You’re going to fall in love with this creamy basil sauce! It’s like a super fresh, summertime aioli that brings sandwiches and snacks to life. You can whip this sauce together in just a few minutes with a few ingredients. I make it all the time, and keep finding more uses for it, so I’m highlighting it here today.

It’s not too late to plant some basil this summer. If you have a surplus and you’ve already made all the pesto you can eat, try this creamy basil sauce next. You’ll find lots of ideas to use it up below. Let’s make it a basil sauce summer!

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This summertime stunner tastes as good as it looks! I had a feeling my Burrata with Tomatoes and Basil would be good with peaches instead of tomatoes, and wow, it’s great. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

The recipe features sliced peaches, fresh arugula and basil, creamy burrata, and toasted pistachios, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It’s a vibrant sweet-and-savory combination that you can serve as a salad or an appetizer.

I love fresh, simple summer recipes like these because they look and taste gourmet but require no cooking at all. This beautiful recipe is ready in 15 minutes!

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In 2007, when this website was still in its infancy, I shared a recipe for a layered strawberry chiffon shortcake. I’d never made a chiffon cake before, but I brought it to a friend’s rooftop birthday BBQ, correctly assuming that no one would be unhappy with a towering, featherweight cake sandwiched with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, however inexpertly made.

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Friends! The fluffiest, most satisfying, Nutella lover’s dream dessert is here: vegan ice cream made with chocolate and hazelnuts. It’s creamy, dreamy, oh-so delicious, and kind of perfect! Especially when craving a sweet treat on a warm summer day.

Just 6 ingredients required for this (dare we say) MASTERPIECE. It’s going to be on repeat in our ice cream maker all season long. Grab your cones. Let’s make Nutella ice cream!

Vegan Nutella Ice Cream from Minimalist Baker →

Meet the ultimate zucchini side dish. It features caramelized zucchini and red onion with toasted sliced almonds, seasoned with fresh garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice. The flavors are bold, the dish is vibrant, and I’m going to make this sautéed zucchini all summer long.

I don’t always like cooked zucchini, but I love this recipe. Zucchini can be squeaky or mushy, and I often avoid it on restaurant menus for those reasons. Not this recipe! The zucchini is perfectly browned and tender throughout.

The flavors in this recipe remind me of green beans amandine, if you’re familiar—another one of my favorite veggie side dishes. Our friend Erika introduced us to this concept last summer in St. Louis. It paired beautifully with pasta and grilled options on their back porch. I asked her for the recipe afterward, and I’m excited to share it with you today.

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One of my most exasperating traits — or, perhaps one that makes me ideally suited for this space I invented, coincidentally, to suit my collection of traits — is that I have a terrific amount of random ingredient preparation ideas in the overflowing file cabinet of my brain that will spill into conversations the second I hear the triggering keyword.

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You’re going to love this chocolate chia seed pudding. Seriously, though! I’m always suspicious of chocolate “desserts” made with sneaky healthy ingredients like avocado or sweet potato. I can taste them, so they don’t taste like a real dessert.

This chia pudding, however, is a wholesome treat that I truly enjoy. It actually boasts some impressive nutrition stats, including 8 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein, and some healthy plant-based fat. It’s easy to make, too—much easier than traditional custard-based puddings.

You’ll need only four ingredients for the base recipe: your milk of choice, chia seeds, cocoa powder and maple syrup. Once mixed together and left to chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours, the chia seeds plump up and offer a subtle texture. The end result is rather magical!

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These scones are made with almond flour, and frankly, maybe all scones should be—whether you need them to be gluten-free or not. They’re 100 percent delicious, featuring perfectly tender insides and golden exteriors that offer a light crunch along the edges. Jammy burst blueberries, lemon zest and a light sprinkle of raw sugar take them to the next level!

I didn’t come up with this idea myself. When I published my Blueberry Scones, which are made with whole wheat or all-purpose flour, I received several questions about how to make the recipe with almond flour.

