Seasonal
What’s in Season – August Produce and Recipes
By Samira Kazan
updated August 01, 2024
July and August are very similar when it comes to produce – the big difference is how plentiful some of it is this month! So here is my handy guide for what’s in season in August !
It’s still officially the time of year for cookouts and BBQs. The produce in season for August carries over from July – blackberries are now plentiful, whether you buy them at the market or go picking for your own, and so are tomatoes, whose dozens of varieties have come into their own just in time to enjoy in the summer.
So, here’s my handy guide for produce in season in August – and the best ways to use it.
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- Fruit
- Vegetables
- Others
- More seasonal produce guides
Fruit
Blackberries : Plump, juicy, and tart, these fabulous berries can be found at any good farmers’ market. They’re so plentiful that you can pick bags and freeze them to use throughout the year in blackberry iced tea , salad topped with blackberries (which you can top with blackberry salad dressing ), or blackberry cobbler . You can also make blackberry ice cream and the best blackberry jam .
Blackberry Jam Recipe (With Video)
Melon: Watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, muskmelon, Crenshaw, and ogen melons are at their best in August. Enjoy their peak season with refreshing recipes like watermelon granita , various ways to juice watermelon (including a fun keg option), and watermelon salsa .
You can also make a delightful watermelon salad with cucumber and feta or create fresh watermelon jello slices without gelatin.
Fresh watermelon salad
Stone fruits: August is one of the last months to enjoy apricots. They are a fantastic alternative to nectarines and peaches in baking and cooking. Always give your apricots a little press to check they’re firm before buying. If you have any soft ones, they can easily be turned into a delicious homemade apricot jam .
With other stone fruit, try making fresh peach cobbler , peach dump cake , or a peach crumble for a tasty treat. For a refreshing twist, make a grilled peach burrata salad or homemade vegan peach ice cream .
You can also try my favorite peach recipes – peach syrup , peach lemonade , and fresh peach juice .
How To Make Peach Lemonade
Vegetables
Summer squash: Summer squash, with its distinctive shape and bright yellow exterior, is picked when not fully ripe and should be firm and hefty. It’s easy to add to meals: cut it into salads, grill, or fry it. Try crispy fried squash , easy squash casserole recipe , or baked acorn squash for a versatile and tasty addition to your menu.
Crispy Fried Squash (or Zucchini)
Cucumbers: Perhaps the most refreshing of the produce in season in August, cucumbers grow with wild abandon during August. This versatile veg is great for summer salads or slicing up alongside a sandwich, or if you’re feeling experimental, you can try making my cucumber lemonade or cucumber juice !
You can also make classic pickled cucumbers , cucumber sandwiches , or avocado cucumber tomato salad .
How to Make Cucumber Juice (3 Methods)
Tomatoes: In August, tomato plants explode with red orbs of every size and shape, perfect for dozens of dishes. They make easy side dishes, can be sliced up for Mediterranean-style salads, or saved and turned into marinara sauce and tomato puree for cooking. You can also make my favorite creamy tomato soup or roasted tomato soup .
Try using tomatoes in tomato cucumber salads , tomato confit , eggplant tomato dip , sun-dried tomato pesto , roasted tomatoes , refreshing tomato juice , and more for a versatile and delicious addition to your meals.
The Best TikTok Pasta
Peppers : Crisp and sweet, a huge number of peppers come into season in August. Bell peppers, shishito, and jalapeno peppers come in a variety of colors and spice levels, so be careful about which ones you use!
They’re also easily added into a beef stir-fry or pepper steak , blended to make red pepper dips , roasted peppers , and stuffed bell pepper recipe with meat and cheese for an easy weekday meal.
You can also make delicious appetizers like fried padron peppers and stuffed mini peppers . The possibilities with peppers are practically endless.
The Best Pepper Steak Recipe
Eggplant: Who doesn’t look forward to eggplant season? The king of the August vegetables, eggplants have a gorgeous deep purple color and taste incredible with just a little olive oil, salt and pepper. I’ve shared a detailed tutorial on how to cook eggplant .
You can also easily grill eggplants or roast eggplants to perfection. Known as aubergine in some countries, use this August glut to make eggplant salad , eggplant parmesan , eggplant chips , roasted eggplant dip , air fryer eggplant fries , Baba Ganoush , and more.
How To Cook Eggplant (Baked, Broiled & Air Fryer Eggplant)
Others
Outside of the August vegetables and fruits, the month also welcomes these staples from the garden.
Corn: Carried over from July, corn can be cooked in a dozen different ways – from quick microwaved corn and spicy corn ribs to oven-roasted corn slathered with butter and garlic and grilled corn as a cookout staple. You can also make creamed corn , Southern fried corn , corn casserole , and more.
Corn from the farmers market is the best, in my opinion, with the husk still on. I have a full guide for how to de-husk your corn and how to pick the best cob , so you get perfect corn every time you buy. You can also enjoy it as Elote or Mexican corn salad .
Microwave Corn on the Cob in Husk
Okra: A staple of the South, okra—or “ladies fingers” as it’s also known—can also be found in Caribbean, African, Indian, and Creole cooking. Many preserve it for the year by pickling okra . You can also make okra stew or learn how to cook okra in various delicious ways.
Okra Stew
Herbs: Your herb garden will likely be abundant this time of year, but look out, especially for basil and tarragon in August. Now is the perfect time to make basil pesto for the colder months or dehydrate your herbs to stock up your pantry. You can follow my handy guide for dehydrating basil here.
