She has also had 16 wellness books published by major publishers including the bestselling Easy GI Diet, The Macro Method, Quit Alcohol (For a Month) and Eat 5. Her books have sold over one million copies.
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Did you know there are over 200 different types of vegetables in the world? And it would be a very adventurous eater who had tried them all. So, why not try a ‘New Vegetable Challenge’ and add a new vegetable to your diet each week? If you’re stuck for ideas, here are 22 suggestions of slightly less obvious vegetables to try.
There are several reasons why you should give the ‘New Vegetable Challenge’ a try. The more diverse your diet, the greater the range of nutrients you consume. On top of that, your gut bugs thrive from exposure to new plant-based foods. Ideally, you should eat 30 different ones a week, and experimenting with new vegetables is a good way to increase the numbers.
Additionally, if you don’t think you like vegetables, it’s possible that you just haven’t found the ones you enjoy most yet. Experimenting with some different options might help expand your tastes.
Related Read: 11 Ways to Learn to Love Veggies
Now, the good news is that most of the examples below won’t require a trip to another country to purchase them; many will be available in larger supermarkets, health food stores, or farmers’ markets. Now, I use the word different carefully, as depending on where you grew up, some of the options below might already be part of your daily diet. To give some context, I grew up in the UK and now live in Australia, so I’m writing this with that as my dietary norm!
But no matter where you live, you’ll probably find at least new veggie to try on this list.
1. Alfalfa Sprouts
Let’s start with something easy to acquire.
Tiny but mighty, alfalfa sprouts are low in calories and high in vitamin K and phytoestrogens, which may support bone health.
Add them to sandwiches, salads, or grain bowls. I’ve even seen them on top of burgers!
If you can’t find them in your local supermarket, these are also a very easy food to grow at home – they don’t even need a garden, just a kitchen counter.
2. Bok Choy
Popular in Southeast Asian cuisine, this is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family. The bulb, topped with darker green leaves, is rich in vitamin C and vitamin K.
The easiest way to cook it is to chop it into pieces – you can eat both the stems and the leaves – and stir-fry it with garlic to serve as a quick, tasty side dish. But you can also add to soups or toss it in noodle dishes or stir-fries like the delicious-looking one above.
3. Celeriac (Celery Root)
Don’t judge it by its knobby appearance! Celeriac is high in fiber and vitamin K. Mash it like potatoes, roast it, or use it in soups.
It also makes a good alternative to traditional potato-based fries, as celeriac has fewer calories than white potatoes (around 42 per 100g compared to 75 in potatoes). You can bake, air-fry, or fry these as you would regular fries. We used to eat these a lot when we were in the UK.
4. Chard
A member of the beetroot family, this vegetable is sure to liven up any dish with its dark green leaves and bright, colourful stalks. Swiss chard – which you might also know as silverbeet – has a vibrant red stalk and dark green leaves. You’ll also find Rainbow Chard with different coloured stalks during its growing season. But other than admiring its beauty, what do you do with it?
You can use chard in the same way as you’d use spinach or kale. It can be bitter when eaten raw, but this bitterness disappears when it is cooked, especially if a bit of lemon is added.
Try lightly stir-frying it. Both the stalks and the leaves can be eaten, but since the stalks take longer to cook, remove the leaves, cook the stalks first, and then add the greens.
5. Collard Greens
Now, if you’re from the Southern States of the USA, you’ll be laughing at the idea that these are unusual vegetables, but, for someone who grew up in the UK, I’d never had these until I took a trip to Memphis – and I immediately got hooked.
These large, leafy greens, rich in vitamins A, C, and K, they’re kind of like the dark green savoy cabbage I grew up eating in the UK. They’re great sautéed, added to soups, or used as a wrap for fillings. The dish I loved was served with bacon – and we have a recipe for that very dish here.
6. Daikon
A mild, large white radish popular in Asian cuisine, daikon (also known as mooli) is low in calories and high in vitamin C.
You can grate it into salads, pickle it, or add it to soups and stews. In these, it goes almost transparent as it cooks, and it absorbs the flavours of the broth nicely.
I regularly eat Daikon when I’m in Japan, especially in the pickled form, and although I like it, I never think to use it at home. See, even I need my own blog post to remind me of things!
7. Endive
With a slightly bitter flavour, endive is a good source of folate and fibre.
It’s most commonly used as a base in salads, but one interesting use is to peel the leaves off individually and stuff them with different fillings, such as egg mayonnaise, tuna mayonnaise, and cream cheese, or dips like hummus or taramasalata.
If you want to go totally overboard, the leaves in the picture above are stuffed with cheese, apple and walnuts – yum!
8. Fennel
Fennel has a light licorice taste. Thinly sliced, it makes an excellent base for salads – find an idea for a fantastic fennel and orange salad in our post on salads with fruit.
You can also roast the bulb – try these tossed with pasta and a tomato-based sauce, or use them in dishes with cous cous or quinoa. The bulb comes topped with delicate fronds, and these are also edible – or you can use them to make fennel tea (strain it well).
9. Fiddlehead Ferns
If there were an award for most interesting-looking vegetables, these would definitely make the short list. They get their name because they look like the end of a violin, which, I now can’t unsee.
They’re a bit more nutritious than your average string instrument, though, containing excellent levels of antioxidants and other plant compounds. They’re also a non-fish source of omega-3s.
Blanch them before sautéing, and add to pasta, risotto, or as a side dish.
10. Flowersprouts
A cross between Brussels sprouts and kale, flowersprouts are rich in vitamins C and K, as well as antioxidants. They have a nutty, slightly sweet flavor – and are less bitter than either of their ‘parents’.
Toss them in olive oil, roast them, or sauté with garlic as a side dish. Or, if you want to get creative, we have a recipe that serves them with pasta in our longer post on flowersprouts.
