22 Fresh & Flavorful Summer Produce Dishes

By Ashley S. • Jun 18, 2024

Summer is here! Local gardens and farmers markets are bursting with vibrant and local produce. Take advantage of this time of year and show off the fruits of your labor (or your delicious finds at the market) with these 22 Summer Produce Recipes that are sure to highlight the summer flavors you love. From fruit to veggies to herbs, there's an endless variety of dishes to delight in!

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#1. Garden Fresh Lasagna

Strolling through your vegetable garden, admiring the fresh summer produce, you might wonder just what to do with it all. Surely these crispy, crunchy treats deserve more ceremony than a salad! Perhaps the answer is pasta! Garden Fresh Lasagna layers on the tender noodles and creamy ricotta mixture, but instead of using meat, it uses hearty spinach, floral broccoli, bright carrots, and savory mushrooms for a filling that will leave you filled! Cheesy, heartwarming, summery—these words pale in comparison to the taste of the Garden Fresh Lasagna. All you need is one bite to see what we mean!

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#2. Farmers Market Pasta Salad

One of the joys of a great weekend is taking a trip to the local farmer's market, seeing the vibrant and fresh produce on tables or in baskets just begging to be brought home and made into something delicious. Farmers Market Pasta Salad shows off all your fabulous finds in a single dish, bursting with juicy tomatoes, crisp red peppers, sweet and floral peaches, and savory green onions. Tangy, sharp, and smooth vinaigrette and parmesan add even more summer fun to each bite, and the smoked chicken adds meatiness and heartiness. Farmers Market Pasta Salad is quick, easy, and delicious, and it always makes supporting local growers even more fulfilling!

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#3. The Ultimate Summer Salad

It doesn’t get fresher than this Ultimate Summer Salad, which makes use of some of the season’s finest produce. With unexpected ingredients like feta cheese and peaches, each forkful is a surprising delight. The Ultimate Summer Salad is sweet, salty, herbaceous, and crunchy all at the same time. Feel free to top with a protein of your choice to make it extra filling.

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#4. Beautiful Grilled Corn

Beautiful Grilled Corn is what summer is all about! Golden, sweet, crunchy corn, guaranteed to get joyously stuck in your teeth a little (it's not eating corn on the cob without a bit getting stuck in your teeth, right?!). Slathered in butter and lime juice, or just with salt and black pepper, Beautiful Grilled Corn is a true summer beauty for your taste buds!

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#5. Squash & Rice Casserole

Your meal deserves a side of comfort! And Squash & Rice Casserole delivers. This might be one of your greatest meals yet! This pairs perfectly with just about any main entrée. The garden-fresh, summery squash, nutty wild rice, beefy mushrooms, and all that sharp parmesan cheese come together for a side dish that everyone will rave about! Squash & Rice Casserole is a comfort food that everyone will want to indulge in. You might want to make this the main course after all!

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#6. Sweet Summertime Salsa

Birds are singing, flowers are in bloom, and your tortilla chips... actually, your tortilla chips could use a little touch of seasonal magic! Sweet Summertime Salsa adds slivers of sweet, sunshine-bright strawberries to the classic savory tomato and fragrant cilantro dip, adding new dimensions and practically begging you to come back for more. Best of all, Sweet Summertime Salsa is incredibly easy to make and refreshingly fast, so you can rush to the best part: eating it! You can't find this kind of summertime sensation in a jar!

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#7. Grilled Zucchini

Grilled vegetables are the ultimate spring and summer side, perfect for celebrating the sunshine of the season! Grilled Zucchini embraces this trend with its natural sweetness and garden flavor, accented with olive oil, vinegar, and seasonings. Grilled to tender wonderfulness, Grilled Zucchini makes the vegetable side as appealing as the main course! Plus, it takes less than 30 minutes to make!

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#8. Watermelon Salad

This recipe for Watermelon Salad is so simple it's hardly a recipe. But it’s the perfect way to take advantage of the watermelon season in the summer. Juicy chunks of red watermelon mix with salty feta and cooling mint for a refreshing flavor profile. A simple citrus and olive oil vinaigrette ties Watermelon Salad all together.

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#9. Summer Corn Pasta Salad

This Summer Corn Pasta salad just screams summertime! This dish is a delicious mixture of al dente rotini pasta, herby oregano, crunchy corn kernels, hearty black beans, fresh onion, and more. All of these refreshing ingredients make for a pasta that is cooling, scrumptious, and perfect for hot weather! Summer Corn Pasta Salad is savory and full of a wide assortment of wonderful flavors.

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#10. No-Bake Peaches & Cream Tart

No-Bake Peaches & Cream Tart is a delicious dessert that doesn’t even require you to turn your oven on! Fresh peaches and sweet cream on top of a ladyfinger crust make for a yummy confection that you won’t be able to get enough of. No-Bake Peaches & Cream Tart takes only 20 minutes to whip up, so you can spend more time just enjoying the creamy, rich, and summery taste! When you bring this to the next cookout, everyone will be thanking you!

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#11. Juicy Summer Salad

The hot weather months are upon us, and that means refreshing salads are where it's at! In fact, sweltering weather calls for this Juicy Summer Salad! Complete with fresh heirloom tomatoes, juicy peaches, and sharp feta cheese, and drizzled with savory-sweet balsamic glaze, this salad is the perfect mixture of textures and flavors. Best of all, Juicy Summer Salad will fill you up without weighing you down, fueling you for those active, fun summer days ahead!

