Weekly Spotlight: Celebrating Fantastic Spring Flavor Pairings!

Spring is in full swing! That means it’s time to enjoy some delicious spring flavors. This guide pairs classic spring flavors that you can try out this season. These flavors all have a sweet and tart or earthy taste, to lighten up the flavor of the recipe. Feel free to use these combinations in your baking and cooking, and give these recipes a try!

These combinations include blueberry and banana, lemon and blueberry, strawberry and greens, and coconut and lemon.

We also highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App  — with over 20,000 delicious recipes, it is the largest meatless, vegan, plant-based, and allergy-friendly recipe resource to help you get healthy! And don’t forget to check out our Weekly Meal Plan Archives! 

This week, we’re bringing delicious, fully vegan, and plant-based ways to whip up breakfast, brunch, and dinner recipes that use delicious spring flavor pairings!

Blueberry and Banana

Source: Blueberry Banana Chia Smoothie

The addition of blueberries to recipes adds a bite of freshness, and these recipes are wonderful to enjoy as the weather warms up. These recipes all use lemon and blueberry to create delicious eats from pancakes to smoothie bowls. This flavor combination is easy to create and if you have any extra blueberries or bananas left over, you can toss them in the freezer!

Source: Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cup

Have you ever thought of putting lemon and blueberry together? The lemon adds a spritz or taste that helps bring out the sweetness of the blueberries. In these recipes, you can use them in cheesecakes or tarts, or bake this flavor into cake and muffins, too!

• Lemon Blueberry Cake by Heidrun Kubart
• Blueberry Lemon Curd Tart by Helen Au
• Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Cup by Fabio Gallo
• Lemon Blueberry Loaf by Gabrielle St. Claire
• Lemon Blueberry Muffin Cake by Taavi Moore
• Lemon Blueberry Buckwheat Muffins by Taavi Moore

Strawberries and Spinach/Greens

Source: Spinach Strawberry Salad

Strawberries and greens go so well together; you can use spinach and drizzle over some balsamic for an easy and delicious salad, or you could even use arugula to get a more intense flavor of sweet and earthy. This pairing works well because it creates a colorful dish that’ll look amazing at the center of your table. If you’re looking to add something more to this pairing, try adding vegan feta cheese and even walnuts.

• Arugula and Strawberry Salad with Cayenne Lemon Vinaigrette by Daniela Modesto
• Chunky Strawberry Basil Sauce by Stephanie McKinnie
• Raw Strawberry and Basil Cheesecake by Emily Fraser
• Spinach Strawberry Salad by Robin Browne

Coconut and Lemon

Source: No-Bake Coconut Lemon Tart

Coconut and lemon are wonderful to pair together because they create a flavor like pina colada! This flavor pairing works well for spring because it’s both colorful and tasty; feel free to bake it into tarts or cookies, or use it in recipes like energy bars and bites!

• Coconut Lemon-Drop Cookies by Wendy Irene
• No-Bake Coconut Lemon Tart by Lenny Wu
• Lemony Coconut Bites by Natalie Martin MS, RD and Lexie Staten MS, RD
• Paleo Lemon Coconut Energy Bites by Kat Condon

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Lead Image: Blueberry Lemon Curd Tart by Helen Au