20 delicious 4th of July food ideas for dinner menus and snacks

You’ve stocked up on sparklers, ice, beer and American flag-themed decorations. Now, what to serve at your Fourth of July party? Whether you’re planning to man the grill, prefer to simply reheat or delight at the thought of presenting an artful dessert you didn’t have to spend hours baking, ordering Independence Day meals, snacks and desserts from the country’s top restaurants may be just what Uncle Sam ordered.

We scoured Goldbelly, a website that helps local eateries ship their food nationwide. From delicious barbecue, seafood and hot dogs to tasty apps and eye-popping red, white and blue desserts, we found 20 ready-to-order items that will add serious fireworks to your holiday celebration.

Joe’s KC BBQ Ribs, Brisket and Burnt Ends

Planning an epic Fourth of July barbecue? Start by ordering this meaty package from the legendary Joe’s Kansas City BBQ. You’ll get a slab of pork spare ribs, a pound of sliced brisket, a pound of chopped beef burnt ends and a 14.5-ounce bottle of Joe’s barbecue sauce. All meat arrives fully cooked and frozen. Just thaw, reheat and spend time with your guests, rather than slaving over the grill or smoker all day.

If cooking is not your jam, let New York’s Blue Smoke do all the work for you. This picnic package includes everything you need for your Fourth of July meal: 2 pounds each of pulled pork shoulder and chopped smoked brisket, a rack of baby back ribs, one quartered barbecue chicken, 1 quart each of mac and cheese and coleslaw, six cornbread muffins, two bottles of barbecue sauce for the ribs and chicken and six chocolate-chunk cookies.

Is there a better time to fire up the grill than the Fourth of July? Order up this grilling sampler package from New York’s Pat LaFrieda, in business since 1922, and you’ll receive four 6-ounce beef hamburgers, eight all-beef hotdogs, 1 1/2 pounds of sweet Italian sausage links and 1 1/2 pounds of fresh chicken legs, all shipped fresh, never frozen.

Turn your Fourth of July party into a good ol’ seafood broil with the help of Surf City, North Carolina, Topsail Steamer, a company that sources local seafood, preps it and packs it into a bay-bucket steam pot. This pot comes with large shrimp, littleneck clams, kielbasa sausage, sweet corn, red bliss potatoes and homemade seasoning, enough to serve two to three. For another $50, get the larger portion to serve four to six and add-ons are also available. Just add beer or water to the pot, steam it and serve it up on the included brown paper tablecloth.

If you never fail to tune into the annual Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest every Fourth of July, this package is for you. Serving up New York dogs since 1916, they’re not just for competitive eaters. This kit serves 12 and includes 12 natural-casing hot dogs, 12 buns, 3 pounds of golden crinkle-cut fries, 24 ounces of sauerkraut and 12 ounces of Nathan’s Famous deli mustard.

Peg Leg Porker Dry-Rub Ribs and Pulled Pork Dinner for 8

Go whole hog this Fourth of July with a pork-themed package for eight from Nashville’s famous Peg Leg Porker. Included are two racks of barbecue pork ribs, 2 pounds of pulled pork, a bottle of barbecue dry rub and a bottle of barbecue sauce — you choose from mild or hot.

Serve up a heaping pile of summer with this brats and cheese curd pack from State Street Brats in Madison, Wisconsin. Choose from 10 red or white smoked and pre-cooked brats (or five of each) and be prepared to swoon over three bags of cheese curds (about 30 in all).

Kick your Fourth of July bash into high gear with this pack of four yummy 7-ounce cheese spreads from New Skete, a small monastery based in upstate New York. Choose from eight flavors: bacon, cranberry walnut, horseradish, jalapeno, olive, spicy garlic, tawny port and creamy cheddar.

Perfectly portable for your holiday picnics and barbecues, this box is packed with two pouches of beef jerky, two beef logs, two beef teriyaki logs, two barbecue beef logs and two beef with cheese and jalapeno logs. Award-winning Alewel’s, a Missouri meat company, has been churning out quality products for 90 years, with all ingredients in this box made and smoked in Warrensburg, Missouri.

