How Do You Eat Microgreens?
Microgreens were first used to garnish fancy restaurant plates by adding bright colors and interesting leaf shapes to dress up main courses or salads. Sometimes they were only used to fill space on a plate to make an expensive meal look bigger.
But times have changed.
Now microgreens are being used not only for their colors and to add interest but because of their flavor and nutritional value.
Now microgreens are not only eye candy for high-end restaurants but are part of a nutritional plan and flavor boost for everyday meals. More and more people are growing their own microgreens and using them every day as salad garnish, including them in dishes as replacement vegetables, and even making specialty recipes that only include microgreens.
In this article, I have included a table that lists over 35 different microgreens listing their flavor profiles, dishes that they can be included in, and what other food, vegetables, fruit, and meat that pair well with the microgreen.
- How Do You Eat Microgreens?Â
- How Do You Use Microgreens?
- Table 1: Microgreen Flavor Profiles & Food Pairing Ideas
- Microgreens as Garnishes
- Salads – Both as Accent or Whole
- Microgreens as Toppings
- Microgreens as a Side Dish
- Incorporating Microgreens into Cooking
- Making Pesto with Microgreens
- Adding Microgreens to Fruit Smoothies
- Microgreens as Green Smoothies
- Juicing Microgreens
- There Are Many More Ways to Use Microgreens
- Microgreen Recipes
- Are You Ready to Grow Your Own Microgreens?
How Do You Use Microgreens?
Microgreens can fill that bill if you want to step up your culinary game and add more fresh and nutritious food items to your meals. The ways are unlimited.
FREE Home Microgreens Grow course that teaches you the basics of growing microgreens in your home! There are 12 video lessons (over 120 minutes), downloads, and more written information and tips!
Here are some ways microgreens can be incorporated into your meals and meal plans. The data table below contains many other uses for microgreens, not only what to include them in but what flavors they accent.
Table 1: Microgreen Flavor Profiles & Food Pairing Ideas
Below is a table that contains over 35 different microgreen varieties listing their flavor profile, how to use them, and food pairing suggestions or ideas.
Below the table are some other suggestions including videoes with microgreen recipes. You can click the underlined microgreen to learn more about that microgreen and how to grow it.
Microgreen | Flavor | Food Pairing Ideas |
---|---|---|
Amaranth | Mild earthy flavor. | Amaranth are mild and tender, add the greens to salads and soups. Complimentary flavors include bacon, ham, poultry, white fish and seafood, garlic, onion, sesame seeds, soy sauce, lemon, mushrooms, oregano, dill, goat cheese, parmesan, ricotta, mustard, walnuts and curries. |
Arugula | Peppery cabbage-like flavor. | The nutty, peppery taste best suited as an edible garnish primarily in savory dishes. Add at the end of preparations. Works well with vinaigrettes. Arugula can be mixed with other lettuces to create a flavorful salad, or it can be used as a bed of greens under roasted meats and seafood or floated on soups and stews. It is great over quiche, as a pizza topping, or stirred into pasta dishes. It can be blended into pesto, or added to sandwiches and burgers. Arugula pairs well with parmesan, feta, chevre, blue cheese, gorgonzola, and mozzarella. Pair with pears, citrus, berries, melons, and avocados, nuts, balsamic vinegar, cucumber, tomato, olives, fennel, and meats including turkey, beef, veal, poultry, and fish. |
Basils | Intense basil flavor. Many variations. | Basil microgreens cannot withstand high heat so add them before serving. Can be incorporated into both savory and sweet applications. Use as a garnish on pasta, pizza, quiche, soups, green salads, and fruit salads. Add to lemonade and fruity cocktails like mojitos, gimlets, or martinis or be combined into dips, dressing, and sauces. Micro-basil works well with tomatoes, garlic, onion, corn, and mozzarella cheese, and with fruits like blueberries, strawberries, apricot, pineapple, nectarines, peaches, watermelon. Compliments flavors such as vanilla, lemon verbena, coconut, honey, ginger, cinnamon, and white chocolate. |
