When it comes to healthy dinner recipes, eating seasonally makes mealtime that much easier. Whether you’re integrating fresh fish like salmon for your entrees, whole grains mixed with spring greens as your salad, or sugar snap peas as a veggie side dish, there are plenty of options for spring dinner recipes.
Using seasonal spring ingredients makes crafting nutritious dinners for you and your family fun, simple, and tasty.
Spice up your nightly meals with some easy and healthy recipes for dinner. Artichoke Hazelnut Tart or 5 Ingredient Almond Crusted Halibut with Lemon, anyone? With these seasonally festive ideas, you’ll be hosting springtime soireés in no time!
Spring Sorghum Salad
Portland’s own Rebekah of PDXFoodLove used our sorghum in this recipe for her Spring Sorghum Salad. We love how light this dish is and that it can be paired with everything from flaky fish to barbecued chicken. It’s made with sorghum, fresh green beans, olive oil, lemon juice, grated parmesan, pickled red peppers, chopped mint, chopped basil, salt and pepper. The pickled red peppers, in particular, offer a satisfying twist on a healthy salad recipe. Though it’s a great dish to serve alongside your entree, this makes for a lovely weeknight meal on its own, too.
Sweet & Spicy Salmon Rub
When eating fresh fish, salmon is the fish of springtime! If you’ve just picked up some fresh salmon, try this recipe for Sweet & Spicy Salmon Rub. It’s made with a mixture of brown sugar, salt, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, for a perfect and fragrant blend of seasoning. Pair this dish with a brown rice and fresh parsley, or an arugula salad drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a bit of balsamic. Keep in mind that if you’d like to make this rub Paleo-friendly, just substitute coconut sugar for the brown sugar. And if you end up loving this sweet and spicy rub like we do, try using it on pork tenderloin!
Lemony Shrimp Asparagus and Quinoa Stir Fry
When it comes to spring dinner ideas, Tara Noland of Noshing with the Nolans brings together the flavors of season wonderfully in this Lemony Shrimp Asparagus and Quinoa Stir Fry. It’s a recipe she follows from Camilla Saulsbury’s Bob’s Red Mill Everyday Gluten-Free Cookbook. The recipe calls for minced garlic, cornstarch, olive oil, finely grated lemon zest, freshly squeezed lemon juice, asparagus, shrimp, dry white wine and cooked quinoa. With the mix of lemon, shrimp and asparagus, this dish makes for a beautiful spring dinner. Eat it outdoors just as the sun is setting, with a lit candle and the chilled beverage of your choice!
Spring Sorghum and Asparagus Salad
Bring on the spring sorghum salads! This Spring Sorghum and Asparagus Salad from Edible Perspective incorporates some of our favorite fresh ingredients of the season, like chopped parsley, minced shallot, sliced leeks, thick stalks of asparagus and a few handfuls of arugula. The addition of salted pepitas, pure maple syrup and minced garlic brings it all together and rounds out this delicious spring dinner dish. As Ashley notes, cooking sorghum is easy and though it takes some time to cook, it’s simpler than many other grains. Just let it simmer uncovered until it’s done to your liking (without worrying about water absorbing). It’s a good grain for a hearty and healthy spring salad, so eat up!
Artichoke Hazelnut Tart
Artichokes are another green ingredient that abound during the spring season. You can eat them grilled, incorporate them into creamy dips, marinate the hearts and use them on charcuterie platters, stuff chicken breast with them, throw them in pasta or even make a tart with them! The artichoke possibilities are endless. We love this Artichoke Hazelnut Tart, a grain-free tart that’s perfect for hors d'oeuvres or excellent when served alongside a green salad for a light meal. It takes just 10 minutes to prep and with 6-8 servings, it’s the perfect weeknight choice for a hungry family. After you’ve prepared and poured your filling into the crust, top with parmesan and asiago and bake until bubbling and golden. Let cool before serving.
