10 Easy Recipes Starring Strawberries, One of Nature’s Sweetest Creations

When strawberries come into season, it’s a full-fledged event. If you live in a part of the country where the sweet yet tart fruit is grown, you might even be lucky enough to venture over to a patch and pick them yourself. Whether its found at the farmers’ market or the grocery store, the ruby-colored strawberry inspires endless recipes for cakes, salads, jams, and more.

Strawberries make for a great snack (especially atop a cloud of vegan whip cream), but there’s certainly no shortage of ways to cook with them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. Classic recipes like shortcake put the strawberry front and center, but have you ever thought to serve a chicken breast with a side of fruit?

The best strawberry recipes bursting with summer flavor

1. Strawberry shortcake

What would a strawberry recipe roundup be without shortcake? The one featured in the video above is gluten-free, lactose-free, grain-free, and refined-sugar-free. The shortcake itself is made with a blend of almond flour and coconut flour while the topping mixes the luscious strawberries with coconut milk, coconut sugar, lemon, and mint.

2. Strawberry and quinoa parfait

This parfait is really just a clever way to have dessert for breakfast. It’s just as sweet but nutrient-rich enough to power your morning. It’s full of fiber-rich ingredients like quinoa, pistachios, raisins, and, of course, strawberries. The quinoa and nuts also provide good protein, too. A pretty sweet way to start off your day, right?

3. Strawberry banana smoothie

Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to use your strawberries and they help sweeten up a blender full of greens, too. In this recipe by registered dietitian and All The Healthy Things blogger Ashlea Carver Adams, RD, combines the berry with banana, almond milk, honey, vanilla, and Greek yogurt. The Greek yogurt is key for giving the smoothie a creamy consistency and also providing enough protein to make it an adequate breakfast.

Get the recipe: Strawberry banana smoothie

4. Strawberry paletas

This strawberry paletas recipe, from Dora’s Table creator Dora Stone, is sure to be a hit with both kids and adults. While the recipe does call for sugar, you don’t need much; the strawberries themselves are sweet enough. Adding fresh lemon juice into the mix adds a layer of tartness that pairs perfectly with the berries.

Get the recipe: Strawberry paletas

5. Spinach salad with strawberries, avocado, and poppyseed dressing

Strawberries make a beautiful addition to many different salad recipes, particularly when spinach is involved. What makes this recipe, from Gimme Some Oven creator Ali Martin, is the creamy poppyseed dressing. Made with a mixture of avocado oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, and poppy seeds, it’s so good you’ll be dipping your berries right into it while prepping the rest of the dish.

Get the recipe: Spinach salad with strawberries, avocado, and poppyseed dressing

6. Strawberry basil chicken

Another savory recipes with strawberries comes from Wholesomelicious creator Amy Rains. Fresh strawberries and a handful of basil really make this chicken breast unlike any you’ve ever tasted. A little balsamic vinegar and garlic goes a long way, too. The whole thing takes just 20 minutes to make..

Get the recipe: Strawberry basil chicken

7. Fruit oatmeal bars

Make a batch of these strawberry oatmeal bars and you’ll have a fiber-rich snack on hand for the rest of the week. Created by Well Plated creator Erin Clark, the recipe includes a delicious vanilla glaze.

Get the recipe: Fruit oatmeal bars

8. Five-minute frozen yogurt

While many strawberry ice cream and yogurt recipes are loaded with sugar, Just a Taste creator Kelly Senyei has perfected a recipe using honey and lemon juice for sweetness. The only other ingredient you need is yogurt. Blend everything together and it’s ready to eat.

Get the recipe: Five-minute frozen yogurt

9. Two-ingredient jam

Savor the taste of summer long past Labor Day by making strawberry jam. Melissa Noris makes hers with just two ingredients: strawberries and lemon juice. Follow her instructions and you have a low-sugar jam to spread on English muffins or toast.

Get the recipe: Two-ingredient jam

10. Gluten-free strawberry cake bars

In this recipe from Food Faith Fitness creator and nutrition coach Taylor Kiser, the strawberries are transformed into a light and airy “whipped” filling that serves as the middle for cake bars.

Get the recipe: Gluten-free strawberry cake bars

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