Beet | Sweet and earthy with a slight beet flavor | Beets with their sweet and earthy flavor in can be tossed into green salads, mixed into grain bowls, or into sandwiches. Add before serving to avoid wilting on pizza, or floated on soups, stews, and curries. Use as a garnish for egg-based dishes, including omelets and quiche, stirred into creamy pasta dishes, topped over avocado toast, sprinkled over tacos, or incorporated into stir-fries. Beet pairs well with chives, shallots, garlic, and ginger, feta, and goat cheeses, Also, chickpeas, quinoa, nuts, carrots, radishes, pomegranate, papaya, citrus, mushrooms, and butternut squash. |
Bok Choy | Crunchy, sweet cabbage flavor. | Bok choy microgreens add a mild flavor and light crunch to savory dishes. Used to accent Asian cuisine and can be sprinkled over noodle, dumplings, and rice dishes, tossed into stir-fries, floated over soups and stews. or layered into fresh spring rolls. Bok Choy pairs well with mushrooms, carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, parsley, cilantro, basil, and mint, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and meats such as beef, pork, poultry, turkey, duck, and fish. |
Borage | A mixture of cucumber and melon flavors. | Use Borage as an edible garnish to emphasize its refreshing cucumber-like flavor. Borage can be added to salads, mixed into fruit bowls, sandwiches and wraps, or folded into soft cheeses, dips, and spreads. It can also be blended into smoothies, used as a bed for fish or roasted meats, and garnish sushi. Chop it and stuffed into pasta, blended into sorbet or add to drinks. Borage pairs well with basil, marjoram, mint, dill, and parsley, add to cheeses such as gouda, goat, and ricotta, and the following meats poultry, turkey, quail, and fish. Borage also works with fruits such as strawberries, lemons, and oranges. |
Broccoli | Mixture of mild broccoli & cabbage. | Broccoli is best used as an edible garnish, or added to sandwiches, salads, polenta, or blended into pesto, dips, and spreads. Broccoli micros can be sprinkled over roasted meats and vegetables, floated on soups, stews, and curries. Broccoli pairs well with tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and sweet peppers, meats such as poultry, beef, pork, and veal, seafood, cheeses including parmesan, mozzarella, and pecorino, and other herbs such as basil, oregano, or parsley. |
Brussels Sprouts | Similar flavor as mild broccoli and cabbage with a more crunchy texture. | Brussels sprouts micros can be chopped and added to salads and smoothies. Brussels sprouts can be used the same as other Brassica such as broccoli, kale, and cabbage. Brussels sprouts pair well with bright citrus flavors, vinegar and vinaigrettes, sausages, bacon, pork belly and pork shoulder, grilled, smoked and fried white fish, apples, pears, cream, melting cheeses, pistachios, tree nuts, peppers, and chiles. |
Buckwheat | A tangy citrus flavor. | They are an excellent choice as a base for any microgreens salad or just added to salads. Because of their crisp texture, they're also a tremendous raw topping for sandwiches or burgers. they are an excellent garnish or topping for different foods – pizzas, or soups, stews, and curries. You can also use buckwheat microgreens to make a healthy green smoothie. |
Cabbage | Sweet mild cabbage. | Red Cabbage microgreens are best used in raw applications because of their delicate nature they cannot withstand high heat preparations and heavy dressings. Use as a finishing touch to dishes and can be sprinkled over soups, salads, stews, grilled vegetables, and meat dishes. Red Cabbage pairs well with citrus, nuts, garlic, shelling beans, mushrooms, ginger, fennel, shallots, apples, avocados, farro, quinoa, meats such as chicken, beef, and sausage, eggs, and mild cheeses. |
Cantaloupe | A mixture between honeydew and cucumber | Besides salads and sandwich toppings, cantaloupe micros can be added to smoothies or drinks, and as a topper to cheesecakes or tarts, or eaten by themselves. They pair well with other fruits, especially strawberries, as well as soft and mild cheeses. |
