Our 25 Best Dinners That Use February Produce
As February wraps up, it's time to take advantage of this month's best fruits and veggies while there's still time. Citrus, leeks, broccoli, cabbage, kiwi, asparagus, fennel, beets and winter squash—all these fresh and flavorful ingredients have their centerstage moment during the shortest month of the year. Recipes like Kohlrabi, Leek & Gruyère Pizza or Easy Fish Tacos with Kiwi Salsa are perfect for weeknight entertaining, while others, like Broccoli Casserole or Butternut Squash & Black Bean Enchiladas, make for the perfect cozy night in.
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Easy Fish Tacos with Kiwi Salsa
These healthy fish tacos can be made with cod or any other firm white fish. A lively kiwi salsa and red cabbage brighten up the colors and flavors of the crispy tacos and complete this easy dinner recipe. The key to perfectly golden, crunchy fish is patience--let your oil get nice and hot before you add in the battered pieces. Dip an instant-read thermometer into the oil to make sure it's up to temp before you get cooking.
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Broccoli Casserole
The lightened-up luscious sauce elevates this easy casserole recipe over standard broccoli and cheese side dishes.
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Skillet Lemon Chicken & Potatoes with Kale
This easy one-pan skillet-roasted lemon chicken is perfect for weeknight dinners. Juicy chicken thighs are cooked in the same pan as baby potatoes and kale for a satisfying meal with the added bonus of minimal cleanup.
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Asparagus Tart
This asparagus tart is balanced by notes of savory Gruyère, fresh asparagus and creamy ricotta cheese. Sweet peas and honey round out the flavors, with a dash of heat coming from crushed red pepper.
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Butternut Squash & Black Bean Enchiladas
A crisp, citrusy slaw contrasts nicely with the enchiladas' creamy squash filling.
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Spicy Weight-Loss Cabbage Soup
Based on a popular weight-loss plan, this healthy cabbage soup recipe gets tons of flavor and a metabolism-boosting kick from spicy chiles.
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Korean Steak, Kimchi & Cauliflower Rice Bowls
Using riced cauliflower as the base of these "grain bowls" is an easy (and tasty!) way to up your vegetable servings. If you've ever wondered how to make those jammy eggs served with ramen, here you go! Let them simmer for 3 minutes more if you prefer a hard-set yolk.
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Kohlrabi, Leek & Gruyère Pizza
If you haven't tried kohlrabi yet, this is the perfect way to start. This easy pizza recipe with leeks, thyme and cheese is a great vehicle for eating the sweet, earthy vegetable.
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Slow-Cooker Braised Beef with Carrots & Turnips
The spice blend in this healthy beef stew recipe--cinnamon, allspice and cloves--may conjure images of apple pie, but the combo is a great fit in savory applications too. Serve over creamy polenta or buttered whole-wheat egg noodles.
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Green Goddess Salad
This gorgeous salad combines fresh shrimp, cucumber, artichoke hearts and cherry tomatoes with homemade green goddess dressing. The dressing is beautifully green and creamy with avocado (loaded with good-for-you fats) and fresh herbs. Buttermilk and a dash of rice vinegar add tang.
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Roasted Gnocchi & Brussels Sprouts with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
In this quick vegetarian dinner recipe, you can skip boiling the gnocchi--they'll cook through while roasting on the sheet pan with the rest of the ingredients. If you can't find Meyer lemons, use 1 small regular lemon in Step 2 and use 4 teaspoons lemon juice and 2 teaspoons orange juice in Step 4.
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Lemon-Herb Salmon with Caponata & Farro
Dig into your farmers' market haul to cook this colorful and healthy Mediterranean diet dinner recipe that's packed with vegetables. Feel free to swap in any vegetables or cook up another whole grain, such as brown rice. Serve with a glass of your favorite red wine.
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Lemony Linguine with Spring Vegetables
Instead of cooking pasta in a huge pot of water, here we use just 3 1/2 cups for this one-pot pasta recipe. When the pasta is al dente, most of the water has evaporated and the bit that's left is thickened with the starch that cooks off the pasta. With just a few add-ins like lemon and Parmesan cheese you have a delicious silky sauce. Want to use up your veggie stash in the freezer? Swap in 8 ounces frozen spinach for fresh.
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Lamb & Spinach One-Pot Pasta
A few stirs with a wooden spoon and only one pot--that's all you need for this quick weeknight pasta recipe. As the starch cooks off into the pasta water, it creates a creamy sauce to coat your vegetables and meat.
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Baked Asparagus & Cheese Frittata
Perfect for a spring brunch or light supper, this Italian omelet is baked so it is easy to serve to a group.
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Roast Pork, Asparagus & Cherry Tomato Bowl
In this healthy grain bowl dinner recipe, hummus may seem like an unconventional dressing ingredient, but here we thin it with some hot water to make a rich, creamy drizzle.
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Spring Vegetable Minestra with Mint & Basil Pistou
If you don't already stash Parmesan rinds in your freezer, look for them at a supermarket with a specialty cheese section—ask for them if they're not prepackaged. You'll need six to eight rinds.
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Buttermilk Fried Tofu with Smoky Collard Greens
Dipping tofu in buttermilk makes the coating stick for a crispy pan-fried tofu, reminiscent of fried chicken. Spicing up the collards with paprika coats them with smoky flavor while keeping this dish vegetarian. And this quick, easy and healthy dinner comes together in just 25 minutes, so it's great for busy weeknights.
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Borscht with Beef
Even people who think they don't like beets love this vibrantly colored, vegetable-packed borscht soup recipe, inspired by the legendary borscht soup served at New York's Russian Tea Room. Plenty of mushrooms, cabbage and carrots along with a judicious amount of beef make this healthy borscht recipe special.
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Chicken Paillards with Blood Orange Pan Sauce
Each part of the blood orange (zest, segments, juice) lends a layer of flavor--sweet, tart, pungent--to this sophisticated yet speedy-to-prepare dish. Thin-pounded paillards of chicken breast cook quickly and evenly; pork would be great here too.
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Cheesy Spinach-&-Artichoke Stuffed Spaghetti Squash
This spaghetti-squash-for-pasta swap slashes both carbs and calories by 75 percent for a delicious, creamy casserole you can feel good about eating. It's worth roasting the squash versus cooking it in the microwave if you have the time: the flavor gets sweeter and more intense.
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Spicy Noodles with Pork, Scallions & Bok Choy
These spicy noodles are inspired by a Chinese dish called Ants Climbing a Tree, named for the way the small pieces of ground pork (the "ants") cling to the noodles (the "tree"). The twist in these healthy noodles comes from adding vegetables like scallions and bok choy.
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Shrimp and Cauliflower Bake
This quick and easy seafood casserole gets bright flavor from fresh dill and feta cheese.
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Leek & Lemon Linguine
This simple pasta recipe has bold lemony flavor. It's nice with a salad for a light supper or serve it along with seared fish, shrimp or chicken. Vary it as you please--add a bit of crumbled goat cheese, chopped rinsed capers, shelled edamame or thin strips of yellow bell pepper.
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Green Pizza
Why not use cooler-weather vegetables like broccoli and arugula as an unconventional pizza topping? The arugula adds a slightly bitter, peppery taste--for a milder flavor, use spinach instead. Serve with wedges of fresh tomato tossed with vinegar, olive oil, basil and freshly ground pepper.