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Swiss Chard Stem Soup. Move over Celery.

September 23, 2016 By: Anna29 Comments

Swiss Chard Stem Soup

I adore Swiss Chard. But did you know that you can not only use the leaves, you can use the stems too?   Don’t compost or throw out the stems.  They taste similar to celery. So, let’s make soup–Swiss Chard Stem soup!

Once I tasted the Swiss Chard stems, I knew that I could substitute them for any recipe that uses celery.  I adore celery/potato soup so I made a faux version with the stems.

The recipe is a mix of this recipe and this recipe.  I used my Instant Pot (which is  a pressure cooker with multiple functions) to make this dish.  You can easily use a pot.

I like simple and the Instant Pot delivers.

Oh, did I tell you how much I love my 7 in 1 Instant Pot?  Soup is a breeze with this baby. I call it my dump in the pot and walk away gizmo.  No more standing in front of a stove wondering if I am really simmering and not boiling my soup.

I could gush about this pot until the cows come home but I know you are wondering about that soup.

Everyone love soup. Right?

So, let’s get ready to make some soup!

Swiss Chard Stem Soup Recipe:

Some notes before we continue.

  • Alter this recipe based upon how many cups of stems you have. I had a ton so I used as much as I could.
  • I use an Instant Pot to make this recipe.  Never fill an Instant Pot more than 2/3rd full.  (Don’t be tempted even if you have a ton of Swiss Chard stems.  I ended up making two different versions of this soup since I was swimming in those red buggers.)

Ingredients:

8 Cups of Swiss Chard Stems diced

3 Leeks ( green and white diced)

1  Celeriac peeled and diced

1  Potato peeled and diced

1.5 cups of Chicken Stock

1 cup of coconut milk (I only had almond/coconut milk.)

Salt and pepper to taste

Recipe:

  1. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a pan or your Instant Pot.  Cook the leeks until soft.  (You can use the “saute” function on the Instant Pot to cook your leeks.)
  2.  Add diced Swiss Chard, cooked leeks, celeriac, potato, chicken stock and coconut milk.  (Note, if you want to can this recipe, you need to add the coconut milk when heating up the soup.  I couldn’t find any Ball recipes in which coconut milk was  used as an ingredient  and the final product could be canned.)
  3. Add salt and pepper to the mixture.
  4. Turn the Instant Pot to the “Soup” function and let it cook.  Alternatively, put everything in a pot and bring to boil and simmer until the celeriac and potato are soft.
  5. When cool, puree it with a immersion blender like this one or put in a high speed blender.  (I have a Blendtec high speed blender.)  Both work fine.  Or you can leave the soup chunky.
  6. Enjoy!

Just in case, if you want to know what to do with the Swiss Chard leaves, read HERE for some recipes.

Oh, and I have another version of this soup since I had a ton of stems to deal with. Stay tuned.

A girl has got to be creative when she grows too much Swiss chard.

PS I found it tastes even better after I froze it and then defrosted it.  I ate it cold!

Join the Conversation

When the world hands you too many Swiss Chard stems, do you make soup?

Disclaimer:  There may be affiliate links in this article.  Green Talk makes pennies for each purchase, but everything helps to feed my plant obsession.

 

 

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About Anna

Anna Hackman is the editor of Green Talk, and owner of The Naked Botanical and a avid (okay obsessed) gardener. She also loves video and podcasting and hosts Green Talk TV and Green Talk Radio. Her most important role is being a mother of four boys.

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Comments

  1. 1

    Carol Schultz says

    September 26, 2016 at 11:58 am

    This is a great idea for stems. I use the entire chard and sauté it but never thought about using stems in a soup. I altered the recipe a bit and it was fantastic right out of the pot when it was done.

    I only used 4C of stems (my chard is pretty small not that we’re at the end of the season in CO), and used a medium red potato and yukon gold and left the skins on. Full fat coconut milk really made a difference in the richness and I used veggie stock rather than chicken to keep it vegan.

    Used the immersion blender when everything was soft and then added a lot of chopped chard leaves. It’s a winner.

