Top 5 weeds I've eaten in 2026
Would you guys like to read reviews of the weeds edible invasives I've been eating?
Yes?
OK, well here goes:
Creeping Bell Flower: ***** FIVE STARS, the Midwest MVP, constantly producing crunchy delicious top growth. I can fill my salad bowl in 30 seconds out of my back door. Then I pull up the whole stem, strip off the older tougher leaves and cook those. Nice texture to the top growth and no bitterness. The older leaves are a little tougher but sautee up beautifully. I usually don't bother with the stems because they tend to be a bit woody unless the plant is very young. I have been trying to harvest the whole plant before it flowers, to keep the seeds out of the yard. I have been letting the stems dry and chopping them up for straw for mulch.
Virginia Waterleaf: ***** Another Five Star plant this is technically a North American native that has gone beyond its range. Because of that it is absolute nectar to our local bees who LOVE these flowers. You have to cook the greens, but the flowers can be eaten raw and are delicious. Our yard is so full of this that I could basically eat the flowers every day and still leave plenty for the bees. One of the few edible plants that doesn't get disgustingly woody after it flowers. The leaves stay relatively tender, probably because this plant is very shade loving.
Dame's Rocket: **** Best caught in the early spring, this is on of the first green things that appears when the snow melts. The top leaves will remain munchable raw until after the plant flowers, then the whole thing becomes kind of woody and not worth it, even cooked. Bees ignore these flowers but you shouldn't. They are tasty and so pretty in a salad. When the flowers first come up the little fronds that hold the flowers are crunchable, but once the flowers open they are woody and won't even cook down to be edible. Ideally you should just harvest all of it and pull it out by the root BEFORE it flowers to keep the seeds out of your yard, but if you find these growing in a vacant lot and they are in flower, at least take some of the flowers home to eat.
Dandelion **** For years I tried to harvest dandelion by pulling it up by the roots when it was flowering. That is the exact opposite of what I should have been doing. The best time to harvest is before flowering, using a knife to cut the leaves off where the leaf thins out to a stem, that way you don't bring up a bunch of dirt and grass which take forever to clean out of your greens. Also the bitterness is mostly stored in the root, so the further away from the root, the milder the taste. You can find good edible dandelions all year long in long grass or in the shade. If they're already flowering you can harvest the greens and sautee them and they are decent that way. Also can break up a flower or two in a salad for a little color and sass. You can harvest the tap root and dry them for a super bitter tea that aids digestion. Personally would almost rather have a tummy ache I hate dandelion tea so much...
Broadleaf Plantain **** No it's not a banana it's a weed that grows everywhere, once you learn to recognize it, you will realize you've probably got some near you at all times. Mostly loved for its medicinal properties--tinctures and balms are great for bug bites and stings. (People recommend it for brown recluse bites, which I really wish I'd known ten-ish years ago when I got a brown recluse bite that sent me to Urgent Care.) I think it's quite underrated as an edible plant. The tender leaves that grow straight upward, usually only one or two on every plant are where it's at. They can be eaten raw and have a delicious, deep mushroomy flavor. It's a bit much for an entire salad but 3-4 of these little beauties will add some real complexity and interest to any mix of wild greens. The more mature leaves can be cooked but you have to pull out the strings which is a pain and frankly I think I'd need to be really hungry to bother. The little seed stems that they put up in midsummer can be fried and eaten. The seeds are similar to Psyllium which is what Metamucil is made from and contain a lot of mucilage, so they are sometimes used to thicken stews or porridge. I feel like if you are eating weeds from your yard, you probably already get enough fiber, but it might be worth drying some of the seeds as a backup fiber supplement for winter.
