Wondering what to make with all those fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, or zucchini? Here are 18 recipes to toss together with summer bounty from your garden.
When you dream of growing your own veggies, some of the most popular summer produce probably comes to mind. Maybe you envision clipping fresh herbs, like basil, as you need them, or bringing back a bowl full of tomatoes and cucumbers to your kitchen.
Here’s a roundup of recipes that use some of the easiest-to-grow garden staples.
Tomatoes! The taste of summer, if there ever was one. This fruit inspires many beginner gardeners to start growing their own produce. Though there are over 10,000 tomato varieties in the world, a few of the most common include cherry, Roma (plum), grape, beefsteak, and vine-ripened.
Super popular to grow among home gardeners, this herb from the mint family is great for a variety of culinary uses — from using the leaves directly on your homemade pizza to tossing them in a blender to make your own pesto sauce. Basil is also a good source of vitamin K. It can be added to drinks or dishes like the ones below.
Most zucchini varieties only take about 60 days to mature, and are ready to pick as soon as a week after flowering. Zucchini is rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. But keep in mind that due to its
Zoodles and zucchini bread are both great if you have an overabundance of zucchini, but these three recipes also make use of this delicious summer squash.
Despite some people loving to eat green beans (aka string beans) straight from the vine like you would sugar snap peas or snow peas, it’s actually not a great idea to eat raw green beans. Here are three easy recipes so you can cook ’em up and enjoy safely.
- Green bean salad with quinoa and feta
- Chicken tenders, yogurt dip, and green beans
- Add blanched or steamed green beans to ANY green salad
Like zucchini, cucumbers can grow pretty fast! When you think you’ve found them all, you might go outside the next morning to find a huge one that was half under a leaf and wonder how you missed it the day before.
Besides being a great hydrating food, they add that refreshing crunch, and you can always use them to make pickles! They’re mostly water, of course, but cucumbers do have a small amount of minerals, like
Here are a few recipes we love.
With well-draining soil, carrots are pretty low maintenance and don’t need frequent watering unless they’re grown in containers. Nutritionally, they’re packed with antioxidants, beta-carotene, and several vitamins and minerals.
Though a great snack plain, they’re also a fine ingredient in things like soups, smoothies, and cakes. Here are a few to try.
These recipes are just a starting point. Hopefully, they give you some ideas, whether you want to follow them to a T or use them to kickstart your own kitchen experiments.
Of course, any of these ingredients could be added to a fresh salad, pasta salad, or casserole, depending on your mood.
Eat what you grow and have fun!