    Reply
    • 2

      Anna@Green Talk says

      October 5, 2016 at 1:55 am

      Carol, love this recipe! Full fat coconut milk would do the trick! Anna

      Reply
    • 3

      Anna@Green Talk says

      October 5, 2016 at 1:56 am

      Carol, how much stock and milk did you use for four cups? Anna

      Reply
      • 4

        Carol Schultz says

        October 5, 2016 at 12:39 pm

        I used a full can of coconut milk and 2C of veggie stock. It was nice and thick.

        Reply
  2. 5

    Debra says

    September 26, 2016 at 3:11 pm

    Great idea! Do you think it would compromise the flavor or nutrition of this recipe if I froze my stems until I collected enough for 8 cups?

    Reply
    • 6

      Anna@Green Talk says

      October 5, 2016 at 1:54 am

      Debra, I think you would be fine. Anna

      Reply
  3. 7

    linda spiker says

    October 4, 2016 at 10:31 am

    Love the idea of using swiss chard stems and never would have thought of it!

    Reply
    • 8

      Anna@Green Talk says

      October 5, 2016 at 1:48 am

      Linda, I expect to see some in your future recipes! Anna

      Reply
  4. 9

    Beth says

    October 4, 2016 at 10:39 am

    Wow, how creative! I bet this is so tasty and what a great way to get in different nutrients.

    Reply
    • 10

      Anna@Green Talk says

      October 5, 2016 at 1:48 am

      Beth, never thought of it that way. It is nutritious! Anna

      Reply
  5. 11

    The Food Hunter says

    October 4, 2016 at 10:48 am

    I had no idea about this. But I grow my own chard so I am excited to find this out.

    Reply
    • 12

      Anna@Green Talk says

      October 5, 2016 at 1:47 am

      The food Hunter, let me know how you like the stems. Anna

      Reply
  6. 13

    Renee Kohley says

    October 4, 2016 at 10:52 am

    What a GREAT way to use up those stems! I always end up tossing them into broth but I don’t always do that because we have so many! Love this idea! thank you!

    Reply
    • 14

      Anna@Green Talk says

      October 5, 2016 at 1:47 am

      Renee, thanks! Anna

      Reply
  7. 15

    jamie says

    October 4, 2016 at 11:12 am

    I love this idea! I’m always looking for ways to use all of my produce. Any scraps though end up in broth, so it doesn’t get wasted regardless.

    Reply
    • 16

      Anna@Green Talk says

      October 5, 2016 at 1:46 am

      Jamie, I am with you. Scraps must be used. Anna

      Reply
  8. 17

    Emily @ Recipes to Nourish says

    October 4, 2016 at 11:26 am

    I’ve never thought of making swiss chard into a soup like this. What a great idea!

    Reply
    • 18

      Anna@Green Talk says

      October 5, 2016 at 1:46 am

      Emily, the stems are so versatile. Anna

      Reply
  9. 19

    Megan Stevens says

    October 4, 2016 at 1:05 pm

    Yum! Love the potato and coconut for creamy! Love the stems for frugality!

    Reply
    • 20

      Anna@Green Talk says

      October 5, 2016 at 1:46 am

      Thanks Megan. Anna

      Reply
  10. 21

    Tash says

    October 4, 2016 at 2:07 pm

    This sounds awesome! What a neat way to use chard! Going to have to give this trick a try 🙂

    Reply
    • 22

      Anna@Green Talk says

      October 5, 2016 at 1:45 am

      Tash, those stems can be used in lieu of celery in any dish. Anna

      Reply
  11. 23

    Carol@studiobotanica says

    October 4, 2016 at 8:22 pm

    I need to get organized. I need to save all my greens stems, more consistently.
    I have great intentions but NOW I have an inspired recipe to motivate me.
    thanks Anna!!

    Reply
    • 24

      Anna@Green Talk says

      October 5, 2016 at 1:45 am

      Carol, I just can’t throw away what I grow. Anna

      Reply

Trackbacks

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