Can You Eat Radish Leaves?

Yes. You can eat radish leaves as well as the small red bulbs themselves. The green is ideal for preparing salads, soups, pesto – and even as a substitute for spinach. Find out here what you should pay attention to if you want to use radish leaves for food and for various dishes.

Radish leaves: edible and delicious

Most people don’t suspect that radish leaves are edible: the green stuff usually ends up in the compost – and only the radishes themselves are eaten as raw vegetables or radish salad. This also applies to the leaves of many other types of vegetables. For example, did you know that you can use kohlrabi leaves when cooking and that the green of the turnip is edible? The leaves of carrots, fennel, or beetroot are just as nutritious as they are edible! Radish leaves are characterized by a strong and spicy taste. You can eat them raw without hesitation, for example in a salad. When you buy the vegetables, make sure that the leaves are as fresh and undamaged as possible. The smaller the leaves, the more delicate they taste. The hairs that grow on the leaf surface are also not as pronounced in young leaves. It is best to process the green immediately after purchase so that it does not wither. In addition to salad, you can also prepare pesto from the raw radish leaves: simply use a classic recipe for Pesto Genovese or Parsley Pesto as a guide.

Important: Wash the radish leaves thoroughly before eating! Similar to spinach, the leaves are usually very sandy.

Cooking with radish leaves

The green of the radish is also suitable for cooking. For example, you can prepare it like spinach and serve it as an accompaniment to boiled potatoes, fried eggs, salmon, or other dishes that you would otherwise serve with spinach. Radish leaves can also replace spinach in pasta sauces, on pizza, or in casseroles. Also delicious: radish leaves as soup greens. Steamed with onions and garlic and then boiled in broth together with potatoes, they make a delicious soup. Depending on your taste, you can thicken or puree them with crème fraîche or cream.

Tip for your breakfast: Use radish leaves for green smoothies. Similar to spinach, chard, kale, or nettle, they go well with fruits like pear, apple, banana, lemon, and/or ginger. Combine the ingredients as you like and create a distinctive smoothie yourself!