgers. Return to the oven and bake for 10 minutes more.
• Garnish with a slice of tomato and a pickle chip. Serve.

Full recipe from Delish: https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a53416/burger-stuffed-mushrooms-recipe/

Entrees

We’ve picked our FAVORITE entrees for your 4^th of July Party. These are perfect for any and all summer parties! Some of them are twists on Southern classics!

Pulled BBQ Chicken Pork Southern Style

Ingredients

• 5 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 5 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

• Place chicken in slow cooker. Pour cider vinegar over and add salt and pepper.
• Cook on high, 4-5 hours or low, 8-9 hours. Use tongs to remove chicken from slow cooker. Chicken will fall apart as you do this.
• Take out 2 cups of liquid from the slow cooker and discard rest. To that two cups, add brown sugar, hot sauce, and pepper flakes. Stir. Put chicken back in slow cooker, pour sauce over, stir, and enjoy!

Full recipe from our friend Christy of Southern Plate: https://www.southernplate.com/pulled-bbq-chicken-pork-southern-style/

Low Country Boil

Credit: Kelsey (Blue Cheese Bungalow)

Ingredients

• 1 lb small gold potatoes
• 3 ears of yellow corn, each sliced into 1.5 inch pieces
• ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
• 1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
• 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 lb large shrimp, deveined
• 1 (14 ounce) package of smoked sausage, sliced
• 1 yellow onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
• ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
• 1 lemon cut into wedges

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking oil.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boiling, add in potatoes and cook 8 minutes.
• Add corn to boiling water and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Potatoes should be tender. Drain corn and potatoes.
• Place potatoes, corn, shrimp, sausage and onion evenly onto sheet pan.
• In a small bowl, combine melted butter, Old Bay seasoning and garlic. Drizzle onto sheet pan and gently toss to combine.
• Place into the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes depending on the size of the shrimp. Shrimp should be opaque when done.
• Remove from oven and garnish with chopped parsley.
• Serve with a wedge of lemon and enjoy!

Full recipe from our friend Kelsey of Blue Cheese Bungalow: https://www.bluecheesebungalow.com/2018/06/21/sheet-pan-low-country-boil/

Root Beer Baked Beans

Instructions

• 3 bacon slices
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 (16-ounce) cans pork and beans
• 1/2 cup root beer (not diet)
• 1/4 cup hickory-smoked barbecue sauce
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1/8 tsp hot sauce

Instructions

• Cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp; remove and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon.
• Sauté diced onion in hot bacon drippings in skillet over high heat 5 minutes or until tender. Stir together onion, crumbled bacon, beans, and remaining ingredients in a lightly greased 1-quart baking dish.
• Bake beans, uncovered, at 400° for 55 minutes or until sauce is thickened.

Full recipe from Southern Living: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/root-beer-baked-beans 

Dessert

Can’t forget about dessert! It’s a holiday after all, so what’re y’all gonna celebrate it with? We recommend a classic and perfectly patriotic Flag Cake, but with a HEALTHY twist!

Healthy Flag Cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 1¼ cups granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup canola oil
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cake flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• Zest and juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp almond extract

Frosting & Decoration

• 12 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• ½ cup confectioners' sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided
• 3 tbsp low-fat plain Greek yogurt
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ cups raspberries
• ½ cup blueberries
• 2 cups strawberries, sliced

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper; coat the paper and sides of the pan with cooking spray
• Beat granulated sugar, oil and butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined
• Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just incorporated
• Whisk whole-wheat (or all-purpose) flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl
• Combine buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla and almond extract in a measuring cup
• With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl alternately with the buttermilk mixture, beating just until incorporated after each addition, scraping down the sides as necessary
• Spread the batter in the prepared pan
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 28 to 34 minutes
• Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes
• Turn out onto the rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour

Frosting

• Beat cream cheese, ½ cup confectioners' sugar, yogurt and ½ teaspoon vanilla in a mixing bowl until smooth

Decoration

• Invert the cake onto a platter
• Spread the frosting over the top and sides
• Mark 3 horizontal lines for the white "stripes" and a rectangle in the upper left-hand corner for the "blue rectangle"
• Gently pat berries with a paper towel to dry
• Make 3 "stripes" of raspberries on the marked lines
• Place half of the blueberries in the "blue rectangle," leaving space between each berry
• Sift the remaining 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar over the raspberries and blueberries to make them the white "stripes" and "stars"
• Fill the rest of the "blue rectangle" with the remaining blueberries
• Place strawberries between the rows of raspberries as the red "stripes"

Full recipe from Katie Webster on Eating Well: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/250771/eatingwell-flag-cake/

Beverages

It’s hot out, y’all…make sure your friends and family have something cold and delicious to drink! Try our fruity iced tea recipes or some of our sugar-free sweet teas.

Healthy Iced Tea Recipes

Want some easy recipes to whip up with our sugar-free Southern sweet tea? Head over here to get our favorite iced tea recipes!

#GuiltFreeSweetTea

The beauty of having sugar-free sweet tea at your 4th of July Party? There's something for EVERYONE. Sweet peach, zesty raspberry, refreshing lemony Half & Half, or just a classic sweet tea...whatever your guests want, they can get.

Plus, it's zero-calorie and sugar-free, so there's no need to feel guilty! Keep on sippin'!

Printable Menu

As promised, y'all! Here's a blank menu that you can use to add in your own items!

Here’s how to download and print our free menus:

1. Right click on the menu.
2. Click “Open image in new tab.”
3. Go to the new tab and press Ctrl + Print to print!
4. Or, go up to your browser bar and select the Print function.

Let us know below...what are YOU doing for the Fourth of July?