Since almond flour has become my favorite flour over the past year or two, I had to figure it out. Despite being made entirely with almond flour, the scones don’t taste overtly of almond. They’re easy to make with simple, wholesome, lower carbohydrate ingredients, so they’re a win all around.

It took seven tries to get the recipe just right. Along the way, it became the topping for a Peach Cobbler. I’m delighted with this recipe and all the variations you’ll find below.

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This vegetable stir fry tastes as good as it looks! It features perfectly fork-tender, seared vegetables in a glossy sauce that leans more savory than sweet. I love the vibrant combination of broccoli, bell pepper, carrot and red onion shown here, but you can change up the vegetables with the seasons.

Serve it as a simple side dish, or turn it into a full meal by adding rice and protein, like the crispy baked tofu shown here. Add a sprinkle of green onion and just-toasted sesame seeds, and this healthy homemade dish will taste much fresher than takeout.

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Introducing weeknight-friendly fattoush salad! This EASY, 1-bowl, 20-minute version is our inspired take on the classic Levantine dish. Think fresh, crunchy veggies tossed in a bright pomegranate dressing with herby mint leaves, crispy pita chips, and pomegranate arils (major YUM)!

It’s a refreshing side to pair with other Mediterranean- and Middle Eastern-inspired recipes, or toss in some chickpeas to make it a light meal on its own.

Easy Fattoush Salad (1 Bowl!) from Minimalist Baker →

Friends, welcome to a land where you can float on strawberry dream clouds all day long. This chia pudding is next-level but still ultra simple (5 ingredients!). Just blend strawberries into your favorite milk, sweeten to taste, add chia seeds, and chilllllll.

The result is a heavenly, fiber-rich snack or breakfast that tastes just like strawberries and cream but more sophisticated — mmmmmm. Let us show you how it’s done!

Strawberries & Cream Chia Pudding from Minimalist Baker →

I was in Paris* last week — no, I cannot believe I get to utter sentences like that so casually, either, pinch me — and it was really, truly, and surprisingly spring. The magnolia trees at the Jardin du Palais Royal supplied us with a lace curtain of fluttering pink shadows, the daffodils and hyacinth were popping up from the ground like they’d missed us, and everyone was outside and stayed out until after midnight and this energy climbed inside me, evicted all of the seasonal malaise (turned out I was just cold!), and I did my best to bring all of this warmth and joy back to NYC with me. And despite the fact that my grouchy (sorry, “weathered”) friends tried to warn me that we were experiencing a “false spring” and “don’t fall for it,” la la la, I said, it is spring in my heart now — and in my kitchen, and busted out a warm weather salad. Which is to say: I’m sorry, this sudden cold spell might be my fault.

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If you’ve enjoyed the egg bites at Starbucks, here’s how to make them at home! These egg bites have become a staple recipe in my kitchen. Sure, they’re not the prettiest egg recipe, but they’re wonderfully flavorful and silky tender. They’re a protein-rich snack or ready-made breakfast to keep in your refrigerator (they freeze and defrost well, too).

These egg bites are a fun cooking project with a few twists along the way. I was surprised to find cottage cheese in Starbucks’ ingredient list. It’s the secret ingredient that offers a lovely tang and extra protein. Once blended, the lumpy texture disappears, which explains why I’d never guess it was there.

Instead of Starbucks’ sous vide cooking method, we’ll bake the muffin tray on a rimmed baking sheet filled with a small amount of hot water. The steam from the water bath gives these bites a luscious, smooth texture. Without it, the eggs would brown at the bottom and taste more like frittata muffins. It’s a small detail that makes a big difference!

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If you love our Sweet Potato Chickpea Tacos, get ready for another FAVE! Meet: the Vegan Sweet Potato Chickpea TACO SALAD! It’s got fresh kale + romaine, crunchy tortilla chips, smoky roasted chickpeas + sweet potatoes, and a creamy jalapeño dressing. 

The result? BIG flavor, lots of textures, and ready in just 30 minutes (hello, weeknight ease with weekend flavor)! Let’s make this satisfying, flavorful, plant-based dinner!

