29 Farmers Market Recipes to Use Fresh Produce in Creative Ways
Put that fresh produce to good use!
Stock up on produce to make these farmers market meals from morning (breakfast) until night (dinner and dessert) during all four seasons. We've gathered our favorite farmers market recipes for dinner, side dishes, and snacks (plus a few dessert recipes!) to showcase fresh fruits, veggies, honey, and herbs.
Sheet-Pan Chicken with Peaches and Tomatoes
Farmers market ingredients featured: Tomatoes, peaches, red onion, honey
Keep your cool, even on a steamy, stress-filled weeknight, with this low-fuss make-ahead dinner. In the morning, pile a big bed of fresh summer produce on one baking pan and chicken coated in a homemade honey mustard sauce on another. Chill the farmers market recipe up to 8 hours, then all that's left to do come dinnertime is roast for about 20 minutes.
Grilled Flank Steak Salad
Farmers market ingredients featured: Yellow or red bell peppers, sweet corn, green onions, romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, shallots, cilantro
It's hard to beat sweet corn from the farm stand. Pair the fresh kernels with juicy, ripe tomatoes, bell peppers, and strips of thinly sliced steak. The result is a garden-fresh salad that's still hearty enough for dinner.
Roasted Salmon with Broccoli and Tomatoes
Farmers market ingredients featured: Dried oregano, cherry tomatoes, broccoli florets, garlic, lemon, basil, parsley, honey
If you're lucky enough to have a farmers market that sells fresh fish, this is definitely the recipe for you. Thanks to all the fresh veggies and herbs, even store-bought salmon gets an upgrade in this sheet-pan dinner. Also, since only one pan is required, cleanup is a breeze after you prepare this farmers market recipe.
Cherry Honeycomb Cobbler
Farmers market ingredients featured: Thyme, honey, oranges, cherries
Honeycomb cookies top baked cherries in this simple and sweet (but not too sweet!) farmers market recipe. The 9 cups of fresh cherries are the real star in this cobbler. Complement for quite possibly the dessert of summer by serving with a scoop of ice cream on top.
New Potato Chicken Soup
Farmers market ingredients featured: New yellow or red potatoes, spring onions, carrots, fresh English peas, fresh thyme, shallots
Love early-season veggies? This savory soup is for you. Vibrant spring onions, carrots, and peas peek around chicken and tiny potatoes in a rich, creamy broth. And don't forget about the caramelized shallots! If you want to make this farmers market recipe even more decadent, add a few crumbles of goat cheese on top (which you might also find at the market).
Chicken and Vegetable Sauté
Farmers market ingredients featured: Broccoli, carrots, red onion, lemon
Sautéed chicken and veggies taste so much better when the veggies are fresh from the garden. And this easy dinner recipe will be ready to eat in just 30 minutes (even quicker than your trip to the market). With a whopping 43 grams of protein, you won't be hungry anytime soon after digging into this farmers market dinner recipe.
Smashed Peach and Poblano Grilled Cheese
Farmers market ingredients featured: Peaches, poblano peppers
Peaches on grilled cheese? Yes, please! Sweet peaches, mild poblanos, spicy ground chile pepper, and sharp white cheddar cheese blend into one utterly delicious gourmet sandwich. If local bakers have stands at your farmers market, pick up the sourdough bread there too!
Korean-Style Chili-Garlic Chicken Stir-Fry
Farmers market ingredients featured: Ginger, garlic, honey, green beans, red bell pepper, onion, cabbage, carrot
Top chili-garlic chicken with quick-pickled (done in about an hour) veggies in this Korean-style stir-fry. Though the pickled veggies are speedy, you can preserve them with a slower pickling or fermenting process if you want to save your farmers market vegetables for later. To make this farmers market recipe more of a, well, meal, serve it over a bed of brown rice.
Watermelon Margarita
Farmers market ingredients featured: Watermelon, limes
Bottoms up! Celebrate the sweetness of summer with a lip-smacking batch of icy-cold watermelon margs. Just add tequila and triple sec or another orange liqueur to the mix, and you've got yourself one refreshing sipper. (Don't forget to salt the rim!)
Bean, Corn, and Tomato Salad
Farmers market ingredients featured: Corn, cherry tomatoes, red onion, basil, mint
After making a trip to the market, pile your gorgeous vegetables and herbs into this easy bean salad. This salad tastes as good as it looks, with the combo of juicy cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, and tangy red onion doused in a simple vinaigrette. If that didn't seal the deal, the prep time required for this colorful recipe sure will: It takes a mere 20 minutes.
Classic Potato Salad
Jacob Fox. Food Styling: Annie Probst. Prop Styling: Addelyn Evans
Farmers market ingredients featured: Potatoes, celery, onions
You can't go wrong if you stick to the basics in our traditional potato salad recipe. This one has everything you'd expect: hard-boiled eggs, sweet pickles, and a creamy dressing. Perking up the farmers market recipe with bonus veggies gives it a definite boost over purchased potato salad.
Kale, Fennel, and Roasted Delicata Salad
Farmers market ingredients featured: Delicata squash, kale, fennel
When you're ready to transition from summer to fall farmers market recipes, put this dish at the top of your list. Roasting delicata squash (and the seeds) makes it tender and serving it on a bed of fresh curly kale and sliced fennel adds more fresh fall flavor. Add grilled or roast chicken or salmon to make this a complete farmers market meal rather than a side or starter.
Zucchini-Chorizo Sweet Corn Bake
Farmers market ingredients featured: Zucchini, sweet corn
Fresh zucchini and ears of sweet corn are almost always in abundance at farmers markets. Use these two favorites to make a farmers market dinner recipe filled with chorizo and veggies and topped with tons of cheese. You'll have no problem convincing everyone at your table to eat their vegetables.
