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With a few simple ingredients, you can make this Simple Steamed Swiss Chard. This dish is as tasty as it is beautiful. Garlic, onions, broth, olive oil, salt and pepper can quickly transform these greens into the perfect summer side dish. Plus, we have a special version using the addition of fried bacon right before serving.
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Steamed Swiss Chard Recipe:
Rainbow chard is one of the beautiful sights of summer. I love the vibrant stems that complement the dark green leaves. And, I love that it’s usually readily available at the local farmers’ market.
When preparing Sauteed Swiss Chard, be sure to remove the stems from the leaves and cook them separately. The stems are heartier and will take longer to soften up than the tender, green leaves.
My favorite way to prepare Swiss Chard is with White Beans. (Find that recipe here.) But, it was time to find a new go-to recipe. This one is inspired by a recipe in my Vegetables on the Side cookbook.
Garlic and onions are commonly sauteed with Swiss Chard, but this recipe uses more liquid to steam up the leaves. I chose to use vegetable broth as my liquid; however, dry white white or sherry or chicken broth would also be delicious. Or in a pinch, use water instead.
Want to learn about the health benefits of Swiss Chard? Check out this informative post!
How to Steam Swiss Chard:
Instructions:
Heat olive oil in a large skillet; add onion and chard stems and cook until softened (about 2 minutes), stirring occasionally. Then, add minced garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
Add the chard leaves and vegetable broth to the skillet. Cook over medium heat until the leaves are soft and tender, approximately 5 minutes. If the liquid cooks off before the leaves are tender, add a splash more.
Season well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chunks of fried bacon if desired.
For the full recipe for Steamed Swiss Chard, scroll to the bottom of this post.
Notes About Sauteed Swiss Chard:
Swap dry white wine, dry sherry, or chicken broth for vegetable broth if desired in this sauteed Swiss chard recipe.
Green onions or regular white or yellow onions can be used in this rainbow chard recipe.
Add the garlic after sauteing the onions and chard stems. This prevents the garlic from burning and producing yucky off-flavors.
This can easily fit the bill of a clean eating recipe if you are participating in a 30 Day Clean Eating program such as the Arbonne 30 Days to Healthy Living. To find out more about that, click here. (I receive a small commission for purchases through this link.)
Use organic ingredients and sub regular salt for Pink Himalayan Salt, and omit bacon to make this a clean meal.
For an extra delicious option, serve this as Swiss Chard and Bacon – just add fried bacon bits or chunks over top.
With a few simple ingredients, you can make this Simple Steamed Swiss Chard as tasty as it is beautiful. Garlic, onions, broth, olive oil, salt and pepper can quickly transform these greens into the perfect summer side dish. Plus, we have a special version using the addition of fried bacon right before serving.
Remove stems from chard. Roughly chop leaves, and dice stems. Keep stems separate from the leaves.
Heat the olive oil in large skillet over high heat. Add diced chard stems and onions, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds longer.
Add the chard leaves and vegetable broth to the skillet, and continue to cook until the leaves are soft and tender for about 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper. Add diced fried bacon on top, if desired.
Notes
Swap dry white wine, dry sherry, or chicken broth for vegetable broth if desired in this sauteed Swiss chard recipe.
Green onions or regular white or yellow onions can be used in this rainbow chard recipe.
Add the garlic after sauteing the onions and chard stems. This prevents the garlic from burning and producing yucky off-flavors.
For an extra delicious option, serve this as Swiss Chard and Bacon---just add fried bacon bits or chunks over top.
Try our other favorite rainbow chard recipe: Swiss Chard with White Beans.
Chard stems take a little longer to cook than the leaves, but the whole plant is edible and delicious. It's a little bit sweet in the stems (which have a slight celery-like flavor) and pleasantly bitter in the leaves. Some people prefer to remove the stems from the leaves and cook them separately.
These Swiss chard recipes and serving suggestions are some of my favorites: Pair it with pasta or polenta. Sub chard in for the kale in my Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Kale, or serve simple sautéed chard over a bed of creamy polenta with red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese. Add it to a soup.
All chard is Swiss chard; it's just stalk colors and names that vary! The stalks and leaf veins of Swiss chard vary in color from yellow to pink and deep red to white. Chard with red stalks is called Rhubarb, Red, or Ruby Chard.
Swiss chard can be enjoyed raw in salads or on sandwiches or wraps, braised, boiled, sautéed or added to soups and casseroles. Here are some tips to incorporate more Swiss chard (leaves and stems) into the daily routine: Add a handful of fresh Swiss chard leaves to an omelet or scrambled eggs.
Bring a pot of water to boil on the stove, and add several generous pinches of salt. Add the chopped stems from 3-4 leaves, and cook for 2-4 minutes until they're mostly tender. Place the leaves in the pot, and cover for 1-2 minutes. The leaves should be wilted.
Swiss chard contains oxalic acid, a component that binds calcium in your digestive tract, reducing its absorption. This is also the reason why some individuals may get a tingly or burning feeling in their mouth or throat when eating the vegetable raw.
Of all the greens I cook with, chard is the most versatile; it's sturdier than spinach, yet has a more delicate flavor than other sturdy greens like kale or turnip greens. Chard comes in different colors; the leaves are always dark green, but red chard has red stalks and yellow chard has yellow ones.
chard is also has an abundance of antioxidants as well as phytonutrient antioxidants. Why are these phytonutrient antioxidants so special? These antioxidants have been shown to have great anti-inflammatory properties. These phytonutrients can be found in the plant's leaves, and colorful stems.
Swiss chard is an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin K and a good source of vitamin C and magnesium. Swiss chard also contains the antioxidants beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Vitamin A plays a significant role in normal formation and maintenance of many organs including the heart, lungs and kidneys.
While both are high in vitamins A and K, magnesium, and iron, spinach is much higher in calcium — providing 24 percent of your recommended daily intake compared to chard's 10 percent — and in vitamins B, particularly folate (via SF Gate). In fact, spinach has 10 times the amount of folate than chard.
While both vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals, they differ in their concentrations of certain nutrients. For example, kale is a better source of vitamin K, vitamin C, and calcium, while chard is higher in vitamin A and iron.
Research has found that chard leaves have the highest content of fiber, magnesium, sodium, flavonoids and vitamin C, while stems are high in potassium. Swiss chard graces the produce aisle all year, but peak season is June through August.
The large, firm leaves are mild, sweet, earthy and just slightly bitter; on the whole, it's a bit milder than spinach. The stalks -- which can be white, yellow, red, purple, pink, striped and so on -- resemble flat celery with a sweet taste slightly reminiscent of beets.
Use them in a soup. Chop and saute the stems with the other aromatics or vegetables, make the soup, and then add the chopped up leaves at the end for a burst of green. Make Stuffed Chard Leaves. Here, the stems are chopped and used in the filling and the leaves are kept whole, stuffed, and baked.
Introduction: My name is Horacio Brakus JD, I am a lively, splendid, jolly, vivacious, vast, cheerful, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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