Produce Prep Guide

When you learn how to prep different produce, you’ll be more inclined to eat a wide variety of fruits and veggies.

With your knife all sharpened and ready to go, you’re ready to start chopping like a pro! Vegetables come in different shapes and sizes, so we’ll teach you the best ways to easily, efficiently, and chop each veggie. Once you get comfortable with chopping vegetables, you’ll be able to cut different shapes, whether it’s small dice, large cubes, or thin matchsticks.

Apples

Apples come in a bunch of different varieties and are tasty to eat on their own, but we also love to toss them in salads or cook them in entrees. Learn how to julienne (cut into thin matchsticks) with our video below and then try adding them to slaws or salads.

Asparagus

Take advantage of this springtime vegetable when it’s in season, when they taste the best and are least expensive. Slice them up and add to pastas or salads, or keep them in spears and roast them until their crisp and tender for a perfect accompaniment to your entree.

Artichokes

Steaming whole artichokes is one of the purest and most delicious ways to enjoy this healthy spring vegetable, especially when served alongside a simple lemon butter sauce. Or try with any of your favorite condiments like a garlic yogurt dip or Sriracha mayo.

Avocados

Creamy and luscious, avocados are a naturally nutrient-dense food, filled with lots of vitamins, minerals, and healthy, good-for-you fats. Cube and top on salads, soups, tacos (and anything really), mash for guacamole or as a spread for toasts, and slice, bread, and bake for healthy ‘fries.’

Beets

Beets have an earthy, sweet, and mellow flavor, as well as a gorgeous deep purple color. Roasting them caramelizes their natural sugars and brings out even more sweetness, but they’re also great raw in slaws or salads or slowly simmered in soup.

Bell Peppers

Bell peppers are crisp, sweet vegetables that can be used in a variety of cooking. Keep them raw and crisp in salads or summer rolls, enjoy them crunchy but tender in quick stir-fries, stuff with grains and veggies or meat, or try roasting them for a sweet, smoky flavor to add to soups, bakes, pastas, and more.

Bok Choy

Bok choy is a type of Chinese cabbage that has a sweet flavor, crisp stalks, and tender green leaves. They’re great to add to stir-fries and noodle soups, but also make a great side dish – steam or bake in the oven with a simple soy sauce mixture or chop them up and saute with garlic for an aromatic, light, and crunchy dish.

Broccoli

Broccoli is available year-round, making it easy to eat green veggies with every part of the meal. We love them raw with dips, roasted with some salt and pepper, folded into pastas, and in tacos, soups, frittatas…they’re great in everything! For a fun meal, turn broccoli into fritters, our take on healthy, vegetable pancakes.

Butternut & Spaghetti Squash

Winter squashes have a hard exterior, making them difficult to prep, but our videos below will show you how easy it is to prep. Roast butternut squash to enhance their natural sweetness and toss into pastas, soups, chilis, or even pizza. Add them to pureed soups for a silky smooth texture. Spaghetti squash can be eaten just like spaghetti, and it’s great as a paleo or gluten-free sub.

Cabbage

This versatile vegetable comes in many colors and types – green, red, savoy, napa – but all can be used for a variety of dishes. Enjoy it raw in slaws, add it to a stir-fry or soup, or use the whole leaf to make cabbage rolls. When eaten raw, cabbage has a peppery flavor, and when cooked, it has a sweeter flavor.

Carrots

Carrots can be used in so many different dishes, they’re something you would want to always have on hand in your fridge. Dice them up into soups and curries, slice them up for stir-fries, roast them for a sweet side dish, or grate them for slaws, salads, sandwiches, pastas, or meatloaf.

Cauliflower

Although cauliflower has a slightly sulfurous and bitter taste, once you get past that, you can actually taste a milky, sweet, nutty flavor that makes it a great vegetable to include in your meals. Try it in place of other veggies, like in stir-fries, sautes, soups, or frittatas, or go the paleo route and enjoy it as cauliflower “rice” or mashed cauliflower.

Celery & Celeriac

Don’t overlook celery just because it’s always there as the base of soups or in stir-fries! This light and crisp veggie adds a delicious aroma to many dishes, and can be enjoyed raw and in its crunchy form in salads and slaws.

