If you’re anything like me, spring is your all-time favorite season. A variety of flowers are in bloom, there’s more sunshine to soak up and your favorite farmers market’s shelves are stocked with juicy, seasonal produce. While you can get certain fruits and vegetables all year round, there’s nothing like biting into a vibrant red strawberry during its prime time. Even foods like fish tend to come and go with the seasons, such as wild salmon, which is extra rich and succulent during springtime.
Enjoy a full-flavored spring and use in-season produce like mushrooms, apricots and pineapple to jazz up your meals. The fresher the produce, the better the bite. Whether you’re a veteran cook or a beginner looking for simple but delicious meals, continue on for 12 recipes you can chef up in your kitchen for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Breakfast
Mushroom, spinach and egg breakfast scramble
Wake up your kids, roommates or neighbors with the smell of mushrooms sautéing in melted butter and garlic. Add a few hearty heaps of spinach, spices and a cracked egg and you have a remixed scramble; I like my eggs sunny side up but you can cook your eggs as long as you need to avoid a runny yolk. See recipe here.
Strawberry overnight oats
Overnight oats are all the rage on the internet right now, especially on TikTok, and for good reason. Not only are they quick and easy to make, but you end up with a healthy and delicious breakfast featuring juicy strawberries, maple syrup and fiber-packed chia seeds. This recipe even calls for vanilla extract to take your overnight oats up another notch. See recipe here.
Vegan avocado toast
Skip spending $12 on avocado toast at your favorite hipster restaurant and make your own tasty plate yourself at home. It’s incredibly easy and nutritious: all you need is hearty multigrain toast, crispy radishes, fresh avocado and common spices you probably have in your cabinet already. You can also add hemp seeds, which are filled with nutrients and protein. Feel free to spice up this recipe with your own additions, like a boiled egg or pickled onions. See recipe here.
Kiwi strawberry smoothie
A smoothie is a classic breakfast for individuals on the go, or people who want to pack their breakfast with a punch of nutrition. While the recipe doesn’t necessarily call for it, adding greens to it like spinach and kale is a great way to upgrade your smoothie. You can barely taste them behind the flavors of sweet and sour kiwi, and fresh strawberries, but they make your smoothie that much more nutrient-rich. See recipe here.
Lunch
Grilled lemon chicken kabobs
Warmer weather and sunshine means you get to rip the cover off that grill and fire her up. Kabobs make for a fun BBQ recipe with endless limitations on what you can load onto your skewers. To make the best of your spring BBQ, cook up lemon garlic chicken and add it to the grill alongside sauteed mushrooms, onion and peppers. See recipe here.
Green goddess salad
This is another recipe that’s been making its rounds across the internet. It’s called the green goddess because of all the vibrant green fruits and veggies it’s made with (both raw and cooked) including cucumber, avocado and asparagus. Not to mention, the herb-filled dressing you mix in a blender yourself. It honestly can’t get any fresher than this. For the most crisp, greenest salad you can imagine, the Green Goddess is a must-try. See recipe here.
Split pea soup
Next time you plan on making ham, don’t even think about getting rid of that bone. Instead, use it to make yourself a pot of split pea soup. It’s a homey, classic recipe that utilizes some of spring’s best vegetables: carrots, onion, celery and garlic. This soup is the perfect comfort food for rainy spring afternoon or evenings when you feel like getting cozy with a blanket and a hot meal. See recipe here.
Pork lettuce wraps
If you’ve ever been to PF Chang’s, you know its chicken lettuce wraps are second to none. But wouldn’t they be great filled with pork tenderloin? This is a twist on the classic chicken lettuce wrap with savory pork as the replacement protein. Seasoned with brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice and sesame oil, this tasty spring lunch recipe will get your hands messy in the best way. See recipe here.
Dinner
Hawaiian salmon pineapple bowl
Bring home a taste of Hawaii with this sweet and savory combination of fresh pineapple with rich and flavorful salmon. Plating this dinner is also a rewarding task, as it can come out looking like it walked off a Pinterest board. Carve the pineapple from the fruit and use the shell as the perfect bowl for your chicken and rice dinner combination. Finish it off with a mango, avocado, onion and cilantro salsa and you’re set for a tropical fusion of flavors. See recipe here.
Tangy apricot chicken over rice
A friend of mine is gluten-free and swears by this recipe as her all-time best date-night meal. Combining sweet and tangy apricot with melt-in-your-mouth onions and colorful crunchy carrots, this is the epitome of “winner, winner, chicken dinner.” Serve over jasmine rice or with a side of sautéed asparagus and you have yourself a hearty and healthy dish. See recipe here.
Saucy chicken, mushroom and broccoli stir fry
This one-pan stir fry only takes about 20 minutes to make, but it’ll have your loved ones believing you picked up takeout from the family favorite Chinese restaurant. Using simple ingredients like broccoli and mushrooms for the dish and honey and sriracha for the sauce, you can make a delicious and easy dinner that makes use of some of spring’s most delicious vegetables. See recipe here.
Spinach and lemon risotto with prosciutto
For an easy dinner for two, try out a big plate of spinach and lemon risotto with crispy slices of prosciutto. Unlike your average creamy risotto, this one uses bountiful greens and spring produce, which gives it a vibrant green color and flavorsome taste (plus, the cream is optional). See recipe here.
