Healthy Herb Recipes for Summer

Healthy herb recipes, all vegetarian & mostly vegan, for using up fresh herbs from the garden. Over 25 recipes for cooking with herbs in summer and beyond.

As early summer takes hold, the availability of fresh herbs skyrockets. In our garden right now, we have (too much) cilantro, a good amount of parsley, basil taking off, rosemary, mint, and a quickly growing sage plant. Dill has started to pop up and will self-seed for next year. Oregano and thyme are starting to do all right but will stay in the garden all winter, and chives are coming up but will improve next year.

We’re late, but will be planting borage, chervil, lavender, lovage, and chamomile in the front garden for bees and butterflies. Nasturtium is sometimes also considered an herb but I think of it more as a green, since I wouldn’t add it to anything but a salad or cold dish.

That’s just what we have planted – of course there’s a huge variety of summer herbs, depending on where you live. Lemongrass, lemon balm, tarragon, and less common garden herbs might be more available in your area, or you might grow them in a garden or pots. You’ll find recipes using all of the above here, from drinks and desserts to savoury dinners.

These healthy herb recipes are a great way to use up fresh herbs, whether you’re growing them and end up with too much, or just really love cooking with herbs. Luckily, herbs are really easy to grow even in tiny spaces and indoors, especially easy to use types like basil and parsley.

If you end up with far too much, especially if growing yourself, here’s a good guideline on saving fresh herbs. My personal favourite for storage uses basil – I blitz up all the basil I can get with lemon juice, garlic, salt, and olive oil, then freeze in ice cube trays (there’s a really old ‘recipe’ for that here). A cube lifts up a pot of soup or tomato sauce in the winter like nothing else can.