Top 31+ green foods for St. Patrick’s Day from buttery Irish cabbage to matcha cookies

Skip the food coloring with dishes that get their hue from herbs, greens, peas, pandan, and more.

Nature shows off its green hues in many foods, from green salads to fava beans and matcha treats. The color represents freshness, prosperity, and plants coming to life each spring, so whether you're celebrating the season or St. Patrick's Day, you can incorporate green into your spread with these dishes and dips. From deep green soups to pale green pastas and bright green sauces, here's an array of enticing green foods.

01 of 31

Herb Guacamole

Made with a quartet of herbs — cilantro, basil, mint, and tarragon — this creamy green-on-green dip from chef Enrique Olvera is just the thing to scoop up with freshly fried tostadas.

02 of 31

Buttery Irish Cabbage

This Irish-style side gently cooks ribbons of Savoy cabbage in plenty of cultured butter with a splash of water, salt, and pepper until glossy, sweet, and just-tender. It’s finished off the heat with a few extra pats of butter that melt into the leaves

03 of 31

Pandan and Coconut Cake

This pretty dessert from chef Lara Lee gets its vibrant green hue from pandan, a tropical plant that grows throughout Southeast Asia and has a distinctive vanilla- and coconut-like fragrance. The sweet cake layers are balanced by tangy mascarpone cheese swirled with raspberry jam.

04 of 31

Espagueti Verde (Green Spaghetti)

If salsa verde is your jam, you'll love this creamy green spaghetti. Simply char poblano peppers and garlic in the broiler, then puree with scallions, jalapeño, cilantro, and Mexican crema for a silky, smoky sauce.

05 of 31

Prosciutto-Wrapped Halibut with Asparagus Sauce

Early-to-mid March marks the beginning of the Alaskan halibut season. Here, the sweet, meaty fillets are shrouded with thinly sliced prosciutto and roasted, then served over a gorgeous green sauce made from spinach, scallions, and asparagus.

06 of 31

Gingery Creamed Kale and Cabbage

Marcus Samuelsson stirs ginger and turmeric into this vegetable side dish for a little kick, then adds coconut milk and buttermilk to smooth and soften the spicy flavors. It's an easy make-ahead recipe that's fantastic with feasts of all kinds.

07 of 31

Pistachio-Chocolate Snacking Cake

Spring forward with this single-layer snacking cake from baking star Jessie Sheehan, topped with a nutty and ultra-creamy pistachio frosting.

08 of 31

Sauce Verte

Credit: Food & Wine / Photo by Brie Goldman / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Props by Breanna Ghazali / Prop Styling by Joseph Wanek

Let your food processor do the heavy lifting for this supremely tasty herb sauce from Seattle chef Renee Erickson — try it with fish, roast chicken, smashed and fried potatoes, and more.

09 of 31

A Perfect Pot of Lentils

Simply cooked French green lentils, aka Le Puy lentils, can be tossed into a salad or served alongside a whole roast chicken or pork rib roast. If cooked for longer, they'll get softer, making them excellent for hearty stews and soups as well.

10 of 31

Restorative Ginger and Turmeric Noodle Soup

This coconut-creamy noodle soup is bolstered by a robust base of ginger, turmeric, and chiles, offering deep, earthy flavors and vibrant color. The garlic oil adds an extra layer of aromatic flavor.

11 of 31

Wedge Salad with Tahini Green Goddess Dressing

Swap in an herbaceous tahini-green goddess dressing for classic blue cheese to make this especially fresh take on a classic wedge salad.

12 of 31

Green Curry

Garlic, lemongrass, makrut lime, coconut milk, and Thai basil balance the kick of heat in this popular Thai curry, made with chicken, zucchini, and bell peppers.