A little multi-tasking and some speedy knife skills are the tricks to keeping this a 30-minute meal!

Vegan Sweet Potato Chickpea Taco Salad from Minimalist Baker →

Move over, Ranch, there’s a new creamy dressing in town that’s stealing our hearts! This cheesy jalapeño cashew dressing is our new go-to for salads, wraps, and dipping veggies. It’s savory and creamy and has a subtly spicy kick!

Bonus? It comes together in just 5 minutes with 9 simple ingredients. Grab your blender. Let’s do this!

Ingredients to Make Cashew Dressing

• Cashews – this versatile nut creates a rich, creamy base that’s naturally oil-free and neutral in flavor, allowing the other flavors to shine!

Cheesy Jalapeño Cashew Dressing from Minimalist Baker →

It took me ten tries to get this cookie recipe just right, but it was worth the effort! These gluten-free chocolate chip cookies are made with just one wholesome flour—almond flour. They’re also sweetened with maple syrup instead of brown sugar, although you likely wouldn’t guess it. I love to use natural sweeteners when I can.

These cookies are golden and lightly crisp around the edges, and tender and chewy in the middle, which is exactly how I want my chocolate chip cookies to be. If you’re looking for a gluten-free cookie or a healthier take on a classic Tollhouse cookie, you’ve found a winner here. As a bonus, they’re remarkably easy to stir together by hand, with no chilling time required!

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These sizzling fajita vegetables will liven up your dinner table. The recipe features colorful bell peppers and red onion, seasoned and cooked to golden perfection. It was inspired by Tex-Mex fajitas and the veggies I always request on my Chipotle burrito bowls.

It took me quite a few tries to nail the texture that I had in mind—I wanted my peppers and onions caramelized on the edges, cooked until mostly tender, yet far from mushy. I finally figured it out, and I’m so glad to share this simple and foolproof method with you today.

Finished with a squeeze of lime juice, this vibrant side dish is ready in 20 minutes or less. You’ll find serving suggestions below to build your meal around it.

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These energy balls are lifesavers! When you’re hungry in between meals, running out the door without breakfast, or craving a wholesome little treat, these energy balls will come to the rescue. They’re the perfect healthy grab-and-go snack.

This recipe is made with oats, honey, nut butter, and toasted nuts and seeds, though it’s endlessly adaptable to suit your preferences. I designed it to offer sustained energy from the whole grains and nuts. One ball is just sweet enough to taste like a treat, and offers a healthy dose of protein and fiber.

This recipe was inspired by my husband’s mom’s interpretation of my no-bake granola bars. She always has a batch in the fridge for her grandkids, and they’ve become a staple in our house, too. I crumbled one over my yogurt just this morning, and they’ve kept my energy level up through this postpartum phase. They’re a perfect homemade gift for anyone who’s in a busy season of life, that’s for sure.

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This recipe was inspired by Chipotle’s tofu option called “sofritas.” Have you tried it? I often order it on my burrito bowl for some additional plant-based protein. It’s hearty, saucy and spicy, and makes the extra three-dollar charge for guacamole worthwhile.

I based this recipe directly on Chipotle’s ingredient list. Then, I played around with the amounts and the method until it tasted just right. Honestly, I like this version even better! It tastes fresh, flavorful and nicely spiced. Sometimes Chipotle’s sofritas are so spicy that they overwhelm the other flavors in my bowl.

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Lentil lovers, these lentil burgers are for you! These hearty meatless burgers are made with familiar and wholesome ingredients, unlike many store-bought options these days. My Favorite Veggie Burgers are still my go-to, but these lentil burgers come in second.

These burgers are flavored with grated carrot, fresh cilantro or parsley, onion and garlic, and spices, including chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Two eggs are optional (omit them for vegan burgers), but they provide extra moisture and a lighter texture.

The recipe comes together beautifully in the food processor. Like my veggie burgers, these lentil burgers turn out best when baked in the oven, which is a more efficient and less fussy method than cooking them in a skillet. They turn out nicely golden and firm enough to hold their shape in between a bun.

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