How to Eat Watercress—10 Delicious Ways to Enjoy This Super Healthy Green

A tiny vegetable, watercress is technically a microgreen, meaning it's nutrient-dense and also super efficient to eat and grow. It has big, delicious flavor in a small package and was declared the healthiest vegetable by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), coming in at the top of their Powerhouse Fruits and Vegetables list. Watercress can easily be added to any diet; it’s also a welcome addition to most meals. Ahead, we're sharing our favorite ways to eat and enjoy this healthy superstar.

What Is Watercress?

Watercress is a wonderful ingredient to have on hand for so many raw and cooked uses, amping up dishes with color, flavor, texture, and, of course, nutrients. It's a member of the Brassicaceae family of vegetables, which also includes kale, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage, and is said to be one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by humans. It's used in a variety of different cultures and cuisines, from China to France.

It grows in water, hence its name, and can be foraged in streams, but the watercress we buy at the grocery store is cultivated and sold bagged or in bunches. Different varieties have different sizes of leaves, and some have more bite than others, but they can be used interchangeably.

Taste

Eaten raw, the small round leaves and stems of watercress taste bright and fresh. They can also have a peppery bite, depending on the variety. The leafy green loses some of its pungency when cooked.

Prepping Watercress

It really couldn't be simpler. To prepare watercress, all you need to do is wash the watercress as you would salad leaves and pat it dry or dry it in a salad spinner. If the stems feel too long, trim them, but watercress can also be used completely intact. 

How to Eat Watercress

Toss a watercress salad: Adding a simple watercress salad as a side dish to a plated or family-style meal looks super elegant, adds a bunch of nutrition, and is so easy to toss. Our simple watercress salad recipe comes together with a simple oil and vinegar dressing, which can be customized to taste. Swap out lemon or lime juice to add acid instead of vinegar, or add spices to compliment your meal. Pre-mix the vinaigrette and dress the watercress right before serving.

Make a BWT sandwich: Lettuce? Never heard of her. A handful of watercress subs nicely for lettuce on any sandwich and can be easier to bite through than a big piece of lettuce. Try watercress instead of iceberg on a classic BLT-style sandwich, or use it instead of lettuce in any of your favorite savory sandwiches and wraps. A gooey grilled cheese with watercress? So good. 

Stir up watercress soup: For a refreshing and simple soup to enjoy as a light meal or appetizer, make watercress your main ingredient. Watercress soup, which can be based in chicken broth or vegetable broth, takes just minutes to cook, as watercress wilts nearly instantly. Watercress and potato soup is another classic, it's a classic that takes a little longer to cook but has more heft.

Spruce up leftovers: Extra poultry? Shred it and add watercress. A turkey watercress salad combines leftover meat with fresh watercress and a Dijon mustard dressing to punch up meat, even on its second or third round of being served as a meal. This format works well for any leftover poultry and can even be used with tinned fish for a protein boost.

Fold watercress into an omelet: Up your breakfast nutrition with a watercress omelet (or enjoy this protein-packed dish at lunch or dinner). Watercress folds nicely into the eggs and adds a great bite to the omelet, which can also have cheese and additional vegetables. Watercress also works nicely in a soft scramble or served beneath poached or fried eggs. 

Add watercress to your favorite salad: Due to its neutral flavor and light but crisp texture, watercress can be added to any of your favorite salads for some extra texture and bite. Add some washed and torn watercress to arugula salad, Caesar, kale salad, or chopped salad—whichever you prefer! 

Chop up a watercress relish: For a very quick and easy side that will compliment any fried, broiled, or grilled dish, try watercress relish. It cuts through the fattiness of the main dish. Our favorite watercress relish uses lemon juice, Dijon mustard, olive oil, capers, and diced apple. Use that recipe as a starting point for your own watercress relish. Pickled ingredients like capers or olives are a great addition; they bring a briny tang. Sweeter raw ingredients like diced apple, pear, or fennel add extra crunch and balance. 

Blend a watercress pesto: Pretty much any green herb, leafy vegetable, or microgreen can be turned into pesto. Make a classic pesto with an assortment of herbs, olive oil, cheese, and nuts and toss in watercress, or go for a mainly watercress version of pesto to serve with pasta, spread onto toast, stir into soup, and more. A dollop of watercress pesto will dress up any dish. 

Stir fry watercress: A typical Chinese dish, stir-fried watercress (called sai yeung choi in Cantonese) cooks in minutes and makes an excellent side or meal on its own over rice. Simply heat a neutral oil over medium-high heat in a wok or saute pan, add some garlic or ginger to infuse the oil with flavor, and toss in washed dry watercress, stirring until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Eat immediately, or add the sauces or condiments of your preference before serving.

Use as a gorgeous garnish: Forget the parsley; a few sprigs of watercress will adorn everything from a bowl of soup to a pasta or meat, fish, or chicken entree. Its bright green immediately dresses up whatever you're serving.