I’m so excited for all these recipe ideas to help you figure out what to make with fresh August produce, because it is just so outstanding.

Many of us on the Cool Mom Eats team made the leap to CSA memberships when Covid limited our access to local farmer’s markets, and we’ve stuck with it! CSAs are great for so many reasons, but sometimes we get a few ingredients that we aren’t used to cooking with. In my opinion, that can be fun. But also, a little work.

Or, maybe you’re finding incredible deals at your local market, and just can’t help buying way too many peas, beans, carrots, fat bunches of leafy greens, or juicy heirloom tomatoes.

(Of course you can never have too many.)

So, I want to share some of may favorite delicious recipes to make with fresh August produce that might not be in your ordinary weekly grocery haul.

Related: What to make with the veggies you might find in your July CSA box

What to make with August produce: Let’s goooooo!

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What to make with fresh beans and peas

Of course, you can always just steam some fresh beans and serve them as a side at dinner, but there are other creative ways to use them that my family really enjoys.

• Fresh shelled peas are perfect in any of these creative summer pasta salad.
• Add them to potato salad if you want some veggies in there.
• I love adding green beans to fried rice. This Blistered Green Beans and Basil Fried Rice recipe also lets you do something with the abudance of basil right now.
• Sugar snap peas are also perfect for stir fry.
• Try this Sautéed Shrimp and Fava Bean Pasta recipe from Serving Dumplings if you’re not sure what to do with fava beans in an August CSA Box.
• Make this smooth Egyptian fava bean dip with cumin from Where Is My Spoon to stash in the fridge, then bring out with pita bread or chips for easy, healthy snacks.

If you’re a fried rice family by the way (we all are!) just sure you have a good fry pan or better yet — a great wok. The 13.5″ Yosukata carbon steel wok pan is only $56 on sale at Amazon including an additional on-site coupon, and rated best of the best by both Tasting Table and Serious Eats.

What to do with make with a lot of fresh carrots

Your CSA box may come with more carrots then you know what to do with. My kids like to pull fresh carrots from our garden, brush them off, and eat them right then and there; but there are a lot more options, if you can actually make it from your car to your kitchen without eating them right there!

• Use carrot tops to make pesto with this recipe from What’s She Cooking.
• Also use carrot tops in homemade vegetable stock with this recipe at Fork in the Road.
• Pickle carrots quickly and easily with this recipe at Randa Nutrition.
• Use a spiralizer with carrots then add to Asian rice bowls or veggie-rich summer quinoa bowls to add some sweetness.
• Get out a good blender and add carrots to your juice or smoothie blend, like this Crimson Sunset drink recipe at Moon Crumb.
• And, of course, don’t forget carrot cake! I’m loving this carrot apple snack cake from Minimalist Baker right now which taste extra delicious with those fresh carrots from your garden or an August CSA box

Related: How to make carrots taste like bacon, because yes, carrot bacon is a thing

What to make with fresh bell peppers

I can never get enough fresh bell peppers in my CSA box! And they always taste so much better than what you get from the supermarket. Here are some ideas for what to do with August’s crop of bell peppers:

• Slice fresh bell peppers up to add to stir fry — maybe with those peas, above.
• Make an easy sizzling pan of fajitas with peppers and sweet onions, with this authentic recipe from Villa Cocina.
• Dice up fresh peppers to brighten a fresh homemade salsa  — also a great way to use up bruised tomatoes.
• Diced peppers are great in the easy vegetarian omelette from Spruce Eats for breakfast or even dinner. Or just experiment, tossing in other veggies, spinach, goat cheese, you name it.
• Slice up fresh bell pepper strips to dip in hummus, or let the kids crunch away with ranch dressing.
• Make peppers the focus of your dinner with this outstanding stuffed pepper recipe from Salt & Lavender. It’s kid-friendly and I love it too. 
• Bister red peppers on your outdoor grill — a grill basket is a huge help — then add to pretty much anything. I like this recipe for Mediterranean Black Bean Burgers at Our Happy Mess.
• Think sauces to change up your flavor profiles for a weeknight meals: You can find a delicious red pepper sauce recipe to accompany seafood at The Cozy Apron.

