What to Do with Microgreens: 15 Everyday Meal Ideas
Answer in brief
Microgreens can be a real meal ingredient. Use this fifteen-idea matrix to match delicate, peppery, herbal, or substantial crops to everyday food.
Quick answer
Put microgreens on foods that benefit from freshness, gentle crunch, herb aroma, or peppery contrast. Add most varieties at the end of cooking. Use delicate crops as a finish and substantial sunflower or pea shoots as part of the leafy volume.
15 practical uses
Breakfast
- Eggs: Add broccoli, kale, or radish microgreens after cooking an omelet or scramble.
- Avocado toast: Pair creamy avocado with peppery radish or arugula.
- Savory yogurt bowl: Top yogurt, cucumber, olive oil, and chickpeas with herb-like basil or cilantro microgreens.
- Smoothie: Blend a modest amount of mild broccoli, pea, or sunflower greens with fruit and a protein-containing liquid.
Use the smoothie guide for proportions.
Lunch
- Sandwich: Replace part of the lettuce with sunflower, pea, or broccoli microgreens.
- Wrap: Combine hummus, grated vegetables, and sturdy shoots.
- Grain bowl: Add any crop after the hot grain cools slightly.
- Soup: Finish lentil, tomato, potato, or vegetable soup with a fresh handful.
Try the hummus flatbread and soup topping.
Dinner
- Pasta: Finish lemon pasta with basil, arugula, or mild broccoli microgreens.
- Tacos: Use radish or mustard microgreens with beans, fish, chicken, or roasted vegetables.
- Noodle bowl: Pair radish, sunflower, or pea shoots with sesame dressing.
- Roasted vegetables: Add beet, amaranth, or basil microgreens after plating for color and aroma.
Open the lemon pasta and sesame noodle bowl.
Snacks and sauces
- Pesto: Blend with basil, nuts or seeds, lemon, oil, and cheese or nutritional yeast.
- Dip plate: Serve microgreens beside hummus, labneh, or bean dip and whole-grain crackers.
- Cold salad: Combine one mild and one peppery crop rather than using an unbalanced single variety.
Use the microgreens pesto, taste guide, and full recipe collection.
Match the crop to the job
| Crop style | Best roles |
|---|---|
| Mild brassica | Smoothies, eggs, soups, sandwiches |
| Peppery radish/mustard/arugula | Toast, tacos, rich sauces, cheese |
| Substantial sunflower/pea | Wraps, salads, bowls, noodles |
| Delicate beet/amaranth | Cold plates, salads, visual finish |
| Aromatic basil/cilantro | Pasta, tomato, fruit, sauces |
Handling and leftovers
Store greens cold and dry, keep them away from raw-meat contamination, and use clean hands and utensils. Add dressing just before serving. If a crop is limp but not spoiled, blend it into pesto; discard slime, foul odors, or visible spoilage.
Read how to store microgreens, food safety, and how much to eat.