Spring is a special season that we all love to celebrate. It's an ideal time of year to embrace the sustainable bounty growing in well-tended fields.
From tender leafy greens to crunchy cruciferous veggies, produce aisles at your favorite grocery store are filled with fresh vegetables.
It all sets the table for creative cooking and culinary innovation at home and in restaurants.
Let these easy spring menu ideas inspire your seasonal celebrations with friends, family and dining room guests.
25 Healthy Recipes That Welcome Spring to Your Kitchen
Irresistible Spring Appetizers and Salads
1. Fresh Broccoli Crostini Bites
Fresh broccoli shows off its versatility as an enticing appetizer in this colorful recipe. Simply season florets with chili flakes, toss in garlic butter, and flash broil.
Spoon small scoops of burrata on crisp crostini, and top the creamy cheese with small crowns of warm broccoli florets.
A sprinkle of pomegranate seeds gives each nibble a beautiful finish.
2. Steak-Stuffed Lettuce Cups
Warm up your spring entertaining with small lettuce cups that deliver just the right amount of heat.
Baby iceberg leaves make perfect mini bowls for serving flank steak flavored with chipotle marinade.
Garnish with a black bean, corn and serrano chili salsa, and prepare to savor guest compliments.
3. Goat Cheese and Asparagus Tarts
So many recipes for spring give asparagus a starring role as a side dish, but it makes an elegant snack too.
Puff pastry is considered a baker's specialty, but it's simple to work with when you buy it pre-made.
Combine the two, add goat cheese crumbles, and you have the ingredients for an easy-bake springtime appetizer.
4. Spicy Cilantro Caesar Salad
Here's another spicy idea for spring that brings a touch of fire to a favorite classic.
Fresh cilantro, chopped jalapenos and roasted pepitas transform the traditional Caesar salad into a new taste experience. Romaine hearts and grated Parmigiano Reggiano keep the flavors well-balanced.
5. Purple Napa Cabbage Salad
Add this beautiful salad to your list of favorite vegetarian spring recipes.
It blends the mild taste of purple napa cabbage with sweet-tart slices of honey crisp apples and a champagne vinaigrette.
Flexitarians, pescatarians and carnivores will love it too.
Who could resist a salad that combines so much flavor, color and natural nutrition?
6. Strawberry and Watercress Salad
This bountiful salad bowl is beautiful enough to double as a table centerpiece. Bright strawberries and deep green watercress give it picture-perfect good looks.
The salad's irresistible flavor profile is a memorable contrast of sweet and peppery tastes.
Dressed with honey and balsamic vinaigrette, it's sure to become a springtime classic.
Very Special Spring Dinner Ideas
7. Rice Noodles With Pork and Napa Cabbage
Keep it healthy and filling with a savory stir-fry that's ready in just half an hour.
Gluten-free rice noodles and nutritious napa cabbage are naturals in this delicious dish.
Thin strips of sliced pork elevate the noodle and veggie combination from side to entree.
Traditional Asian seasonings, including grated ginger root, chili garlic sauce and rice wine vinegar, take it over the top.
8. Pancetta, Brussels Sprouts and Orecchiette
Here's another recipe that belongs in your file of 30-minute spring meals.
Save time in the kitchen with a quick mix of sauteed Brussels sprouts, chopped pancetta and orecchiette pasta.
Enjoy cooking up an entire dinner in one easy-to-serve dish that satisfies everyone at the table.
9. Yummy Fresh Veggie Pizza
When you're in the mood for a casual springtime dinner, pizza is a great choice.
When you want to keep it healthy, topping the pie with fresh vegetables is an excellent idea.
Sliced Brussels sprouts and broccoli florets give this veggie pizza a nutritious boost that's full of taste and texture.
10. Curry Chicken and Romaine Wraps
Transform crispy Romaine heart leaves into individual serving dishes by filling them with savory curry chicken salad.
Golden raisins and shelled pistachios give the creative wraps a special flavor.
The combination of 30-minute prep and unique presentation makes this main course ideal for quick spring dinners.
11. Wild Salmon and Spring Veggies
We celebrate spring by enjoying fresh vegetables, but this time of year is also the start of wild salmon season.
Take advantage of all that prime availability with a salmon and spring vegetable entree.
The recipe layers a medley of sugar snap peas, carrots and baby artichokes over oven-baked center cuts of salmon.
It's a sophisticated meal that's sure to impress everyone at the table.
12. Spring Vegetable Minestrone
Rework this hearty Italian soup with fresh seasonal produce, pesto and pecorino cheese. Spring vegetable minestrone gives you plenty of room to improvise.
Chickpeas, asparagus, artichoke hearts and baby potatoes are a few of the suggested veggies, but you can mix and match to your appetite's content.
Bountiful Sides for Spring Meals
13. Lemony Roasted Asparagus
Side your next springtime dinner with a simple and simply delicious dish of lemony roasted asparagus.
