Find inspiration and ideas for seasonal cooking for February, including lists of produce to buy, what to use up, and simple seasonal eating recipes for meal planning.
PLUS grab a free printable menu planning page to help you focus on cooking through the seasons.
This article is part of a year-long series on how to cook seasonal foods for each month as a resource for meal planning, saving money, and helping the environment.
Each month of the seasonal cooking series includes:
- What's in season for that month.
- What you may have in your freezer and pantry to use up if you preserve food.
- Favorite recipes using seasonal produce from An Oregon Cottage to help you plan to eat seasonally.
- A free printable weekly menu planner for the month with areas to record what's in season for you and what you have to use up!
You can find all the months of this seasonal eating series here.
How are doing cooking seasonally in these winter months?
Looking back over our menu, I see that we made quite a bit of roasted vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, parsnips and potatoes.
I steamed and sautéed broccoli, plus some of our frozen garden green beans and corn.
I try not to rely as much on green salads, as lettuce isn't really "in season" though other greens like spinach and kale are. We do eat some lettuce and spinach a couple times a week with in-season fruit and/or vegetables tossed in.
I actually DO have a winter lettuce that I planted in the fall still producing in the garden! It's under cover and seems to be doing okay with our freezing mornings and the snow we had in December.
Seasonal Cooking For February
How do you eat seasonally in the winter?
Like I mentioned, I like to take advantage of root vegetables and cool-weather veggies like broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower. These make up the bulk of our produce this month.
I roast them, make soups and stews, or add them to casseroles.
You can read the first section of this month for answers to the questions, "What is seasonal cooking," "Why is easting seasonal important" - and a big caution we need to take into account for eating "seasonally."
Here are tips to help you eat more seasonally and use this resource page with the free printable meal planner:
- Use the lists and recipes you find here for February to make a menu according to what you are harvesting/buying.
- Harvest from your own garden or visit farmer's markets for the produce you need.
- OR use the shopping lists when super market shopping, noting the sales in the produce aisle.
- Try new things that are in season.
- Add any new recipes you like and keep them in a binder to cycle through the following season.
It's easy to lose track of produce's seasonality since most are carried all year long in stores - use this resource article and the free printable weekly menu planning page to help:
Download the menu page, print it out, and use it to write down the seasonal foods you need to use and buy, as well as the recipes you'll make that week.
PRO TIP: Keep all of these through a year and you'll have a custom seasonal menu binder you can refer to year after year!
Note: If you're already a subscriber, you can find this in the VIP library!
February Seasonal Eating
February is pretty much a repeat of January - meaning, how creative can we get with our freezer and pantry items? (Spoiler: pretty deliciously creative, as the sample recipes show below!)
If you planted purple-sprouting broccoli, however, or have fall garden vegetables still producing in the garden, you may be getting some actual fresh garden produce now or by the end of the month!
Seasonal Produce for February Lists
In Season Fruits
- Citrus (lemon, orange, grapefruit)
- Apples (stored)
- Pears
In Season Vegetables
- Avocados
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrots/Parsnips (stored)
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Chard/Kale
- Endive (and some cut-and-come-again covered greens)
- Garlic (stored)
- Green Onions
- Leeks
- Mushrooms
- Onions (stored)
- Potatoes (stored)
- Purple-sprouting broccoli
- Radicchio
- Rutabagas
- Winter Squash (stored)
Freezer and Pantry Preserved Food Options
- Tomato products (Roasted Tomato Sauce, Addictive Tomato Chutney, canned plain tomatoes, seasoned sauce and garden salsa)
- Frozen corn and frozen green beans (or canned)
- Frozen blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries
- Pickled foods: cucumbers, beans, and asparagus
- Sauces and condiments: Plum sauce, chutneys, jams, etc.
- Oil-packed dried tomatoes
- Frozen chopped sweet & hot peppers
- Dried fruit (like my favorite plums)
- Dried herbs
Seasonal Eating Recipes For February
Easy Slow Cooker Cassoulet Recipe
This slow cooker cassoulet is one of my all-time favorites! The flavor is so good -and if you want to be more authentic, you can transfer the cassoulet to a baking dish, sprinkle with seasoned bread crumbs and broil a bit to crisp it up.
Slow Cooker Chicken with Artichokes, Dried Tomatoes & Olives (+ Instant Pot Option)
This is a super flavorful way to cook chicken and a nice slow cooker change from soups, stews, and pulled meat.
The Best Sausage and Lentil Stew Recipe
My favorite lentil anything - so good I make the full recipe to eat for lunches the next few days after. It just gets better with time.
Easy Potato And Caramelized Onion Frittata
An excellent way to use pantry potatoes and onions and a quick meatless meal for those nights you need it. Serve with a chopped seasonal salad like the one below.
Quick & Easy Chopped Salad (a Use-What-You-Have Recipe)
The photo above was taken in summer so you see peppers and summer squash, but chopped salads are a favorite in winter. Use carrots, onions, broccoli, celery as fresh ingredients and fill in with any pickled or canned produce you have. So good.
What are you looking forward to making in February?
Don't forget to download and print out your free seasonal meal planning page:
Looking for more seasonal cooking ideas for February? Check out these February dinner menu ideas for four weeks of easy entrees and sides!
Originally published in February of 2012, this article has been completely updated to be more relevant and useful - enjoy!