11. Green Tomatoes
Not just part of a movie title (I’m showing my age there), green tomatoes are unripe tomatoes with a tangy flavor, they’re rich in vitamin C and antioxidants like tomatine.
Try them fried, pickled, or in a chutney. Or, the classic way to serve them in America’s South is sliced, lightly coated with flour, seasoned with salt and pepper, and then fried. You can also used breadcrumbs.
Top tip – if you try them but find them too bitter, add a pinch of sugar.
Related Read: If you find lots of vegetables bitter, you might be a supertaster.
12. Jicama
This crisp, slightly sweet root vegetable is high in fibre and vitamin C. It’s quite sweet and crunchy – some people say it’s like the vegetable version of an apple!
Slice it into sticks for a snack, add to salads, or use in slaws. You can also use it in stir fries, it’s rather like using a water chestnut.
Or, like celeriac, jicama makes a low-calorie, lower-carb alternative to fries. Find our recipe for
Spiced Jicama Fries here.
13. Kohlrabi
With a flavor between a broccoli stem and cabbage, kohlrabi is rich in vitamin C and potassium. It’s commonly used in Germany and is also known as the German turnip.
It’s actually a member of the cruciferous vegetable family.
Shred it for slaw or salads, roast it, or slice it for dipping. You can also spiralize it and use it as an alternative to pasta.
14. Konjac
You may have tried this without actually knowing it was a vegetable, as it’s the main ingredient in shirataki noodles.
The fun thing about glucomannan is that your body can’t actually digest it, and so, it contains barely any calories, which is why shirataki noodles are sometimes called Miracle Noodles. Use these noodles in stir-fries or as an ingredient in soups.
You can use them with pasta sauces as well, but personally I don’t like them quite as much used this way – they have quite a soft texture that works better in dishes like Pad Thai than with a pasta sauce.
Related Read: Are Konjac Noodles Healthy?
15. Nori
This sea vegetable is an excellent source of iodine, which supports thyroid health. You buy it in sheets, which you can use whole as a wrap for sushi (see our guide for making sushi at home here), create into nori chips, or slice it finely to scatter it on top of dishes.
Also, check out the idea in our guide to ways to replace carbs with fruit and vegetables, where it’s used as a wrap for sandwiches and burritos.
One thing to remember is that nori will absorb liquid quickly, so add it at the last minute if you prefer to keep it slightly crunchy.
16. Okra
Okay, someone is going to tell me off in the comments – as not only have I included tomatoes (a fruit) in this list of vegetables, but okra is also technically a fruit not a vegetable. However, my blog, my rules, so…
Okra, also known as ladies’ fingers, is actually the young seed pod of the plant it grows upon. It’s high in fiber, vitamin C, and folate.
One thing not to be surprised by if you do try okra is that it contains a slimy substance inside. Don’t worry, it’s not gone off, that’s just its thing. When cooking, this coating acts as a natural thickener for some of the dishes okra works particularly well in like stews, curries or gumbo. You can also try okra roasted as a crunchy snack.
17. Pattypan Squash
This UFO-shaped squash is mild in taste, similar to zucchini, making it a good choice for those who find many vegetables too bitter. It contains fiber, potassium, and vitamin A.
Slice it and grill it, or sauté it with herbs, or stuff it with quinoa and veggies and bake it in the oven – find our full recipe here. You can also crisp it up in the oven to make veggie crisps.
Related Read: 23 Alternatives to Potato Chips
18. Purple Sweet Potato
With vibrant purple flesh, it’s rich in antioxidants and vitamin A, which makes a colourful change from white potatoes – or even its more familiar orange cousin.
Bake it, mash it, or use it in desserts for a colorful twist. You can even make a milky drink with them – find our recipe for sweet potato lattes here.
19. Romanesco
This lime-green vegetable resembles a fractal – or something Lady Gaga would wear on her head.
A cousin of cauliflower and broccoli, it’s a member of the cruciferous vegetables family, which means it plays a role in supporting your body’s detox system.
Still, it’s also packed with fibre, vitamin C, and carotenoids. Steam or roast it, or use it in creamy soups. See our longer post on this unique looking vegetable here.
20. Salsify
See this in the supermarket and you will probably walk straight past it, as it looks like a stick! Peel off the skin, though, and you’ll find a white vegetable that you can use roasted, add to stews and soups or even mash like potatoes.
Often called “oyster plant,” as some people say it tastes like oysters, salsify has a mild, nutty flavor. It’s actually part of the dandelion family. Seriously, I don’t know what’s going on with this one!
21. Samphire
This salty, crunchy coastal plant is rich in magnesium and iodine. Use it as a side dish, toss it in a salad, or pair it with fish.
I first tried it in a restaurant in the UK with salmon and a buttery sauce, and it was really good. So, while I don’t currently have a samphire recipe, I’d suggest using it as a swap for green beans in this Spicy Honey Salmon dish. Rinse it well, cut off any tough roots and blanch it quickly in plain boiling water. Don’t add salt – it’s salty enough.
Weirdly, you might not find samphire in the vegetable aisle. Because it pairs so well with fish, you may find it stocked on or near the fish counter.
22. Spaghetti Squash
When cooked, its flesh separates into noodle-like strands. Low in carbs and high in fibre and vitamin C, it’s a great pasta alternative if you’re watching calories. Top it with marinara sauce or pesto.
Related Read: If you are trying to cut back on carbs, you’ll also want to check out our guide to 33 other ways to swap pasta, rice and even bread for fruits and vegetables.
And there you have it. How many of these had you tried? Plus, I’m sure there are some I’ve missed out on in this list. What do you think I should add to it? Add your answers in the comments.