16 Spring Dinner Recipes to Keep in Your Back Pocket

British cooks Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley dress this vegetable-packed noodle salad with a deeply flavorful and tangy sun-dried tomato and Brazil nut pesto.

This fresh salad showcases contrasting textures and is finished with a tangy dressing.

A quintessential spring salad, this dish is refreshing and filling.

For this delicious springtime version of panzanella, chef Jeremy Fox tosses sunflower bread with asparagus, peas, cucumbers and sunflower sprouts.

With whole pink peppercorns and fennel seeds, this simple braise is gently perfumed and aromatic with fresh spring flavors inspired by the braised fennel at Red Hook Tavern in Brooklyn, from chef Allison Plumer. Use a fresh, spicy sausage here to complement the creamy bean puree and sweet fennel.

Sweet spring peas and garlicky sauce flood tubular garganelli pasta in this recipe, making each bite a surprise. Substitute penne if you can’t find garganelli, and don’t skip the lemon and mint at the end, which bring balance to the dish.

Klancy Miller rounds out this springtime dish with more spring produce—seared endives and asparagus—and a fresh mint garnish.

Colu Henry gives cod the elegant upgrade it deserves in this recipe, paired with flavorful leeks cooked in white wine and chicken broth, and crunchy snap peas for the finishing touch.

Allowing the pasta dough to rise (just like a bread dough) before rolling and shaping gives the cecamariti in this dish its characteristic texture and flavor.

Aaron Bertelsen’s refreshing soup is flavored with parsley and mint, and topped with even more herbs for a garnish.

Seasonal radishes shine in this recipe, roasted with chicken thighs and served over fresh arugula. The best part? There’s only six ingredients, and the whole thing comes together in 45 minutes.

Here, small (not baby!) carrots are roasted with fragrant cumin seeds, then served in warm homemade tortillas with juicy, meaty skirt steak. For a vegetarian version, swap out the steak for roasted mixed mushrooms.

This simple, refreshing salad has a light ingredient list; feel free to add a protein, like chicken, for a more substantial meal.

Cookbook author Melissa Clark takes inspiration from Caesar salad in this quinoa bowl, which includes a soft runny egg and a lemony, cheese-spiked dressing. Greens, sugar snap peas, and sliced radishes add seasonal flavor—you can easily enjoy this dish for lunch or dinner.

Dried morels get a quick soak in hot water, which renders a super-flavorful broth that adds another layer of richness to the cream sauce. It’s classic, comforting, and just as good, if not better, than a warm hug on a cold day.

The sour rye crumb here makes a great contrast to a creamy, rich soup. Slather extra sage butter on a slice of bread. Verjus, made from the juice of unripened wine grapes, is acidic but gentler than vinegar and helps balance the richness of this soup.