Why do peaches get all the attention? Nectarines are just as nutritious and taste mind-blowingly similar (in fact, they can be used interchangeably in just about any recipe). The only real difference between the fruits is peach’s fuzzy skin, so this summer, we’re putting the underdog in the spotlight. Here are 28 nectarine recipes to whip up while they’re in season. They’ll taste their most delicious through the end of August.
28 Nectarine Recipes to Make Right Now, Because They’re Just as Tasty as Peaches
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Published Aug 9, 2022
1. Goat Milk Fettuccine With Spicy Corn Fritters And Sweet Nectarine
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
If this recipe doesn't make you want to host an alfresco dinner party, we don't know what will. It's impossibly summery, thanks to nectarines, cherry tomatoes and sweet yellow corn.
2. Avant Garde Antipasti Platter
- Time Commitment: 10 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes, no cook
Complete with prosciutto-wrapped nectarines, goat cheese-stuffed peppadew peppers and blue cheese flatbreads. We'll bring the wine.
3. Toasted Walnut Pesto And Caramelized Nectarine Pizza With Spicy Balsamic Drizzle
- Time Commitment: 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, vegetarian
Both the pesto and crust are made from scratch, but you can save time by using store-bought pizza dough. Might we suggest grilling the pie to perfection?
4. Nectarine Salad With Cucumber, Basil And Goat Cheese
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegetarian, <30 minutes, no cook
Fresh, herbaceous and oh so refreshing, this salad is destined for your next picnic. Feel free to add savory or crunchy elements, like salami, baby spinach or toasted pine nuts.
5. 20-minute Grilled Jerk Chicken With Mango-nectarine Salsa
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, high protein, kid-friendly
Sweet tropical fruit is just the match for smoky, charred chicken. Save some of the citrusy salsa for taco night, since it’d pair beautifully with fried fish or grilled shrimp.
6. Nectarine And Wisconsin Burrata Bite Crostini
- Time Commitment: 50 minutes
- Why I Love It: vegetarian, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
As if the balsamic-kissed appetizer wasn’t fancy enough, each hors d’oeuvre is sprinkled with basil-infused lemon sugar before it’s served.
7. Corn Fritter Caprese With Peaches And Tomatoes
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, vegetarian, special occasion-worthy
Not only does this dish combine fresh corn, juicy tomatoes and in-season stone fruit, but each fritter is loaded with gooey mozzarella and salty Parmesan to boot. Just substitute nectarines for peaches and dig in.
8. Linguine With Bacon, Peaches And Gorgonzola
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, high protein, beginner-friendly
Fact: You can never have too many 30-minute meals up your sleeve. And this one is virtually foolproof, while also being fancy enough to serve at a casual dinner party.
9. Fried Mozzarella, Basil And Nectarine Stacks With Balsamic Glaze
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, vegetarian, beginner-friendly
The two-ingredient glaze is honestly so simple that you’ll never lean on the store-bought kind again. All it takes is simmering balsamic vinegar and brown sugar in a saucepan until reduced and slightly syrupy.
10. Grilled Chicken With Nectarine Relish
- Time Commitment: 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, high protein, <10 ingredients
Don’t feel like firing up the barbecue on a weeknight? Use a grill pan on the stovetop instead. (We’re also betting that pickled red onions in the relish would taste just as divine as raw, BTW.)
11. Nectarine And Fig Summer Salad With Crispy Pancetta
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly
Not only are there sliced nectarines in the salad, but the whole thing is also tossed in a sweet, tangy nectarine vinaigrette. The dressing comes together in a blender or food processor and can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
12. Honey-ginger Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon With Avocado Salsa
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: high protein, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Not to steal the spotlight from the salmon, but we’re most psyched about the uber-versatile salsa. We’d serve it with tortilla chips, use it to top carnitas tacos, add a scoop or two to a green salad or tuck it into a vegetarian quesadilla.
13. Grilled Peach, Chicken And Ricotta Pizza
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: kid-friendly, <10 ingredients, high protein
Store-bought pizza dough is our love language. We use it to make cinnamon rolls, calzones and, most importantly, this barbecue-friendly pie that’s equal parts smoky, creamy and summery.
14. Chicken And Nectarine Poppy Seed Salad
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, <30 minutes, high protein
Warning: You’re about to become the envy of the breakroom. Load your bowl up with extra fruit (like blueberries and strawberries) or go wild with crunchy add-ins, like toasted almonds, candied pecans or roasted chickpeas.
