Sauteed Swiss Chard makes a delicious and incredibly healthy side dish! Easy to make in just minutes and naturally vegan too!
The other day, I was walking through the produce section at my local grocery store when I came across a gorgeous display of Swiss chard! I have always loved Swiss chard but I’ve forgotten about it for awhile now. That, my friends, was about to be rectified!
If you have not tried Swiss chard before, I highly recommend giving it a try! It’s a green leafy vegetable with fairly large green leaves and somewhat thick stems. Both the leaves and stems are edible and delicious! The stems vary in colour, from white to hot pink – the hot pink variety is sometimes called rainbow chard due to its colour and is reminiscent (in looks only) of rhubarb.
I personally love Swiss chard as its a nutritious side dish that has a fairly mild flavour. It kind of reminds me of spinach or bok choy in its flavour. I’m kind of obsessed with both of those so its not shocking that I love chard too!
I prep my Swiss chard similarly to how I prep sauteed spinach, with one slight variation. Since the stems of Swiss chard are edible and need longer to cook than the leaves, I start by separating them from the leaves. Then, I cook them until they are softened before adding the leaves. Otherwise, you can pretty much prep them as you would sauteed spinach!
You can also sub Swiss chard in for spinach in a number of recipes! I have used it in spanakopita with great success!
Step aside, spinach! There’s a new (Swiss) boy in town and I am all about him right now!
Hope you give this recipe a try and fall in love with Swiss chard as I have! Bon appetit!
You may also like:
Spanakopita
Simple Roasted Butternut Squash
Maple Balsamic Glazed Roasted Carrots
Sauteed Swiss Chard
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Swiss Chard (or rainbow chard)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 large sweet onion finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
- lemon juice freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Separate the leaves and stems on the Swiss chard. To do this, I like to fold the Swiss chard in half and use a knife to cut off the thicker parts of the stem. Roughly chop the leaves as you would lettuce for a green salad. Place them in a large bowl or salad spinner and wash and drain them.
- Rinse the stems and trim the ends. Slice the stems.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the Swiss Chard, onions, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook for approximately 5-7 minutes or until the onions and stems soften.
- Add the leaves and saute until they begin to wilt and soften, approximately 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (as much as desired). Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
Excellent and easy. Just fyi – there is “a rat” in separate (not seperate). People frequently make this mistake. But thanks for the reminder that the stems are equally good!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe (I love chard)