A quick oven bake enhances the mild, earthy flavor of its tender, crisp spears.
Add zesty crunch to the nutritious vegetable with a topping of skillet-toasted panko and lemon zest.
From prep to table, the roasted asparagus is ready to serve in just 20 minutes.
14. Broccoli and Gruyere Gratin
It's fun to switch out ingredients in popular recipes, especially when the results are a healthy new side dish.
Broccoli does the trick in this tasty recipe for a different type of gratin.
Just bathe the florets in a silky sauce of cream and garlic, pour the mixture into a casserole, and top with shredded gruyere and toasted bread crumbs before baking.
15. Golden Potato Roses
Indulge your creative talents with a potato side that's both artistic and mouthwatering.
Form small roses of thin potato slices inside muffin tins, christen with garlic butter, and bake for half an hour.
Yukon golds are the best choice for these tender-crispy potato roses.
16. Citrusy Roasted Brussels Sprouts
The bright taste of lemon always complements spring vegetables. Add extra layers of flavor with a salsa blend of lemons, oranges and fresh chopped parsley.
Drizzle the mixture over oven-roasted Brussels sprouts, and garnish with toasted almonds. Enjoy the easy springtime veggie roast any time of year.
17. Chermoula-Dressed Broccoli and Cauliflower
Celebrate this special season by giving healthy roasted vegetables an enticing Mediterranean accent.
Do it with culinary flare and homemade sauce made even better with olives and golden raisins.
It's more than a marinade. It's a delicious chermoula that really dresses up roasted broccoli and cauliflower.
18. Sugar Snap Peas With Fresh Mint
All springtime recipes should be this simple.
Bring out the natural sweetness of snap peas with finely chopped mint. A touch of melted butter gives the side a slightly salty flavor. Every crunchy bite in the healthy spring recipe is packed with nutritious goodness.
This vegetable dish is so yummy, the kids will be asking for seconds.
Irresistible Spring Dessert Recipes
19. Strawberry Lemonade Layered Cake
One of the best finales to a special springtime dinner is a special springtime cake.
Each slice of this luscious lemon dessert reveals layers spread thick with strawberry and lemon jam. The pink frosting is a masterful mix of cream cheese, freshly chopped strawberries and heavy cream.
It's definitely a dessert cake that brings party-perfect presentation to the table.
20. Lemon Pound Cake With Blueberries
When you think about a classic pound cake, you can almost taste the tender, moist bites. Make yours a celebration of spring by folding sweet-tart blueberries into the mix.
Finish the cooled pound cake with a lemon glaze, and be ready for compliments on your homemade dessert expertise.
21. Fresh Sweet Corn Ice Cream
Think outside the springtime dessert recipe box with sweet corn ice cream made from scratch.
The fresh kernels are naturally sweet, and they take on extra flavor when steeped in cream and sugar.
Present the amazingly different dessert in wafer, waffle or sugar cones. The irresistible ice cream is just as scrumptious scooped into chilled serving bowls.
22. Creamy Key Lime Pie
This world-renowned dessert deserves a special place on your list of easy recipes for spring desserts.
A few simple ingredients, minimum prep and three hours in the fridge are all you need to turn out a perfectly creamy key lime pie.
The silky custard is a mix of sweet condensed milk, egg yolks and key lime juice.
A crunchy graham cracker crust completes the key lime pie experience. You can buy the crust pre-made too.
Fresh Sipping Beverages for Spring
23. Sugar Snap Pea Cocktail
It's not every day that you blend mezcal and sugar snap peas, but once you've tried it, this springtime cocktail may become a seasonal tradition.
A dash of simple syrup and chartreuse add flavor depth and delicate color to the unique potable.
Always shaken, never stirred, the cocktail is best served with a classy snap pea garnish.
24. Very Lemony Martini
What do you call a vodka cocktail that's tart and sweet with floral overtones?
If lemon drop martini comes to mind, treat yourself to a second round. Drink responsibly, of course, but enjoy a libation that makes the most of a favorite springtime flavor.
It's an easy blend of vodka, simple syrup, triple sec and fresh lemon juice. Serve in a sugar-rimmed glass with a lemon twist, and salute the sweet season of spring.
25. Real Strawberry Lemonade
Make everyone feel at home by offering lemonade as an inviting alternative to cocktails.
It's always a welcomed refreshment, and it's even better when you splash it up a notch.
This strawberry lemonade recipe will refresh and impress guests of all ages. It's easy to brew your own with homemade simple syrup, sugared strawberries and fresh lemon juice.
Our Families Join Yours
Our families join yours in celebrating this wonderful time of year.
We enjoy doing our part as we stay busy growing and shipping premium produce to home kitchens and foodservice operations all across the country.
We really enjoy sharing fresh recipes and the latest industry news too, so check back with us soon.
From our fields to your tables, you can trust Hitchcock Farms to always serve you with our very best.