What to make with fresh corn

Fresh corn! One of the very best things about August produce and to find some in an August CSA box is always a treat! First off, you have to read Jane Sweeney’s top corn on the cob tips and hacks — they’re brilliant!

• First off, you have to read our editor Liz’s tips for how to boil corn on the cob perfectly, because whatever you’ve been doing may be wrong…or at least, optimized.
• If it’s not brutally hot out, you may want to serve corn straight from the grill.I like to switch it up with this Mexican Street Corn recipe at My Latina Table…or make a street-corn inspired salad, like this one at Pass Me Some Tasty.
• This Chipotle Cheddar Corn Chowder at Halfbaked Harvest is a great comfort food recipe that still has a summery flavor to it.
• And don’t forget salads! A grilled peach, tomato and corn salad at Cherry On My Sundae is an incredible side dish to accompany nearly any fish or meat seared on the grill, or as a vegetarian dinner all on its own.

Related: Our favorite corn on the cob hacks and serving ideas

What to make with fresh tomatoes

Hooray – this is the month tomatoes are at their peak! I know they are technically a fruit, but go with me here.

The tomatoes in our August CSA box are nothing like the mealy blobs in the supermarket over the winter. This time of year, my kids like to pop tomatoes in their mouths like candy, but I do try to save a few from our August haul to make these recipes. Of course, the recipes and uses for tomatoes really are limitless, so I’m just sharing a few of my own favorites to give you some inspiration. You take it from there.

• Start with Jane Sweeney’s list o f6 favorite no-cook recipes using fresh tomatoes and basil in season. (Okay, the ravioli recipe requires boiling some water for the pasta, but the sauce is no cook.
• If you’re going to make a caprese salad, be sure to get the best mozarella you can, and drizzle with an excellent olive oil. The olive oils from Brightland get a lot of kudos from chefs and food editors for good reason — totally worth it!

  

• A perfect bruschetta recipe, like this one at Cooking on the Ranch, showcases those tomatoes beautifully.
• Roast tomatoes to get their full flavor: these baked tomatoes Provencal at Vanilla Bean Cuisine look incredible.
• This simple roasted tomato soup from PK’s kitchen equations is a tomato recipe you can’t go wrong with in summer.
• And hey… gazpacho recipes galore! Chilled soups keep so well in the fridge I can eat them all week.
• Liz also swears by Julia Moskin’s Blender Gazpacho Recipe in the NYT which is drinkable from a glass, like they serve it in Spain.
• The savory tomato pie at House of Nash Eats is my absolute favorite for an easy summer lunch.

What to make with fresh kale and dark leafy greens (besides salad)

If you’re getting tired of boring lettuce salads, there are so many other ways to use all those greens in your August CSA box deliciously.

• To start, we always toss some kale in our morning fruit smoothies. It’s a healthy smoothie add-in, the kids don’t notice the taste, and it gives us loads of vitamins.
• Wilted dark, leafy greens like kale are a simple but tasty addition the fabulous ricotta baked eggs recipe at The Original Dish
• At dinner time, use greens in an easy bibimbap bowl using this recipe from Minimalist Baker.
• If you’re making homemade marinara sauce for spaghetti or lasagna, throw a handful of greens there before you blend.
• Kale can also be a good way to freshen up jarred sauce and make it taste more like homemade.
• For a showstopper, this garden greens pizza at Halfbaked Harvest probably isn’t what you immediately think of when it comes to DIY pizza toppings, but whoa it looks good.

Photo Credits via unsplash: Adam Jaime, Kateryna Hliznitsova,  Karolina Kołodziejczak, Fernanda Méndez, Olivie Strauss, Content Pixie

Tags: easy recipes, no-cook recipes, recipes, summer, tips and tricks, vegetables