This Easy Swiss Chard Recipe Will Get Everyone to Eat Their Greens (2024)

FAQs

What is the best way to eat Swiss chard? ›

Chard can be steamed or sauteed, and it's great in soups, stews, casseroles, frittatas and quiches. Young leaves can be eaten raw in salads. Chard always has green leaves, but the stalks can be a variety of colors.

The flavor of Swiss chard mellows once it's cooked. Adding onions and garlic will impart a sweet flavor, or pair with salty bacon, white beans or creamy cheese to offset the bitterness. I love adding a touch of spice and squeeze of fresh lemon juice for a bright pop of flavor.

Swiss Chard Recipes

Both the leaves and stems of chard taste delicious in recipes. Recipes using raw Swiss chard tend to call for the leaves only.

Swiss chard leaves can be eaten raw or cooked. Raw Swiss chard is less bitter than cooked. A bunch of raw Swiss chard will cook to a much smaller amount. The stalks are thicker than the leaves so they take longer to cook.

The foods that help reduce bitterness are: Salt while cooking and/or while eating (like on bitter salad greens) Sweet or Spicy. Sour or Acids like lemon or vinegar.

The leaves may turn somewhat bitter in mid-summer but if you continue to remove older leaves the plant will produce more leaves that will be less bitter as the weather cools. Swiss chard is quite cold tolerant and will continue to grow in the garden through frosts until temperatures drop to the mid-20's.

Food Processing Techniques to Reduce Oxalates

Because oxalates are water soluble, they can be reduced by blanching, boiling, or steaming with the liquid discarded. Fermentation reduces oxalates. Cooking in milk or macerating in whey can also mitigate oxalate exposure. Sprouting can help too.

Blood clotting: If you are on blood thinners, you may want to avoid Swiss chard due to its high vitamin K content, which plays a role in blood clotting. Allergy: If you are sensitive to grass pollen, you should avoid eating Swiss chard because inhaling vapor from boiling the vegetable may trigger rhinoconjunctivitis.

Contains oxalates.

Like other leafy greens, Swiss chard is high in oxalates, which play a role in the formation of calcium oxalate kidney stones — but you can still enjoy nutrient-dense foods high in oxalates. To help prevent kidney stones, try to stay hydrated, limit sodium intake, and get enough calcium ( 32 , 33 ).

What is eating my Swiss chard at night? ›

Slugs. Chews irregular holes in leaves; can completely defoliate plants. Feeds during night and typically not seen during day.

Spinach have significantly more Vitamins A than chard. Spinach is an excellent source of Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron. Spinach is a great source of Thiamin, Niacin, Zinc, Phosphorus.

chard is also has an abundance of antioxidants as well as phytonutrient antioxidants. Why are these phytonutrient antioxidants so special? These antioxidants have been shown to have great anti-inflammatory properties. These phytonutrients can be found in the plant's leaves, and colorful stems.

Health benefits of Swiss chard. Swiss chard is a highly nutritious vegetable. It is a rich source of vitamin K and may help people maintain healthy blood sugar levels and support heart health. It is also commonly known as silverbeet, spinach beet, perpetual spinach, crab beet, and mangold.

You can eat these greens both raw or cooked. However, cooking chards improves not only the nutrient availability, but also the taste. Swiss chard is susceptible to foodborne pathogens, like other leafy greens, so be careful about washing this veggie thoroughly before preparing it.

Swiss chard can be enjoyed raw in salads or on sandwiches or wraps, braised, boiled, sautéed or added to soups and casseroles. Here are some tips to incorporate more Swiss chard (leaves and stems) into the daily routine: Add a handful of fresh Swiss chard leaves to an omelet or scrambled eggs.

Consuming Swiss chard may lower your risk of certain chronic diseases, help promote weight loss, help you maintain healthy blood sugar levels, and support heart health. Plus, it's a versatile vegetable that pairs well with many foods and can be added to a variety of recipes.