65 Spring Vegetable Recipes That Will Brighten Up Your Plate
If the start of warm weather season inspires you to break out your grill and try some new recipes, these are the ones you should turn to. Spring vegetables are the stars of these dishes that are full of vibrant flavor and color. We have salads, appetizers, soups, and main dishes fit for any night of the week. While you may have your favorite way to cook up classics like asparagus, spring onion, or peas, recipes like our One-Pan Chicken with Lemon, Olives, and Artichokes or our Sweet-and-Spicy Sheet Pan Chicken with Cauliflower and Carrots will offer some new inspiration of how to prepare spring's bounty in creative ways. Although the vegetables in these recipes shine bright, many are family-friendly dishes that incorporate a variety of proteins and are sure to please everyone at the table. So hit the market and use the season's bounty to cook our favorite springtime meals full of garden-fresh flavor.
Braised Chicken Thighs with Spring Vegetables
Somewhat like a springy coq au vin, carrots, peas, and baby potatoes come together in this light, fresh chicken dish. For this recipe, you want to select bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs that will sear to a crispy golden brown. Shower each plate with herbs for the freshest springtime flavor.
Asparagus Soup
This lime-green asparagus soup looks especially brilliant with a swirl of cream. You can choose chicken broth or vegetable, depending on the flavor profile you're going for. Garlic, shallots, and a touch of white wine vinegar add complexity to each spoonful.
Creamy Salmon Fettuccini and Spring Vegetables
Inspired by pasta primavera, this vegetable-forward dish gets an extra bit of protein from the salmon. The recipe makes the most of seasonal produce like asparagus and peas to create a market-fresh main brightened with lemon zest and dill. Creamy Boursin cheese melds the vibrant flavors together.
Asparagus Frittata
Mascarpone cheese makes this frittata featuring leeks and asparagus extra fluffy, light, and creamy. We recommend arranging the asparagus spears on top, where they will remain slightly crunchy after cooking. Sprinkle with dill, chives, or whatever fresh herbs you have in your spring garden.
Chicken Fricassee with Spring Vegetables
This one-skillet, 45-minute recipe is both easy and light on cleanup. You'll spend that time appreciating the savory smells of carrots, leeks, mushrooms, and asparagus. This dish can be served over hot egg noodles to make a complete meal.
Asparagus Ribbon Crostini
Elegant curls of asparagus are garnished with lemon zest and torn mint for a remarkably pretty and fresh spring appetizer. This recipe requires almost no cooking aside from toasting the baguette. You can create fancy-looking asparagus ribbons by using a Y peeler.
Lemony White Bean Salad with Broccoli
Sometimes a warm roasted salad is just what you need on a cool spring day. This recipe combines spicy arugula and roasted broccoli for a double dose of cruciferous vegetables. White beans and shaved Parmesan will add heartiness to your plate, making this a nice lunchtime meal once you add a roll or bread.
Pork And Bok Choy Stir-Fry
Pull out the wok for this one to sear the flavor into every bite. If you don't own a wok, a large cast-iron skillet will make do. We use carrots and bok choy in this recipe, but other spring vegetables like broccoli or snow peas would be delicious too.
Quick Pickled Slaw
This slaw makes a colorful side for a spring meal. Instead of a dollop of mayonnaise, the recipe calls for a tangy rice vinegar-based dressing that also incorporates the flavors of sugar, mustard seeds, and salt.
Sweet-and-Spicy Sheet Pan Chicken with Cauliflower and Carrots
Cayenne pepper and seedless grapes are the secret ingredients in this recipe featuring roasted cauliflower, onions, and carrots. The grapes caramelize in the oven and add a subtle sweetness to the sauce, which is made from the juices and browned bits on the sheet pan.
Peas And Ramps With Mushrooms And Semolina Gnocchi
Andrew Thomas Lee
PHOTO: Andrew Thomas LeeA veritable explosion of springtime color and flavor, this recipe takes fresh spring produce like peas and ramps and puts them on center stage with the help of mushrooms and gnocchi.
Cheesy Artichoke Dip With Spring Crudités
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
Take all of your favorite fresh spring produce and use it as vehicles for a cheesy artichoke dip with the help of this party-ready recipe.
Skillet Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry
Buried underneath the puff pastry, you'll find a goldmine of leeks, carrots, peas, and chicken baked in a creamy sauce. Layer the puff pastry on top of the pot pie for a more elegant look. The squares are simple to create with kitchen shears or a paring knife.
Asparagus with Eggs and Prosciutto
Welcome at either brunch or lunch, this recipe combines the grassy flavor of asparagus with the saltiness of soft-boiled eggs and prosciutto. The dish is dressed with a maple-Dijon vinaigrette and sprinkled with sea salt, making it suitable as either a side or a salad topping.
