15 Recipes Made With Foraged Foods!

Foraging is fast becoming a popular hobby in the health food movement. It not only provides a great way to connect with nature intimately and source highly nutritious natural foods, but foraging is also the perfect way to spend the day being physically active while having fun.

Plus, it’s the perfect activity to keep up with shelter-in-place guidelines!

With restrictions in place throughout the summer — such as social distancing — it may be time to seek out new outdoor activities that assure you won’t bump into anyone else or allows for you to properly distance if need be.

Foraging fits the bill!

While the act of foraging is mostly about “searching, identifying and collecting food resources in the wild, including herbs, plants, fruit, nuts, [and] mushrooms,” the entire process also involves the art of “cooking, preserving, and eating” those nutrient-dense foods that you’ve spent the day (or days) hunting down! Foods foraged directly from the soil are generally much “richer in essential vitamins and minerals,” which means those plant-based meals you cook at home with foraged foods will also provide a boost of nutrients.

Some of the most widely-known and safe foraging foods include wild greens, — dandelions, stinging nettles, miner’s lettuce, and lamb’s quarters — wild fruits, — persimmons, blackberries, raspberries, mulberries, and strawberries — wild roots and nuts, — burdock root, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and acorns — and wild mushrooms, — chanterelles, morels, and maitake.

Before heading out, make sure to do your research! There are a lot of wild plants out there that can make you incredibly sick and therefore it’s essential to find a great guidebook or even a professional foraging guide if you’re a beginner to the craft.

Get outside and start your foraging adventure this summer! When you get home, try creating some of these forage-friendly recipes.

We also highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App  — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help you get healthy! And, don’t forget to check out our Whole Foods Archives!

1. Dandelion Greens Dressing

Source: Dandelion Greens Dressing

Dandelion greens are one of the most popular foraging foods. Not only are the plentiful, easy to identify, and tasty, but they’re also super nutritious! This Dandelion Greens Dressing by Karielyn Tillman is made creamy with cashews and sunflower seeds and flavored with lemon, turmeric, and a bit of salt.

2. Coconut and Raspberry Ice Cream Bites

Source: Coconut and Raspberry Ice Cream Bites

Just because it’s healthy doesn’t mean it can’t be sweet too! This Coconut and Raspberry Ice Cream Bites recipe by Stefani Weiss is a great recipe to use foraged raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries. Great for those hot summer days when you need a little cool, tasty relief.

3. Nutella Milk

Source: Nutella Milk

Depending on where you live, hazelnuts may be on the foraging menu! If you’re lucky enough to find a few, get them home and make this Nutella Milk recipe by Harriet Porterfield. This rich, tasty, healthy treat is infused with hazelnuts, cacao, dates, and protein powder.

4. Chanterelle Mushroom Butter

Source: Chanterelle Mushroom Butter

Chanterelle mushrooms are a delicate treat and one of the most popular mushrooms to forage. This Chanterelle Mushroom Butter recipe by Lilia Jankowska is a super unique way to enjoy those forage chanterelles! Thickened with oil, tawny port, tomato paste, and nigella seeds, yet flavored with garlic, cayenne, thyme, salt, and pepper, this is a decadent alternative to nut butter.

5. Foraged Nettle Soup

Source: Foraged Nettle Soup

Stinging nettle has long been used to create tea, stews, and soups. This Foraged Nettle Soup by Josephine Watmore takes those lovely stinging nettles, mixes them with aromatics such as onion and garlic, and thickens it up with coconut milk, vegetable stock, and rapeseed oil.

6. Foraged Blackberry and Apple Galette with Cornmeal Crust

Source: Foraged Blackberry and Apple Galette with Cornmeal Crust

What better way to celebrate a successful day of foraging blackberries than with this super tasty Foraged Blackberry and Apple Galette with Cornmeal Crust recipe by Jenny Marie?

7. Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Source: Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts

Pine nuts are completely underrated! They’re filled with flavor, rich with oil, and offer a unique spin to any dish — raw, pulverized, or baked. This super simple Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts recipe by Lydia Filgueras mixes foraged pine nuts with powerhouse spinach for a quick, easy, and nutritious meal.

8. Morel Mushrooms With Butternut Squash Pasta

Source: Morel Mushrooms With Butternut Squash Pasta

Morel mushrooms are not only great to forage, but they also offer a meaty, texturized, satiating addition to a great plant-based dish. This Morel Mushrooms With Butternut Squash Pasta recipe by Claire Ragozzino is incredibly filling! With nutrient-loaded butternut squash, a slew of aromatics, and a dandelion-based pesto, this is a forager’s dream recipe!

9. Superfood Kale Salad

Source: Superfood Kale Salad

When it comes to those foraged greens, such as miner’s lettuce or dandelion greens, you can get as creative as you want in the kitchen! From lettuce wraps to soup to smoothies. With that said, if you really want to up the nutrient-density of your meal, think about creating a concoction such as this Superfood Kale Salad recipe by Medha Swaminathan. This combines those incredibly lush, nutrient-dense greens with a slew of superfoods for a powerful punch of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants!

10. Persimmon Parfait With Hazelnut Crunch

Source: Persimmon Parfait With Hazelnut Crunch

Did you know you can forage for persimmons? If you live in the right area, you’ll find a plethora of these sweet fruits. This Persimmon Parfait With Hazelnut Crunch recipe by Kuteer and Trisha Zanasi mixes those foraged persimmons with foraged hazelnut for a straight-from-the-Earth dessert.  

11. Dandelion Green Smoothie

Source: Dandelion Green Smoothie

This Dandelion Green Smoothie recipe by Sara Smith is another creative, tasty, and healthy way to infuse your diet with forage dandelion greens!

12. Mushroom Carnitas Tacos with Cilantro Lime Crema

Source: Mushroom Carnitas Tacos with Cilantro Lime Crema

Third on the list of popular foraged mushrooms are maitake! Bring your plunder home and try this Mushroom Carnitas Tacos with Cilantro Lime Crema recipe by Desiree Rodriguez.

13. Creamy Polenta with Caramelized Chicory

Source: Creamy Polenta with Caramelized Chicory

Chicory root has a very distinct taste, therefore if you’re planning to forage and enjoy them, make sure you’ve got a recipe picked out to complement those strong flavors! This Creamy Polenta with Caramelized Chicory recipe by Julie Van den Kerchove is an excellent way to use chicory root to the best of its ability.

14. Strawberry Banana Oatmeal

Source: Strawberry Banana Oatmeal

Keep foraging simple with classic strawberries! You know what they look like, how they taste, and how to enjoy them. Give your forage strawberries some partners in crime with this Strawberry Banana Oatmeal recipe by Kirsten Kaminski. Super sweet, filled with fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and a delightful way to start your day.

15. Mulberry Crumble Pie

Source: Mulberry Crumble Pie

If you’re looking for easy, yet unique try foraging for some mulberries! Once you get home, use them in this Mulberry Crumble Pie recipe by Natasha Minocha concoction.

Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home!

Source: Healthy Balsamic Mushrooms

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental wellbeing, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health and more! Dairy consumption also has been linked many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, prostate cancer and has many side effects.

For those of you interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App — with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest plant-based recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some great resources to get you started:

• Weekly Vegan Meal Plans
• Plant-Based Health Resources
• Plant-Based Food & Recipes
• Plant-Based Nutrition Resources
• The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition
• Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Recipes
• High Protein Plant-Based Recipes
• Plant-Based Meal Prep

For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to the One Green Planet Newsletter! Lastly, being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!