Dinner Recipes Seasonal foods, such as peas, asparagus, leeks, radishes, and more, are among the finest things about spring, and we love using them in dinners that let us break free from the heavy winter fare. Choose your protein of choice and peak produce to go with it. Some ideas are lamb shanks with fresh spring herbs, cod with lemony leeks, steak and carrot tacos, and chicken with fennel. While some of these recipes are light and refreshing, others are substantial enough to keep you warm during the unpredictable weather of the season. These are a few of our best recipes for spring dinner.
1. Braised Lamb Shanks with Herb Salad
A fresh herb salad with pea tendrils, sugar snap peas, mint leaves, perilla (shiso) leaves, and nasturtium is served alongside braised lamb shanks.
2. Quick Skillet-Roasted Chicken with Spring Vegetables
This is a simple 55-minute recipe that simmers tender carrots, oyster mushrooms, radishes, and spring onions in a blend of butter and chicken drippings.
3. Roasted Honey-Dijon Salmon with Spring Vegetables
In less than a minute, start the shallots, carrots, and radishes and work on the mustard glaze. and season the salmon. While the fish cooks, prepare the asparagus and snap peas,” writes cookbook author Susan Spungen. “If you haven’t roasted radishes before, start doing it now! When roasted, they acquire a completely distinct taste and texture, no longer being as sharp as when they are raw. They become juicy and tender.”
4. Chicken, Potatoes, and Leeks with Pine Nut Gremolata
Roast bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and legs over a bed of leeks and potatoes, where they reduce fat and absorb flavor, for the crispiest skin and most flavorful meat. The chicken is given a fast broiler flip to give it a golden finish. It is then basted in pan juices and topped with a zesty gremolata consisting of toasted pine nuts, garlic, and parsley.
5. Buttery Shrimp with Peas and Potatoes Spring Dinner Recipes
This is a simple one-pan skillet dinner with soft shrimp, fresh shelling peas, and dill combined in a sweet and buttery broth laced with cream. Creamy new potatoes lend depth to the dish.
6. Steak and Carrot Tacos
Here, delicious Dinner Recipes, meaty skirt steak is served with warm handmade tortillas topped with roasted tiny (not baby!) carrots flavored with cumin seeds. To make a vegetarian version, roast mixed mushrooms in place of the steak.
7. Cod with Lemony Leeks, Snap Peas, and Herbs
Colu Henry, a food writer, gives cod the attention it deserves in this Dinner Recipes, which is served with crunchy snap peas as a finishing touch and aromatic leeks cooked in white wine and chicken broth.
8. Mafaldine with Pea Shoot—Meyer Lemon Pesto
Nutmeg toasted sunflower seed kernels and salty ricotta salata cheese offset the verdant pesto made with fresh pea shoots, parsley, and dill. Riffled mafaldine pasta works wonderfully with the vibrant sauce, but any textured pasta will do.
9. Brothy Braised Chicken Thighs with Fennel and Pernod
Bone-in chicken thighs are browned and simmered with leeks, fennel, and a tiny touch of Pernod, which brings out the fennel’s sharp licorice-like flavor. The Dinner Recipes is completed with a squeeze of lemon for brightness and a spray of fresh herbs after the chicken thighs have been braised. To complete this dish, all you need is a big piece of delicious, crusty bread to mop it up with.
10. Spring Puttanesca Pasta
In this 30-minute dish, Justin Chapple adds fresh chiles, spring onions, green olives, and arugula to a classic puttanesca pasta sauce for a seasonal twist.
11. Braised Sausage and Fennel with Toasted Spices
This straightforward braise, made with whole pink peppercorns and fennel seeds, is subtly fragrant and full of fresh spring tastes, reminiscent of chef Allison Plumer’s braised fennel at Red Hook Tavern in Brooklyn. Here, use a spicy, fresh sausage to balance the sweetness of the fennel and the creamy bean purée.
12. Spring Vegetable Paella
This paella is especially suitable for a spring Dinner Recipes party because it contains peas, asparagus, spinach, and mushrooms.
13. Seared Lamb Chops with Seared Endive, Asparagus, and Tahini Dressing
Cookbook author Klancy Miller finishes this springDinner Recipes meal with a garnish of fresh mint and other spring fruit, like grilled endives and asparagus.
14. Crispy Chicken Thighs with Spice-Roasted Radishes
This recipe highlights seasonal radishes, which are roasted along with chicken thighs and served with crisp fresh arugula. The finest aspect? The entire recipe just requires six ingredients, and it takes 45 minutes to prepare.
15. Palak “Paneer” with Pressed Fresh Ricotta
Extra time spent pressing the fresh ricotta solidifies into a block that can be sliced into cheese similar to paneer. Crispy, cheesy cubes that turn into cheese croutons when fried in ghee go well with the warm puree of cilantro and chili seasoning.
16. Crispy Grilled Lamb Pitas with Radish-Watercress Salad
This dish’s powerful, fatty lamb demands a bright, sharp counterpoint, so a salad of three kinds of radishes is served alongside it: cherry radishes for their crisp, juicy texture, watermelon radishes for their lovely magenta hue, and green daikon for a softer color but more pungent bite. This trio is seasoned with the simplest combination of lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper before becoming tangled in a mound of equally peppery watercress.
17. Chicken with Tarragon and Morels
After a brief soak in boiling water, dried morels produce an intensely delicious broth that further enhances the richness of the cream sauce. It’s traditional, cozy, and, on a chilly day, just as good—if not better—than a warm hug.
18. Butter-Basted Scallops with Spring Greens and Snap Peas
Seared sea scallops are paired with crisp-tender snap peas, spinach, and dandelion greens to create a very delightful and light main course.
19. Pasta with Asparagus and Mushrooms
The texture and flavor of the cecamariti in this Dinner Recipes are imparted by letting the pasta dough rise, much like bread dough, before rolling and shaping.
20. Salt-Cured Duck Breasts with Fava Beans and Sweet Peas
Chef Anne Quatrano uses an easy method to add flavor and moisture to these duck breasts: She lightly cures the meat by rubbing it with a mixture of fresh herbs and salt a few hours before pan-roasting it.
21. Garganelli with Speck, Peas, and Scallion Cream
This recipe for tubular garganelli pasta is loaded with garlicky sauce and sweet spring peas, giving every bite a delightful surprise. If you can’t find garganelli, feel free to substitute penne. The Dinner Recipes will still taste balanced if you omit the lemon and mint at the end.
22. Chicken Tagine with Artichoke Hearts and Peas
The late, great chef Joël Robuchon’s tagine recipe gains layers of flavor from a spicy broth. The dish’s artichoke hearts add a delightful springtime accent.
23. Snapper Zarandeado with Cal-Mex Spring Salad
Guajillo chiles and soy sauce in the mayonnaise rub create a great spicy, extra-savory crust on this fish. Serve the snapper Cal-Mex-style with a grilled spring vegetable salad.
