Cooking with farmer’s market produce not only helps support local farmers and encourages sustainable agriculture, but it also ensures you’re eating the freshest and most flavorful ingredients available. From caprese salad to grilled veggies to fruit cobblers, using seasonal produce enhances your best summer recipes. Heirloom tomatoes, fresh herbs, crispy lettuce, juicy peaches, homegrown peppers, and more farmer’s market produce belong in your pantry all summer long!
Fiesta Corn Salad
“A tasty salad to serve beside a steak.” – Robert
Grilled Vegetables with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Glaze
“My mom and grandmother would make this when they had leftover veggies that they couldn’t use or it wasn’t enough to make a complete dish. I’ve seen this done on so many cooking shows and have made it so often. It never really makes it to the dinner table! You can swap out the goat cheese for any cheese you prefer and use any vegetables you like. I often cut up flat bread or pita or crunchy Italian bread to go with it. Enjoy!” – Denise
Yummy Yum Yum Zucchini Bread
“I never have any of this left. It disappears faster than the time it takes to make it!” – Melissa
Rainbow Grilled Vegetable Medley Pilaf
“This colorful dish can be served as a main dish or a side and is great hot or cold! If you are watching your fat intake, you can skip the olive oil mixture and just toss the vegetables with extra Italian dressing. If you or a guest has a gluten sensitivity, you can substitute gluten-free spaghetti for the orzo, just break it into small pieces before boiling, or use long grain or brown rice instead of the pasta.” – Crystal
Roasted Veggie Salad
“I went to the grocery store and all the veggies looked good today. So I bought a little of everything and this is what I did with it. This came out so good and it is a great meal for a summer day or any day. Try grilling the veggies instead of roasting them in the oven. The hot vegetables wilt the spinach just a little to make it yummy.” – Joan
Lemon-Dill Shrimp and Pasta
“There are several variations of this recipe. You can use fettuccine in place of the penne. I have also seen fresh spinach in place of asparagus. I prefer asparagus instead of spinach as it tends to wilt so fast. I love anything with dill and fresh lemon!” – Belinda
Homemade Peach Cobbler
“I love a nice and juicy peach cobbler with some good crust on top and this one hits the spot! This is about what Gramma used to make when I was growing up. Funny, a lot of our best memories centered around eating!” – David
Chopped “Green Goddess” Salad with Homemade Dressing
“This is a combination of several recipes I have found and tried over the years. It is very filling and hearty. Since the base is cabbage it will last in the refrigerator for several days making it great for those who like to “food prep” for the week. If you really want it to last, omit the mixed greens. If you omit the chicken, it is a perfect vegetarian or vegan salad too! My teenage daughter has several food allergies and this contains no Peanuts, Dairy, Corn, Egg, or Gluten. She loves it and eats it for several days.” – Kelly
Sauteed Garlic Green Beans
“We grow Italian green beans each year and I love to saute them in a pan with olive oil, onions, and lots of garlic! Of course, this recipe works with string beans or asparagus as well!” – Holly
Bruschetta & Cheese
“This is best made with New Jersey tomatoes. I live in NJ’s sister state, Pennsylvania. Except for the tomatoes I ate in France, no other tomato even comes close… If you can’t get Vidalia onions, try red or sweet onions. I made Bruschetta last night using an extremely ripe NJ tomato. So ripe that it was easy to peel the tomatoes by just using a serrated knife to lift up the end of the skin and just pull… skin practically falls off. The fragrance of the cut-up tomato wafted into the living room… pure heaven!!!! The same with fresh basil.” – Bobbi
Smoky Fried Green Tomatoes With Fresh Garden Salsa
“My husband and I came up with this recipe after collecting a lot of produce from our home garden.” – Wanda
Roasted Asparagus With Tomatoes and Gorgonzola