Carrot | Strong carrot flavor. | Carrot microgreens are a great edible garnish to showcase the green’s earthy, herbal flavor. The microgreens provide increased textural and visual appeal. Especially on grain bowls, salads, and pasta, or even on sandwiches. I like them in potato and macaroni salads. The microgreens can also be floated on soups, mixed into dips, hummus, pesto, and chimichurri sauces, chopped into salsa, or blended into smoothies for an interesting herbal flavor. Carrot microgreens add flavor to roasted meats and vegetables (add before serving), can be placed as a garnish on vegetarian burgers. Carrot micros can also be add to cocktails as a garnish. Carrot pairs well with meats such as poultry, turkey, fish and seafood. The flavor works with root vegetables including radishes, beets, potatoes, and carrots, herbs such as mint, parsley, and tarragon, garlic, scallions, mushrooms, cucumbers, corn, and tomatoes. |
Cauliflower | Mild peppery broccoli flavor and crisp texture. Cauliflower microgreens have more taste than broccoli microgreens. | Cauliflower microgreens can be added to soups, stews, pizza, and salads. They are great on sandwiches because of their thick leaves. Cauliflower pairs well with dill, garlic, soy sauce, sesame seeds, pork, chicken, beef, and mushrooms. |
Celery | Strong celery flavor. | Celery microgreens are a great garnish for savory dishes. They can be added to sandwiches, salads, stir-fries, soups, stews, casseroles, and cacciatore. I use them in my Thanksgiving stuffing and also in my Bloody Mary’s. Combined them into sauces, or sprinkled on top of peanut butter as a snack. Celery pairs well with fish such as halibut or tuna, crab, parsley, tarragon, chervil, chives, sage, bacon, cheese, lemon, hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and onions. |
Chervil | Complex herb flavor with notes of anise, mint, parsley, and tarragon. | The delicate greens can be sprinkled over soups, salads, casseroles, roasted vegetables, potatoes, pasta and seafood dishes, omelets, and some desserts. It can also be incorporated into compound butter, and infused oils for added flavor. Great in bearnaise sauces, and many other buttery sauces, cheese-based spreads, or sauces accompanying roasted meats. Chervil pairs well with meats such as venison, steak, and poultry, fish, scallops, tofu, mushrooms, nuts such as pine and almonds. |
Cilantro | Cilantro flavor | Cilantro microgreens should be added before serving as they will wilt if exposed to prolonged heat. Unlike mature cilantro, they have a bright and sweet flavor without the soapy, bitter characteristic that mature cilantro can develop. Use in Mexican, Indian, Thai, and Chinese cuisines. They can be sprinkled on top of egg rolls and spring rolls, used to add a bright flavor to lobster and crab, add to polenta, or chopped into salsa. Cilantro pairs well with avocado, carrots, zucchini, tomato, coconut milk, citrus, ginger, mint, lemongrass, chile peppers, yogurt, chicken, lamb, and fish. |
Cress | Intense peppery flavor | Upland Cress can be incorporated sparingly (it has a strong flavor) into salads, used as a topping over avocado toast, or mixed into dips, spreads, and herb butter. If you like sandwiches that bite back, add it on sandwiches or use as a topping for tacos, or mixed into egg dishes such as egg salad, omelets, and quiches. Cress complements Asian cuisine, and combine well with other greens such as mustard and mizuna. Upland Cress can also be added on top of soups, served over roasted meats, or used as an edible garnish for seafood or even grilled vegetables. Cress pairs well with meats such as pork, turkey, poultry, sausage, ham, and fish. Mix it in mayonnaise, cream cheese, Greek yogurt. It also pairs with apples, pears, avocados, mushrooms, radishes, and cucumbers. |
Fenugreek | Spicy & sour aftertaste like curry | Fenugreek can be incorporated into cooked preparations in North Africa, Indian, and Middle Eastern cuisine. Microgreens can be chopped and mixed into a dough and baked into a flatbread. Fenugreek can also be added to soups, curries, and stews, mixed into dals, chopped into chutney, or used to flavor gravies and sauces. Fenugreek pairs well with spices such as paprika, cumin, garam masala, and coriander, potatoes, tomatoes, okra, aromatics, including chile peppers, ginger, onion, and garlic, and yogurt. |
