30 Spring-Inspired Dinner Recipes for a Seasonal Mother's Day Dinner From asparagus to lemony pasta, roasted salmon, and fruit-forward desserts, these recipes make Mother’s Day dinner feel fresh. By Hannah Walhout Hannah Walhout Hannah Walhout is freelance writer-editor formerly on staff at Food & Wine. She was also, for many years, a print editor at Travel + Leisure, where she covered the food & beverage beat. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on May 2, 2026 Add Us On SAVE ALL RECIPES NEW! Save as a collection on MyRecipes Close Credit: John Kernick Mother’s Day only happens once a year, and while many make brunch the main event, a homemade dinner — big or small — is a great way to make the day feel special. Even better? It's a spring holiday, which means you can get creative with seasonal produce like asparagus, peas, and fresh herbs like mint. Any of these recipes would make an impressive addition to your table, including meat, seafood, and plant-based main courses, plus side dishes, spring cocktails, and desserts both airy and decadent. Build a full menu from the Mother's Day dinner ideas below, or try just one or two new dishes. The gesture is meaningful all the same. Keep all of your recipes at your fingertips. With the MyRecipes app you can easily save and organize your favorites from anywhere, including Instagram and TikTok, in one convenient place. Get the free app. 01 of 30 Asparagus Caesar with Pecorino Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Julia Bayless Make Caesar salad extra seasonal by substituting tender stalks of asparagus for the usual romaine lettuce leaves. Slivered almonds give the side dish a finishing crunch. Get the Recipe Save 02 of 30 Mafaldine with Pea Shoot—Meyer Lemon Pesto Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen The color most associated with spring is green, and its verdant hue is captured in this lemony pasta dish. Blitz fresh pea shoots, dill, parsley, Meyer-lemon zest and juice, ricotta salata, and toasted sunflower seeds into a vivid pesto that clings to ruffled mafaldine, while lemon-garlic breadcrumbs add crunch. Get the Recipe Save 03 of 30 Little Gem Salad with Toasted Spice Vinaigrette Eva Kolenko The homemade sourdough croutons make this salad feel extra special. Cookbook author Aria Alpert Adjani suggests using any leftover dressing of fresh-toasted spices as a marinade for other dishes. Get the Recipe Save 04 of 30 Spiced Pork Chops with Buttery Peas, Radishes, and Mint Food & Wine / Photo by Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen With its combination of peas, radishes, and mint, this dish from cookbook author Melissa Clark encapsulates the flavors of spring. Warm spices rubbed onto the pork chops and infused into a sizzling butter offer pleasant contrast with the fresh herbs and crisp vegetables. Get the Recipe Save 05 of 30 Heirloom Tomato Salad with Pickled Ramp Vinaigrette Huge Galdones / Food Styling by Christina Zerkis The first juicy heirloom tomato is a sure sign of warm weather, and while only a limited few varieties are available in May, this simple salad from Los Angeles chef Suzanne Tracht utilizes other highly sought-after seasonal produce, like ramps. Get the Recipe Save 06 of 30 Cucumber Basil Martini Brie Goldman / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Sue Mitchell Can't choose between a mint-forward mojito or a gimlet? Make this martini style cocktail that utilizes fresh basil and ginger for an herbal, slightly spicy drink. Get the Recipe Save 07 of 30 Spring Minestrone with Grated Egg Pasta Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen Celebrate spring — and Mom — with this bountiful minestrone dense with gorgeous seasonal vegetables, including tender asparagus, sweet peas, fresh dill, and curly-leaf spinach. Get the Recipe Save 08 of 30 Roast Chicken with Hot Honey John Kernick Skip the store-bought stuff and infuse wildflower honey with apple-cider vinegar, cayenne, smoked paprika, garlic, orange peel, and thyme for the ultimate sweet-hot condiment. Use it to top dry-brined chicken leg quarters that have been roasted until the meat is tender and the skin is ultra-crisp. Get the Recipe Save 09 of 30 Farro Salad with Radishes, Snap Peas, Olives, and Pecorino Eva Kolenko The sweet nuttiness of farro is the perfect foil to crunchy spring vegetables like snap peas and radishes. The salad is finished off with briny olives and salty Pecorino cheese, and works well as a side or a main. Get the Recipe Save 10 of 30 Chickpeas and Kale in Spicy Pomodoro Sauce Con Poulos This quick, simple dish from 2010 F&W Best New Chef Missy Robbins turns classic pasta al pomodoro on its head — swapping chickpeas for the noodles — while using one pan. Tuscan kale wilts into the sauce just before serving, and each bowl is finished with torn basil, marjoram, and a shower of Pecorino Romano, delivering an impressive vegetarian main in just 45 minutes. Get the Recipe Save 11 of 30 Palak "Paneer" with Pressed Fresh Ricotta Christopher Testani / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Kathleen Cook Varner This is a delicious meatless main for all the vegetarian moms in your life. Fresh ricotta is pressed into a block that is cut into paneer-like cheese squares. Fried in ghee, the crispy, cheesy cubes are perfect in the warm puree of spinach and cilantro spiked with chile and ginger. Get the Recipe Save 12 of 30 Roasted Baby Artichokes with Parsley and Mint Eva Kolenko Removing the outer leaves and inner