Orzo Salad with Shrimp and Lemon Dressing
Asparagus, sugar snap peas, and English peas make this orzo salad bright and fresh. The veggies are parboiled until bright green and tender-crisp. This salad can be served chilled or at room temperature.
Sautéed Sugar Snap Peas with Orange Zest and Buttery Almonds
Ditch the green bean casserole and try this sugar snap pea dish instead. The peas are lightly cooked and dressed for ultimate freshness. You'll love the zesty sauce made from butter, almonds, Creole seasoning, and orange juice that's poured over the peas.
Molasses-Soy Glazed Salmon and Vegetables
This dish comes together in just 35 minutes. Use yellow bell peppers with snow peas for more dramatic color. The tangy sauce is a delight on salmon, but feel free to try it on chicken and shrimp as well.
Asparagus-and-Goat Cheese Quiche
This dish is for quiche lovers who don't have extra time to put together a pie crust. Get medium-sized asparagus, not too thin or thick, so it will cook until perfectly tender. You can prepare it up to two days in advance if you've got a busy week ahead.
Sumac Carrots with Feta Mousse and Crispy Panko
Up the flavor ante with this gorgeous recipe for sumac-spiced carrots adorned with a light-as-air feta mousse and a dash of crisp panko.
Pork Chops with Spring Onions, Farro, and Asparagus
This one-dish wonder packs in protein, whole grains, and fresh spring vegetables for a delicious weeknight meal. Quickly browned in a skillet on the stove top, the chops are then transferred to a baking dish with farro, spring onions, and asparagus. Make certain to buy semi-pearled farro, which bakes fast without soaking.
Carrot Soup with Pea Pesto
Your spring carrot harvest is beautifully showcased in this carrot soup recipe, which is vibrantly orange and has a savory swirl of pea pesto.
Broccoli, Grape, and Pasta Salad
This springy pasta salad features fresh broccoli and diced red onions. Halved grapes and a creamy dressing provide the tangy sweetness that ties it all together. To keep it extra crunchy, stir in pecans and bacon just before serving.
Honey-Mustard Baked Salmon with Vegetables
Baby red potatoes and sugar snaps accompany honey-mustard salmon in this easy sheet-pan supper. Give the potatoes a head start to make certain they cook to fork tenderness. Drizzle the veggies with our honey-mustard vinaigrette to heighten the flavor.
Ham and Noodle Casserole
Ham casserole gets an unexpectedly healthy twist from loads of spring vegetables. Egg noodles, chopped ham, carrots, broccoli, and asparagus bake in a mixture of cream of mushroom soup and oniony cream cheese, topped with bubbly cheese and crispy croutons. This dish can be made two at a time in 8x8 casseroles.
Radish, Avocado, and Citrus Salad
Break out your juicy red radishes to add some color to your plate. In combination with zippy citrus and creamy avocado, they make a perfect springtime salad.
Cucumber-Chickpea Salad with Feta-Mint Vinaigrette
Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
Nab some of the first cucumbers of the season when they arrive in May and whip up this Cucumber-Chickpea Salad using fresh herbs and tangy onion.
Skillet-Toasted Gnocchi with Peas
We gave gnocchi a fresh springtime riff, with sweet peas, parsley, and lemon. Although the package directions call for boiling, sautéeing gnocchi in a pan with a little butter results in golden brown nuggets with rich, toasty flavor. After browning the gnocchi, this dish takes about five minutes to come together.
Spring Mix Salad with Goat Cheese
This recipe captures all the flavors of the season with thinly shaved asparagus, sugar snaps, radishes, and fresh mint leaves over spring greens. We used a simple dressing of lemon and olive oil, allowing the flavors of the vegetables and the tender spring greens to come through. This salad is definitely worth a trip to the farmer's market.
Chicken Risotto with Spring Vegetables
Transform risotto into a main-dish meal with the addition of chicken and vegetables. Asparagus and zucchini lend spring-green color and light the flavor, while the creamy rice and cheese make this dish filling and satisfying. We recommend preparing risotto in a Dutch oven for slowly blending the ingredients together.
Pasta Shells with Spring Vegetables
This pasta on a bed of ricotta is the very definition of spring. The pasta and vegetables are tossed in lemon juice and olive oil, then topped with more cheese and fresh mint. Pea tendrils, the tender tips of pea vines that taste just like the vegetable, make a charming garnish for this light pasta dish.