Savory Oatmeal with Chicken and Spinach
We love breakfast oatmeal overflowing with berries, dried fruit and maple syrup for breakfast. But in the evening, we love a hearty bowl of savory oatmeal! This Savory Oatmeal with Chicken and Spinach from Maggie Zhu’s Omnivore's Cookbook is divine! Maggie makes an oatmeal base with chicken stock, Quick Cooking Rolled Oats (or Gluten Free Quick Cooking Rolled Oats), shredded chicken, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and one of the all-time best springtime ingredients, fresh spinach. As the recipe headnote states, you can adjust the oatmeal based on your own preference. Drizzle in soy sauce and sesame oil once the oatmeal is done to make it extra flavorful, or use less chicken stock for a creamier oatmeal. Experiment with topping options, like soft boiled eggs and crushed nuts. You can also top with green peas, chopped cherry tomatoes, chopped green onions or chives.
Cracked Freekeh Salad with Peas
This recipe for Cracked Freekeh Salad with Peas from Edible San Francisco uses Bob’s Red Mill freekeh, the whole grain of young green wheat. As the article mentions, this freekeh is fire-roasted for a rich, toasted, almost smoky flavor. Alongside the freekeh, the recipe calls for sugar snap peas, shelling peas, lava beans, pea tendrils, shaved radish (or whole baby radishes) and Greek yogurt. The flavors and textures are all brought together with an herb dressing of finely chopped mint leaves, parsley leaves, Aleppo pepper, olive oil, lemon juice and olive oil. We think you’ll agree that author Kathleen Korb has created a salad masterpiece that’s as fun to eat as it is to look at!
Red Lentil Soup
This creamy Red Lentil Soup is being served to hungry runners at this year’s Shamrock Run in Portland, Oregon. It’s rich, creamy and flavored with turmeric, smoked paprika and nutritional yeast. To incorporate even more flavors of the season, add lemon juice and parsley oil. Keep this recipe in your springtime back pocket for chilly days when sunshine is in hiding (but on the horizon). This particular recipe makes 10 cups, so if you’re serving a hungry crowd—like Shamrock runners—you’ll definitely want to make a bigger batch!
5 Ingredient Almond Crusted Halibut with Lemon
Fresh fish with simple citrus dressings tastes so good as the days get warmer in the spring and summertime looms. This 5 Ingredient Almond Crusted Halibut with Lemon by Chef Billy Parisi can be on the table in less than 30 minutes and is easy, flavorful and nutritious. Fresh halibut is dressed with a simple mix of butter, lemon and almond flour and baked until golden and crispy. Pair this entree with rice pilaf and grilled asparagus for a simple spring dinner. A glass of chilled white wine on the patio is a welcome addition, too.
Spring Farrotto (Farro Risotto) with Mushrooms, Rapini, and Peas
This Spring Farrotto (Farro Risotto) with Mushrooms, Rapini and Peas is a beautiful one to add to your list of spring dinner ideas. It’s made with chicken or vegetable broth, kosher salt, unsalted butter, diced pancetta, coarsely chopped spring mushrooms, rapini (also known as broccoli raab), spring onions or leeks, garlic cloves, Organic Farro, dry white wine, finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, peas and chives. The farro adds a rich and nutty flavor and the filling is creamy and reminiscent of a classic risotto—the perfect way to showcase delicious spring vegetables. If you’d like, you can also utilize porcini, morel, oyster, or hen-of-the woods mushrooms for the recipe, too.
Bob’s Basic Pasta
A brilliant way to showcase the spring’s veggies is through a simple homemade pasta recipe. Try this recipe for Bob’s Basic Pasta which incorporates Semolina Pasta Flour, eggs (or egg whites), water and olive oil. Bring your pasta to life with roasted asparagus, peas, arugula or anything green and delicious! This is wonderful recipe to keep on hand and use as in different variations throughout the year. You can even eat this dish with nothing more than a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil some shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano, and a handful of fresh basil from the garden.
From salmon to spinach, we hope this list of spring dinner ideas has you running to the farmer’s market for tonight’s mealtime. Eating seasonally, especially as the months get warmer after a cool winter, means a bounty of incredible ingredients at hand!
What are some of your favorite ways to eat seasonally in the springtime? Do you have a recipe for a dip, a salad, or a soup? Feel free to share your ideas with us in the comments below. We’re always on the hunt for fresh inspiration (especially when it involves food).
From all of us at Bob’s Red Mill, happy spring! May your season be filled with all the fresh produce your heart desires.