Kales | A nutty broccoli flavor | Kale microgreens is best used as an edible garnish or tossed into salads, used as a bed of greens for seafood, or over egg-based dishes, grain bowls, and stir-fries. The microgreens can also be used as a topping over tacos, pizza, and pasta, added to sandwiches and burgers, stuffed into pitas, stirred into curries and soups, or rolled into sushi. In addition kale microgreens can be pureed into sauces, dips, and pesto or blended into smoothies and juices. Kale pairs well with radishes, carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms, tomatoes, squash, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower, cheeses such as parmesan, feta, and mozzarella, cranberries, pistachios, and meats including pork, beef, and poultry. |
Kohlrabi | Mixture between broccoli & cabbage. | Kohlrabi is best used as an edible garnish, or added to sandwiches, salads, or blended into pesto, dips, and spreads. Kohlrabi can be sprinkled over roasted meats and vegetables, floated on soups, stews, and curries. Kohlrabi pairs well with tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and sweet peppers, meats such as poultry, beef, pork, and veal, seafood, cheeses including parmesan, mozzarella, and pecorino, and other herbs such as basil, oregano, or parsley. |
Leek | Onion flavor | Any dish where you would use onions or leeks, such as cock-a-leekie soup, leek and potato soup and vichyssoise, along with leek soup. Add it before serving to sautéed, grilled or roasted vegetables. Ideal edible bed for chicken, tuna or turkey salad. Use as a garnish for onion soup. |
Lovage | An interesting mixture of celery, parsley and anise. | Use Lovage as an edible garnish to complement ingredients found in Mediterranean cuisine. The microgreens provide increased textural and visual appeal and should be added just before serving. Add Lovage microgreens to salads, sandwiches and wraps, chopped and folded into soft cheeses, dips, and spreads, or floated over soups and stews. They can also be stirred into casseroles, stuffing, and tomato-based sauces, blended into pesto or used as a fresh pizza topping. Lovage can be incorporated into cocktails, teas, and sparkling beverages. Lovage pairs well with cucumber, asparagus, leeks, lentils, potatoes, herbs such as thyme, fenugreek, tarragon, basil, and oregano, citrus, poultry, and fish. |
Mustards | There are many varieties of mustard. Most have a horseradish-like flavor with varying degrees of spiciness. | Use Mustard microgreens as an edible garnish. Add mustard micros just before serving and let the robust, peppery microgreens enhance savory dishes and provide added crunch as a textural element.They can also be tossed into salads, mixed with other microgreens as a bed of greens under roasted meats, piled on coleslaw, or on sandwiches. Add mustard before serving to stir-fries, roasted vegetables, and rice bowls, or lightly sprinkled over sushi, sashimi, soups, and curries. The spicy flavors enhance Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and German cuisine. Mustard pairs well with meats such as poultry, lamb, pork, and beef, nuts, apples, citrus, garlic, ginger, shallots, dill, cilantro, and fennel. |
Nasturtium | The flavor is a sharp pepperly bite. Sweet at first with a pepper-like aftertaste. | Nasturtium should be added just before serving when added to warm or hot dishes. Most commonly used as a garnish for green salads, potato salad, pasta, grain bowls, and stir-fries. Nasturtium microgreens are very spicy so use sparingly. They can also be added to sandwiches and quesadillas, minced and blended into butter, or pureed with the leaves to make a nasturtium pesto. Nasturtium pairs well with veal, poultry, fish, corned beef, and ham, shrimp, bananas, blueberries, avocado, and tomatoes, scallions, radish, beets, leafy greens such as arugula, mesclun, baby spinach, potatoes, nuts, parmesan cheese, and compliment these herbs chervil, dill, and tarragon. Nasturtium can also flavor oils and vinegar. |
Onion | Onion flavor | Any dish where you would use onions. Add it before serving to sautéed, grilled or roasted vegetables. Ideal edible bed for chicken, tuna or turkey salad. Use as a garnish for onion soup. |