Southern Shrimp Pasta Salad
Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Clair Spollen; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
The addition of fresh sugar snap peas, dill, shallots, and lemon juice add bursts of flavor and texture to this bright-and-bracing shrimp pasta salad.
Spicy Baked Snapper, Greens, and Carrots in Parchment
This recipe uses the French technique of wrapping fish and veggies in parchment paper to steam in the oven. You can also use flounder, sole, striped bass, or salmon in place of the red snapper. The fish steams with gold potatoes, asparagus, and peppers in the parcel, which is opened at the table to release a dramatic cloud of aromatic steam.
Tangy Potato-Green Bean Salad
You'll love this fresh take on potato salad, which replaces the usual mayonnaise dressing with a lively lemon-dill vinaigrette. New potatoes soak in the dressing along with slender green beans (haricots verts), radishes, and chives. If you can't find haricots verts, try substituting sugar snap peas or snow peas.
Deviled Egg Salad and Asparagus Tartines
This twist on the traditional finger sandwich gets a refreshing crunch from toasted bread and a spicy kick from hot sauce. Asparagus spears make the appetizer an elegant choice for any springtime event. Assemble just before serving to keep the toasts nice and crisp.
Baked Pork Tenderloin
A shaved salad of fennel, radishes, and carrots brightens up a meal of simply seasoned pork tenderloin. You'll want to slide a bit of the salad dressed with lemony honey-mustard vinaigrette onto every forkful with the pork. Prepare the salad while the pork bakes and then rests, a process that only takes 20 minutes.
Spring Salad with Berries and Bacon
This Spring Salad with Berries and Bacon is equally savory and sweet. And unlike most salads, the recipe features strawberries on every level—we even blend it into the dressing. Crunchy bacon pairs beautifully with the sweet strawberry vinaigrette and thinly sliced shallot.
Grilled Radish-and-Fennel Salad with Goat Cheese Toasts
In this recipe, a grill sweetens radishes and fennel bulbs, infusing them with chargrilled flavor. Use larger radishes so they don't fall through the grate. Serve the veggies alongside grilled baguette slices smeared with goat cheese and dill.
Salmon Bagel Sandwiches
This sandwich recipe features salmon slow-cooked in an aromatic blend of lemongrass, fennel, scallions, and dry white wine. We serve the fish on everything bagels along with a cream cheese mixture flavored with chives, radishes, and lemon. Top with your favorite spring vegetables, such as arugula and red onions.
Creamy Slow Cooker Tarragon Chicken
In this slow-cooker recipe, the chicken cooks directly on top of halved baby carrots that soak up all that rich flavor. Peas and tarragon are stirred in during the last 15 minutes to preserve their freshness. Serve this dish with egg noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes.
Slow Cooker Green Minestrone Soup
In our Slow-Cooker Green Minestrone Soup, all the green garden goodness that spring has to offer finds its way into one warming bowl. We're talking celery, leeks, green onions, spinach, and peas. Canned cannellini beans add heartiness to this vegetarian recipe. Give each bowl a swirl of olive oil and serve with a hunk of crusty bread.
Lemon Chicken Soup
We've added white wine, English peas, flat-leaf parsley, lemon juice, and lemon zest to the usual carrots, onion, and celery to make this comforting soup extra fresh. The slow cooker does most of the work of braising the meat and vegetables. Throw in the rice-shaped orzo pasta in the last 20 minutes.
Crispy Chicken Thighs with Roasted Radishes
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
You've never had radishes like this before. Sautéing radishes in a skillet allows them to soften and absorb all the flavor of crisp chicken thighs. This recipe is easy enough for a weeknight dinner and pretty enough for an Easter table.
Beet, Fennel, and Apple Salad
Spring beets add gorgeous color to a salad, especially if you find a selection of golden and deep red varieties. Here the beets are served on a bed of arugula along with shaved fennel and apples. Parsley, mint, and a light honey-lemon vinaigrette enhance the flavor-packed dish.
Sautéed Radishes with Bacon
In another cooked radish dish, the root vegetables caramelize in bacon drippings, brown sugar, and seasoning. Stir the hot radish mixture into the spicy greens you harvested from the bulbs. The greens will wilt slightly to create an incredibly tasty warm salad.
Cucumber-and-Onion Dip
Greg Dupree; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely; Food Stylist: Melissa Gray
The creaminess of this dip will brighten any table. Our recipe blends the assertive flavors of cucumber and red onion (an excellent spring vegetable) with tangy sour cream, mayo, and ranch dressing mix. It makes a dip that is delicious on crackers or pita chips.
