5 Easy Garden Recipes

Easy Recipes for Easy Crops

We’ve pulled together five recipes that showcase some of the absolute easiest crops to grow: spinach, carrots, zucchini, radishes, and arugula.

The best part? These recipes are as simple as the plants themselves. They come straight out of the Easy Garden Recipe Book included in Gardenary’s Easy Garden Kit. With 10 of the easiest seeds to grow, step-by-step planting plans, guides, and recipes, this bundle takes all the guesswork out of gardening. Honestly, it’s the kind of “easy button” I wish I’d had when I was just getting started.

Let’s examine each featured ingredient, explain why it’s such a great crop to grow, and then use it in the kitchen.

Spinach

Spinach is one of those confidence-building crops that makes you feel like a gardening veteran, even if it’s your first season. It grows fast, tolerates cooler weather, and gives you an abundance for harvesting.

One of my favorite memories is when my kids came out to the garden and picked spinach for the first time. They were happy to help me pick the leaves that we were going to use in our breakfast meal. We ended up tossing it into scrambled eggs that very same morning, and they were hooked.

Spinach is nutrient-dense, loaded with iron, vitamins A and C, and antioxidants. It's so diverse that I occasionally find myself using it across all three meals - breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Recipe: Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

• 12 pasta shells
• 2 cups spinach, chopped
• 1 cup ricotta
• ½ cup mozzarella
• 1 cup marinara sauce

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta shells until al dente.
2. Mix spinach with ricotta.
3. Stuff the mixture into pasta shells.
4. Place shells in a baking dish with marinara.
5. Top with mozzarella.
6. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes.

This dish is pure comfort food with a garden-fresh twist.

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Carrots

Carrots are one of my all-time favorite root crops. They’re easy to sow, fun to harvest, and packed with sweetness. Whenever I pull a carrot out of the soil, it feels like a little treasure hunt. (And yes, sometimes the treasures are crooked or stubby, but that’s part of the fun.)

Carrots are rich in beta carotene, fiber, and vitamins, making them very healthy. Plus, they store beautifully for weeks after harvest.

Recipe: Carrot and Coconut Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 cups chopped carrots
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp curry powder

Instructions:

1. Sauté onion and garlic.
2. Add carrots, broth, and curry powder.
3. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Blend until smooth.
5. Stir in coconut milk.

This soup is creamy, nourishing, and slightly sweet, a great way to spend a cozy fall day.

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Zucchini

If spinach is the confidence booster and carrots are the treasure hunt, zucchini is definitely the overachiever. Plant one, and it’ll feel like you’re harvesting daily. I once left for a long weekend and came back to a zucchini as long as my forearm!

The trick is to pick them while they’re small and tender, which makes them perfect for recipes like fritters.

Recipe: Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients:

• 2 zucchini, grated and squeezed dry
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup flour
• ¼ cup Parmesan
• Salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Combine grated zucchini, egg, flour, and Parmesan.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Form into patties.
4. Heat olive oil in a skillet.
5. Cook fritters 2–3 minutes per side until golden.

Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, these fritters are always the first thing to disappear at my table. Get 'em while they're hot!

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Radishes

Radishes are like the sprinters of the garden. You can plant them and be harvesting in as little as 30 days. They’re crisp, peppery, and perfect for adding a punch of flavor. But here’s the part most people overlook—the greens are edible, too!

I remember the first time I made pesto out of radish greens; my family couldn’t believe it wasn’t basil. The flavor is bright and slightly peppery, and it’s one of the best ways to use every part of the plant.

Recipe: Radish Greens Pesto

Ingredients:

• 1 cup radish greens, washed and dried
• ¼ cup walnuts or almonds
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 garlic clove
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
• Juice of ½ lemon

Instructions:

1. Blend radish greens, nuts, Parmesan, and garlic in a food processor.
2. Slowly add olive oil while blending.
3. Stir in salt and lemon juice.
4. Store in the fridge up to a week.

Toss this pesto with pasta, spread it on sandwiches, or drizzle it over roasted veggies. It’s fresh, vibrant, and a total garden win.

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Arugula

Arugula is one of the easiest greens to grow and one of the most rewarding. I love how it adds instant personality to whatever you’re eating—salads, pizzas, wraps, you name it. It grows fast, and like spinach, the more you cut it, the more it gives back.

I always feel encouraged by how fast it grows. Gardening requires quite a bit of patience, so whenever I get a quick win, it's really gratifying. Those little moments make me want to keep going, and they remind me of how all of my efforts can pay off.

The first time I grew arugula, I was hooked by how much flavor those delicate little leaves had. They turned a simple breakfast wrap into something café-worthy.

Recipe: Arugula Breakfast Wrap

Ingredients:

• 1 tortilla
• 2 eggs, scrambled with cheese
• 1 cup fresh arugula
• Salsa (optional)

Instructions:

1. Warm tortilla in a skillet or microwave.
2. Scramble eggs with cheese until fluffy.
3. Place eggs in a tortilla.
4. Add a handful of arugula.
5. Spoon on salsa if desired.
6. Roll into a wrap.

This is my go-to when I want a quick, healthy breakfast. Arugula pairs perfectly with creamy eggs and cheese.

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Supper Made Simple

Spinach, carrots, zucchini, radishes, and arugula aren’t just easy to grow; they’re delicious to eat. These five recipes prove that the path from seed to supper can be simple, flavorful, and fun.

The Easy Garden Kit makes that path even clearer. With seeds, a video course, planting plans, growing guides, and this very Easy Garden Recipe Book, it’s like having a no-stress roadmap for success. Every harvest turns into a meal, every meal turns into a story, and suddenly, gardening feels more rewarding than ever before.