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What’s in Season – May Produce and Recipes
By Samira Kazan
updated May 01, 2025
Spring brings with it plenty of delicious new items and if you’re eating seasonally, here’s my handy guide to what’s in season in May .
For Spring, we’re putting away the hearty fruits and vegetables and unearthing ones that have spent the winter quietly puttering away. May produce comes in lots of bright colors, sweet flavors, and dozens of varieties. So, here’s my quick rundown of the produce in season in May.
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- Fruit
- Legumes
- Root Vegetables
- Other
- More seasonal produce guides
Fruit
Pineapple: Once you’ve followed my guide for cutting pineapple, this versatile fruit can be used from pineapple smoothies to pineapple skin tea , to heat-busting healthy popsicles and pineapple upside down cake .
Best Pineapple Skin Tea
Rhubarb: Tart when raw and extra sweet when cooked with sugar, the beautiful pink stalks of the rhubarb plant are in peak season in May. Try an easy rhubarb crisp as a dessert to share or stock up at the market and make your own delicious rhubarb jam .
How to Make Rhubarb Jam
Strawberries : They are easy to use in both sweet and savory dishes. If you prefer to drink them, try them blended into strawberry smoothies , strawberry kiwi juice , strawberry milk , or an easy strawberry mocktail . Strawberries can be enjoyed at every meal of the day, from breakfast (like strawberry baked oatmeal ) to lunch (try a salad with an easy strawberry vinaigrette ) and, the most important meal of the day, dessert. Enjoy this delicious strawberry sorbet !
Simple Strawberry Mocktail (Strawberry Limeade)
Legumes
Peas (Green Peas, Snap Peas): For greens on your plate, May vegetables present the humble pea – sweet, crunchy, and perfect for a quick vitamin boost. Whether you eat them fresh or frozen (both are just as good!), you can enjoy green peas and snap peas raw, quickly sauteed snap peas , or integrated into another recipe, like my green pea soup that’s light enough for spring but still packed full of goodness.
5 Minute Sugar Snap Peas Recipe
Root Vegetables
Carrots: They are a versatile veggie that transcends sweet and savory, like strawberries. Try them blended with orange for an energy-boosting orange carrot juice , or with ginger in a carrot soup . Also, if you come across carrots with their leaves still attached, make sure to keep them. The carrot tops are great to add to salads and soups, and to make carrot top pesto .
How to Juice Carrots
Other
Artichoke: Make roasted artichokes , enjoy them with an artichoke dip , or use them for dipping – artichokes are nutty, sweet, and a delicious addition to crudité and charcuterie boards.
Easy Roasted Artichokes
Asparagus: Similarly sweet and nutty to artichoke, these vibrant green stalks can be prepared any way you like. I recommend trying roasted asparagus or sauteed asparagus – and if you haven’t had pickled asparagus yet, you’re missing out – it might just replace your favorite pickles!
Cream of Asparagus Soup
Cactus paddles: Popular in Mexican cooking, cactus paddles are edible! Mixed with citric acid (I like lemon juice), olive oil, and salt, they can be part of a delicious salad or just cooked and eaten on their own with dips.
Leeks : Leek season is coming to an end as summer approaches. But these sweet vegetables are great for adding extra vitamins to any dish. Swap out heavy casseroles and stews for mixing into pasta and salads.
The Best Potato Leek Soup
Mushrooms: If you’re not getting enough Vitamin D from the sun – mushrooms are here to help. With portobello, button, and cremini mushrooms being the most plentiful in May, try them in spring-friendly mushroom tacos , pasta, and mushroom dumplings .
