45+ Farmers’ Market Recipes
45+ Farmers’ Market Recipes for all of that fresh produce. Recipe links for sweet and savoury recipes, jams, pickles and more. When the markets are full of fresh produce, baking and cooking is easier than ever.
My absolute favourite part of summer is being able to access loads of locally grown produce. There is nothing like being able to eat veggies and fruit straight from the garden or orchard…the taste alone is worth waiting for. It’s like you can taste the sunshine in them. Over the course of the summer months, and into the fall, we will visit our local farmers’ market many times and stock up on as much seasonal produce as we can. I buy bags full of fresh potatoes, carrots, beets, Swiss chard, herbs, fruit, tomatoes, peppers, beans, onions…I could go on and on.
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!
45+ Farmers’ Market Recipes and Meal Ideas
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
- Hearty Banana, Apple & Carrot Muffins
- 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!
Cucumbers
So many cucumbers in summer! Eat them raw, dip into dips, make pickles…so many ideas.
Basil
- Make this delicious Basil Pesto with fresh summer basil, then add it to soups, stews, pasta salads and sandwiches.
- Try this easy Basil Salt. It’s delicious on SO many things!
- Add fresh basil to Tomato Bruschetta.
- This Orzo with Parmesan and Basil is so good.
- 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. We enjoy them roasted with butter and salt + pepper, but there are more great ways to enjoy beets. Here are some recipe ideas:
Swiss Chard
- One of my favourite ways to enjoy swiss chard is to saute it with butter. I just melt about 2 tbsp of butter in a frying pan, add a large bunch of chard and about 1 tbsp or so of water and saute over medium heat.
- Swiss Chard is also a great substitute for spinach in recipes.
- Add it to Green Salads
- Make this delicious Ground Chicken Bake with Spinach or Swiss Chard
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 Zucchini, Cheddar Cheese & Chive Buttermilk Quick Bread. Here are more great zucchini recipes:
- Zucchini Bake
- Zucchini Puffs
- Cheesy Ham + Zucchini Bake
- Zucchini Cheddar Biscuits
- Air Fryer Zucchini Fries
- Tomato Zucchini Skillet
- Zucchini Fritters
- Zoodle Noodle Spaghetti Bowl
- Tomato, Basil + Zucchini Goat Cheese Tart
- 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 think are best boiled and served with butter and fresh dill. Mmmm. Here are more of our favourite potato recipes:
- Champ, which is basically potatoes mashed with cream and chives
- Oven Roasted Potatoes with Herbs (try with this Rosemary Salt!)
- 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
Green Beans
Oh garden fresh green beans, how do I love thee? Lightly steamed and served with a little butter, seriously so good.
- This is another great way to enjoy this versatile vegetable: Sauteed Green Beans with Fresh Basil & Tomatoes
- Or lightly steam the beans and add them to green salads.
Tomatoes
Summer tomatoes are where it’s at though! The flavour of them 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
- 10 Minute Bruschetta Boursin Dip
- 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
- Basil & Corn Cakes with Fresh Tomato Salsa
- Fresh Tomato & Mango Salsa
- Easy Caprese Salad
- Creamy Tomato & Basil Shrimp Pasta
- Homemade Salsa (my Mom’s recipe)
- Roasted Tomato and Pumpkin Soup
- Did you know that you can also freeze whole tomatoes?
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!
Pumpkin and Squash
- 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
- Roasted Pork with Brown Sugar & Rosemary Roasted Butternut Squash & Apples
- Cheesy Butternut Squash Pasta Bake
- Creamy Butternut Squash Spaghetti
- Roasted Brown Sugar & Rosemary Squash Wedges
- How to make Pumpkin Puree
- Easy Pumpkin Soup
- Braided Pumpkin Bread
- Classic Pumpkin Pie
- The Best Pumpkin Spice Bread
- Or visit my entire Pumpkin Recipe library here.
Lettuce
- Simple Green Salad
- Salad Dressings:
Herbs
Don’t forget herbs! Here are some simple recipes and ideas for fresh herbs.
- Rosemary Salt
- Creamy Dill Dressing
- Make a wreath to dry them! No, really. It’s a great way to dry herbs.
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:
I hope you now feel inspired to visit your farmers’ market and stock up on produce! Yum. Enjoy these Farmers’ Market Recipes that I have collected for you. Have a delicious day!
This is so helpful! It is so easy to return from the farmers market with a bunch of beautiful veggies and no plan! I can’t wait to try these!
Thanks for sharing! This is a nice mix of meal types too!