Farmers Market Recipes That Highlight Fresh Produce in New Ways

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.

Farmers market ingredients featured: Bell peppers, oregano, mint, red onion

Pep up your side dish routine with this unique recipe. Studded with smoky grilled peppers, this bread salad is accented by uber-creamy Burrata cheese. A tangy lemon-infused vinaigrette and fresh herbs cut through the richness for one supremely satisfying vegetarian entrée.

Related: How to Make a Homemade Salad Dressing

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.

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. Even store-bought salmon gets an upgrade in this sheet-pan dinner thanks to all the fresh veggies and herbs. Since only one pan is required, cleanup is a breeze after you roast this farmers market dinner recipe.

Buy It: Nordic Ware Cookie Sheet, $14, Target

Farmers market ingredients featured: Leeks, zucchini, tomatoes, Swiss chard, basil

Pack all of your summer favorites into this farmers market dinner recipe. We know soup is traditionally a cold-weather dish, but it's fresh enough for summer thanks to all of the farmers market goodies in each spoonful. 

Farmers market ingredients featured: Thyme, honey, oranges, cherries

Honeycomb cookies top baked cherries in this simple and sweet (but not too sweet!) cobbler. The 9 cups of fresh cherries are the real star in this farmers market dessert. Complement all of this for quite possibly the dessert of summer by serving with a scoop of ice cream on top.

Buy It: 2-Inch Hexagon Cookie Cutter, $3, Etsy

Farmers market ingredients featured: Baby kale, limes

Think kale is just for salads and kale chips? Think again. Transform rum, simple syrup, baby kale, and lime juice into your new favorite garden cocktail using this popular farmers market veggie.

Buy It: Badash Martini Glasses (Set of 4), $50, Bed Bath & Beyond

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 the farmers market dinner recipe even more decadent, add a few crumbles of goat cheese on top (which you might also find at the market).

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.

Farmers market ingredient featured: Blueberries

Found a bounty of blueberries at the farmers market? You're in luck! Pile 6 cups (yeah, 6 cups!) of them into this fruit pie jazzed up with a layer of semisweet chocolate and a sour cream cookie crust. The sheer amount of fruit in this farmers market recipe makes this one of our favorite blueberry recipes to make whenever we are lucky enough to score a big carton of them.

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!

Farmers market ingredients featured: Beets, carrots, shallots, thyme, honey, garlic, romaine, parsley

As summer wanes and the produce transitions to local fall ingredients, put root vegetables to good use in this side-dish salad. Roasting veggies brings out their rich, sweet flavors and creates a salad that's hearty but not heavy. Instead of croutons, top the hearty salad with chopped pecans.

Farmers market ingredients featured: Asparagus, avocados, limes

This farmers market recipe will help tempt you out of bed with its bright, fresh flavors. Rise and shine to a bacon-filled breakfast sandwich featuring tender asparagus, creamy avocado, and fluffy eggs. Freshly squeezed lime juice adds a bit of zest to the avocado spread for a perfect start to your day.

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 meal more of a, well, meal, serve it over a bed of brown rice.

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!)

Buy It: TableCraft Swing Tray Glass Rimmer, $10, Bed Bath & Beyond

Farmers market ingredients featured: Tomatoes, red onions

Need a quick salad idea? This beautiful four-ingredient tomato salad lets fresh and juicy summer produce be the star. It's a delightful summer side dish that tastes wonderful with grilled chicken or steak.

Farmers market ingredients featured: Apricots, tart red cherries

Apricots and cherries give this skillet pie recipe a delicious blend of sweet and tart flavors (not to mention gorgeous colors). When you get home from the market, use puff pastry to speed the process of making this indulgent farmers market recipe. Then just add ice cream or whipped cream, and grab a spoon.

Buy It: Lodge Cast Iron Skillet, $30, Williams Sonoma

Farmers market ingredients featured: Zucchini, onions, basil

Sure, this healthy farmers market dinner recipe is all about the burger. But we topped it with fresh zucchini ribbons, and we even hid some chopped zucchini and onion in the meat patty to use up those market goodies. If you picked up a few tomatoes, add a slice or two on top.

Farmers market ingredients featured: Strawberries, rosemary, honey

Bake or grill this simple shortcake dough that packs an unexpected herby flavor boost from rosemary. A drizzle of honey and the quick addition of fresh strawberries and whipped cream make it an elegant dessert for any summer gathering. It's one of the best farmers market recipes to serve at a cookout (if you ask us) because you've already got the grill going.

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. If you think this salad recipe is tempting just from looking at it, wait until you taste 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.

Farmers market ingredients featured: Potatoes, celery, onions, lettuce

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.

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. To make this a complete farmers market meal rather than a side or starter, add grilled or roast chicken or salmon.

Farmers market ingredients featured: Mushrooms, peas, lemons, mint, garlic

Take a break from containers or store-bought dip and whip up your own homemade hummus. This fresh take is made of peas, lemon, garlic, and mint for an unforgettable filling. Serve the stuffed mushroom caps as an appetizer recipe or impressive side dish.

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.

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.

Farmers market ingredients featured: Spinach, zucchini, tomatoes

Give grilled cheese a grown-up twist (that kids will enjoy too) with this farmers market recipe. Fresh sourdough piled high with thinly sliced zucchini, creamy garlic-and-herb goat cheese, and a layer of garlicky mayo will put you in veggie sandwich heaven. You can pick up just about everything you need at your market, so this sandwich makes a great lunch right after a stroll through the stalls.

Farmers market ingredients featured: Blackberries, red onions, mint, lemons

Rather than using all your farmers market fruits for desserts, go slightly savory and turn your berries into a salad. Fresh blackberries and simple pickled onions pair with creamy feta and a hint of mint. The results? One amazingly tasty and totally different salad that's sure to be the talk of your next get-together.

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 puts you that much closer to dinner. (We’re talking less than 20 minutes total.)

Farmers market ingredients featured: Honey, sweet potatoes, green onion, limes

These sweet-and-salty sweet potatoes are the perfect summer side. Plus, they take just 15 minutes of prep time before you toss 'em in the oven. Top off this potato side with chopped cashews to give it some crunch.

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.

Farmers market ingredients featured: Blackberries, lemons, limes, basil, pears

Citrus-marinated grilled chicken atop leafy greens with juicy berries and an easy blackberry vinaigrette come together in this irresistible fresh summer salad. If you're skeptical of serving chicken and berries on the same plate, don't be. The juiciness and slight sweetness from the berries are a perfect complement to chicken's savory flavors in this well-balanced farmers market meal.

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 are key to serving up a stunning salad.

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 that's complemented by sweet basil and hearty cannellini beans. The fresh-from-the-market dinner recipe is fresh, easy, and delicious, exactly what we're looking for on a sweltering summer night.

Buy It: NutriBullet PRO Single-Serve Blender, $80, Target

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 in 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.

Farmers market ingredients featured: Rhubarb, blueberries

This delicious, juicy muffin recipe can be so many things: A quick snack in the afternoon, a speedy breakfast on your way out the door, or even a fresh dessert. Packed with fresh rhubarb and blueberries then topped with crumbly streusel, this sweet recipe will be devoured almost as soon as the muffins come out of the oven (or are cool enough to pick up with bare hands).