How about pizza tonight? It’s hard to beat classic pesto pizza. This simple vegetarian pizza recipe is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. It offers an irresistible combination of fresh, bright flavors from the basil pesto and tomatoes, plenty of cheesy mozzarella, and a bubbling crust with a satisfying chew.

This easy pesto pizza recipe comes together quickly with the help of your food processor. You can whip together the dough and pesto in about 15 minutes—just wipe down the processor in between the two components. If you’re looking for a super simple weeknight meal that’s better than take-out, use store-bought dough and pesto instead!

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It’s hard to beat a bowl of pesto pasta. Today, I’m sharing a classic basil pesto pasta recipe from start to finish! You’ll learn how to make basil pesto from scratch and toss it with freshly cooked noodles in perfect proportions.

I like my pesto pasta saucy, so I used a generous amount of pesto here, which is more affordable when you’re making your own pesto. It takes ten minutes or less to make pesto in a food processor, but you could certainly use store-bought pesto if you have a favorite brand.

This vibrant pesto pasta is quick and easy to make for dinner on a weeknight. It’s also a lovely side dish to serve at a dinner party or casual summer cookout. Get ready for the best pasta pasta you’ve ever had.

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Avocado pesto is a deliciously creamy and fun variation on classic basil pesto. This avocado pesto recipe replaces the olive oil with avocado, in addition to the usual basil, Parmesan and pine nuts (in these photos, I used pepitas instead, which are lovely as well). A squeeze of fresh lemon brightens and complements the flavors, and helps keep the avocado green.

You can use avocado pesto on pasta, of course. It makes a stellar veggie dip and sandwich spread, too. You’ll find more uses and tips for it below. The one caveat is that avocados brown with time, so it’s best used immediately or stored in a jar until you’re ready to serve.

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Arugula pesto is one of my favorite recipe components. It deserves the spotlight! If you enjoy arugula and basil pesto, you’ll love arugula pesto. It’s just as lovely as the regular kind.

As much as I appreciate traditional pesto made with basil, arugula pesto has a few advantages. For one, it offers an interesting twist on a familiar flavor profile. It’s also less expensive—buying fresh basil can add up at the grocery store. Year-round, it’s generally easier to find good arugula than basil. Lastly, arugula pesto doesn’t turn brown on the top like basil pesto can (no blanching required).

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Here’s a fun take on roasted broccoli! Regular roasted broccoli is forever and always one of my go-to side dishes, but this cheesy smashed broccoli recipe takes it up a few notches in the flavor and texture departments. Smashing the broccoli tenderizes it and provides a flatter surface for loading up with cheese. The method is slightly more involved, naturally, but it’s not too fussy.

Basically, we roast the broccoli until tender, smash it, top it with Parmesan cheese, and bake it for a few more minutes. The broccoli is tender, craggy and golden with crispy bits around the edges where the cheese meets the pan. A little sprinkle of red pepper flakes (optional) and a squeeze of lemon juice ramp up the flavor.

The results are not super crisp like French fries, but they’re nearly French fry-like in irresistibility. I have to stop myself before I eat the whole batch!

If you are a broccoli lover, this recipe is most certainly for you. If you have any broccoli-averse family members, this recipe might win them over. Serve it with dinner tonight?

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Trust me, you need this lemony kale salad recipe. It might not look like much at first glance, but this hearty green salad is boldly flavored and just what you need to round out tonight’s dinner.

This simple kale salad features finely shredded Tuscan kale tossed in a bold, lemony dressing with freshly-grated pecorino romano or Parmesan cheese.

Tuscan kale goes by many names—you might know it as lacinato kale, dinosaur kale or cavolo nero (literally “black cabbage” in Italian). It’s less curly than standard kale, which makes it easier to stack, roll and thinly slice. Once prepared, this salad is almost slaw-like in texture. It’s really irresistible.

This food blog has no less than 22 kale salad recipes already, plus this kale salad roundup with tips. But the collection truly isn’t complete without this one, which draws heavy inspiration from the mother of all kale salads created by Joshua McFadden in 2007.

I always order a salad like this one when we eat at True Foods Kitchen. The main difference between this salad and the aforementioned kale salads is that this recipe omits the bread crumbs, though you can certainly add them if you wish. I tried with and without, and the bread crumbs didn’t do a whole lot in terms of flavor and don’t keep well on the salad for leftovers.

