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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Let’s hear it for burrata cheese! I always order burrata when I find it on restaurant menus, and we’ve had some stellar combinations this summer. I can’t resist burrata’s contrasting textures—it’s like fresh mozzarella on the outside, but lusciously soft and creamy on the inside.

For this recipe, I designed a quintessential summertime burrata salad with fresh tomatoes. Serve it with crostini or a loaf of crusty bread to make it an appetizer. This burrata dish comes together in 15 minutes, believe it or not, and it’s a real showstopper.

I wanted to keep it simple but make it taste special, so I drew reference from my Easy Tomato Salad and Tomato Basil Bruschetta. I landed on a combination of cherry tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes for depth, plus freshly toasted pine nuts for a savory note. It’s not complete without a drizzle of rich olive oil, tangy balsamic vinegar, and a sprinkle of fresh basil. I hope it becomes one of your go-to recipes!

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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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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 favorite couscous salad, featuring Israeli couscous and colorful summertime produce. This Mediterranean-style salad is light, refreshing, and overflowing with colorful rounds of thinly sliced raw zucchini and yellow squash. That’s right, raw squash! It’s so good.

This salad is a simple, light summer dish full of vegetables, whole grains, chickpeas and feta. I came up with this recipe six years ago for Free People’s blog, and it’s become one of my mom’s go-to potluck dishes. So, I thought I’d update it to meet my current standards.

This salad is just the kind of meal I’m craving during this hot summer weather, and it would be perfect for your Fourth of July parties. If you’re looking for more Independence Day recipes, I’ve got you covered. I’ve listed a few of my other favorite salads below, too!

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First of all, THANK YOU for your kind words and excitement surrounding my cookbook announcement! I am so glad we can talk about Love Real Food now. My mind has been so preoccupied with the book lately that I haven’t been able to come up with much to talk about, other than the weather. I’m tired of talking about the weather. (Are you tired of hearing me ramble on about the weather? Yes? I don’t blame you.)

Now we can talk cookbook, too. Your enthusiasm got me all fired up last week and kept me fueled through shooting six recipes on Friday. Thank you! I keep forgetting that I can share the process now, but I promise to start sharing sneak peaks of #loverealfoodbook this week.

I designed the cookbook’s recipe list to be more season-less than seasonal, because I want most of the recipes to appeal to you and be available to you year-round. That means I’ve been reserving the super seasonal recipes for the blog, which is fun because I can publish them when they’re prime for the making.

Like, this pasta dish. It’s perfect for this time of year. It’s not too hot outside to crank up the oven and roast eggplant, which is at its peak right now. I’ve had an odd hankering for roasted eggplant ever since I made Anna’s Mediterranean quinoa salad. Most people describe eggplant as bitter, but I’d say it’s borderline sour. Tangy. Pillowy. Hearty. So good, if paired with the right flavors.

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Anna Watson Carl did it all when she self-published her lovely cookbook, The Yellow Table: A Celebration of Everyday Gatherings, which is the source of this salad recipe. She documented the process on her blog, which is also called The Yellow Table.

Today, I’m tipping my hat to Anna and sharing this incredible quinoa salad from her book. It’s simple and fresh and just perfect for late summer. She combined ratatouille vegetables with quinoa and Mediterranean flavors. Leftovers are so good, I just ate them for breakfast!

When I was young, my mom published a few travel books about Oklahoma. This was back before you could even Google, “How to self-publish a book,” and find answers. She made those books happen, though, and I got to sit shotgun on our way to book signings. Back then, all I wanted to do was read, so I’d get lost in the children’s section while she sold and signed books.

I know how much goes into self publishing—writing a book is a feat in itself, so to take on the printing, distribution and marketing as well is a major accomplishment. Huge, really. Congrats, Anna, and thank you for this delicious recipe.

Watch How to Make Mediterranean Quinoa Salad with Roasted Summer Vegetables

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This basil pesto salad dressing is inspired by classic basil pesto and shares the same ingredients—basil, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic and lemon. It tastes so fresh and comes together in just a few minutes in your food processor.

This recipe yields a simple, summery dressing with bright, herbaceous flavor.  Below, you’ll find a list of mix-and-match ingredients that complement it. It’s a build-your-own summer salad extravaganza!

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This salad was supposed to be a cake. I mean, I meant for today’s post to be a honey-sweetened, berry-studded, lemon-infused cake. I thought my second attempt at the cake would be just right, but I ran out of eggs and tried to get away with two instead of three. This is what happened. On the upside, I have an excuse to eat cake for breakfast over the next week. I can’t decide which I love more: cake for breakfast, or breakfast for dinner?

Instead of cake, I decided to share a delightful summer salad today. The salad features ribboned squash tossed with feta, pine nuts and a lemon vinaigrette. It’s refreshing and crisp, a perfect side for a light summer meal. I think it would go great with a light pasta dish or grilled fish and a glass of chilled white wine. If you haven’t tried raw squash, I hope you’ll get out your vegetable peeler and give it a try. It’s my favorite way to eat squash.

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