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#12. The Best Blackberry Crisp

One of the best parts of summer is berry season. Take full advantage of the abundance and freshness of blackberries by making The Best Blackberry Crisp. The fruit becomes warm and bubbly in the oven and the crunchy streusel topping adds a balance of texture. The Best Blackberry Crisp is a beautiful balance of tartness, sweetness, fruitiness, and richness. Of course, ice cream is a necessary addition as it cools down the dessert.

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#13. Summer Panzanella

Panzanella takes the concept of the crouton and turns it from a topping to the crunchy core of each bite. Summer Panzanella takes this already fantastically delicious idea and adds a touch of sunshine for the season: crisp grilled country bread, mixed with juicy charred zucchini and onion, bright tomatoes, and creamy mozzarella that comes together for a taste that feels as breezy and fun as a clear afternoon! A drizzle of balsamic glaze brings the tang and a little sweetness to the Summer Panzanella, which makes the brightness of the dish all the brighter!

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#14. Tomato Cucumber Salad

Summertime refreshment can be just as exciting and memorable as any main course! Tomato Cucumber Salad exemplifies the best of fresh summer garden flavors, including cucumber, bright tomatoes, and zesty onions. With a simple and satisfyingly tangy dressing, Tomato Cucumber Salad is perfect for enjoying the sunshine of the season!

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#15. Fresh Blueberry Cake

Everyone loves going out on a pleasant summer day and picking some fresh blueberries right off the bush, maybe popping a few in your mouth as you find the ones with the deepest color and flavor. What everyone loves more is finding creative ways to use that sweet and tart fruit. The Fresh Blueberry Cake makes the most of your harvest, whether you're fresh from the farm or fresh from the grocery store: a fluffy, golden cake that's perfectly tender and sprinkled with sugar. Don't worry though; that summertime taste of blueberries remains the real star of each bite. Fresh Blueberry Cake makes tea-times, cookouts, and family dinners a little more refreshing!

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#16. Mimi's Fresh Zucchini Bread

It’s quite amazing how a summer vegetable makes one of the best desserts around. But in Mimi’s Fresh Zucchini Bread, the veggie adds in a lot of moisture, keeping the cake soft. This bread tastes delicious right out of the oven with a pad of butter and a squeeze of honey or the following day with a milky cup of coffee or tea.

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#17. Grandma's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Grandma's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie will remind you of your childhood! The summery sweetness of strawberries makes a perfect pairing with the citrus-like sourness of the rhubarb for a filling that’s certainly worth writing home about! With its buttery, flaky crust sprinkling with crunchy sugar, Grandma's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is nostalgic and delightful. There’s no better way to close out a lovely day in the sun!

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#18. Easy Bruschetta

Easy Bruschetta is a simple appetizer to start your meal off right! This recipe is fresh, flavorful, and easy enough for weeknight dinners. You'll love the flavors of juicy Roma tomatoes, robust balsamic vinegar, herby basil ribbons, and crispy French bread. Easy Bruschetta is savory, tasty, and quick to make; it's guaranteed to brighten up your afternoon in or your next party.

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#19. Best Grilled Green Beans

When you're grilling, everything tends to taste out-of-this-world amazing. That being said, you have to make sure even your side dishes are up to par, and Best Grilled Green Beans are the way to go to keep the flavor flowing! The greatest part? They're easy to whip up. All you do is toss some fresh, crunchy green beans in a big bowl with some nutty olive oil and some seasoning. Then, their flavor amplifies as they cook on the grill to achieve a tender, charred, tasty state with a hint of citrus, thanks to a squeeze of tangy lemon. In under 20 minutes, the delicious, nourishing Best Grilled Green Beans are ready to take your cookout to the next level!

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#20. BLT Bowl

Lips smack and heads turn when people see a sandwich piled high with crisp fresh lettuce, juicy tomato, and crispy fatty bacon. The BLT Bowl will do the same, but now with added whispers of "I can't believe something so healthy tastes so good!" Filled with nutty, tender quinoa and topped with runny and rich poached eggs, the BLT Bowl doesn't forget the trio of tastes that makes its namesake so intriguing: fresh arugula, plump cherry tomatoes, and crumbled bacon still rule the roost. Sandwiches may not be your go-to lunch after this!

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#21. Fresh Heirloom Tomato Pie

Tomatoes are a fruit, sure, but no one would think to put them in a pie... right? Well, turns out that even the most savory of fruits can benefit from a little baked goodness! Fresh Heirloom Tomato Pie bakes the tomatoes to unlock their natural sweetness and tenderness, a perfect complement to the creamy, tangy, herbaceous pie filling! Even the crust is just full of fun surprises, such as crisp bacon crumbles and sharp cheddar baked right into its crumbly deliciousness! Oh yes, Fresh Heirloom Tomato Pie doesn't just prove tomatoes belong in pies, it proves that they should be served in pie form all the time!

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#22. Summer's Mexican Fruit Salad

Is it even summer if you haven't taken a bite out of a juicy watermelon yet?! We don't think so! Let's make that happen, but with a delightfully spicy twist, thanks to this Summer's Mexican Fruit Salad! The sweet flavor from your favorite warm weather fruit gets sprinkled with a Tajín® kick and a creamy cotija cheese blast to create a tastebud sensation you didn't know you were missing... a very, very refreshing one! It's the perfect bite when you're snackin' by the pool or better yet, the most delicious and fun side for all the cookouts you'll be headed to this year! Garnished with a little bit of fresh cilantro and bursting jalapeños, Summer's Mexican Fruit Salad will make you feel like you're living in a summer fantasy with just one bite!

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