Chickpea Salad

Fresh veggies, herbs, and a zesty dressing add bold flavor to this chickpea salad recipe. Healthy and satisfying, it's perfect for picnics and lunches!

You can never have enough chickpea salad recipes in your back pocket, right? I definitely feel that way, and I hope you do too, because even though there are already *several* chickpea salads on this blog, this NEW chickpea salad recipe is a total keeper. It’s filled with fresh Mediterranean flavors—crispy cucumbers play off juicy tomatoes, which in turn contrast with the tender chickpeas. Briny olives and pickled onions add a delicious pop, and handfuls of herbs freshen the whole thing up. A zippy lemon dressing ties it all together. This chickpea salad is healthy, satisfying, flavorful, and fresh. It’s…

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Peanut Noodles

This peanut noodles recipe is a quick, delicious meal! You can stir together the spicy, creamy peanut sauce while the noodles cook. So easy!

Peanut noodles are one of the most crave-able meals. The gooey noodles, the creamy sauce, crunchy veggies, and refreshing herbs… Luckily for us, this peanut noodles recipe is just as easy as it is delicious. You can stir together the peanut sauce in a single bowl, and the only component that requires cooking is the noodles. Even with the fresh toppings, the whole dish comes together in less than 30 minutes. It’s a quick option for a weeknight dinner, and leftovers pack up perfectly for lunch the next day. Ok, I’m craving peanut noodles now. Anyone else? Let’s cook! Peanut…

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21 Asparagus Recipes to Make This Spring

Celebrate spring with our best asparagus recipes! Fresh, bright, and easy to make, they include pastas, risottos, salads, side dishes, and more.

I start daydreaming about asparagus recipes as soon as I notice the first signs of spring. If I see daffodils shooting up in front of a neighbor’s house, I crave an asparagus frittata. If I glimpse green buds forming on a tree, I want a bowl of asparagus soup. And if the temperature rises above 60°F, I’m already at the grocery store getting the ingredients for pasta primavera. What can I say? After a long winter filled with root veggies and squash, asparagus recipes are an exciting change. They’re fresh, bright, and often quick to prepare—the beginning of the easy,…

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Kale Caesar Salad

This kale Caesar salad features tender greens, garlic croutons, and a creamy homemade dressing. Serve it as a flavor-packed side or a meal all on its own.

If you think a traditional Caesar salad is good, wait until you try this kale Caesar salad! It features everything you love about a classic Caesar. It has crisp romaine, garlicky croutons, a creamy, savory dressing, and Parmesan cheese, but I throw leafy green kale into the mix too. The dark, curly leaves make the salad feel lush and abundant. Plus, once they’re massaged with olive oil and a little salt, they take on a tender texture that contrasts beautifully with the crunchy lettuce. This kale Caesar salad recipe would be a perfect side dish for any meal this season…

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Wild Rice Pilaf

This wild rice pilaf is flecked with shaved Brussels sprouts, herbs, and roasted vegetables. It's a fresh, festive side dish for the holidays or any meal.

This wild rice pilaf is a simple combination of some of my favorite fall ingredients. It starts with chewy, nutty wild rice. Then, I add caramelized roasted sweet potatoes and umami shallots. I toss in some shaved Brussels sprouts, which wilt against the heat of the freshly cooked rice and roasted veggies, and I finish it with dried cranberries, toasted pecans, and lots of thyme and parsley. I love eating this wild rice pilaf for lunch in the fall, the wild rice and roasted sweet potatoes making it hearty enough to be a satisfying meal on its own. But this…

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Farro Salad

Farro adds delicious chewy texture and nutty flavor to this fresh, versatile salad recipe. Enjoy it for a healthy lunch, or serve it as an easy side dish.

