Healthy Watercress Recipes

Find healthy, delicious watercress recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

Green Salad with Strawberries & Goat Cheese

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This lively salad captures the essence of early summer with ripe strawberries, chives and baby spinach. To make it a meal, top it with grilled chicken breast.
By Hilary Meyer

Tofu & Watercress Salad with Mango & Avocado

This tofu-topped watercress salad is a fresh, plant-based meal perfect for when you want something hearty but are looking to cut down on the meat. The mango and avocado add tangy flavor and creamy texture to bring the salad together.
By Breana Lai Killeen, M.P.H., RD

Watermelon & Goat Cheese Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

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In this watermelon and goat cheese salad, the contrasting flavors and textures of crisp, sweet melon and creamy, tangy goat cheese are magical partners. Top with sliced grilled chicken to make it a meal.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

All Greens Smoothie Bowl

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This smoothie combines the radiance-boosting power of green fruits and veggies, including watercress, which is high in phytonutrients and vitamins K, C and A. (Recipe developed by Lily Kunin for Bobbi Brown's Beauty from the Inside Out, Chronicle Books, copyright 2017.)
By Lily Kunin

Green Salad with Peaches, Feta & Mint Vinaigrette

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This healthy side salad recipe follows one of the essential formulas for great salads: tossing bitter greens with sweet fruit, crunchy toasted nuts and salty cheese. Melons are a good alternative to the stone fruit later in the summer, or try dried apricots during the winter months.
By Joyce Goldstein

Watercress with Rice Wine-Oyster Sauce

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In this healthy Asian vegetable stir-fry recipe, watercress is cooked then tossed with traditional Chinese oyster sauce. Use a salad spinner so the watercress is dry to the touch, or the stir-fry will become too wet. If the watercress is young and tender, stir-fry the whole stems. If the stem ends are woody and tough, discard them.
By Grace Young

Simple Green Salad with Citronette

Frisée and radicchio are both assertive, slightly bitter greens that add color and texture to any salad. Match them with mellower-flavored greens, such as red leaf lettuce, baby spinach or even Boston lettuce.
By Eataly and Lidia Bastianich

Beet & Shrimp Winter Salad

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This healthy dinner salad recipe gets its staying power from protein-packed shrimp and fiber-rich barley. With a simple red-wine vinaigrette, this quick salad makes just one serving but is easy to double or triple. Look for precooked beets with other prepared vegetables in the produce department.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Gnocchi with Tomatoes, Pancetta & Wilted Watercress

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We use just a touch of pancetta--cured Italian-style bacon--to balance the sweet tomatoes and peppery watercress. Make it a meal: A salad tossed with a red-wine vinaigrette completes dinner.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Peach, Raspberry & Watercress Salad with Five-Spice Bacon

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Sweet peaches and raspberries stud the peppery watercress to make this savory fruit salad recipe gorgeous. But what makes it so delicious is the crisp bacon coated in the delightfully sticky-sweet maple-port wine glaze.
By Yotam Ottolenghi

Creamy Watercress Soup

2
Classic steakhouse flavors--horseradish, watercress and blue cheese--are combined in this pureed soup. The spicy, bold flavor of watercress pairs well with the rich flavor of beef, so we use beef broth as the base for the soup. Vegetable broth works, too, if you want to make a vegetarian version.
By Katie Webster

Watercress Salad with Grapes, Blue Cheese & Pecans

This salad formula will never let you down: toss leafy greens with fruit, cheese, nuts and a simple vinaigrette. If you can't find watercress, try substituting arugula, baby spinach or baby kale.
By Carolyn Malcoun
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Inspiration and Ideas

Salmon Salad Bento Lunch
Watercress acts as a tasty divider between the salmon salad and crackers. Multicolored peppers and grapes add color to this bento and boost your daily servings of fruits and veggies.
Radish, Watercress & Arugula Salad with Feta Vinaigrette
Sweet, rich-flavored Marcona almonds and salty feta cheese balance the flavor of the peppery greens and radishes in this arugula salad recipe. Always skinned, most Marcona almonds have already been sautéed in oil and lightly salted when you get them. Look for them in specialty stores and online at tienda.com.
Watercress, Pistachio & Beet Salad
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Winter Salad with Toasted Walnuts

This salad was one of the favorites chosen from over 1,000 salad recipes for our 30th anniversary issue. In 2004, Deborah Madison waxed poetic about winter ingredients, particularly nuts. “In the chill air of winter, nuts move up to center stage as do their warming, substantial, golden oils--so good with winter salad greens and vegetables, such as shaved fennel, all of which are likely to end up in a salad together,” she says. Madison suggested using a mix of lettuces that balance each other here--a mild, tender variety, such as Boston, with a more intense and sturdy green, such as escarole, for instance.

