Simple Sautéed Swiss Chard
Who are my Swiss Chard lovers? If you love Swiss Chard you will fall head over heels for this Simple Sautéed Swiss Chard Recipe. It is so easy to prepare, and only 80 calories per serving. Naturally vegan and only 7 grams net carbs per serving.
Table of contents
Why Try This Recipe?
If you are stuck in the rut of baby spinach from a plastic box every week, it’s time to get on the Chard train! Don’t be intimidated by it, it’s not as scary as it looks and it is so good for you. This basic side dish is low in calories, extremely healthy, simple to prepare and can be paired with a wide variety of meals!
Before we get to the tips on how to make this simple sautéed Swiss chard, here are some useful facts about it!
What is Swiss Chard?
Swiss Chard is a leafy vegetable that is related to beets. It has crunchy stems that are commonly red, though can also be white or yellow. The leaves range in color from dark green to reddish green. The flavor is similar to beets and spinach, with slight bitterness, and strong earthy flavor.
Swiss Chard is somewhat of a misnomer because it implies that it is a variety of chard from Switzerland. But actually it is a general common name for chard, and got the designation from the botanist who determined the plants scientific name in the 19th century. So to clarify, Swiss Chard and Chard are the same thing.
How to Cook Sautéed Swiss Chard
Step 1: Chop and Clean The Swiss Chard
To cut the Swiss Chard, lay a few leaves on top of each other on the cutting board, and remove the stems. (PHOTO 1a) Chop up the leaves and place them in a salad spinner. Repeat until you have a stack of stems and a spinner full of greens. Fill the salad spinner with water, swish it around and drain it. If it is a particularly muddy or dirty batch of chard, wash it again. Spin the chard greens dry.
Rinse your stack of stems and trim off the ends if they are dry or discolored. Chop the stems up, just like you would celery. (PHOTO 1B)
Step 2: Cook The Onions and Chard Stems
Because the stems are high in cellulose you will need to cook them longer than the greens. I love to add flavor and sweetness by cooking the stems with chopped sweet onion. (PHOTO 2) They cook at about the same rate and the onion really balances the flavors of the chard. I also add in the seasonings at this point to help bloom their flavors.
Step 3: Add Chard Greens, Cover and Wilt
Once the stems and onions are softened and the onions are starting to caramelize a bit, then add the green leaves at the end, since they don’t need as much cooking time to become tender.
To wilt the greens, splash in a couple tablespoons water and cover the skillet with a lid. (PHOTO 3) Note: If you don’t have a very large skillet with a lid you can do this in a wide Dutch oven instead.
Step 4: Soften Greens
Once the greens are wilted down, remove the lid and continue cooking and stirring until the greens are tender.
Step 5: Finish with Balsamic Vinegar
If you want to, drizzle on some Balsamic vinegar. Other ways to add a bit of pizzazz are to add a handful of toasted almonds or pine nuts, golden raisins, dried cranberries or dried currants, or even a little crumbled feta or goat cheese. Fresh herbs can be added as well. Mint goes well with feta and pine nuts.
FAQs and Expert Tips
Chard cooks down a lot when you cook it, so I like to make a big batch of it. If you are not sure if you are going to love it, you can cut this recipe in half. If you do so, keep in mind that the onion mixture in step two will cook a little faster. To double it you’ll need a large heavy bottom soup pot.
A bunch is not a standard measure, so the size will vary. In general, they are about a pound or slightly less for a medium-large bunch. They usually have 5 to 7 stems, and once cut, will yield about 5 to 6 cups of loosely packed chopped leaves plus a cup or more of chopped stems per bunch. While this may not be reassuring if you are bringing in chard from your garden, the good news is that this recipe is incredibly forgiving so no matter how big or small your chard bunch is, it should work fine as written. Or simply adjust the seasonings to your taste preference.
What is the difference between Swiss Chard and Rainbow Chard?
Rainbow chard is not a specific variety of chard but a blend of different varieties planted and harvested together (or sometimes commercially blended after harvesting.)
What Part of Chard is Edible?
Swiss Chard is entirely edible, including the leaves and stems. The stems need a little more cooking time than the leaves because they have a lot of cellulose that needs to soften for longer. The leaves cook quickly.
