EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR THE ULTIMATE LABOR DAY FEAST
The best Labor Day foods are cookout classics — BBQ ribs and brisket, all-beef hot dogs, gourmet burgers, grill kits, and fresh seafood. Whether you’re hosting a backyard barbecue or bringing a dish to someone else’s, you can skip the grocery store and have iconic food from America’s top pitmasters and restaurants shipped straight to your door in time for the long weekend.
Celebrated the first Monday in September, Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, and one last excuse to fire up the grill, gather friends and family, and dine outdoors. Below, we’ve rounded up the best Labor Day cookout foods you can order online, organized by category so you can build your whole spread in one place.
What Are Good Labor Day foods?
Labor Day is all about classic American comfort food. The most popular Labor Day cookout foods are a mix of savory grill favorites and sweet finishes that are simple to serve, perfect for a crowd, or easy to pack for a picnic:
- BBQ — ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and sausage from award-winning pitmasters
- Hot dogs — Chicago-style, all-beef franks, and hot dog kits
- Burgers — gourmet, chef-created, and classic cheeseburger kits
- Grill kits — steaks, asado, and mixed-grill boxes for the whole cookout
- Seafood — lobster rolls, king crab, oysters, and shrimp
- Appetizers & desserts — crab cakes, dips, ice cream sandwiches, and fruit pies
BBQ
Labor Day is the perfect chance to serve up American BBQ classics. The country’s top pitmasters ship every regional style, including Carolina, Kansas City, Memphis, and Texas BBQ — no smoker required.
Snow’s BBQ Best of Texas BBQ Combo
Snow’s BBQ in Lexington, Texas, was named the #1 BBQ in Texas by Texas Monthly, and pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz has been showcased on Netflix’s “Chef’s Table.” One bite of the Best of Texas BBQ Combo and you’ll see why: fall-off-the-bone St. Louis pork ribs, juicy smoked sausage, and tender oak-smoked brisket with the perfect “bark.”
Central BBQ Memphis Style Ribs – 4 Slabs + Sauce + Rub
Memphis, Tennessee’s Central BBQ has been making award-winning pit-smoked barbecue since 2002. Their pitmasters marinate loin back ribs overnight in a Memphis-style dry rub of brown sugar, paprika, and salt, then smoke them low and slow. The kit includes 4 seasoned slabs, a bottle of sauce (mild, hot, mustard, or vinegar), and a rub for your next cookout.
Hot Dogs
Frankly, we have the best hot dogs in America — from Chicago “dragged through the garden” dogs to Detroit chili dogs to New York all-beef franks and hot dog kits
Pink’s Hot Dogs Hot Dog Kit Best Seller
Paul and Betty Pink started selling hot dogs from a pushcart before opening their Hollywood, California, hot dog stand in the 1940s. Today, Pink’s all-beef hot dogs are famous with locals and celebrities alike for their flavor and signature snap.
Vienna Beef Hot Dogs Natural Casing Chicago Style Hot Dog Kit
Vienna Beef debuted at Chicago’s World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893, and Chicagoans have been loyal ever since. This kit delivers the beefy, snappy, natural-casing dogs that define an authentic Chicago-style hot dog.
Read More: America’s Regional Hot Dog Styles
Burgers
From fast-food-style to gourmet to one-of-a-kind chef creations, these are the best burgers and cheeseburgers to grill this Labor Day.
Chef Geoffrey Zakarian Ugly Burger Dinner Kit
“Chopped” judge Chef Geoffrey Zakarian’s Ugly Burger earned its name from a New York Times critic who called it “so delicious but so ugly.” Made with Certified Angus Beef, this dinner kit is a beautiful mess in the best way.
Gott’s Roadside Gott’s Complete Cheeseburger Kit
Founded by brothers Joel and Duncan Gott in St. Helena, California, in 1999, award-winning Gott’s Roadside makes its 1/3 lb. cheeseburgers with fresh-ground, vegetarian-fed beef — roadside burgers worth the pitstop.
Read More: Best Burger Ideas for the Ultimate Summer Cookout
Grill Kits
For Labor Day, get grillin’ and chillin’ with a complete grill kit. The best foods for the grill include steaks, BBQ samplers, fish, sausages, and mixed-grill boxes built for a crowd.
Chef Francis Mallmann’s Asado Kit
South America’s most famous chef brings his traditional Patagonian-style BBQ straight to you. Chef Francis Mallmann’s Asado Kit includes a hanger steak, a 1.5-inch 14-day dry-aged boneless ribeye, five Argentinian chorizo sausages, and chimichurri sauce.
Junior’s Restaurant Junior’s Game Day Grilling Kit
Brooklyn’s Junior’s is famous for New York-style cheesecake, but the Rosen family’s grilling kit rounds up their “greatest grilling hits”: four 10-oz. steak burgers with buns, four jumbo 1/2 lb. hot dogs with hero rolls, and two racks of BBQ baby back ribs with sauce.
Seafood
Whether you like your seafood boiled, baked, fried, or steamed, get crackin’ this Labor Day with the freshest catch shipped from the dock to your door.
Beal’s Lobster Pier Beal’s Famous Lobster Roll Kit
You don’t have to travel to Maine for a wicked good lobster roll. Beal’s Lobster Pier has been serving Acadia National Park since 1932, and their kit includes 4 lbs. of lobster meat, 16 butter brioche buns, Beal’s Buttah, mayonnaise, and 16 bags of potato chips.
Pike Place Fish Market King Crab Gift Box
Founded in 1930, Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market is legendary for its fish-throwing mongers and pristine seafood. Their King Crab Gift Box features pre-cooked, ready-to-eat Alaskan king crab — perfect for a Labor Day feast.
Read More: How to Host the Best Hassle-Free BBQ
The most popular Labor Day foods are grilled cookout classics — hamburgers, hot dogs, and BBQ like ribs and brisket — usually served with sides such as coleslaw, potato salad, and baked beans, and finished with desserts like pie or ice cream.
Labor Day 2026 falls on Monday, September 7. It’s always observed on the first Monday in September.
You can order BBQ, hot dogs, burgers, grill kits, and seafood from iconic American restaurants and pitmasters on Goldbelly, shipped nationwide in time for the holiday weekend.
It’s a labor of love sourcing the best Labor Day cookout foods and they’re all shipping nationwide on Goldbelly.
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