Dandelion greens and flowers tend to be one of the earliest harvests here on our northwest Montana homestead. I imagine that's true for many places, dandelions tend to be early and prolific producers. The greens are amazing raw in salads and smoothies which are indeed the way we tend to use them most. Those tender early leaves are also a great way to kick up the nutrition in some other dishes. Dandelion egg noodles are a comforting dish like one would expect in homemade egg noodles but they're made slightly healthier with a big hit of dandelion nutrition.
Eat Don't Spray
Dandelion greens are high in Vitamins A, E, and K while also providing a big hit of iron to the diet. They're also considered a diuretic meaning they can help flush toxins from the body. Dandelion greens are even being studied for their ability to flush inflammation in the body. All that to say, be sure to add some of these greens to the meal plan rotation. Even better, they're probably free and growing in places you don't want them. So pull and eat.
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Earlier Harvests Less Bitter
Harvest dandelion greens in the early spring when they are young and small for the best flavor. As the season wears on and the heat picks up, the greens can get quite bitter. And if you're sick of green salads in the early spring, these dandelion egg noodles are a tasty way to use up abundant greens.
Be sure to clean and wash the greens well before using them in the noodles. Nobody likes gritty noodles.
How to Use Dandelion Egg Noodles
In short, use them in the same way you'd use regular egg noodles. Toss with pesto or other sauce, heck just slather in butter and sprinkle with pepper for a delightful and easy dish. Other ideas include:
Casseroles:
- The classic tuna noodle casserole
- Beef Stroganoff Casserole
- Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
- Spinach Artichoke Chicken Casserole
Dinner Bowls:
- One-Pot Thai Green Curry Noodles
- Chicken Haluska
- Creamy Lemon & Parmesan Noodles
- Chicken with Bok Choy & Mushrooms Over Noodles
Soups:
- Chicken Noodle Soup (of course!)
- Beef & Egg Noodle Soup
- Creamy Turkey Soup with Spinach
- Pumpkin Coconut Noodle Soup
I imagine you could use a pasta machine to roll the dough into thin sheets but I've never tried it personally.Dandelion Egg Noodles
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
This is complete genius! I’m going to set my kids to picking greens right away.
Have fun and let me know how it works for you, please. I kind of wondered if this would be a good way to hide vegetables for picky eaters or if the green color would be a turn off no matter what…
Tell them that you bought Ninja Turtle noodles. :) there are all kinds of creative ways to get good food into fussy little ones. Lol
Just made these with my pasta maker. It works fine, just don’t make too thin! I went up to setting 5. Yum!
Thank you so much for letting us know about the pasta maker setting! I’m so glad to know that you tried and liked the recipe.
Hi! I found you on the post from Common Sense Homesteading about ‘Dandelion Madness’. She also linked to your ‘Making and using dandelion oil’ (I think you meant infused oil). Both great posts!!!
Anyway, I am so happy to have found so many great ideas for using dandelions! I actually wish they were more prolific in my yard!
I will be trying all of the great recipes. I have a pasta maker, but could go either way, and want to make the infused oil, too. Thank you so much!
You are so welcome! Thanks for stopping by and have fun with those dandelions. I have a dandelion cookie recipe coming soon too ;)
We’re in Texas, where we’ve already had temps in the upper 80’s+ this year. We have a field full of dandelions, but they’re all small, and have gone to seed. Can we still use the greens, or will they be too bitter? This is our first year to have them on the farm, and we’ve never used them before. I’m eager to try them. Anything else I need to know about harvesting, cleaning them, etc… if they’re in a livestock pasture?
Thanks for sharing this amazing idea!!
If they’ve already gone to seed, they’re likely to be quite bitter. I normally don’t eat the greens at this stage because it’s just too bitter for me, personally. You can use them in that they’d be perfectly safe just maybe not as tasty as when the greens are young. If you’re harvesting out of a livestock pasture, I would be sure to just wash well and not harvest anything too close to animal manure. There may be some guidelines for that kind of harvest but I’m not sure exactly. Whenever I harvest anything wild, I just make sure I’m not harvesting within arms reach of any kind of animal waste and always wash very well.
Thank you. We’ll let the dairy goats enjoy them this year, and look forward to harvesting some for ourselves next year! We’ll make sure no one is on those pastures next winter, and pull what we will use at the beginning of spring next year. I’m excited to have these recipes! Thanks for sharing!
How would I dry these noodles for longer storage?
I haven’t tried it with this recipe but I imagine you could dry it the same way you dry any egg noodle. Simply cut and hang until completely dry, then store in an airtight container.
Thank you for this recipe! I tried it tonight and my family LOVED them! I made a wild leek pesto to put on them. I used my pasta roller and it worked great! I also dried them overnight. Just hang them up to dry.
I’m so glad to know you enjoyed it! Thank for trying it and letting me know about your method.