Put your garden bounty (and farmer’s market finds) to good use with these delicious, nutritious garden to table recipes!
**Links in this post may be affiliate links. This means that if you click that link and purchase the product, I may receive a small compensation. I am, however, committed to honestly assessing the products mentioned. Please read my disclosure policy for more details. **
Am I the only one who finds it much easier to eat healthy in the summer?? Maybe it’s because we have a large garden to choose from right in our backyard, or maybe it’s because the hot weather somehow makes me want to eat fresh fruits and vegetables.
Whatever the reason, I do find that my desire to eat fresh straight-from-the-garden produce significantly rises in the summer. Which is part of the reason we grow such a big garden. (Another reason is to save money on organic produce, which I discuss in my post How to Cook Real Food on a Budget.)
But all that produce does tend to come all at once! And I am sometimes scrambling to find ways to use it all. This year, as I told you in this month’s mini-goal post, I was determined to organize my random garden recipes that were scattered all over the place.
I am nearly finished with that project, so I thought I would share some of my favorites that I’m finding as I clean out my files and folders!
Last year I shared with you some of my best tips for using, storing, and preserving produce from your garden. In this post I want to share more of my favorite recipes for cooking with it.
I hope you enjoy trying these delicious dishes and that you discover some new garden recipes to make the most of your harvest or farmer’s market excursions!
25 Quick & Easy Garden Recipes
- Tomato Basil Pasta – I use whole wheat pasta, and if you aren’t a fan of feta, you could substitute any cheese you like! (By the way, this would make a wonderful meatless meal to save money on real food!)
- Pesto – There are TONS of different pesto recipes out there, and I love pesto for its versatility. You can use it in so many other dishes. Some of my favorite ways to use it are on chicken, on pasta, as a sandwich spread — especially paninis and grilled cheese — and on tomatoes. It pairs beautifully with mozzarella cheese.
- Garden Tuna Melts – This is a great way to use up some of your home-grown herbs! I’m sure it’s delicious as written, but I use my standard whole wheat bread and cheddar cheese because it’s what I always have on hand.
- Corn Salad with Creamy Italian Dressing – This is one of my husband’s favorite summertime side dishes! (I use fresh sweet corn rather than frozen, but I’m sure it’s good either way!)
- Tomato, Corn, and Avocado Salsa – And this is one of my favorites! I could literally eat this every single day. Yummy!
- Sweet Corn & Tomato Salad with Fresh Cilantro – This recipe is SUPER simple, and you just can’t beat the freshness of these flavors!
- Corn & Zucchini Medley – Fresh veggies, cheese, and bacon?? Um, yes please!
- Balsamic Grilled Zucchini – It doesn’t get much simpler than this!
- Zucchini Herb Casserole – Full of flavor and freshness, and filling, too! This year when I made it, I used brown rice cooked in my Instant Pot.
- Zucchini pizzas – Broil zucchini rounds, sliced 1/4″ thick, until golden brown. Top with marinara sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. Broil for another couple minutes until cheese is melted.
- Stuffed Zucchini boats – You can also use ground beef for the stuffing, but we prefer sausage.
- Zucchini with Almonds and Parmesan – From Lisa Leake’s 100 Days of Real Food Cookbook
- Arugula-Walnut Pesto Pasta with Zucchini – From Lisa Leake’s 100 Days of Real Food: Fast & Fabulous Cookbook
- Green Beans Caesar
- Country-Style Green Beans – I love when I find comfort food with healthy whole food ingredients!
- Cucumber Onion Salad – This is another super simple side dish that packs a scrumptious punch!
- Creamy Cucumber Dill Salad
- Crisp Cucumber Salsa
- Italian Bread Salad – I recommend using day-old bread for this (which you can often find discounted at the store or bakery!). You could also toast the bread cubes before assembling to prevent it from getting too soggy.
- Marinated Tomatoes – This has become my go-to dish for spur-of-the-moment guests or summer potlucks. It is simple and quick to assemble, and it doesn’t require a trip to the store!
- Chicken with Garlic Balsamic Tomatoes
- Kabobs – Put chunks of beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp on skewers with your choice of garden veggies and grill.
- Taco Stuffed Peppers – From 100 Days of Real Food: Fast and Fabulous Cookbook
- Black Bean Salad
- Kitchen Sink Veggie Skillet – I made up the name for this one because you can use whatever you happen to have on hand! It simply consists of chopping an assortment of veggies and throwing them in a skillet with a little meat or beans, seasoning with garlic salt and pepper, and adding a little shredded cheese on top. Quick, simple, and delicious!My favorite meat to use for this is pork sausage, but we also like black beans with a sprinkle of cumin and fresh cilantro. I have also used quinoa as my protein source. I cooked the quinoa separately, then mixed it together after the veggies were cooked. The boys and I loved it!
My Favorite Tools for Cooking Garden Meals
There are few things in life more delicious than fresh produce right out of the garden. And not only is it good for your body, but it’s good for your wallet, too!
That’s why I try to make the most of our summer bounty with as many garden recipes as I can find. This is just a sampling of what you can do with fresh garden foods, but I hope you found something new to try!
If you do try something from my list, let me know how it turns out for you. I would love to hear from you!
Your turn! What is one of your favorite garden recipes? Share in the comments below – I am all ears!
You Might Also Enjoy:
- Beat the Heat with Cold Dinners for Hot Summers
- 4 Weeks to Glorious Gardening: 7 Benefits of Growing a Garden {Week 1}
- 7 Simple Healthy Lunch Ideas for Moms
- 10 Simple Ways to Prepare Asparagus
Great ideas! I love cooking with fresh food. I would make a vegan version of the tomato basil pasta by adding vegan feta cheese or crumbled tofu and nutritional yeast.
Great job tailoring it to your needs! I love fresh food, too. 🙂
It is so hard to get my kids to eat vegetables. Going to have to try a few of these. See if they will eat some vegs. Which is the most kid friendly recipe?
Honestly, I’m not really sure. We don’t do “kid-friendly.” I cook how I like to cook and we like to eat, and our kids eat whatever we’re eating. They have from the time they first started solid food, so I think that helps us now.
But if you’re looking for ways to encourage your kids to change their mindset about veggies, try incorporating them into other dishes rather than having straight veggies on the side, maybe? And make sure you season them well! Also, just keep encouraging them to try new things! I read once that it can take kids up to 12 times of trying something before they decide whether they like it or not, so don’t give up! That has been our strategy when our boys don’t like something at first. I just keep trying it, and there have been several things that my older son will now eat that he wouldn’t if I had given up the first time he said he didn’t like it.
I hope that helps!! And let me know how the new recipes work for you! 🙂
Is there anything better than eating from your garden?! I look forward to it all year! ??
Right?? We do, too!
I’d love to try some of these – I never know what to do with zucchini :))
I am learning so many fun new things to do with zucchini since our plants go crazy every year! Some of our other favorites are: zucchini bread (of course!), zucchini in waffles, stir-fry, roasted zucchini, zucchini “fries”, and grilled zucchini. I also shred a bunch during the summer, freeze it, and put it in various dishes throughout the year. I’ve put it in chili, taco meat, and meatballs, to name a few. It’s a great way to “sneak” in some extra veggies! It doesn’t change the taste at all, and it actually makes things extra moist and yummy!