All Healthy Watercress Recipes

Tomato Salad with Tarragon Pesto & Pumpernickel Croutons

With this easy tomato salad, more is more--so if you want, go wild with an outrageous selection of tomatoes. Look for big gnarly tomatoes, plum-shaped varieties, smooth or peach-fuzzed skins, zebra stripes, not to mention the miniatures at the summer farmers' market. All the visual variation means you'll get a range of flavors as well.
By Nora Singley

Roasted Asparagus Salad with Citrus Dressing

4
Rest roasted asparagus and tomatoes on a bed of watercress for a special touch. The fat-free dressing is a sweet-sour combination of fresh citrus juices, honey and Dijon mustard. Just as tasty warm or at room temperature, this salad works well when served as part of an easy buffet-style brunch.
By Marie Simmons

Purslane, Cucumber & Tomato Salad with Mint

Purslane is a nutrient-packed green with a bright, lemony flavor and delicate crunch. Many gardeners in the U.S. consider it a weed, but Cypriots use it to make refreshing salads. If it isn't growing in your own yard, try calling a local vegetable farmer, who might be pleased to give some away, or you can order it from melissas.com or chefs-garden.com. Watercress makes a peppery substitute in this simple salad recipe.
By Jen Rose Smith

Pork Chops with Orange & Fennel Salad

3
Fennel-crusted pork chops with a warm citrus-and-fennel salad is a terrific antidote to a dreary winter day. Serve with crusty whole-grain bread or brown rice.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Pork Chops with Cherry, Watercress & Farro Salad

Most farro sold in stores is pearled, meaning the bran is removed and it therefore has a little less fiber—but it still brings 2 grams per serving to this dish. It cooks quicker than harder-to-find whole farro, so be sure to double-check the cooking time on the package.
By Hilary Meyer

Grilled Pork Tenderloin & Apricot Salad

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This grilled pork dish offers a triple hit of the fruit with an apricot preserve glaze for the tenderloin plus a grilled apricot and watercress salad with an apricot-spiked vinaigrette. Serve with a chilled Chardonnay, which will harmonize beautifully with the smoky-sweetness of grilled apricots.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Watercress & Endive Salad

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Watercress and Belgian endive are topped with fresh corn kernels, grated egg and a simple lemon vinaigrette for a stunning first-course salad.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Egg Salad Sandwiches with Watercress

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Watercress, a cruciferous vegetable, adds a zesty note--and welcome phytonutrients--to this enlightened version of an American classic.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Vietnamese Grapefruit & Pork Salad (Pork Goi Buoi)

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Goi buoi is a Vietnamese salad typically made with pomelo, a thick-skinned but super-sweet citrus fruit. In this healthy salad recipe, we use grapefruit because it's easier to find. Plus, it lends a tangy, acidic flavor to balance the vegetables.
By Robb Walsh

Shrimp, Pomelo & Green Mango Salad

You may have spied giant pomelos at your grocery store; this healthy salad recipe is your chance to try the grapefruit-flavored beauty. This salad is packed with plenty of fresh herbs, peppery watercress, briny shrimp and green mango. Look for palm sugar, often sold in pod-like cakes, at Asian markets.
By Yotam Ottolenghi

Celeriac, Cress & Spinach Salad with Parmesan Crisps

The big flavor of sherry vinegar mixed with mustard, oil and garlic in the dressing for this healthy spinach salad recipe serves a dual purpose: marinade for the roasted celery root and a dressing for this side salad. Little rounds of crunchy Parmesan crisps look fancy, but are easy to make and add a perfect textural contrast and salty counterpart to the earthy and spicy greens and sweet-tart cranberries.
By Katie Webster

Asian Salisbury Steaks with Sauteed Watercress

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Back in the 19th century, an English doctor named J.H. Salisbury prescribed beef for all manner of ailments. We think he'd love this healthy update of the ground-beef-and-onions classic that bears his name. The sautéed watercress is an excellent foil to the meaty glazed beef.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Watercress Mayonnaise

Watercress adds a subtle peppery bite to a creamy sauce to serve with seafood and poultry.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Asian Tuna and Watercress

This fresh tasting salad is perfect for a lunch or light dinner. Sliced, lightly seared tuna is served over rice on a bed of watercress and cabbage, with crunchy jicama, radishes and red onion in a fresh ginger-sesame dressing.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Endive & Watercress Salad

Sweet apple cider and peppery watercress make for an excellent salad.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Herbed Yogurt-Rice Soup

The grains of rice disappear into the yogurt as it's simmered and stirred, thickening the soup and giving it substance. Serve warm or chilled, depending on the weather.
By Naomi Duguid

Beef, Watercress & Roquefort Burgers

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Roquefort cheese, peppery watercress and succulent beef create a deliciously bold burger that meat lovers will rave over. The bulgur stretches the ground beef and boosts the fiber.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Grilled Sirloin Salad

Pepper-crusted steak, grill-charred vegetables and sesame-ginger dressing turn fresh salad greens into an exciting main course.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Loin of Lamb in a Pan Sauce with Wilted Watercress

A balsamic-vinegar-spiked pan sauce is the perfect foil for rich lamb loin. Make it a meal: Serve with oven-roasted potatoes.
By Odessa Piper

Sauteed Watercress

Peppery watercress is nicely balanced by sweet garlic and tart vinegar in this quick saute.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Endive & Watercress Salad with Pomegranate Dressing

Pomegranate juice is a flavorful stand-in for some of the oil in the dressing. To squeeze pomegranate juice, press the seeds through a sieve placed over a bowl. Bottled pomegranate juice can be found in natural-foods stores.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Seared Tuna & Watercress with Scallion-Ginger Relish

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Here's a salad that's as beautiful as it is delicious. The spicy orange-ginger dressing is so good, you'll want to double (or triple) it to serve on your salad throughout the week.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Fennel, Watercress & Red Onion Salad

A citrusy dressing unites the distinctive flavors in this very pretty salad.
By Steve Johnson

Warm Chicken Salad with Pine Nuts

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Poaching chicken breasts in a mixture of balsamic vinegar and chicken broth makes them unusually tender. The poaching liquid then becomes the base for a slightly sweet, intensely flavored dressing. Any leftover poaching liquid can be stored in the freezer to use later in sauce or dressing.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen
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