What Are Dandelion leaves and How Can I Use Them?
Wondering what to do with dandelion leaves? This guide covers how to pick them, cook them, store them, and swap them, plus 6 recipes to put them to work.
Key Points
- Bitter spring greens of the dandelion plant, in the chicory family, eaten raw or cooked.
- Use small young leaves raw in salad; cook the big, aggressively bitter older leaves.
- Balance the bitterness with fat, salt, and acid: bacon dressing, olive oil, garlic, lemon.
- Blanch mature greens a minute before sauteing to pull out much of the harshness.
- Forage only from chemical-free ground; store wrapped in damp towel for three to five days.
What are dandelion leaves?
Dandelion leaves are the jagged, deeply toothed greens of Taraxacum officinale, the same lawn weed whose yellow flowers turn to puffballs. Long before they were a nuisance to gardeners they were a spring vegetable, and they still are across much of Europe and the Mediterranean.
The flavor is frankly bitter, in the family of chicory and radicchio, with a mineral, slightly nutty edge. That bitterness is the point: it wakes up a plate the way arugula does, only stronger.
Younger leaves are milder and good raw. Older, larger leaves turn aggressively bitter and are better cooked.
The name comes from the French dent de lion, "lion's tooth," for the saw-edged leaf.
How to Use Dandelion Greens
Young leaves go raw into salads, where their bite is the whole appeal. Dressed assertively, they carry a Dandelion Salad or a Dandelion Salad with Mustard Greens Vinaigrette, and a handful adds backbone to a Mediterranean Lentil Salad.
The classic salad treatment leans into the bitterness rather than hiding it. A warm bacon dressing is the traditional partner: the hot fat wilts the leaves and the smoky salt and sharp vinegar balance the bitter edge.
For larger or tougher leaves, cook them. A quick saute in olive oil with garlic and a pinch of chili, finished with lemon, tames the bitterness and gives you a side in the Italian style.
Wilted dandelion also folds into pasta, as in a Dandelion Green Fettuccini, or into frittatas and soups.
Blanching is the cook's lever for bitterness. A minute in boiling water, then a squeeze, pulls out much of the harshness before you saute, which is worth doing when the greens are mature.
Stems are edible but tougher and more bitter than the leaves; trim the thickest ones from older bunches.
Pairing and Common Mistakes
Dandelion's bitterness wants fat, salt, and acid to balance it: bacon and pancetta, olive oil, garlic, anchovy, parmesan, lemon, and a touch of sweetness from caramelized onion or a little honey in the dressing.
The most common mistake is using big, old leaves raw. Mature dandelion is punishingly bitter and fibrous uncooked, so save the large leaves for the pan and keep the small tender ones for the salad bowl.
The second is under-seasoning. A timid dressing leaves dandelion tasting only of bitterness; it needs a bold, fatty, acidic dressing to come into balance, more than a delicate lettuce would.
The third is foraging carelessly. Pick only from ground you know is free of lawn chemicals and roadside spray, and well away from where dogs run, since these greens are eaten leaf and all.
Substitutes
The closest swaps are other bitter greens. Escarole and curly endive (frisee) give a similar bitter-but-mellow bite and work raw or cooked in the same dishes.
For a sharper, more peppery substitute, arugula or watercress stands in well in salads, though they bring mustard heat rather than dandelion's clean bitterness. Young mustard greens are another good match.
For cooked dishes, mature spinach or Swiss chard works if you want the texture without the bitterness, while broccoli rabe (rapini) matches the bitter punch most closely of all. Adjust the amount, since rapini is even more bitter.
Buying and Storing Dandelion Greens
Cultivated dandelion greens show up at farmers markets and Italian or Greek grocers, usually in bunches with the root end trimmed. Look for crisp, deep-green leaves with no yellowing or wilting, and choose smaller-leaved bunches for raw use.
Store them like other tender greens. Wrap the unwashed bunch in a damp paper towel, slip it into a loose bag, and refrigerate in the crisper, where it keeps three to five days. They wilt faster than sturdy greens, so use them while they are perky.
Wash thoroughly just before using, since the toothed leaves trap grit. Swish them in a bowl of cold water and lift the leaves out, repeating until the water runs clear, then spin or pat dry.
If you forage your own, harvest in early spring before the plant flowers, when the leaves are smallest and least bitter. Once the plant blooms the leaves turn harsh, so the sweet window for picking is short.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup, chopped (55g)Quick facts
Food group: Dandelion leaves are a member of the Vegetables and Vegetable Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.
- In Chinese
- 蒲公英叶子
- British (UK) term
- Dandelion leaves
- en français
- feuilles de pissenlit
- en español
- hojas de diente de león
How much do dandelion leaves weigh?
| Amount | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1 cup, chopped | 55 grams |
Related
Vegetables and Vegetable Products
Recipes using dandelion leaves
There are 6 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Dandelion Salad
Pennsylvania Dutch dandelion salad with a warm bacon and cream dressing made from eggs, vinegar, butter, and sugar. A classic spring foraging recipe.
Dandelion Green Fettuccini
Homemade dandelion green fettuccini made by blending fresh dandelion leaves into the egg pasta dough. A forager-friendly green pasta with just 4 ingredients.
Insalata Verde E Rossa (Red & Green Salad)
Insalata verde e rossa, an Italian red and green salad with dandelion leaves, watercress, and radishes in olive oil and red wine vinegar. A bitter greens salad with peppery bite.
Vegetables Stock
Vegetable stock simmers carrot, celery, turnip, asparagus, potato, parsley, and dandelion greens or kitchen scraps in water for hours until concentrated. A zero-waste freezer staple for soups, risottos, and braises.
Dandelion Salad with Mustard Greens Vinaigrette
Dandelion Salad with Mustard Greens Vinaigrette recipe
Mediterranean Lentil Salad
Mediterranean lentil salad tosses green lentils with roasted red peppers, fresh basil, toasted walnuts, and balsamic, served over dandelion greens dressed with lemon.
