There are so many exciting foods coming into season this month (do you see those avocados yet??). I think I was craving cauliflower. And sausage. Despite being totally ready for my eyeballs to stop trying to freeze solid when I go outside, I still crave the comfort food. This month has a lot of recipes, including a passel of budget, pantry-friendly dinners. I shop for the perishable stuff, and then I may or may not get to the pantry stuff. Some months I’m just buying myself time to shop a little later in the next month. March brings three, count them, three, birthdays in one month. How half the family can be born in one month, I don’t know. But I see birthday cake in my future. Did I mention there are three birthdays this month? Buying myself some time sounds super to me.
Offbeat holidays for this month are: National Peanut Butter Lovers Day (Mar 1), Dr Seuss’s Birthday (Mar 2), International Pancake Day (Mar 4), Pi Day (Mar 14), and International Waffle Day (Mar 25). Feel free to reflect these frivolous holidays in your meal planning.

Ideas and resources for menu planning in March, many seasonal winter and real food recipes. Very simple ingredients, from scratch. As always, these are all frugal recipes intended for a tight budget. Real food/from scratch/traditional diet/nutrient dense/whole food/blah blah blah. My monthly meal plans use an alternative meal planning method, recipes organized into tiers based on how perishable the ingredients are, not sorted into particular days.
*Attention real food purists/whole foodies – the recipes I link/pin are all from scratch, but some of them you may have to make substitutions or modifications. For example, I link recipes that have sugar, but you can substitute whatever your favorite sweetener is.
*Don’t forget to read about how I meal plan at Frugal, Flexible Monthly Menu Planning!*
In this post: Seasonal Produce ~ Recipes ~ Download PDF ~ Other Plans ~ Pinterest Boards
Seasonal produce for March includes:
Vegetables
Artichokes
Arugula
Asparagus
Beets
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Collards
Endive
Garlic
Leeks
Onions
Parsnips
Potatoes
Radishes
Rhubarb
Rutabaga
Spinach
Turnips
Fruits
Avocados
Grapefruit
Lemons
Limes
Mandarins
Oranges
Strawberries
Tangerines
Epicurious Seasonal produce maps by state
CUESA Seasonal vegetables by month
Recipes from the March Meal Plan (organized by how perishable ingredients are)
Tier 1/Most Perishable (ie broccoli, kale, spinach, shrooms)
Broccoli Meatballs with Garlic-Tomato Sauce Recipe from Vegetarian Times
Cheesy Baked Penne with Chicken and Broccoli from Domesticate ME!
Coconut Vegetable Curry from Budget Bytes
Herbed Chicken Mediterranean Pizza (Papa Murphy’s Herb Chicken Mediterranean Delite Copycat Recipe) from Carpe Season
Lentil Quinoa Bowls with Coriander and Lemon from Healthy Seasonal Recipes
Stovetop Broccoli and White Bean Lasagna from Pinch of Yum
Whole30 Whole Roast Chicken {w/Vegetables & Cauliflower Puree} from Honey Ghee and Me
Tier 2/Less Perishable (ie cabbage, cauliflower, pepper, scallion)
Cauliflower & Chicken Sausage Casserole from The Kitchn
Country Captain with Cauliflower and Peas Recipe from Bon Appetit
Homemade Tortilla Soup
Leftover Turkey (or chicken) Shepherd’s Pie Casserole with Garlic-Parmesan Cauliflower Topping from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Lemon Roasted Chicken and Cauliflower from 100 Days of Real Food
New England Boiled Dinner Recipe from SimplyRecipes.com (for St Patrick’s Day!)
Roasted Cauliflower and Cheddar Cheese Soup
Roasted Winter Vegetables with Miso-Lime Dressing — Recipes from The Kitchn
Sage Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Pasta from Flourishing Foodie
Slow Cooker Black Bean, Quinoa & Chicken Tortilla Soup from Ambitious Kitchen
Warm Cauliflower Carrot Salad with Citrus Miso Dressing from Gourmande in the Kitchen
Tier 3/Pantry or Make It Whenever (ie carrot, celery, leek, onion)
Chicken Leek Shepherds Pie from Healthy Seasonal Recipes
Chicken Pot Pie Soup and Parmesan Drop Biscuits from Cooking Classy
Garlic Parmesan Chicken Lasagna Bake from Pinch of Yum
Onion Chowder with Cheesy Onion Popovers from Taste and Tell
Quick & Easy Veggie Lentil Soup
Smoky Split Pea & Carrot Soup from Poor Girl Eats Well
Tortilla Soup Recipe: A 10-Minute One Pot Wonder from Thriving Home
Tuscan Pasta with Sausage from Taste and Tell
Tuscan White Bean Soup {Crock-Pot} from Artful Homemaking
Download PDF. This has the links in the order listed above. Keep in mind I don’t limit myself to particular days, so this is not in order by date. Save it to your desktop and you will always have a quick reference when you’re hunting dinner, you probably have the ingredients for Tier 3 recipes at this very moment!
Other March Real Food Meal Plans
Grain Free Weekly Meal Plan from Real Food Outlaws
Real Food Meets Reality Menu Plan from Thriving Home
Weekly Meal Plan from Jo-Lynne Shane
Whole Food Meal Plan from the Better Mom
March Meal Plan Pinterest Boards:
Meal Plan March (just look at all that tastiness!)
Recipes to Try Winter
Recipes to Try Spring
In this post: Seasonal Produce ~ Recipes ~ Download PDF ~ Other Plans ~ Pinterest Boards
*Also see our

We hope you enjoyed our March Real Food Monthly Menu Plan post for seasonal eating
Photo credits: photo from H is for Home on Flickr
Shared with Busy Monday and Mostly Homemade Mondays
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How do you save on your grocery bill?
I love cooking with real food, and your seasonal produce lists are great! I have a friend who is always looking for food in season, so I’ll have to pass this list along to her.
Thanks, I hope your friend finds it useful as well. I love that if you shop seasonally you are always cooking something different.