Parsley | Mild parsley | Parsley microgreens can be used as a fresh garnish in Middle Eastern, European, American, and Brazilian cuisine and can be sprinkled on soups, stews, casseroles, salads, and combined into stocks, sauces, and condiments to add flavor. They can also be added to pasta dishes with tomato, cheese, or cream-based sauces. Chopped parsley microgreens are great on mashed potatoes. Parsley pairs well with basil, mint, oregano, chervil, chive, dill, and tarragon, potato, tomato, garlic, lemon, avocado, capers, beef, chicken, lamb, goose, and fish, clams, cheese, butter, risotto, rice pilaf, and goulash or baked ziti. I add it to chicken riggies before serving. |
Pea | Fresh peas | Pea microgreens or shoots can be sprinkled over soups, and salads. I chop pea shoots and add them to scrambled eggs. They can be added to main dishes, appetizers just before serving, or even added to stir-fries during the cooking. They are great when added to roasted vegetables, potatoes, and pasta. For a bright green pesto use pea shoots. Pea shoots pair well with the following cheeses, goat, feta, parmesan, and pecorino, aromatics like garlic, ginger, leeks, and shallots,also many vegetables, fruits, and some meat such as fava beans, asparagus, mushrooms, radishes, citrus, eggs, seafood, and poultry. |
Radishes | Similar to radishes with an earthy & spicy bite. | Radish microgreens can be add to green salads, sandwiches (both hot and cold) add to avocado toast, or floated on soups, stews, and curries. Chopped radish microgreens can be sprinkled over rice and noodle-based dishes, tossed into stir-fries or added to sushi rolls. Radish microgreens complements the flavors found in Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and Korean cuisine, but can also be added to some Latin and Hispanic, French, American cuisine, and fusion dishes. Radish pairs well with potatoes, parsnips, carrots, and turnips, ginger, garlic, scallions, and onions, feta, lemon juice, seafood, poultry, tofu, mushrooms, cauliflower, and asparagus. |
Shungiku | A citrusy carrot-like flavor. | Shungiku or edible chrysanthemum greens are great tossed in salads and stir-fries as well as on sandwiches and wraps. The greens can also be chopped and floated on soups or stews. Used primarily in Asian cuisines and added before serving or to hot oils. Most common Japanese dishes shabu shabu or sukiyaki. Korean cuisines used shungiku to temper strongly flavored fish recipes to balance the fishy flavor with bitterness. Chrysanthemum pairs with other leafy greens, tomatoes, and bean sprouts. Larger leaves can be prepared steamed, blanched (ohitashi), lightly boiled, stir-fried, tempura (leaves), added to soup (popular with chicken broth and ginger), stews, and as mentioned in one-pot traditional cooking such as suki-yaki and yosenabe. |
Spinach | The flavor is like mild spinach, slightly more bitter. | Spinach microgreens can be use in the same way baby spinach is used. Throw some into a salad, place them on sandwiches, burgers, and tacos for a nice, crunchy texture and added nutritional value. Spinach can be added to egg dishes at the last second as well as pasta dishes. Chop and sprinkle them on soup or stews or on stir fires once plated. Spinach can also be added to smoothies and pestos. Spinach microgreens goes well with all of the aromatics like garlic, onions, and root vegetables. Spinach pairs well with light seafoods like shrimp, scallops, and white fish. |
Sunflower | Nutty flavor - crunchy | Sunflower shoots have a crisp, fresh, and slightly nutty flavor well suited for fresh and cooked preparations. Toss them into salads, add to sandwiches, wraps, and quesadillas, rolled them up into sushi rolls, or chop them up and stirred into grain bowls. The shoots can chopped and made into pesto or add them to creamy dips. Again, chopped they can be folded into mashed potatoes or omelets, mixed into rice, or stir-fried with vegetables or noodles. Let’s not forget sunflower microgreens can be eat raw as a snack. Sunflower pairs well with radishes, carrots, and kohlrabi, tomatoes, ham, turkey, and poultry, apples, basil, parsley, and dill. |
