Dandelion salad was a frugal and healthy recipe popular during the Great Depression. Dandelion greens are loaded with vitamins and minerals and, while a little bitter, make a delicious and nutritious foraged recipe.
Recipes From the Depression Era
During the Great Depression, foraging for nutritious foods was common and was the key to survival for many people. Although we live in a time of excess now, that might not always be the case.
The wisdom of my grandma’s generation is ingrained in me. “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” is a popular saying from Depression Era folks. It was painted on a plaque my grandma gave me!
With difficulty comes resilience, and my grandma’s generation during the Great Depression was not short on hardships.
To make ends meet by feeding the family with free, nutritious, foraged foods is a wisdom that we should continue to carry on to our children and grandchildren.
Related: 50+ Best Dandelion Recipes
Dandelion Health Benefits
This dandelion salad is rife with health benefits and breathes new life into an old-time recipe. Dandelions are humble and resilient so-called weeds that are easy to forage in pretty much every area of the US and other temperate locations.
Dandelion greens are an excellent source of vitamins A, C, and K and are also a source of vitamin E, folate, iron, and calcium.
The greens are usually best eaten raw, like in this dandelion pesto. They can taste bitter, but finding younger plants, eating them raw, and adding salt and lemon makes them less so.
Dandelion flowers are one of the easiest-to-find edible flowers, and they taste like honey. They’re great for salads like this one and also make a tasty jelly, mead, or the popular dandelion tea.
When foraging and making this dandelion salad, I encourage you to hone the resilience of past generations and embrace the health of true slow-living. No rush is necessary for simple, nutritious food.
Take a walk and build strength in your legs while kneeling to gather and harvest wild-growing weeds. Don’t worry about the time it takes, and enjoy the free abundance of nature.
How to Prepare Dandelion Greens
Soaking dandelion greens is a great way to clean them, although it can take a little time. This tutorial from Cooking with Clara perfectly explains how to soak all the dirt out of dandelion greens.
In this video, Clara explains that dandelion salad was a good meal during the Depression because ” it’s free, and it’s good for you.”
I’m inspired by this era of women who carried knives to forage for food while walking home from work. Let’s celebrate a new era of dandelion salad!
Dandelion Salad Recipe
This is the easiest way to eat dandelion greens, and once you try this salad you’ll make it regularly!
Feel free to change the salad ingredients based on what is available seasonally. Other ingredient options:
- carrots
- miner’s lettuce
- purple dead nettle
- green beans
- asparagus
- pickled radish
- nasturtiums
- wild violets
- radishes
- pickled red onions
Ingredients
Dressing
Orange juice: Opt for freshly squeezed!
Apple cider vinegar: Use the real ACV with the mother. If you have questions, here’s a great guide to vinegar.
Salt and black pepper: Just a pinch!
Dandelion Greens Salad
Dandelion greens: If you’re foraging for dandelions, get about one large handful of greens. Otherwise, you can sometimes find them at a health food store or a farmer’s market.
Dandelion flowers: Feel free to add other edible flowers as the season allows!
Butter lettuce
Cucumber: Persian cucumbers work well for this dandelion salad. However, use what you have locally available or in your garden.
Sugar snap peas
Arugula sprouts: I love the peppery taste of arugula, but other sprouts also work great. All are optional but recommended.
How to Make Dandelion Salad
Once you have foraged dandelion greens and flowers, this recipe is simple to make and comes together quickly.
First, make the salad dressing by adding all of the ingredients into a mason jar and shaking it up to blend them.
Then, chop the dandelion greens and butter lettuce and add them to a bowl.
Now, top with dandelion flowers, sliced cucumber, sugar snap peas, and arugula sprouts. Add any other seasonal ingredients you wish, and enjoy the beauty!
Lastly, lightly pour and mix in the dressing when serving this delicious foraged spring dandelion salad.
More Dandelion Recipes
- Infused Dandelion Vinegar
- Dandelion Cupcakes
- Whole Plant Dandelion Soap
- Dandelion Lotion Bars
- Dandelion Kombucha
- 50+ Dandelion Recipes
- Dandelion Tea
- Dandelion Mead
- How to Make Dandelion Salve
- Dandelion Fritters
- Dandelion Syrup
Dandelion Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup orange juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
Dandelion Greens Salad
- 1 bunch dandelion greens about one large handful if foraging
- 1/3 cup dandelion flowers
- 1 cup butter lettuce
- 1 sliced cucumber Persian cucumbers work well
- 1 cup sugar snap peas
- 2 tablespoons arugula sprouts optional
Instructions
- Make the salad dressing by adding the olive oil, orange juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper to a mason jar and shake well to blend the ingredients.
- Chop the dandelion greens, and butter lettuce, and add to a bowl.
- Top with dandelion flowers, sliced cucumber, sugar snap peas, and arugula sprouts.
- Lightly pour and mix in the dressing when serving the salad, enjoy!
The dandelion greens will be bitter once they flower. I don’t understand how you can have both in the same salad.
The honey and vinegar really offset the bitterness of the greens.
just get the leaves from different plants than you get the flowers from