Arugula Salad with Bacony Croutons and Sherry Vinaigrette
A bed of peppery arugula can hold its own under thick-cut bacon, blue cheese, and toasted pecans. The homemade sherry vinaigrette incorporates shallots for even more flavor. With the addition of grilled chicken or fish, this can become a main-dish meal.
Grilled Endive-and-Halloumi Salad with Strawberries
Halloumi is a firm, briny cheese that softens ever-so-slightly while on the grill. We've paired that with grilled endive—the heat mellows the flavor and adds lovely grill marks to its sturdy leaves. Toss that with sweet strawberries and spicy onions and arugula, and you have a salad bursting with flavor.
Creamy Baked Eggs with Leeks and Spinach
In this breakfast bake, eggs rest on a bed of sautéed spinach and leeks swirled with heavy cream. The dish is easy to assemble: make eight depressions in the greens and crack an egg in each one. After the dish bakes until the yolks have just set, sop up all the saucy goodness with toasted English muffins.
Spinach and Artichoke Bites
For an easy, party-friendly finger food, blend marinated artichoke hearts, fresh spinach, and cheeses and bake in refrigerated crescent roll dough. Each bite is like your favorite artichoke dip, but already served on bread. Brush each crescent with egg so that the rolls turn an appetizing golden brown.
Grilled Baby Artichokes with Brown Butter Aïoli
Baby artichokes require less prep than their larger counterparts, making them perfect for eating fresh from the grill. We blanch them for about five minutes to make certain the chokes turn out tender. You'll love them dipped in the garlicky aïoli.
Baked Chicken Roulade
The asparagus-spinach filling in this chicken dish looks impressive when sliced into roulades. You'll pound boneless chicken breasts to 1/8 inch before rolling the mixture inside and baking. Plate the chicken with roasted baby potatoes for a hearty springtime meal.
Creamy Pesto-and-Shrimp Penne with Peas
Who else loves the dynamic duo of shrimp and peas? They work beautifully together in a variety of preparations, none more so than in this creamy penne dish.
One-Pan Chicken With Lemon, Olives, And Artichokes
This Mediterranean-inspired dish is best served over pearl couscous so all the pan sauce can be soaked up. Artichokes and red onions simmer in a lemony broth for about 20 minutes until they reach full flavor. A relish of chopped olives and fresh herbs elevates the zesty flavor.
Three-Bean Pasta Salad
Take your all-season beans and give them a fresh-and-vibrant upgrade with the addition of green beans in this craveable pasta salad recipe.
Skillet-Toasted Gnocchi with Peas
A peck of popping green peas would make a lively addition to dinner tonight, don't you think? When combined with hearty skillet-toasted gnocchi, they're an ideal spring meal.
Skillet-Roasted Carrots
Greg DuPree; Food Stylist: Rishon Hanners; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
You can also break out the skillet for this side dish, which is always a crowd pleaser. It's packed with nutrients, too, making it an ideal spring side.
Broccoli Pesto Pasta
Don't just steam your broccoli and serve it. Instead, get a little creative and take those bunches up a notch by incorporating them into a bright green, pesto-seasoned pasta.
Honey-Glazed Spiced Carrots
It's just not springtime without plenty of carrot dishes, which is why we have yet another. This one gets a deliciously sweet honey glaze to go with it, making it perfect for a dinner party.
Lemon Vinaigrette Pasta Salad with Field Peas
ANTONIS ACHILLEOS; PROP STYLING: CLAIRE SPOLLEN; FOOD STYLING: RISHON HANNERS
Lemon, tomatoes, field peas, and fresh herbs pack punches of flavor in this enjoy-anytime pasta salad recipe.
Spring Vegetable Frittata
Don't skimp on the spring vegetables when making this excellent savory frittata. Asparagus and mushrooms are a winning combination.
Creamy Kale and Pasta Bake
If there's a bunch of kale in your refrigerator that you're not sure what to do with, whip up a pasta bake. It's a great way to add some additional nutrients in a family-friendly dish.
Shrimp and Peas with Farfalle
Yet another shrimp-and-peas combo, this farfalle-based pasta dish is as crowd pleasing to serve as it is easy to make in the kitchen. Music to our tastebuds.
French Onion Pasta
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Take your springtime onion haul and make a craveable pasta dish the whole family will love. When it comes to flavor profiles, French onion is one you'll have requests for again and again.
Tennessee Onions
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
While you can grow them at anytime, onions are an excellent springtime vegetable. If you have a patch of them growing this season, use them to make this easy side dish. It has fans across the South.
Lemon Roast Chicken with Rainbow Carrots
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
Rainbow carrots get their due in this recipe, which bakes a whole, deliciously lemony roast chicken that's fit for a crowd and could even be a great Easter meal,
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