15 vegetarian recipes using July produce

In-season produce is cheaper, tastier, and fresher (which means it lasts long enough that it won’t go bad in your veggie drawer or fruit bowl). Check out these recipes for some of the best options in Maryland during the month of July.

As a matter of principle, we do not turn on our oven in July. It’s too hot. All the following recipes are no-cook, or use only the stovetop.

All of our shopping and nutrition info come from the USDA website.

Apricots

The best apricots are plump and firm with a deep orange color. Avoid soft ones, as well as fruits with cracks or white spots.

• Apricots with Herbed Goat Cheese (Taste of Home). This recipe calls for a mini food processor, which we think is a great investment for a student kitchen. The mini ones cost as little as $21, and they make food prep so much faster. If you don’t have one, just let the cheese soften a bit, chop the herbs separately, and stir them together.
• Golden Couscous with Apricots and Crispy Onions (BBC Good Foods). The “golden” color of this savory-sweet vegan side dish comes from turmeric. If you don’t have caster sugar, it’s fine to substitute regular sugar.
• Protein Apricot Parfait (The Dairy Alliance). Start your day with this three-ingredient recipe.

Green Beans

Choose firm, deeply colored beans; avoid soft and wrinkled ones.

• Green Bean and Tomato Salad with Buttermilk Dressing (Bon Appetit). If you don’t have buttermilk, substitute yogurt or sour cream. You can also add a ½ tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to a ½ cup of milk (including plant milks) and let it sit for 10 minutes to thicken.
• Pasta Salad with Peas and Summer Beans (Martha Stewart). This recipe cooks the pasta and all the veggies in the same water, which is a big time saver.
• Spicy Green Beans with Lemon and Garlic (Alison Roman). This make-ahead recipe benefits from a day (or at least a half hour) chilling in the fridge.

Blackberries

Choose shiny berries that aren’t bruised, leaking juice, or moldy. Berries can spoil quickly, so use them within a few days of purchase.

• Blackberry Basil Salad (Feasting at Home). This recipe makes the most of fresh summer blackberries.
• Blackberry Caprese Grilled Cheese (Life as a Strawberry). Give this diner classic a fruity gourmet glow-up.
• Raspberry Blackberry Smoothies (All Recipes). Raspberries are in season during July too! When they’re not, frozen fruit would work just fine in this recipe.

Beets

You can eat both the root and the leaves of these vegetables, which come in red, golden, white, orange, pink, and striped varieties. Cut the greens off the vegetable before storing separately; the leaves will draw moisture out of the beet, leaving it dry and flavorless.

• Beet-Pickled Eggs (Feel Good Foodie). Pre-cooked beets, hard-boiled eggs, a mason jar, vinegar, sugar, salt, and time create a snack that can be stored for up to three months.
• Red Beet and White Bean Hummus (Weelicious). What if hummus was pink? If you don’t feel like roasting your own beets, pre-cooked ones can be a great time-saving and heat-avoiding hack.
• Tartines with Wasabi-Ginger Beet and Avocado (Forks over Knives). Japan meets France in this avo toast recipe. Use a box grater to shred the beet.

Cantaloupe

Buy sweet-smelling, heavy melons. Wash the melon, rind and all, before slicing, and scoop out the seeds before eating.

• Cantaloupe Soup (Food Network). The secret ingredient is nonalcoholic sparking cider.
• Easy Cantaloupe Sorbet (What Great Grandma Ate). Vegan, gluten-free, and so pretty.
• Salted Cantaloupe (Nourishing Days). How can just two ingredients be so refreshing?