Angelina’s of Maryland Mini Crab Cakes

No need to be on the East Coast this Fourth of July to enjoy some delicious Maryland crab cakes. Pick up a dozen hand-crafted mini crab cakes from this Baltimore landmark, in business since 1952. Featuring 100% domestic blue crab meat with subtle spices and just enough filler to hold them together, they’ll go quickly. Which is why it’s a good thing that for additional money, you can order up to 96 of these beauties.

Show up to your Fourth of July party with a trio of hand-crafted gourmet snacks and expect some serious shouts of joy. From this company known for its bourbon barrel cake comes this three-pack featuring a 6-ounce can of bourbon smoked spice snack mix with peanuts, pretzels, sesame, corn sticks, crackers and chips, along with a 9-ounce can of bourbon-smoked salt and pepper peanuts and 9-ounce can of bourbon-smoked chili peanuts.

Sorry, but a party just ain’t a party without chips, and this three-bag gift box from the St. Louis-based Billy Goat Chip Company will not disappoint. All chips are handcrafted from Idaho Russet potatoes and all chips are vegan, gluten-free, peanut-free and kosher-certified. Just please, no fighting over the 16-ounce family-sized bags. There’ll be enough for everyone.

Duff Goldman Stars & Strawberries Cake

Wanna really set off some fireworks this Fourth of July? Show up to your party with Duff Goldman’s 6-inch red, white and blue four-tiered cake in hand. Golden butter cake layered with vanilla cream cheese and strawberries is decorated with sprinkles, sugar pearls, nonpareils and more with fondant stars topping the whole gorgeous thing.

We Take the Cake Red, White & Blue 4-Layer Cake

Dessert goes to a whole new patriotic level with this 6-inch, four-layer red, white and blue golden butter cake with cream cheese filling from the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, made-from-scratch bakery We Take the Cake. And to top it all off? Fondant pom poms covered in sprinkles.

Straight from the nation’s capital comes this package of 12 cupcakes decorated in a festive Fourth of July theme. Flavors from the Washington, DC, bakery include one each of salted caramel, vanilla firework swirl, chocolate firework swirl, chocolate coconut caramel swirl, vanilla and buttercream, red velvet, peanut butter fudge, chocolate squared, lava fudge, chocolate and vanilla, blueberry cheesecake and vanilla and chocolate.

Two Fat Cats Bakery 4th of July Starry Maine Wild Blueberry Pie

Everything’s better with pie, and this gorgeous 9-inch version featuring Maine wild blueberries and a crust with Fourth of July-worthy star cutouts will be the, well, star of your holiday get-together. Serving six to eight, its filling is a simple mix of blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, tapioca flour, cinnamon and nutmeg while the crust is made with flour, unsalted and salted butter, shortening, sugar and salt. Yes, yes, yes.

Looking for a fun twist on dessert this Independence Day? Here it is! A dozen 4-ounce jars, each serving one, include two each of mini layer cake, cake batter, strawberry banana, lemon bar, cookies ‘n’ cream and cookie dough flavors with red, white and blue cake layers, cream and sprinkles all making patriotic appearances.

Cookie DŌ Red, White and Blue Cookie Cake

Just try getting your guests to hold off from cutting into this 13-inch cookie cake before it’s time for dessert. From the popular New York bakery, this giant chocolate chip cookie topped with red, white and blue frosting swirls and a slew of sprinkles will have them salivating at first sight.

PieCaken Bakeshop Red, White and Blueberry PieCaken

Can’t decide between pie, cake or cheesecake this Fourth of July? Get all three in one with this turducken of pastries. The bottom layer? Red velvet cake. In the middle? New York cheesecake. On top? A wild Maine blueberry pie with star cutouts on the crust. A light lemon frosting pulls it all together, along with festive red, white and blue decorations. We have one word: Showstopper.

Show your love for America with this 12-pack of chocolate and vanilla heart-shaped whoopie pies from Baristas + Bites out of Portland, Maine. Vegan and certified kosher, they’re even decorated with sprinkles and mini flags. USA!