Swiss Chard | The flavor is an earthy sweet beet or spinach flavor. | Swiss chard microgreens have an earthy, subtly sweet, and nutty flavor well suited as an element in savory culinary dishes. The micros can be added to salads, sandwiches, grain bowls, added last minute to omelets, potato dishes. Swiss chard pairs well with Mediterranean cuisine and sprinkled over legume dishes, mixed into pasta, lasagna, and risotto, or stirred into creamy dips. Pair Swiss chard microgreens with soft cheeses, mushrooms, squash, celery, carrots, tomatoes, artichokes, beets, rice and barley, meats such as poultry, bacon, and other complementary flavors including balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, and cream-based sauces. |
Tat Soi | Flavor is similar to cabbage with a bit of a mustard bite. | Use Tatsoi microgreens as an edible garnish. Similar to mustard microgreens add these delicate micros just before serving in warm to hot dishes. Tar Soi can also be tossed into salads, mixed with other microgreens as a bed of greens under roasted meats, added to coleslaw, or on sandwiches. Add Tatsoi before serving stir-fries, roasted vegetables, and rice bowls, or lightly sprinkled over sushi, sashimi, soups, and curries. The spicy flavors enhance Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, and German cuisine. Tatsoi pairs well with meats such as poultry, lamb, pork, and beef, nuts, apples, citrus, garlic, ginger, shallots, dill, cilantro, and fennel. |
Tokyo Bekana | The flavor is similar to cabbage with a crunchy texture | Tokyo Bekana can be use in both raw and cooked applications. Add to green salads, or mixed into pasta dishes before serving. It can be used in all of the applications that mustards or other Brassica microgreens can. Tokyo Bekana pairs well with mushrooms, fennel, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, potatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, herbs such as thyme, basil, and mint, parmesan cheese, cherries, grapefruit, and peaches. |
Turnip | A mix between a mild turnip, cabbage, nd non-spicy radish | Turnip microgreens is best used as an edible garnish or tossed into salads, used as a bed of greens for seafood, or over egg-based dishes, grain bowls, and stir-fries. The microgreens can also be used as a topping over tacos, pizza, and pasta, added to sandwiches and burgers, stuffed into pitas, stirred into curries and soups, or rolled into sushi. Their flavor is strong enough to add to stir fries or roasted vegetables. Turnip pairs well with radishes, carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower, parmesan, feta, and mozzarella, cranberries, pistachios, and meats including pork, beef, and poultry. |
Wheat Grass | Bitter, grassy and earthy. | Wheatgrass has a bitter, grassy, and earthy flavor profile that takes some getting used to. The greens are also somewhat tough to digest whole, so the leaves are commonly pressed, blended, chopped, or crushed. Fresh wheat grass is traditionally juiced and consumed as a shot first thing in the morning, often served with a wedge of citrus, or they are blended into smoothies. Wheatgrass can also be added to cocktails and complements beverages with fruity or tart flavors. Beyond mixing the greens into drinks, Wheatgrass can be used in very small amounts and mixed into dips such as hummus or guacamole, chopped finely into salads, stirred into chilled soups such as gazpacho, or combined into salad dressings and sauces. When mixing into sauces, honey, sugar, and cream will help mask the grassy flavor. Wheatgrass pairs well with pineapple, banana, apples, oranges, grapes, and coconut, spinach, cucumber, celery, carrots, tomatoes, avocado, ginger, mint, cilantro, and parsley. Pets also like to chew on wheat grass. |
I’m not a chef or have any professional culinary experience. Most of the pairing information is modified from Specialty Produce.
Microgreens as Garnishes
Not very imaginative, but still, a few colorful microgreens draped over perfectly cooked scallop does bring some benefit to the plate. We start eating with our eyes first.
Colorful or microgreens with interesting leaves are the best garnishes. Bull’s Blood Beets, Red Garnet Amaranth, Ruby Red Swiss Chard, and microgreens like Shungiku and Lovage are excellent garnish microgreens.
Salads – Both as Accent or Whole
All microgreens can and should be included in salads, either incorporated in the salad or making up all the salad.