“This recipe came from a friend who, after eating it in a restaurant in Key West, described this dish to me. From the description, I created this recipe, and it works. My friend said it tasted identical to the restaurant version. NOTE: Adjust the amounts to the number you are serving. Usually 4-5 stalks of asparagus per person.” – marjorie
Greek Style Grilled Chicken Salad
“A Greek style salad with tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olives, feta and Greek dressing with grilled chicken!” – Kevin
Zucchini with Corn and Cheese (calabacitas con elote y queso )
“If you like zucchini, fresh corn, and cheese, you will love this dish. It is low in calories and can even be fat-free if you do not use the cheese or you can use low-fat cheese. This is an old family recipe. It can be used as a side dish with any kind of meat or even eaten as a main dish if you are a vegetarian.” – Trina
Caprese Salad with Balsamic Glaze
“I have pretty much killed every plant I have ever bought but the one thing I can grow is fresh hearty herbs. There are two things I love in the summer ..#1 fresh mint in my Iced Tea and #2 Fresh Basil for a caprese salad. That is my idea of living! If you have never had a Caprese Salad with Balsamic Glaze you don’t know what you are missing . This salad is very simple to make but it is also beautiful and impressive to serve. This salad can be assembled ahead of time and then drizzled with olive oil and balsamic glaze right before serving.” – Debbie
Raspberry Cream Pie
“I tried this pie at a restaurant years ago and fell in love with it. I came up with my own version and recipe.” – Nancy
Cajun Sauteed Salmon With Rainbow Carrots and Potato
“A healthy and clean-eating dish.” – Kisha
Watermelon, Tomato, Feta and Arugula Salad w/ Balsamic Glaze
“Had this at a wedding rehearsal dinner in San Antonio and fell in LOVE.” – Danielle
Blackberry Dumplings
“This dessert is superb on a nice fall night with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can’t go wrong with this. This makes a nice amount, a real crowd-pleaser!” – Michelle
Sour Cream & Dill Cucumbers
“I grew up with your everyday sour cream, dill, and cucumber salad on our Polish table. But as I learned to cook, I took this common dish and spiced it up.” – Staci
Vegetarian Squash Saute Pasta Dish
“This is something new I decided to try. My family loves squash. I combined the recipe with pasta, so I kinda made it a vegetable pasta dish. It is bursting with flavor.” – Rebecca
Balsamic Grilled Vegetables
“Veggies marinated in balsamic vinegar and soy sauce and cooked in a grill basket until smoky, slightly charred, and tender-crisp. A healthy and tasty side dish! Try it with whatever veggies you prefer – asparagus, eggplant, green beans, etc!” – Susan
Maple Brown Sugar Peaches
“I tasted something similar to this on some French toast somewhere in Indiana. I loved it and had to try to recreate it myself. We have used this recipe to top pancakes, French toast, stuffed angel food cake, and just out of the pan. It is so good and so simple, you’ve got to try it!” – Michelle
Killer Green Beans
“This dish is not hard to prepare and is a family favorite.” – Christine
Zucchini Casserole
“For those with a garden, you probably have a ton of zucchini from your harvests. Here is another way to use it.” – Pam
Grilled Corn – The Sweetest Corn Ever (2 ing.)
“For the longest time every time I had a get-together or function of any kind that involved grilling, the first question I was always asked was if I was going to make my grilled corn on the cob? Couldn’t figure out what was so darn special about my corn utnil my friends and family told me it was seasoned just right. Sweet enough, with a hint of salt and then we spread on the butter…” – Didi
Mayonnaise-Roasted Potatoes
“One more recipe from that little tin box I found high on a shelf today. I only recall making these once, when I first got the recipe from a magazine – what, 20 years ago? Don’t know why I haven’t ever made them again. Maybe that’s when I lost the recipe box!” – Susan
Redneck Ratatouille
“Ever see the movie, Ratatouille? Found a recipe for it but I didn’t have some of the ingredients, so I came up with my own version. This time of year is wonderful because of the abundance of these veggies.” – Paula
Lisa’s Blueberry Cobbler
“My family loves blueberries very much and they are so delicious and moist and tasty. I make this cobbler for our home and parties.” – Lisa