May Flowers: How to Cook with Edible Flowers This Spring

Spring has sprung and flowers are all around us—even in our food. Edible flowers are an amazing but often-overlooked ingredient you should be taking full advantage of this season to add unrivaled color pops to dishes, cocktails, and desserts.

Edible flowers can be purchased in most grocery stores but don’t be afraid to source them from a garden if you’re able to (when in doubt, we suggest a quick Google search to determine edibility). Here are some of our favorites to work with:

Marigold

A beautiful orange color with a nice, pepper taste. Use them just like they were another vegetable: raw in salads, as garnishes, and sautéed.

Nasturtium

You’ve seen these bold beauties in plenty of gardens, even if you don’t know them by name. They have thick petals, in red, orange, yellow, maroon, and white making them ideal garnishes but can also be chopped up and added to sauces and butters.

Pansies

Coming in a wide variety of color variations, much fun can be had with pansies. They have can have a mild sweet or wintergreen flavor. These stunners can be added into salads, but really take cocktails and sweets to the next level. Decorate a cake with them, bake into cookies or candy them.

Roses

From the same plant family as strawberries and apples, rose petals are edible! Use simply by garnishing a fruit salad or get complex with a rose petal sauce.

Violets

With more Vitamin C ounce for ounce than oranges, their bright purple petals pack a powerful visual and nutritional punch. Generally too delicate to cook with, remove petals, chop and add as colorful adornment to everything from pasta salads to desserts.

Ready to try adding floral flourishes to your dishes? Here are some ideas to get you started from some of our favorite bloggers.