Summer is the easiest season to eat well, and it's almost entirely because of timing. From June through August the fields are producing faster than the stores can sell, which means peak flavor and the lowest prices of the year land on the same shelf. The only skill required is knowing what's at its best each month — and using it before it turns.
This is your month-by-month guide to summer 2026 produce: what's in season, what's cheapest, and a rolling plan to make sure none of it goes to waste.
Why seasonal eating wins in summer
Three things line up in summer that almost never line up at once:
- Flavor — a July tomato ripened in the sun tastes nothing like a January one shipped green. Peak-season produce simply tastes better, so you need less to make it good.
- Price — supply peaks, so prices drop. In-season summer produce runs 30-50% cheaper than out of season. Eating what's abundant is the original budget hack.
- Nutrition — produce picked at ripeness and eaten close to harvest holds more of its nutrients than the long-haul, out-of-season alternative.
When all three peak together, "eat seasonally" stops being advice and becomes the obvious choice.
The full summer 2026 produce list at a glance
Fruit
- Berries — strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
- Stone fruit — peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums, apricots
- Melons — watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew
Vegetables
- Tomatoes (slicing, cherry, heirloom)
- Corn
- Zucchini and summer squash
- Peppers (sweet and hot)
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Okra
Herbs
- Basil, mint, dill — abundant, cheap, and best bought in big bunches
Keep this list on your phone. It's the difference between shopping the deals and shopping the displays the store wants you to buy.
June 2026: the spring-to-summer bridge
June is a transition month — the last of spring overlaps with the first of summer. Cherries arrive, strawberries hit their sweetest, and starts showing up cheap. Asparagus and peas are fading; tomatoes and corn aren't quite there yet.
