Ever find yourself wondering if a plant is edible or not?
If you’re looking for wild food recipes that are simple, vegetarian, and full of flavour, you’re in the right place.
I love walking through the woods or across fields and spotting plants I can take home and use in the kitchen.
Foraging is a magical experience that never grows old to me.
You don’t need a big garden or fancy tools. Just curiosity, a bit of care, and the right guide.
These seven wild food recipes are some of my favourites. They’re perfect for beginners and cooking with kids.
Wherever you like to forage, there’s something here for you.
1. Classic Stinging Nettle Soup 🌿 (wild food recipe for beginners)
This classic nettle soup was one of the very first wild food recipes I ever tried — and I still love it.
Nettles (Urtica dioica) are everywhere in spring and early summer, and have a second flush in autumn.
They’re rich in iron, calcium, and vitamin C, and they taste a bit like spinach when cooked.
Ingredients:
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tbsp olive oil or butter
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 litre vegetable stock (or water)
- 3 cups fresh stinging nettles (use gloves and scissors to pick and prepare!)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Splash of cream (or plant-based cream)
Method:
Start by sautéing the onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add the potatoes and cook for a few minutes. Pour in the vegetable stock or water, bring to a low simmer, and cook until the potatoes are soft — about 15 minutes. Add the nettles and cook for another 5 minutes. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add a splash of cream or milk to finish. Top with sliced boiled eggs, grated cheese, and serve with slices of buttered bread.
Why I love it:
It’s earthy, comforting, and uses cupboard essentials you may already have on hand. It’s the perfect intro to wild food foraging edible plants.
Tip:
Pick young nettle tops for the best flavour and texture, the first 6 leaves or so. Older leaves can be tough and fibrous.
2. Wild Garlic Pesto Pasta 🌱 (springtime wild food favourite)
Wild garlic pesto pasta is one of my favourite foraged plant meals.
Wild garlic (Allium ursinum) is easy to find, easy to use, and it smells incredible.
If you’ve ever walked through a damp woodland in April, you’ve probably smelled it before you saw it.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups wild garlic leaves
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (or any kind of nuts)
- 1 small garlic clove
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Salt to taste
- Cheese or nutritional yeast
- Pasta of your choice
Method:
Blitz the wild garlic, seeds, oil, garlic clove, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor or grind in a pestle and mortar for a chunkier pesto. Stir in the nutritional yeast if using. Cook pasta, drain, and stir in the pesto.
Why I love it:
It takes under 10 minutes to make and tastes like spring on a plate. This pesto also freezes well!
3. Dandelion Flower Fritters 🌼 (wild food garden treat)
Dandelion flower fritters: such a fun recipe to make when dandelions (Taraxacum officinale)1 are in bloom.
Kids love it, and it’s surprisingly delicious.
Ingredients:
- 20 dandelion flower heads (just the yellow part)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup sparkling water
- Pinch of salt
- Oil for shallow frying
Method:
Mix the flour, salt, and sparkling water to form a batter. Dip each flower into the batter and fry in a pan until golden and crispy. Serve immediately.
Why I love it:
It’s quirky, crunchy, and a great way to sell people on eating “weeds” as food. Every time I make these, I’m reminded that foraging can be whatever you want it to be.
Fun fact:
Dandelions aren’t just one of the most commonly recognised wild food plants — every part is useful! The leaves can be popped into salads, the flowers made into a golden vegan honey or brewed into tea, and the roots can even be roasted as a caffeine-free coffee substitute.
Want to learn more? Discover 17 dandelion recipe ideas with pictures, and read about dandelion’s medicinal uses.
4. Elderflower Cordial 🍋 (edible plants made sweet)
Elderflower cordial is iconic in early summer. The scent of elderflower alone is enough to stop you in your tracks.
Ingredients:
- 20 fresh elderflower heads
- 1.5 litres water
- 1.5 kg sugar
- Juice and zest of 2 lemons
Method:
Heat water and sugar together until the sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon zest, juice, and elderflower heads. Cover and let steep for 24 hours. Strain through a fine sieve or muslin, then bottle. Store in the fridge.
Why I love it:
It tastes like a floral lemonade and instantly lifts any drink or dessert. I use it in cocktails, spritzers, and even to soak sponge cake.
Tip:
Harvest elderflowers on a dry, sunny day for the best flavour.
Get inspired by 19 more elderflower recipes, or learn about elderflower’s medicinal uses.
5. Wild Greens & Wild Mushroom Risotto 🍄 (hearty wild food recipe)
Mushroom foraging is one of my favourite parts of autumn, and something I look forward to every year.
You could use puffballs, wood blewits, chanterelles, or any other edible mushroom, really — as long as you’re 100% sure of your ID.
For more info, read my post on 7 beginner-friendly mushrooms, or my list of 14 edible mushrooms with pictures.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup arborio rice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cups wild mushrooms, chopped (be sure they’re safe!)
- 4 cups veggie stock
- 1 cup wild greens (or spinach, or windowsill herbs)
- Salt and pepper
- Splash of cream (or oat cream)
Method:
Heat the oil and cook the onion until soft. Stir in the rice, then add the stock one ladle at a time, stirring until absorbed. Add mushrooms about halfway through. Stir in your wild greens and cream at the end.
Why I love it:
It’s creamy, rich, and has that beautiful earthiness only wild mushrooms can bring.
Safety note:
When using wild mushrooms, always triple-check your ID. If you’re not sure, leave it out.
6. Fat Hen Potato Cakes 🥔 (wild food garden hero)
Fat hen potato cakes are regular potato cakes with the nutritious addition of fat hen (Chenopodium album)2.
Fat hen is a common garden weed in disturbed soil — if you can’t beat it, eat it!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups mashed potatoes
- 1 cup chopped fat hen leaves
- Fresh garden/windowsill herbs to taste
- Salt, pepper
- 1 tbsp flour
- Oil for frying
Method:
Mix all ingredients together and shape into cakes. Fry for a few minutes on each side until golden brown.
Why I love it:
It turns a weedy nuisance into something genuinely tasty. Any kind of potato cakes are my favourite 🤤The texture is crispy outside and soft inside — perfect with a salad or as a side dish.
These potato cakes go well with homemade elderberry sauce, no.8 on my elderberry recipes post.
7. Rosehip & Apple Crumble 🍎 (wild food dessert)
This rosehip and apple crumble is warming, tart, and packed with vitamin C.
You can collect rosehips in late autumn — they’re bright red and easy to spot.
Rosehips can come from the common dog rose (Rosa canina), or any other rose that hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides.
If you can’t find enough rosehips, bulk them out with blackberries or whichever other edible wild berries you have on hand.
Ingredients:
- 4 apples, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup stewed rosehips (remove seeds and hairs carefully)
- 1 tbsp sugar (optional)
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup butter or plant-based butter
Method:
Add the apples and rosehips to a baking dish. Mix oats, flour, and vegan butter together for the topping. Spread it over the fruit and bake at 180°C for about 30 minutes.
Why I love it:
Served with custard and/or ice cream, it’s the perfect end to any wild meal — cosy, nourishing, and not too sweet.
References
Looking for more wild food recipes?
Wild Food Recipes: Final Thoughts
I hope these wild food recipes inspire you to step outside and explore. You don’t need to be a survival expert or live in the middle of nowhere to cook amazing wild meals.
I do most of my foraging in suburban woodlands and fields.
So, which wild food recipe will you try first?
If you fancy a chat about foraging wild foods, or you have any questions, feel free to send me a message in the comments.
I stop by here most days, and I love to read your messages 🥰
