Adding microgreens to a dish opens can greatly enhance taste and nutrition to your everyday meals as well as creating new meals to your table. This article will familiarize you with some of the more common ways that microgreens can be used to elevate regular everyday meals to a more elegant high scale dish.
We've gathered 35 of the best microgreen recipes on the web, and hope to provide a spark of inspiration tfor creating healthy new dishes or creative modifications to exisiting ones.
Note that the microgreens used in these recipes are just suggestions. In most cases, you can easily substitute microgreens of your choice for whichever microgreens are listed in the recipe.
So what are the tastiest ways to use microgreens?
Microgreens can be used in many different ways and we have listed some of the ones we find is adding flavor and crunch to an everyday meal:
Added as pizza toppings
Incorporated into stir-fries for Asian dishes
Mixed into rice dishes
Used on appetizers
Used with sweet baked goods
Combined with Vegan and Vegetarian dishes
Added to Sandwiches, Burgers, and Wraps
Blended into pesto, salsa, or other pasta sauces
Tossed together with other vegetables as a salad
ADVANTAGES OF COOKING WITH MICROGREENS
You’ll be surprised to learnt about the number of benefits microgreens add to normal culinary dishes. Here are just few examples:
You’ll be adding tons of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals to your meals. Microgreens are considered a superfood by many dieticians, and with good reason—these little greens are packed full of high-powered nutrition that can help significantly improve the nutritional profile of your daily diet.
You’ll be making your food look fancier. Microgreens add an aesthetically pleasing pop of vibrant color to any meal and gained prominence in culinary circles as a sophisticated garnish in high-end restaurants. If you want to make your homemade meals more Instagram-worthy, microgreens are a great way to add a little pizzazz.
Microgreens add a fresh unique characteristics. There are a wide variety of microgreen types to choose from, each presenting distinct texture, smell, taste, and visual profiles. In manay cases, combinations of micrgrogreens types can be used to compliment each other as well as the dish they are added to.
Microgreens are a good way to eat sustainably. For those who are in urban environments or don’t have space at home to grow a full vegetable garden, microgreens can be a great way to incorporate more homegrown vegetables without needing an entire yard to do it. Most microgreens can be easily grown on a kitchen counter or in a sunny windowsill.
PEACH RICOTTA PIZZA WITH SPICY MICROGREENS
This pizza recipe combines mild but tangy ricotta cheese with peach as a traditional taste pairing but also throws in spicy-flavored microgreens as a topping and a finishing balsamic drizzle to bring out the naturally complex flavors.
INGREDIENTS
DOUGH
1 1/8 cups warm water
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
PIZZA
3/4 cup ricotta cheese (pineapple slices are a great substitute)
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 to 4 peaches, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 large ball of burrata cheese
1 cup Arugula or Mustard Microgreens
INSTRUCTIONS
In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, honey and olive oil. Mix with a spoon, then let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in 2 1/2 cups flour and salt, stirring with a spoon until the dough comes together but is still sticky. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and work in the additional 1/2 cup flour, kneading it on a floured surface for a few minutes. Rub the same bowl with olive oil then place the dough inside, turning to coat. Cover with a towel and place in a warm place to rise for about 1-1 1/2 hours.
After the dough has risen, punch it down and place it back on the floured surface. Using a rolling pin or your hands, form it into your desired shape (sometimes I use baking sheets and do rectangles or free form pizzas – this specific dough will yield one pizza large enough to feed about 3-4 people) and place on a baking sheet or pizza peel. Place the towel back over the dough and let sit in the warm place for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the ricotta on a paper towel. Press the top of it with another paper towel to release some of the water.
Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. (If I use my pizza stone, I heat my oven to 475 degrees and bake for 15 minutes. If you’re just using a baking sheet, follow the directions below for baking and set to 425 degrees.)
Brush the pizza dough edges with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Sprinkle the garlic cloves on the dough. Spread the ricotta on the dough evenly – so just a bit covers the dough leaving a 1-inch outer rim. Place the peach slices on the pizza. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cover with the fresh cilantro, basil and rosemary, Carefully pull apart the burrata ball and place it in the center, pulling pieces out towards the edges.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (or around 15 to 20 minutes if using the pizza stone) until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Remove and top with the spicy microgreens. Slice and serve immediately.
PIZZA WITH PESTO, MOZZARELLA, AND ARUGULA MICROGREENS
This Pizza is a delicious, healthy microgreen pizza with toppings such as arugula microgreens, lemon pesto, fresh mozzarella, fresh cherry tomatoes and prosciutto. This pizza recipe includes the ingredients and directions for the actual pizza dough so that you can create a perfect homemade microgreens pizza from scratch!
INGREDIENTS
3 cups (375 grams) all-purpose flour
Slightly heaped 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons sea or kosher salt
1 1/4 cup water, plus an additional tablespoon or two if needed
Little Wild Things City Farm Micro-Arugula & Lemon Pesto (other fresh pestos okay too!)
Fresh mozzarella
Sliced fresh cherry tomatoes (sun-dried tomatoes also great on this pizza)
Prosciutto
1 Cup of Arugula microgreens
DIRECTIONS
Mix all dough ingredients with a spoon in a large bowl. The dough will be craggy and rough; this is fine, but if it feels too rough, add another spoonful or two of water.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for at least 12 hours, up to 24 hours or until the dough has more than doubled.
Flour your counter or work surface very well. Turn down out of the bowl onto the floured counter. In the time it has risen it should have changed from that craggy rough ball to a very loose, soft, sticky, and stretchy.dough.