Swiss Chard can be eaten raw, though it contains oxalic acid, so it may be better for you to eat it cooked. Cooking it also makes it less bitter. I like to pair it with sweet onions, garlic and even a splash of vinegar. While it may be counterintuitive to add vinegar to make it more palatable, the acidity in the vinegar balances the bitter taste in the chard and the overall effect is more harmonious.
Health Benefits of Swiss Chard
What are the Health Benefits of Swiss Chard? Swiss Chard is naturally low in calories and carbohydrates but high in Vitamin K, Vitamin A and Vitamin C.
What to Serve with this Recipe
- This Balsamic Chicken would be nice or my beloved Turkey Meatloaf recipe.
- This sautéed swiss chard would be a super yummy and easy accompaniment to these Lemon Caper Salmon Cakes.
- For a weekend meal, try this spatchcocked chicken and a batch of simple saffron rice.
- Or for a vegetarian meal, serve this with my pumpkin brown rice risotto.
More Healthy Swiss Chard Recipes
If you love Swiss Chard and want more healthy ideas here are a few of my favorites:
- This Chard Egg Bake is an easy way to use up extra greens and get in your veggies at breakfast!
- I love using whole leaves of chard to make these Swiss Chard “Cabbage” Rolls.
- Chard Tart with Goat Cheese, this is a lovely vegetarian entree for the holidays or entertaining.
- I’m so into the flavor combo here: Chard with Chicken and Curry.
- You can even add Swiss Chard to your smoothies! Try this Healthy Green Smoothie to start.
Thanks so much for reading. If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my free weekly email newsletter where I share weeknight meal plans delivered right to your inbox. Or follow me on Instagram. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It is very appreciated. Happy Cooking! ~Katie
PrintSimple Sautéed Swiss Chard
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: side dish
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Simple Sautéed Swiss Chard with onions, garlic and a splash of balsamic vinegar. A healthy low calorie side dish.
Ingredients
2 large bunches Swiss chard, or rainbow chard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large onion, diced
½ teaspoon salt
pinch each dry thyme and nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, optional
Instructions
- Chop and clean Swiss Chard: Stack several pieces of Swiss chard on work surface. Remove stems and set aside. Roughly cut leaves into pieces about 2-inch square. Repeat with the remaining swiss chard. Transfer the chopped leaves to a salad spinner filled with water. Drain, repeat washing if necessary, and spin dry. Rinse and chop the Swiss chard stems (about the same size as the diced onion.)
- Cook The Swiss Chard Stems with Onions: Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add chopped chard stems, garlic, onion, salt, thyme, nutmeg and pepper and cook, stirring often until the onions are starting to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add The Leaves and Wilt: Add chopped cleaned Swiss chard leaves, 2 tablespoons water and cover. Let wilt, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Cook Until Softened: Remove lid and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until the Swiss chard is completely wilted and softened, 1 to 3 minutes.
- To Finish and Serve: Remove from the heat and drizzle with balsamic vinegar if using. Serve hot.
Notes
Alternative To Large Skillet with Lid: If you don’t have a very large skillet with a lid you can do this in a wide Dutch oven instead.
Other Elements To Try Adding To This Recipe:
If you’re ready to get creative with this recipe here are some idea starters for ways to liven up this recipe even more!
- Add a handful of toasted almonds or pine nuts at the end.
- When you remove the lid add a handful of golden raisins, dried cranberries or dried currants
- When you pull it off the heat crumble on a little feta or goat cheese.
- Fresh herbs can be added as well. Savory woody herbs like oregano or thyme can go in with the onions, where as tender herbs like mint, basil or chives can be stirred in after it comes off the heat.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2/3 cup
- Calories: 80
- Sugar: 5 g
- Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 9 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 2 g
This recipe was DELICIOUS! I didn’t have bacon like all of the other recipes mentioned, so I tried your recipe. We’ve been growing Swiss Chard and the Rainbow Swiss Chard this year. Tonight we cooked it. We will DEFINITELY use this recipe again. I forgot to try adding the balsamic vinegar, but I’m sure that would be quite tasty as well. Now we have a great way to use our summer greens! (BTW, I think Rainbow Swiss Chard is almost too pretty to cut sometimes. 😉 )