Celeriac, which is also known as celery root, is a root vegetable that is a variety of celery. It might look like an ugly mystery, but we’ll teach you just how to prep this tasty late fall / winter vegetable, so that you can enjoy this delicious veggie roasted, in creamy pureed soups, in stews, or even mashed.

Chayote

Chayote belongs in the same family as melon, cucumber, and squashes, and has a similar taste and texture to these fruits and veggies. Crisp, yet tender, and with a sweet, mild flavor. If you can’t find chayote, you can sub with zucchini, but chayote has a crunchier texture that holds well in soups, which is why we like to add it to soups, stews, and chilis. But they’re also great in stir-fries and sautes.

Chili Peppers

Unlike sweet bell peppers, chili peppers contain heat and spiciness. The heat level depends on the chili, though, and they come in a variety of sizes and color, dried or fresh. Drying fresh chilis gives them a completely different flavor profile (which in turn give them another name). We like to add chili peppers to salsas, sauces, sandwiches, stir-fries – really anything that you want some spice!

Citrus

Citrus fruits add a refreshing sweetness and tanginess to dishes. Their juices can be used in sauces and marinades, their zest can be used to add a delicate citrus flavor, and their fruit segments can be enjoyed raw in salads. Learn how to prep them with our videos, and try something different by grilling sliced lemon in kebabs.

Corn

This sweet vegetable is at its peak during the summer, but you can still cook with it year-round by using frozen or canned corn. Try adding corn kernels to salsas, salads, soups, pastas, tacos, and even stir-fries, or roast in the oven for an alternative cooking method.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are best enjoyed raw and can be used as refreshing “noodles” instead of actual noodles or pastas. They’re great for lightening up dishes and adding a cool, crisp crunch. Try tossing them into salads, slaws, summer rolls, and vermicelli bowls, or use in gazpacho, a classic chilled tomato soup with cucumbers.

Eggplant

Eggplant can be enjoyed in many different ways – firm and a little sponge-y in a stir-fry or saute, tender when baked, and smoky and soft when broiled. Try them with various cooking methods to find your favorite way to enjoy eggplant. And don’t forget that they can also be pureed into delicious sauces, like babaghanoush or pesto.

Fennel

Fennel has a flavor that is similar to licorice and anise. It has a nice crunch that is perfect for slicing up thinly for salads. If you enjoy their mild, fragrant flavor, you can substitute them in recipes that have onions, like burgers or noodle soups.

Ginger

Fresh ginger is an aromatic that has flavors that are spicy, peppery, pungent, sweet, and somewhat lemony. They can be used as bases for curries and soups, but are also great when grated for sauces and marinades or thinly sliced to add a bit of bite to stir-fries. They can even be used to add some zing to smoothies!

Green Garlic

Green garlic (sometimes known as spring or new garlic) is a less mature, milder tasting garlic. It’s got a budding garlic bulb at the end and has green shoots. If it’s easily found, it’s definitely worth using to add flavor to any springtime dish. Just sub for any dish that calls for garlic.

Herbs

Fresh herbs are a fantastic way to add flavor and freshness to any dish. Learn more about them in our Guide to Fresh Herbs Infographic. Add freshly chopped herbs towards the end of the cooking time so that they maintain their flavors. You can even sprinkle them on for garnish or enjoy the leaves whole, like basil in caprese sandwiches or cilantro in banh mi.

Jicama

To add a pleasant crunch to salads, slaws, or a simple snack, try adding jicama. It looks like a potato, but this starchy vegetable has a mildly sweet and nutty flavor whose texture resembles that of a crisp apple. If you plan to cook jicama, wait until the last few minutes of cooking to add so that it retains its crispness.

Kale, Chard & Leafy Greens

These veggies – kale, Swiss chard, collard greens, mustard greens – can be used interchangeably, although they all have different flavor profiles. Try them as a simple sauteed side dish or add to any of your meals for a healthy dose of green. Get creative with kale and try it raw in salads or blend it into a different take on pesto.

Leeks

Leeks are a winter / spring vegetable that belongs to the onion and garlic family. Only the white and light green parts are edible, although you can save the green tops and add to stocks or broths for some delicious flavor. Leeks have a mild and sweet onion taste, so slice them up (make sure you wash them well, as dirt gets trapped between their layers) and add them to any dish as you would aromatics.

