Spring is the ideal time to simplify your recipe playbook, while making it broader. You’re likely to be grilling more meat, chicken, and fish, or at least mixing and matching more dishes, and you’ll also want to spend more time out and about doing fun ‘life stuff’ as the weather gets warmer. Sure, you will probably carry over some winter warmers and family favorite meals, but that doesn’t mean you need to keep close to the kitchen at all times!
Below you’ll find a classy collection of 10 Simple Spring Recipes that will help usher in the new season with new-found joie de vivre. There’s recipes for bright, zesty and refreshing meals, some that take advantage of seasonal meat and veg, and excellent time saving options that stack up against similar, but more complex dinner variations. These spring stunners will help you enjoy the new season’s cooking more than recycling the same recipes ever could!
1. Venetian Rice (Risi e Bisi)
An easy peas-y light meal that’s ideal for relaxed spring eating, Venetian Risi e bisi’s texture can be tailored to your preference as a saucier soup style final dish, or a thicker, creamier risotto. Arborio rice works as the bedrock of the meal, soaking up and folding in every ingredient – white wine, prosciutto, Italian herbs and spices, and creamy butter among them – to create a beautifully subtle and aromatic dish.
2. Sheet Pan Frittata
Whatever veggies may be languishing in your fridge and close to their end, you can chop them up and fold them into a tasty, economical frittata. Our simple, reliable Sheet Pan Frittata first oven roasts these veggies and crisps up some streaky bacon. Once the veggie mix and salty pork is nearly done cooking, you pour the egg and milk mixture over them and return it to the oven to set. It’s a great way to cook up a quick, delicious meal in under 30 minutes!
3. Lemon Feta Linguine
Lemon Feta Linguine bursts with the flavors of spring! Garlic, olive oil, lemon, feta, and fresh asparagus combine into a quick, simple pasta dish that is tangy, zesty, and exciting! Perfect for busy weeknights when you are looking for fresh but fast feasting, I love serving Lemon Feta Linguine with some cheesy garlic bread.
4. Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
This non-traditional salad uses cauliflower, broccoli, bacon, peas and celery as the base ingredients, bound together by an easy cream dressing. It’s like you’re not eating ‘trees’ at all, which is great for duping my children! Creamy Broccoli Cauliflower Salad is simple and eye-catching, so is the perfect relaxed side dish for early Spring grilling and entertaining.
5. Dump and Bake Chicken Caprese Casserole
It’s inevitable that as the weather gets warmer, there are less hearty, rib-sticking casserole recipes in your dinner rotation. But that doesn’t mean you should abandon them entirely. Dump and Bake Chicken Caprese Casserole takes tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, and cooks them with Penne noodles in a mixture of broth, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and mozzarella. Simple yet flavorsome, this casserole could be one of the few that you make all year round!
6. Grilled Corn and Peach Salad
The flavors of toasted walnut, Pecorino, and grilled corn mesh together deliciously in this tasty orzo pasta salad, yet it’s the sweetness from the peach fruit that adds a refreshing bite alongside all the tangy flavors. Grilled Corn and Peach Salad is all about texture and crunch, with the orzo on hand to add a nice filling bite. Make sure that you cut everything into bite size pieces so that you can taste all the elements on your fork!
7. Lemon White Bean Salad
The flavors of lemon and garlic come together in perfect harmony in this Lemon White Bean Salad, which is a brilliant recipe for spring barbecues and family get-togethers. It’s light and refreshing which is great if you’re not a huge fan of heavier bean dishes. The dressing is bright – a mixture of lemon zest, lemon juice, and fresh garlic, they’re a lively addition to the beans that give the salad some real oomph.
8. One Pan Coconut Lime Chicken
I can’t believe there was a time in my life when I wasn’t cooking one pan meals. My skills, and taste buds, have benefitted hugely from bringing lively and interesting one pan meals to the fore. This One Pan Coconut Lime Chicken recipe is a fantastic example of working smart, not harder, to produce a top quality meal in just 20 minutes. The chicken comes out moist and tender, surrounded by a smooth, rich coconut sauce infused with lime, ginger, garlic, and a little bit of heat from red chili flakes.
9. Crunchy Honey Garlic Baked Shrimp
Crunchy Honey Garlic Baked Shrimp is a quick to pull together main dish made up of shrimp bathed in a sweet and sticky honey-garlic-lime sauce and topped with some Panko breadcrumb crunch. There’s butter in every step of the cooking, which I highly recommend for a shrimp meal, it’s how you know it will be full of flavor while ensuring the seafood has a chance to shine!
Conclusion
Spring is a great time to break off the kitchen shackles. The weather is warmer, you want to be outside more, and the recipe options swell with opportunity. Keeping it simple with these spring recipes will save you time and effort, yet still deliver quality food to your table that the family will love.