45+ Farmers' Market Recipes (2024)

Don’t Let Your Farmers’ Market Produce Go To Waste!

The challenge for me then becomes making sure I don’t let any of it go to waste.It feels terrible to look in the crisper and see wilted and rotten produce.Over the years I have gotten better at not letting this happen by making sure I serve tonnes of veggies at dinner, or bake pies or make jam with ripe fruit, and I’ll freeze or dry whatever I can. But waste happens.So I try really hard to make sure I use up as much as I can.

So much produce, so many delicious possibilities!

Where I find the most joy with all this produce at my fingertips, is being able to create new dishes and serve up family favourite recipes.I find that I go back to many of the same recipes every summer, which I look forward to, so I thought I would share them with you as well! These are dishes and desserts that I will make many times over the summer, things like pies, cakes, skillets, salads…you name it. I hope you can find something delicious to make with all of your farmers’ market goodies too!

Carrots

Fresh carrots are the best eaten raw right from the garden, don’t you think? There’s no flavour like a summer carrot. Carrots are a staple vegetable around here that appear at many dinners, and I use them in a lot of other dishes too. Here are some recipe ideas:

• Easy Pickled Carrots
• Glazed Carrots
• One Pot Roasted Chicken and Root Vegetables
• Carrot Cake Cookies
• Carrot Zucchini Apple Bread
• Layered Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
• Carrot Cake Pancakes with Cream Cheese Drizzle
• Classic Creamy Coleslaw with Carrots
• Wondering what to do with the carrot tops? Make Carrot Top Pesto!

Basil

• Make this delicious Basil Pesto with fresh summer basil, then add it to soups, stews, pasta salads and sandwiches.
• Add fresh basil to Tomato Bruschetta
• These Basil Corn Cakes with Tomato Salsa are a delicious summer recipe!
• There is nothing more delicious than a Caprese Salad made with summer fresh basil and tomatoes!

Beets

Beets are SO delicious…I often wonder why don’t people love them more! We enjoy them roasted with butter and salt & pepper, but there are more great ways to enjoy beets.Here are some recipe ideas:

• Pickled Beets
• Strawberry Beet Salad
• Peach Caprese Salad with Beets
• Oven Roasted Beets
• Crockpot Borscht
• Chocolate Beet Cupcakes

Zucchini

Zucchini is probably my most favourite summer crop, and I use it in SO many recipes because of it’s versatility. My most favourite is likely this. Here are more great zucchini recipes:

• Zucchini Bake
• Zucchini Cheddar Biscuits
• Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
• Tomato Zucchini Skillet
• Zucchini Fritters
• Zoodle Noodle Spaghetti Bowl
• Zucchini Muffins
• Zucchini Loaf/Bread
• Chocolate Zucchini Cake
• Carrot Zucchini Apple Bread
• Zucchini Pancakes

Potatoes

There are no potatoes quite like garden fresh potatoes, which I thinkare best boiled and served with butter and fresh dill. Mmmm. Here are moreof our favourite potato recipes:

• Champ, which is basically potatoes mashed with cream and chives
• Oven Roasted Potatoes with Herbs
• Air Fryer Potato Wedges
• Dilled Scalloped Potatoes
• Slow Cooker Baked Potato Soup
• Home Fries
• Accordion Potatoes
• Warm Roasted Potato Salad
• Classic Potato Salad
• Potato Fritatta
• Loaded Potato Crisps
• Sweet Potato Latkes

Peppers

SO many varieties of peppers, so many possibilities! Peppers are a delicious addition to soups, stews, salads and many dinner recipes!

• Pickled Banana Peppers are a simple and delicious way to preserve this pepper!
• Pimento Peppers are delicious in many different recipes, but this Pimento Cheese Recipe is DELICIOUS!
• Candied Jalapeño Peppers
• Cheesy Stuffed Mexican Peppers
• Veggie + Sausage Shish Kabobs

Tomatoes

Summer tomatoes are where it’s at though! The flavour ofthem during this time of year is unbeatable…they do in fact taste like the sun and summer breeze. Sweet and delicious. I love to add them to salads, serve them up as snacks, toss them in sauces and soups. Here are some of my favourite tomato farmers’ market recipes:

• Tomato Basil Bruschetta
• Easy Tomato Burrata Salad
• 3 Ingredient Cherry Tomato Sauce
• Homemade Fresh Tomato Spaghetti Sauce
• Roasted Tomato Pasta
• Bruschetta Pasta Salad
• Fresh Tomato Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Easy Caprese Salad
• Creamy Tomato & Basil Shrimp Pasta
• Homemade Salsa (my Mom’s recipe)
• Roasted Tomato and Pumpkin Soup

Onions

• If you have loads of onion greens and onions, freeze them!I will chop up white or purple onions then put them into a ziplock bag and put it in the freezer. It’s really handy to have ready-to-use onions!
• You can do the same with the greens of onions.
• Make French Onion Soup!
• This recipe for Festive Onion Casserole is a great recipe for farm fresh onions.
• Make this Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Onion Jam!

Garlic and Garlic Scapes

• Freeze fresh peeled garlic cloves. I like to buy bunches of garlic, peel the skins and place the cloves on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once they’re frozen, transfer the cloves to a ziplock bag and now you have fresh garlic at your fingertips all year round.
• Saute fresh garlic scapes with Swiss chard or spinach, for a delicious summer side dish.
• Add garlic scapes to this Carrot Top + Garlic Scape Pesto
• Roast garlic in the oven – it’s delicious spread on toast and added to soups and stews.
• Make Roasted Garlic Olive Oil
• This Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Onion Jam is delicious!

Squash + Pumpkin

• Roasted Squash is one of the easiest ways to use up squash!You can then eat it as a side dish, or puree it and add it to other recipes.
• How to Roast Acorn Squash
• One Pot Roasted Chicken Dinner with Roasted Squash
• Cheesy Butternut Squash Pasta Bake
• Creamy Butternut Squash Spaghetti
• How to make Pumpkin Puree
• Easy Pumpkin Soup
• Braided Pumpkin Bread
• Classic Pumpkin Pie
• 16+ Pumpkin Recipes to Try

Lettuce

• Simple Green Salad
• Salad Dressings:
  • Creamy Avocado Vinaigrette
  • Strawberry Vinaigrette
  • Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
  • Maple Vinaigrette
  • Caesar Salad

Fresh Summer Fruit

You just can’t beat all the fresh fruit available in the summer!Eat it as is, throw it in smoothies, bake with it…endless deliciousness.Here are some sweet and fruity farmers’ market recipes to get you cooking and baking:

• Apricot Peach Pie
• Summer Peach Pie
• Sour Cherry Pie
• Easy Peach Jam
• Peach Cobbler
• Apple Pie
• Apple Bundt Cake
• Raspberry Galette
• Peach Raspberry Crisp
• Strawberry Rhubarb Bundt Cake
• Slow Cooker Pear Sauce
• Blueberry Hand Pies
• Blueberry Cobbler
• Easy Blueberry Jam
• 11+ Apple Recipes
• 8+ Peach Recipes

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