I don’t think I’ll ever stop experimenting with new farro salad recipes. This chewy, nutty grain lends itself well to all sorts of ingredient combinations, and there’s nothing I enjoy more than stumbling across a really good one that I haven’t tried before. I first made this farro salad recipe earlier this fall as a way to use up odds and ends we had on hand in the fridge. Arugula, radicchio, most of an apple… I loved the way the nutty farro played off the bitter greens, the sweet fruit, and some salty, funky pecorino cheese I tossed in at…

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Lentil Salad

Add this lentil salad recipe to your lunch rotation ASAP! Packed with fresh veggies, olives, and feta, it's super flavorful and great for meal prep.

This lentil salad recipe is helping me ease into a new lunch routine. After a summer filled with picnic leftovers and impromptu farmers market meals, I’m trying to get back in the rhythm of doing at least a little meal prep at the start of the week. That way, at lunchtime, I’m not totally stumped by what to eat. Luckily, this lentil salad recipe is simple to make, so it’s a breeze to put together on a Sunday. It also tastes so good that I don’t mind eating it for a few days on repeat. I douse al dente lentils,…

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Tabbouleh

This version of tabbouleh - the Middle Eastern herb and bulgur salad - is zingy, fragrant, and SO refreshing. Perfect for a mezze platter or picnic!

Herbs are arguably my favorite fresh ingredients, so it should come as no surprise that I love tabbouleh. Alternatively spelled tabouli or tabouleh, this Middle Eastern salad consists of finely chopped parsley, mint, tomatoes, and bulgur wheat. Don’t let the bulgur’s presence fool you – traditional Lebanese tabbouleh isn’t so much a grain salad as it is an herb salad with grains. The parsley and mint are the real star ingredients, making the salad pungent, fragrant, and intensely refreshing. You’ll find my go-to tabbouleh recipe below. If you love bright, herbaceous flavors, it’s one you have to try. Pack it up…

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Panzanella

Filled with ripe, juicy tomatoes and crusty bread, this panzanella salad is a delicious summer meal. A shower of fresh basil takes it over the top.

It’s official: I can’t make it through a summer without sharing a new panzanella recipe. To me, this Italian bread salad is the perfect template for turning whatever produce I happen to have on hand into a fresh-yet-satisfying meal. Sweet corn? Peaches? Peppers? Yep, I’ve panzanella-ed them all. Of course, traditionally, panzanella isn’t an any-vegetable-goes kind of salad. It originated in Tuscany as a way to use up stale bread, and tomatoes were always a key ingredient. Their juices soak into the bread, softening it and giving it flavor. Onions, basil, and a tangy vinaigrette round out the dish. Earlier…

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Easy Vegan Coleslaw

This vegan coleslaw is the perfect summer side dish. A creamy, sweet, and tangy dressing coats lots of crunchy veggies - no one'll guess that it's vegan!

This easy vegan coleslaw is the perfect side dish for a summer cookout, picnic, or BBQ. It tastes just like classic coleslaw, but the ingredients all happen to be 100% plant-based. A creamy, sweet, and tangy dressing coats crunchy cabbage, carrots, and scallions. Set it out at your next gathering with whatever you’re grilling, and I promise, it’ll be a hit! No one will guess that this coleslaw is vegan. Vegan Coleslaw Recipe Ingredients This vegan coleslaw recipe calls for 10 simple ingredients: Cabbage – I love using a mix of red cabbage and green cabbage to create a blend…

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Tomato Salad

This tomato salad recipe is the ULTIMATE summer side dish! Full of juicy, ripe tomatoes and fresh herbs, it's simple, flavorful, and refreshing.

You can’t beat this tomato salad recipe in the summertime. It’s super simple—it calls for 8 ingredients and comes together in under 10 minutes—but it’ll still impress anyone you serve it to. Thick wedges of heirloom tomatoes mingle with crisp red onion, fruity olive oil, tangy red wine vinegar, and fresh herbs. It’s light, refreshing, and incredibly flavorful, largely because summer tomatoes are just so good. Enjoy this tomato salad with crisp white wine and crusty bread for sopping up any tomatoey juices left on your plate. Happy summer, friends! Tomato Salad Recipe Ingredients Here’s what you’ll need to make…

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A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.