Lemongrass

This herbaceous plant with a subtle citrus flavor is commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine. Their woody stalks can be mashed and added to soups and broths, so that their flavors get infused. Or slice them up and add to stir-fries.

Mangos

These wonderfully sweet and juicy tropical fruits can be used for more than just baking or sweets. We love using their sweetness to balance and enhance all the other flavors of a dish – salty, spicy, sour, bitter, and savory. While mangos are fantastic to eat as is or blend into a smoothie, try them in savory dishes, like salsas, stir-fries, or curries.

Onions

Onions are one of those vegetables that you can use in anything you’re cooking. They impart wonderful aromas to dishes and sweet flavors when cooked. When raw, they have a pleasant sharpness that adds depths to salads, salsas, and other raw or cold dishes. When slowly roasted or sauteed, they get caramelized and get super sweet and buttery.

Parsnips & Turnips

Parsnips and turnips are both root vegetables. Parsnips look like cream-colored carrots and have a sweeter flavor than turnips, which are slightly peppery. They can be used interchangeably in recipes that call for root veggies, depending on which flavor profile you want. We love roasting them together to bring out their sweetness and enjoy their different textures and flavors in a dish together. They can also be simmered in soups, stews, and curries.

Peaches & Stone Fruits

Stone fruits have a stone or pit inside them that holds the seed of the fruit. Peaches, plums, and nectarines fall into this category and can be prepped the same way. We mostly use them sliced in salads, but they can also be used with savory dishes, like julienned in slaws, diced in ceviches, or grilled and drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette for your next cookout.

Pears

These juicy and sweet fall / winter fruits are great for adding into salads. There are different varieties that vary in texture and taste, so try different ones to find your favorite. Don’t forget Asian pears, though! They are rounder than other pears and are super crisp, sweet, and refreshing.

Pineapples

Don’t be intimidated by the hard and poky exterior of pineapples. They are an incredibly juicy and sweet tropical fruit that, once you learn how to prep, can be used in a lot of cooking. They’re perfect for summertime kebabs, Asian stir-fries, and of course, topped on pizza!

Pomegranates

In season during the fall and winter, pomegranates have a hard exterior but when cracked open, reveal an interior filled with bright red arils that are filled with a sweet and tart juice. These arils, or seeds, are the edible part and can be added to salads, relishes, and slaws.

Portobello Mushrooms

These big, meaty mushrooms are a delicious vegetarian alternative to meats, with their earthy flavor. Slice or dice them up to add umami flavor to soups, pastas, sautes, or toss them whole on the grill to give them a smoky, charred flavor. Another fun thing to do is to stuff them with veggies and cheese for a pizza option without carbs.

Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes

Roasted, mashed, pureed, fried, boiled. . .there are so many ways to enjoy these starchy root veggies, which come in a variety of textures of colors – waxy, starchy, purple, red, gold, orange, etc. Cube them up for a crispy roasted side dish or toss them into curries, soups, stews, or chilis. Slice them into matchsticks for fries, and learn a fun way to enjoy these veggies – hasselback potatoes – with our videos below.

Radishes

Radishes are a root vegetable that have a great crunchy texture when raw and a peppery, slightly spicy flavor, making it a delicious addition to salads. They’re also fantastic when sliced thinly and garnished on pozoles and tacos. When sauteed or roasted, they take on a different flavor profile – sweet, as their bite mellows out from the cooking process, and very juicy.

Shallots

Shallots are a type of onion but milder and slightly sweeter. Because they’re milder, they can usually be used in place of onions where you might not want the pungent, sharp flavor of onions to overwhelm the dish, like in a vinaigrette. Shallots, when raw, still give a slight bite and when cooked, add wonderful aromas to the dish.

Tomatoes & Tomatillos

Fresh, ripe tomatoes have a deliciously rich sweet, juicy, and acidic flavor. Balance of these flavors and texture depends on the type of tomato, which includes roma or plum, cherry, grape, early girl, etc. They’re known for enjoying raw in salads and sandwiches, but they can also be sauteed or roasted.

Tomatillos are green and covered with a papery husk. Sweet and tart, tomatillos can be added to sauces and gazpacho, and made into salsa verde.