If you like this post, you may want to add some dandelion greens and petals to our pollinator power salad, or make your own dandelion blossom fritters!

Eat your greens. Dandelion greens!

But don’t worry, if you’re not one for foraging or don’t have a yard, you may be able to find dandelion greens at a market near you, we did!

Dandelion Nutrition

Below we’re sharing a formula for a super simple salad, but before we spill the quinoa, let’s talk about dandelions.

The entire dandelion plant is edible, from the fresh blossoms all the way down to the taproot. Today we’re just using the leaves, which are a fantastic source of Vitamins A, C & B-6, calcium, iron, and magnesium.

The leaves can have a bitter or peppery taste to them. We’ve been told that this characteristic is less-pronounced if you pick younger leaves, especially before the plant has flowered. You can also remove some of the bitter flavor by blanching or sautéing the leaves. We enjoy the light peppery/bitter flavor and used fresh leaves in this salad.

Dandelion & Quinoa Salad

In addition to the greens, this salad gives you the huge vitamin, mineral, protein, and fiber punch from the quinoa. Then there’s the touch of sweet from the beets. The crunch from the toasted pumpkin seeds. And blue cheese.

In our house, we mix up crazy salads without measuring. I’ll give you the list, you should play around and make it your own.

• dandelion greens, rinsed and chopped
• cooked quinoa
• steamed beets 
• toasted pumpkin seeds
• crumbled blue cheese
• your favorite olive oil + balsamic vinaigrette

Now, go eat your greens!