Flour the top of the dough, and divide dough in half (or more pieces, if you’re making smaller pizzas). Form them into ball-like shapes.
Grab the first round with floured hands and let the soft dough stretch and fall away from your hands a few times before placing the dough on your prepared baking sheet/paddle.
Use floured fingers to press and nudge dough into a roughly round shape.
Add desired toppings – for this pizza we used several dollops of Little Wild Things Micro Arugula & Lemon Pesto, sliced fresh mozzarella, fresh cherry tomatoes, and prosciutto (optional for carnivores!) – and bake pizza for 10 to 15 minutes on the highest oven temperature (500+ F) until the top is blistered and the crust is golden.
Top with Arugula Microgreens just after removing the pizza from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.
PESTO POTATO BURRATA, PIZZA WITH MICROGREENS
This is another pizza that incorporates both pesto and microgreens, but in this version pairs them with salty authentic Italian burrata cheese and prosciutto to provide a rich counterbalance to the earthy pesto.
INGREDIENTS
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon raw sesame seeds
1 tablespoon fresh grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground cumin
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 pound homemade or store-bought pizza dough, at room temperature
â–¢extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
/3 cup basil pesto
1 medium potato, very thinly sliced
8 ounces burrata cheese
1/2 cup fresh lemon micro basil or basil leaves
crushed red pepper flakes
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet with olive oil.
In a small bowl, combine the oregano, sesame seeds, lemon zest, cumin, an a generous pinch of both salt and pepper.
On a lightly floured surface, push/roll the dough out until it is pretty thin (about a 10-12 inch circle). Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Rub the dough with olive oil and sprinkle with the seed mix, using as little or as much as you'd like. Dollop the dough with pesto and layer on the sliced potatoes, drizzling them lightly with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the potatoes are crisp. Remove from the oven and top with burrata. Allow the burrata to sit on the pizza and warm through, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle on the basil, and crushed red pepper flakes. Slice and enjoy!
CHILLED CUCUMBER & SPINACH SOUP WITH MICROGREENS
Bright green and fragrant with fresh herbs and sweet shallot, this light lunch is like a jolt of nutrients in a bowl; pair with a salad of carrot ribbons in vinaigrette and a crisp white wine.
Once you’ve mastered the recipe and technique, swap a few ingredients out and give it a try as a morning smoothie: Sub the shallot and jalapeño for a chopped apple and a dribble of local honey; double the mint and ditch the more savory herbs and you’ve got a mellow summer breakfast in a glass.
INGREDIENTS
6 small thin-skinned cucumbers
1 lemon or lime—your choice!
1 shallot
½ jalapeño chile optional
2 cups packed baby spinach leaves
1½ cups whole-milk Greek yogurt divided
¼ cup mint leaves
¼ cup cilantro
½ cup basil leaves
½ cup dill fronds
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
2 slices country-style bread
1 small bunch chives or 2 scallions for garnish
Herb fronds for garnish
1 cup edible flowers or chive blossoms for garnish
2 tablespoons lemon juice for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep the ingredients for blending: Slice off the little stem end of each cucumber and coarsely chop them. Juice the lemon or lime; measure out 2 tablespoons and set aside for later. Peel and chop the shallot. Seed and dice the optional jalapeño. Mince the chives or scallions for garnish.
In a high-speed blender combine the cucumbers, lemon juice, shallot, jalapeño (if using), spinach, 1 cup of the yogurt, herbs, salt, pepper, and ¼ cup of the olive oil and blend until smooth, then chill until very cold, at least 30 minutes to an hour.
While the soup chills, toast the two slices of bread, then cut them into ½-inch cubes. Fry in a skillet tossed with 2 tablespoons olive oil until browned and crispy; transfer to a kitchen towel to drain and set aside.
Stir together the remaining Greek yogurt and lemon juice to thin it out (adding a tablespoon of water if needed; it should be the consistency of thick heavy cream).
Serve the chilled soup in shallow bowls garnished with croutons, minced chives or scallions, herbs, edible flowers, a drizzle of thinned yogurt, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
PINEAPPLE ORANGE GREEN SMOOTHIE WITH MICROGREENS
While some food trends come and go, smoothies never go out of style. This pineapple orange green smoothie is fresh, sweet-tasting nutritious green smoothie recipe! This pineapple orange green smoothie with microgreens adds both hemp hearts and chia seeds for extra protein and healthy Omega-3's. A healthy breakfast or refreshing post-workout smoothie!
INGREDIENTS
1 ripe banana, peeled
½ cup fresh pineapple, or one thick slice
1 cup orange juice
2 - 3 cups microgreens
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon hemp hearts
1 tablespoon collagen powder, optional
4 ice cubes
Banana: the riper the better! Save those spotty bananas to make this green smoothie. You won't need to add any extra sweetener.
Pineapple: fresh pineapple, but frozen or canned will work, too. Pineapple is a good aid to digestion as it contains bromelain which helps to reduce gut inflammation.
Orange juice: fresh, unsweetened, or freshly squeezed, or add a whole, peeled orange. You may need to add a little water or coconut water to get a pourable consistency.
Microgreens: Brocoli,Bok Choi,and kale microgreens add a resheshing flavor and color element to the smoothie.
Chia seeds: help to thicken a smoothie and add a punch of nutrition! Chia seeds are an excellent source of fiber, protein, healthy fat (Omega-3's) and many other nutrients.
Hemp hearts: also an excellent source of protein, fat, Omega-3's, calcium, magnesium and other minerals.
INSTRUCTIONS
Add all ingredients to a blender, top with ice and blend until smooth. This pineapple orange green smoothie will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 2 days.
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