Besides color and texture, microgreens are also very flavorful and bring a lot to the party. Not only do they look good and taste good, but microgreens are very nutritious and will add vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, providing health benefits when used regularly.
Microgreens as Toppings
This is how I use microgreens the most. Well, I do add them in the cooking process quite often too. Still, I’d say the biggest share of microgreens I use are toppings on sandwiches, subs, burgers, tacos, nachos, in burritos, over chili, and cold salads like potato and macaroni salads.
Maybe this is more of a garnish, but I’m going to include it as a topping, but I sprinkle chopped microgreens over my pasta dishes, soups, roasts, and mashed potatoes after serving. It makes the meal look and tastes better!
Almost any microgreen can be used this way, especially crunchy microgreens such as cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, stronger flavored microgreens like radishes and mustard, and all of the herbaceous microgreens.
Microgreens as a Side Dish
Microgreens can be used as a fresh vegetable side dish. Usually, not alone. Instead, add some pickled beets or peppers on top. Or maybe some sliced fruit like pears, apples, grapefruit, or citrus wedges.
Almost any microgreen will work as a side dish, from visually stunning purple Vienna kohlrabi, red acre cabbage, or unique tasting microgreens like lovage or chervil.
Incorporating Microgreens into Cooking
Most microgreens are delicate and do not hold up well to sustained heat. So when cooking with microgreens, they are added right before serving.
There are a few exceptions I make to this. For instance, I add celery microgreens to my Thanksgiving stuffing or dressing (depending on where you are from). When I first saute the onions, I add chopped stalked celery to onions, but adding coarsely chopped celery microgreens into the mix before cooking adds a ton of celery flavor.
Onion and leek are other microgreens that can be added to and even mixed with food as it cooks. They have a surprising amount of flavor that is passed into the food as it cooks.
Bok choy (or any of the mustards) is another microgreen that I add to stir-fries at the end before serving. It improves the flavor profile of the dish. Sometimes, instead of adding the bok choy to the dish when cooking, I chop it and sprinkle it on top of the rice before topping it with the vegetables, meat, and sauce. The temperature of the sauce extracts and spreads the flavor of the microgreens making the dish taste more fresh.
There are many more ways to use fresh microgreens in cooking, but let’s move on to a few more interesting ways to use microgreens.
Making Pesto with Microgreens
Many microgreens can be used to make pesto. You can use radishes or sunflowers besides the standard basil or arugula mixture.
Sunflower Pesto
Radish Pesto
I wouldn’t use radish leaves (yuck) but radish microgreens.
Adding Microgreens to Fruit Smoothies
Another great use of microgreens to increase nutritional intake is to add them to fruit in a blender and make a smoothie.
I think microgreens such as cantaloupe and borage would make great additions because their flavor profile is fruity, to begin with. Spinach would work well too.
This one looks good.
Microgreens as Green Smoothies
Yep, microgreens can be used by themselves to make a smoothie. Sunflowers, wheat grass, and any mild-flavored microgreen will work.
Juicing Microgreens
I’m not brave enough unless there is a lot of fruit, but people like green juice, and using microgreens such as pea shoots, broccoli, wheatgrass, and kale microgreens will work.
There Are Many More Ways to Use Microgreens
I hope this has answered your question about how do you eat microgreens.
You can treat microgreens almost like any other green and, in many cases, like you would use any vegetable for food preparations. The only exception is high sustained heat will break most microgreens down, and the way to get around that is to add them right before serving.
Microgreen Recipes
You can use the link below to take you to all of the microgreen recipes I have on Home Microgreens. I will continue to add more, but I’d like to ask you to share your favorite microgreens recipes with me.
I am always looking to add more recipes so if you’d like to share or better yet write up a little article or video that I can post on Home Microgreens that would great!
Click here to see the recipes on Home Microgreens
Are You Ready to Grow Your Own Microgreens?
The Home Microgreen Store has everything you need to start growing microgreens at home! Check it out.
Credits: Any Stock Photos come from: depositphotos.com or My View From The Woods.