15. Grilled Peach Panzanella Salad
- Time Commitment: 1 hour
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
Any salad that uses herbed country bread as a main ingredient is a salad after our own heart. The key to a crispy final product is adding the tomatoes last, so they don’t make the bread soggy.
16. Grilled Peach, Prosciutto And Mozzarella Sandwich
- Time Commitment: 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, high protein
We like to think of this handheld as a portable charcuterie board. Toast it on the stove in a skillet, press it like a panini or grill it on the barbecue. Once the bread is crisp and the cheese is melted, it’s ready to devour.
17. Chicken With Nectarine Fruit Salsa
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 25 minutes
- Why I Love It: high protein, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
Crumbled goat cheese adds just the right amount of tang and salt to the sweet salsa. Make it a meal (and keep it gluten-free) with a side of cauliflower rice or zoodles.
18. Fried Mozzarella And Caramelized Peach Caprese Burger
- Time Commitment: 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: high protein, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
These aren't your run-of-the-mill backyard burgers. Wow everyone at the cookout with panko-crusted fried mozz, grilled honey nectarines and juicy beef seasoned with smoked salt.
19. 20-minute Burrata Salad With Stone Fruit And Asparagus
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: <30 minutes, crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, vegetarian
So Insta-worthy that the platter doubles as a centerpiece. Kick your next picnic off with a wilt-proof salad that’s guaranteed to refresh your guests on a hot afternoon. Think plums, cherries, sugar snap peas and more.
20. Skillet Roast Chicken With Peaches, Tomatoes And Red Onion
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: one pan, <10 ingredients, high protein
When you’re eager to impress dinner party guests (or um, your kids), look no further than this one-pan wonder. Once you have the produce and poultry on hand, the rest is easy pantry staples.
21. Sweet And Spicy Nectarine Crisp
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, one pan, beginner-friendly
Thin-sliced serrano chiles in the filling are the key to this dessert’s sneaky heat. Serve it with vanilla ice cream or frozen Greek yogurt.
22. Plum Nectarine Galette
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 40 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, vegetarian, kid-friendly
We’re *big* fans of galettes, because they’re basically the lazy baker’s pie. If you’re up for a shortcut, use store-bought pie crust to save yourself a ton of time and effort.
23. Nectarine Upside-down Cake
- Time Commitment: 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly
There are a million reasons to love upside-down cakes, but our top two are that they turn out gorgeous by default and they essentially “frost” themselves. This one stars nectarines baked in brown sugar and butter.
24. Nectarine Cupcakes
- Time Commitment: 35 minutes
- Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly, <10 ingredients
These better-for-you treats are made with whole-wheat flour and way less butter and sugar than most cupcakes. While the recipe calls for homemade honey whipped cream on top, you can also just dust them with powdered sugar and call it a day.
25. Plum And Nectarine Crisp
- Time Commitment: 1 hour (plus cooling time)
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, <10 ingredients, one pan
BRB, burying ourselves in brown sugar-oat streusel. Not only does the topping take over for fussy pie crust, but it also adds an intensely crunchy element to every bite.
26. Balsamic Stone Fruit Sundae
- Time Commitment: 45 minutes
- Why I Love It: <10 ingredients, beginner-friendly, special occasion-worthy
Peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries—the gang's all here. Finish your sundae with toasted almonds, chopped pistachios or granola for extra crunch.
27. Nectarine And Fried Mozzarella Caprese Salad
- Time Commitment: 20 minutes
- Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, <30 minutes
Complete with heirloom tomatoes, fresh figs, prosciutto and pomegranate molasses vinaigrette. And you thought caprese salad couldn't get any tastier.
28. Raspberry, Nectarine And Sweet Corn Clafoutis
- Time Commitment: 55 minutes
- Why I Love It: special occasion-worthy, crowd-pleaser
This summer trifecta has never looked better. It comes together in just under an hour and is damn easy on the eyes to boot. Substitute frozen raspberries or canned corn if you can’t find them fresh at the farmers market.
For even more great recipes, check out our first cookbook, Only the Good Stuff.
Taryn Pire is PureWow’s associate food editor. A former bartender and barista, she’s been writing about all things delicious since 2016, developing recipes, reviewing restaurants and investigating food trends at Food52, New Jersey Family Magazine and Taste Talks. When she isn’t testing TikTok’s latest viral recipe, she’s having popcorn for dinner and posting about it on Instagram @cookingwithpire.