You’ll find the recipe and instructional video below. I’m also sharing my best tips to help you create consistently flavored batches of salad, which is honestly tricky!

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This creamy pumpkin mac and cheese recipe comes together in one pot. It’s really quite easy to make. You don’t even drain the pasta cooking water.

Thanks to the pumpkin, this dish is extra creamy, golden and flavorful. Naturally, it’s lighter than your typical homemade mac and cheese. On cool fall evenings, this mac and cheese will warm you up without putting you to sleep.

This easy autumnal pasta recipe will delight the whole family. Leftovers reheat well for the next few days, and even freeze well enough for our toddler’s future meals.

This recipe is a derivative of my Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese recipe, which has been a big hit. While that recipe relies on roasted butternut squash for depth of flavor, this recipe calls for canned pumpkin purée.

To make up for the roasted flavor, this recipe benefits from deeply toasting spices in butter—pumpkin spice blend, garlic powder and onion powder. Then, we cook a can of pumpkin purée in the flavored butter for a minute before adding pasta and water. Later on, we’ll stir in some cream cheese, sharp cheddar cheese and Parmesan. The end result is magical.

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Creamed spinach can go right or wrong, and this creamed spinach recipe is just right. The creaminess comes from cream cheese rather than heavy cream, which offers some delectable tanginess. Fresh baby spinach cooks down in mere minutes, no chopping required, so this recipe is ready in roughly twenty minutes.

Creamed spinach will never be the prettiest menu item on your Thanksgiving table, but the verdant color of freshly cooked spinach will liven up otherwise beige plates. The more greens the better, I say.

I didn’t grow up with creamed spinach at our Thanksgiving suppers. I’ve found it on steakhouse menus while searching for vegetarian options. The name “creamed spinach” doesn’t sound terribly enticing, does it?

I wasn’t sold on the general concept until I realized that it’s almost like spinach dip in side dish form. Creamed spinach earned my full attention in that moment.

After some trial and error, I’m sharing this recipe because I think it’s worthy of your attention, too. It’s delicious, creamy, comforting and just so nice!

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Broccoli, pesto, and green olives—believe it! This pasta recipe tastes so fresh. It’s perfectly suited for springtime dinners, though I think you’ll want to keep it in your repertoire for the rest of the year. It’s a fun spin on classic pesto pasta that incorporates extra veggies.

I wouldn’t have come up with this pasta combination myself, so I’m glad I found the recipe in my friend Kelly Senyei’s new cookbook, The Secret Ingredient Cookbook. You might know Kelly from her blog, Just a Taste. Kelly is a delightful person, a professionally trained chef and a hard-working mom to three boys, all under the age of five.

Kelly’s new cookbook offers 125 family-friendly recipes with fun secret ingredient twists. I don’t want to spoil all the surprises, but I’m looking forward to trying the Caesar pasta salad (with avocado), Greek chopped salad (with halloumi cheese), 30-minute mac and cheese (with pumpkin) and mushroom ravioli with brown butter sauce (with goat cheese, and made entirely from scratch). And good gracious, wait until you see the desserts.

This broccoli pesto pasta recipe includes green olives as the secret ingredient. They offer a delicious briny olive flavor and cover up the flavor of the broccoli. She says her boys absolutely love this dish, so this dish is designed for the whole family. I found some ricotta in my fridge and really enjoyed a few dollops over my bowl. Serve it as you please!

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Meet my go-to side salad recipe. I hope it becomes yours, too. This simple salad features fresh arugula and the world’s easiest homemade balsamic salad dressing.

This salad truly could not be more easy to make. In fact, it’s so easy that I’ve hesitated to share it with you. It’s hardly a recipe, but one that I make constantly. It’s about time that I bring this method to your attention, you say?

Side salads should be easy to prepare, and this one is so delicious that it doesn’t taste like an afterthought. It goes with just about everything—think Italian entrées like lasagna, sandwiches, scrambled eggs, and even holiday meals.

You can use this salad formula with any type of leafy green, but arugula is my favorite. You’ll eat more healthy greens if you keep this recipe in your back pocket. Here we go!

Watch How to Make Simple Arugula Salad

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