Kiwi-Pineapple Smoothies
Farmers market ingredients featured: Baby spinach, kiwi, bananas, pineapples
Whip up a smoothie with a veggie surprise: spinach! This antioxidant-rich green pairs easily with icy-cold kiwi, banana, and pineapple. The beauty of this healthy smoothie recipe? You're sneaking in a serving of fruits and veggies sip by sip.
Artichoke Flatbread
Farmers market ingredients featured: Spinach, tomatoes
Crunchy wheat flatbread, creamy garlic-and-herb goat cheese, savory artichoke hearts, and a pile of veggies come together for a simple, fresh, summery pizza. Building it all atop a store-bought flatbread gives you a jump-start on this farmers market meal and brings you that much closer to dinner. (We're talking less than 20 minutes total.)
Peach Crisp
Farmers market ingredient featured: Peaches
What makes this juicy peach dessert so irresistible? Its crushed brown sugar and graham cracker topping over honey-drizzled peaches is a good start. And, of course, scoops of vanilla ice cream don't hurt. But really, we have to give most of the credit to fresh peaches for making this farmers market recipe a real knockout.
Cucumber-Corn Salad
Farmers market ingredients featured: Corn, cucumbers, basil, mint, chives
Salads need not start with leafy greens. We're keen on this one that features late-summer vegetables. There are only four ingredients for this simple summer salad that you may not find at your farmers market: salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice (though you might be able to pick up a lemon and the oil). As this side dish recipe proves, keeping it easy and letting fresh summer ingredients shine is key to serving up a lovely salad.
Lemon-Basil Pasta
Farmers market ingredients featured: Basil, lemons
Make the most of a mountain of basil by blitzing up a fresh pesto sauce. This fresh five-ingredient summer pasta toss has a dose of lemony zing accented with sweet basil and hearty cannellini beans. The fresh-from-the-market dinner recipe is easy and delicious, exactly what we're looking for on a sweltering summer night.
Chicken with Summer Squash
Farmers market ingredients featured: Summer squash, cherry tomatoes, arugula
If you have 30 minutes, you have more than enough time to make this seasonal supper. Deli-roasted chicken is the shortcut to this quick and easy summer meal. Squash, fresh tomatoes and arugula add a bright burst of color and flavor to this simple farmers market dinner recipe.
Strawberry Upside-Down Cake
Kelsey Hansen
Farmers market ingredients featured: Strawberries
This shortcut dessert starts with a boxed cake mix and fresh farmers market strawberries. To make the dessert, toss the strawberries with sugar, vanilla, and lemon. Top with the cake and bake. To serve, flip the cake upside down and top with vanilla ice cream for serving.
Pimm's Cup
Carson Downing
Farmers market ingredients featured: Strawberries, cucumber, mint
This summer cocktail recipe is loaded with fresh fruits and veggies. You'll love the refreshing flavors of citrus, cucumber, strawberries, and mint. We're also sharing recipe variations for a pitcher version and mocktail.
Smashed Cucumber Salad
CJ Younger
Farmers market ingredients featured: Cucumber, garlic, cilantro
This fresh summer salad has earned rave reviews since we published it. As one reviewer raves, "I thoroughly enjoyed making and eating this smashed cucumber salad! It had a lovely balance of spicy, salty, and refreshing elements to it that married well. I only added 1 tbsp of the chili crisp since I like minimal heat, and used sea salt instead of kosher salt. I'd definitely make this again!"
Broccoli Salad
Carson Downing
Farmers market ingredients featured: Broccoli, red onion
This potluck side dish is a classic and for good reason. It's the perfect blend of sweet and salty flavors thanks to raisins, bacon, and a homemade dressing. It's even better once it has chilled overnight in the fridge.
Spicy Green Beans with Herb Salad
Farmers market ingredients featured: Shallot, garlic, green beans, parsley, dill, mint, cilantro
Alison Roman shared her spicy green bean salad recipe, and we can't get enough. Our favorite part? The fresh herb topping starring parsley, dill, mint, and cilantro.
Fresh Corn Salad with Stone Fruit and Herbs
Farmers market ingredients featured: Corn, nectarines, onion, green onion, mint
Our take on fattoush, the classic Lebanese salad, is loaded with corn, nectarines, pita chips, and herbs. Be sure to choose fresh summer sweet corn, as it's added to the salad raw.
Blueberry and Peach Slab Pie
Farmers market ingredients featured: Peaches, blueberries
If you're planning on serving a crowd, make a slab pie. The freeform assembly is much easier than a pie, and this farmers market dessert is a total showstopper when brought to the table.
Salad Russe
Carson Downing
Farmers market ingredients featured: Carrots, garlic, red onion, potatoes, parsley
This take on a classic Haitian salad is loaded with fresh veggies. Adding pickled carrots to the mixture helps brighten up the entire dish. Chill for at least one hour before serving.
Tomato Salad with Guajillo Chile Dressing
Farmers market ingredients featured: Tomatoes, garlic, green onion, cilantro
There's nothing better than fresh summer tomatoes. This farmers market salad is loaded with heirloom tomatoes, sauteed green onions, and a garlicky dressing. Top with crumbled queso fresco just before serving.
Citrus Wheat Berry Salad
Farmers market ingredients featured: Celery, berries, green onions, parsley, garlic, citrus fruits
If you've never tried wheat berries, consider this the push you needed. They lend the perfect chewy texture to this hearty grain salad. Round out the dish with fresh summer produce including fresh berries, green onions, and celery for crunch.
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