thistle of each baby artichoke reveals its lightly astringent, mildly sweet core, which writer Aria Alpert Adjani roasts for a quick and flavorful spring side. Get the Recipe Save 13 of 30 Skirt Steak and Asparagus with Salsa de Semillas Victor Protasio Food writer Paola Briseño González dresses up steak with spring asparagus and salsa de semillas, loaded with pumpkin seed kernels, cashews, and sesame seeds. Get the Recipe Save 14 of 30 Spring Puttanesca Pasta Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley This classic Italian pasta gets a seasonal boost from crunchy spring onions, briny olives, peppery arugula, and spicy Calabrian chiles. Get the Recipe Save 15 of 30 Rhubarb Gin Sour Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen A delightfully pink drink for the mom in your life, this cocktail mixes tart rhubarb with the herbal qualities of gin, bringing together the best of springtime. Get the Recipe Save 16 of 30 Spring Vegetable Paella Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen This springtime paella brings asparagus, mushrooms, peas, and spinach into the mix with preserved lemon and anchovies for lots of fresh flavor alongside dynamic sour and umami notes. Get the Recipe Save 17 of 30 Ramp Pesto Huge Galdones / Food Styling by Christina Zerkis One of the first signs of spring at the farmers market, ramps are popular with both home cooks and restaurant chefs. Spoon this pesto over roasted or grilled vegetables, meat, or seafood, or toss it with cooked pasta. Get the Recipe Save 18 of 30 Roasted Honey-Dijon Salmon with Spring Vegetables Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Rishon Hanners / Prop Styling by Audrey Davis Save on dishwashing and cleanup with this sheet-pan meal from cookbook author Susan Spungen, organized so that you can prep for the next step while the previous step is in motion. It's ideal if you're planning a multi-course dinner. Get the Recipe Save 19 of 30 Cod with Lemony Leeks, Snap Peas, and Herbs Victor Protasio Cookbook author Colu Henry cooks the cod quickly in a skillet, then serves it with tender leeks and just-simmered snap peas in a buttery, lemony sauce. Get the Recipe Save 20 of 30 Pasta Primavera Victor Protasio This pasta is named for springtime, and it shows: It's packed with seasonal vegetables like asparagus, carrots, sugar snap peas, and fresh herbs. Get the Recipe Save 21 of 30 Strawberries-and-Cream Gelato Cake Victor Protasio This striking layered dessert from Jon Snyder of Il Laboratorio del Gelato treats mom to spring strawberries, bright sorbet, creamy gelato, and cake all at once. Get the Recipe Save 22 of 30 Garganelli with Speck, Peas, and Scallion Cream Victor Protasio More is more with this green pasta, which uses fresh scallions and garlic to make the verdant sauce that coats garganelli pasta and is topped with cooling mint leaves before serving. Get the Recipe Save 23 of 30 Sharab Rose Raspberry Shrub Cocktail Ed Anderson A beverage that will please everyone at the table, this nonalcoholic sweet-tart shrub pours over still or sparkling water — or any other beverage of your choosing. The flavors of rose and raspberry inspired cookbook author Rahanna Bisseret Martinez with her version of sharab el ward, traditional in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan. Get the Recipe Save 24 of 30 Ricotta-Orange Pound Cake with Prosecco Strawberries Con Poulos Giada De Laurentiis's moist cake, infused with amaretto and orange zest, is lovely topped with Prosecco-macerated strawberries. Get the Recipe Save 25 of 30 Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Fried Onions and Parsley Abby Hocking For this 35-minute side dish from food writer and author Alison Roman, steam new potatoes — a spring specialty — then smash and fry them in very hot chicken fat until crispy. Get the Recipe Save 26 of 30 Butter-Basted Scallops with Spring Greens and Snap Peas Jennifer Causey Scallops only need a gentle sear, and this butter-basted recipe treats them with the delicacy they deserve. F&W's Justin Chapple pairs them with snap peas and dandelion greens — some of the best of the spring season. Get the Recipe Save 27 of 30 Chilled English Pea Soup with Crab and Meyer Lemon Eric Wolfinger As the weather warms, dinner calls for a chilled soup. For this recipe, Chef Sarah Heller adds sweet Dungeness crab, Meyer lemon, crème fraîche, and spring herbs to her refreshing English pea and watercress soup. Get the Recipe Save 28 of 30 Pasta with Guanciale, Radicchio and Ricotta John Kernick To make this rich pasta, 1990 F&W Best New Chef Nancy Silverton sautés guanciale (cured pork jowl) and then cooks radicchio and red onions in the rendered fat. She likes to use a little-known pasta called calamarata — which looks like thick squid rings — to catch the sauce, but any wide, tubular pasta works. Get the Recipe Save 29 of 30 Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms Eva Kolenko For this lovely seasonal side, Chicago chef and Top Chef alum Sarah Grueneberg balances the earthiness of the mushrooms and slight char on the asparagus with a drizzle of syrupy aged balsamic. Get the Recipe Save 30 of 30 Broccoli Rabe Risotto with Grilled Lemon Con Poulos Chef Isaac Becker mixes fresh tarragon, parsley, and savory Parmesan cheese into this flavorful vegetarian risotto, then serves it with grilled lemon and mascarpone. Get the Recipe Save Explore more: Food Holidays & Occasions Mother's Day Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit