Quick spring recipes for easy dinners and lunches

Don’t waste time in the kitchen this springtime. Enjoy the warmer weather and all that spring has to offer with these quick spring recipes. Featuring savoury meals starring spring vegetables, light pasta recipe ideas, one-pan wonders and more, our collection of quick, easy spring recipes are perfect for fuss-free meals this season.

We have spring dinner recipes and simple lunches galore. Try our poached chicken salad with blue cheese and just-tender asparagus the next time you’re looking for a breezy salad. Or our prawn linguine with semi-fried tomatoes and Pintxo-style chopped steak sandwiches, both of which are perfect for weeknight dinners (especially when you’re not in the mood to cook). Plus, more spring dinner ideas starring fresh spring vegetables such as green beans, spring peas, and roasted asparagus. For easy weeknight dinners or an evening of entertaining, our recipes for fried tortillas with broad beans, feta and lime or our harissa-roasted cauliflower recipe always deliver.

These are our best spring recipes to celebrate the season.

Cauliflower and egg “fried rice”

A fast and easy way to up your vegetable count.

A plate of barbecued chicken thighs on a mint green background.

Hellenika’s chicken souvlaki

You’ve never had chicken souvlaki this good. This recipe, courtesy of Brisbane’s Hellenika, is sure to become your new go-to.

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Coconut and cherry frangipane tart recipe

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Baby vegetable slaw with grapefruit and tarragon

This elegant no-fuss slaw will bring colour and freshness to any feast.

Asparagus and ricotta pizze bianche

Asparagus and ricotta pizze bianche recipe – For pizza dough, combine olive oil, yeast, sugar, ½ tsp salt and 320ml lukewarm water in a bowl and set aside until foamy (2-3 minutes).

Lamb koftas with beetroot salad

Fast, fresh and flavoursome – this one’s the whole package.

Harissa chicken with carrot, rice and quinoa pilaf

Chicken, boring? Things look up with the addition of harissa, the North African spice paste.

Fried tortillas with broad beans, feta and lime

Crisp tortillas, creamy feta and avocado, green leaves and dainty edible flowers all dressed up with coriander and lime. Think nachos, but spring-salad style.

Carrot and chilli fritters with eggplant pickle and yoghurt

These fritters are the perfect way to get your five serves of vegetables in. Packed with carrot and served with natural yoghurt, these little beauties are a dinnertime champion.

Thin slices of beetroot on an orange plate on top of nut cream and orange juice vinaigrette topped with nasturtium leaves.

Roasted beetroot carpaccio

Shake things up at your next dinner party by serving everything plant-based. Starting with this roasted beetroot carpaccio, your guests won’t miss their meat.

Matt Stone’s raw zucchini, pine nut and miso salad

A pretty-as-a-picture dish for spring.

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Blue-eye trevalla with skordalia, lemon, potatoes and fennel

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fast prawn linguine is the best of all dinner ideas

Prawn linguine with semi-dried tomatoes and olives

A summery prawn pasta that’s a no-fuss midweek meal? Yes please.

Blue cheese and asparagus salad with poached chicken

Poached chicken asparagus salad with blue cheese

This is an ultra-elevated take on a chicken salad — with bite.

Broccoli and cauliflower Peruvian fried rice

This quick and easy Peruvian fried rice is the perfect meal to get your five serves of vegetables in.

Tofu poke bowl with pickled carrot

Tofu poke bowl with pickled carrot recipe – For pickled carrot, combine ingredients in a bowl, season to taste and stand at room temperature to pickle for 1 hour.

seared tuna salad with spring vegetables and leafy greens

Seared tuna with baby spring greens

Poke bowls have had their moment. Here’s a vibrant seasonal salad that transcends trends.

A white plate with fried corn fritters and roasted cherry tomatoes, garnished with chopped and whole shallots.

Corn and buttermilk fritters

Patties we’d happily eat any meal of the day.

Kung pao chicken

This Sichuanese classic can do no wrong.

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Beetroot salad with feta and lentils

We all know someone who thinks salads are boring. Consider them converted with this flavour-packed number.

Harissa-roasted cauliflower with preserved-lemon dressing

A warm vegetarian salad that punches above its weight in the flavour stakes.

Roasted cauliflower, Brussels sprout and chickpea salad

A warm roast vegetable salad, brightened with chimichurri.

Farinata with blistered tomatoes and chilli chickpeas

These breakfast crepes are topped with chickpeas for an extra protein boost.

Broccoli sang choi bau

This vegetarian twist on an old favourite uses broccoli and shiitake mushrooms to create a textural, light filling.

E’cco’s zucchini salad with pecorino, currants, sunflower seeds and lemon

A spring-ready salad with the added crunch of sunflower seeds.

potato and mushroom tortilla donner recipe

Potato tortilla with marinated mushrooms

A speedy dinner idea for the cooler months.

Spanish-style chopped steak open sandwich recipe

Pintxo-style chopped steak sandwiches

A speedy steak snack that’ll transport you to a Spanish wine bar at first bite.

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Tony Tan’s eggplant and broad beans with soy-sesame dressing

You love eggplant but you’re short on time. This is the recipe for you.

Zucchini flower, asparagus and fennel salad

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Roasted cauliflower salad with yoghurt dressing and almonds

Roasted cauliflower adds extra depth of flavour to this hefty salad.

steak-topped-with-mushrooms-and-a-side-salad

Barbecued hanger steak with cacio e pepe mushrooms

A cacio e pepe sauce makes everything better.

Portuguese chicken skewers with tomato salad and flatbread

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Farro with pancetta, peas and mascarpone

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Lamb with torn bread, broad bean and mint salad

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Chicken salad with asparagus and quinoa

If you’ve got the time, toast the quinoa in a little grapeseed oil until it’s golden brown before adding the water – it adds a great nutty flavour that works well with the asparagus.

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Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%

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Asparagus and soba noodle salad with furikake pine nuts

Make it a meal: for a more substantial dish, stir-fry prawns in sesame oil and garlic and toss through the noodles.

Miso broth with spring vegetables and tofu

Miso broth with broad beans and tofu

A vegetarian broth that still packs a umami punch.

Broad beans with peas and spiced walnuts

The Agrarian Kitchen’s broad beans and peas with spiced walnuts

Walnuts add a spice hit to this breezy spring side.

FAQs

What food is popular in spring?

Spring in Australia is synonymous with warmer days, beautiful blooms and fresh fruit and vegetables at their prime. From green vegetables like asparagus, peas, broad beans and leafy greens to beetroot, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and fennel, spring produce abounds. With that comes a plethora of meal options, whether you’re after lighter, brighter salads or you’re in the mood for baking with in-season grapefruits, lemons or blood oranges. Spring into seasonal cooking with more of our spring recipe ideas.

The Gourmet Traveller Team

Gourmet Traveller is Australia’s trusted authority on food, travel and luxury lifestyle, bringing the latest news and trends to life through quality journalism, enticing recipes and evocative photography. For more than 55 years, it has been inspiring and informing Australians with the best in cooking, dining, travelling and shopping. Our critics bring the expertise of years of critical eating, drinking and writing to the table. Plus, as the country’s leading title in the luxury sector, Gourmet Traveller works closely with Australia’s leaders in the travel and hospitality industries to give our readers exclusive access. The Gourmet Traveller legacy is one of trust, prestige and relevance.

Author Monique Foy Senior Content Producer

An English major with a penchant for anchovies on toast and the ocean, Monique Foy got her start at Gourmet Traveller after an existential crisis and career pivot. Originally a digital marketer at global media agencies and a stint as an SEO writer, Monique threw caution to the wind one Wednesday and decided to pursue her true passion – writing, of the food and drinks variety. Since then, she’s had her work published in Broadsheet and Urban List, and she joins Gourmet Traveller as Senior Content Producer with the intention to continue adding funky venues and quaint new wine bars to her growing iPhone notes section. Cin cin!

FAQs

What food is popular in spring?

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