13 of 31

Mafaldine with Pea Shoot—Meyer Lemon Pesto

Elegant, eye-catching, and utterly delicious, this ruffled pasta dish couldn't be easier to prepare. The bright pesto — featuring fresh pea shoots and herbs, ricotta salata, sunflower seeds, and fragrant Meyer lemon — comes together instantly in the blender, while the garlicky breadcrumb topping takes just 10 minutes to cook on the stovetop.

14 of 31

Spring Pea Chaat with Lemon Raita

This crunchy springtime chaat from chef Maneet Chauhan is made with three kinds of fresh peas — English, snow, and sugar snap — plus whole cumin seeds, mustard seeds, chiles, and ginger, all topped with a spicy mango-mint chutney and a cooling lemon raita.

15 of 31

Palak "Paneer" with Pressed Fresh Ricotta

For a meatless main, press fresh ricotta into a block that can be cut into paneer-like cheese. Fried in ghee, the crispy, cheesy cubes are perfect in the warm puree of chile-and-ginger-spiked spinach and cilantro.

16 of 31

Tiger Salad with Green Tea Noodles

Hetty McKinnon tosses cold green tea-infused soba noodles in a dressing made with celery, cilantro, scallions, and a Thai chile for an umami-forward and slurpable salad that's ready in 20 minutes.

17 of 31

Vignarola (Springtime Vegetable Stew)

A Roman celebration of spring, fava beans, asparagus, green peas, and artichoke hearts are braised in olive oil and offset by the crunch of salty browned pancetta. A shower of bright lemon and refreshing mint finishes the dish.

18 of 31

Spiced Chimichurri with Cilantro and Dijon

To make his nontraditional chimichurri, Boston chef Douglass Williams combines coriander, cumin, and fenugreek seeds, plus Dijon mustard and two cups of chopped cilantro for a zesty, versatile herb sauce that's equally good as a marinade or for dipping.

19 of 31

Linguine with Frenched Green Beans and Parsley Pesto

For this verdant pasta dish from 1988 F&W Best New Chef Johanne Killeen, linguine and green beans cook in the same pot, then are tossed with an effortless parsley pesto that gets a little heat from cayenne.

20 of 31

Grilled Lamb Chops with Herby Yogurt Sauce

Lamb is made extra juicy, tender, and slightly tangy thanks to a yogurt marinade that doubles as the base for a simple herbed sauce to spoon over the finished dish. Serve the lamb with a quick salad of couscous and cucumbers for a complete meal.

21 of 31

Trinidadian Green Seasoning

Put a bit of Caribbean flair on the table with this zesty, bright staple made with two kinds of fresh chiles. It can be used either as a condiment or as the base for dishes like pelau.

22 of 31

Smashed Fava Beans on Toast with Pecorino and Mint

Andrea Slonecker tops toasted rustic bread with a spread of smashed spring fava beans, mint, and pecorino. Cook and shell the fava beans in advance to save time.

23 of 31

Chow Dau Miu (Garlicky Stir-Fried Pea Sprouts)

This recipe works with most tender leafy greens — including baby bok choy and choy sum (flowering cabbage) — so opt for the market's finest. Swirled into the garlic-scented oil, fermented soybean paste adds a layer of savory pungency.

24 of 31

Creamy Vegan Pasta with Greens, Peas, and Lemon Zest

This lovely vegan pasta dish is as creamy as it is verdant. White miso adds depth and umami to blanched greens, crisp scallions, and plenty of garlic. It's extra delicious topped with cheese, either plant-based or dairy.

25 of 31

Shorbat Jarjir (Rocket Soup)

Cookbook author Yasmin Khan serves up an intensely green yet deliciously delicate soup. This recipe calls for a blend of spinach, cilantro, and arugula cooked with warming spices like nutmeg, allspice, and turmeric.

26 of 31

Chilled English Pea Soup with Crab and Meyer Lemon

Chef Sarah Heller folds sweet Dungeness crab with Meyer lemon, crème fraîche, and a host of delicate spring herbs, then serves with a zesty, refreshing English pea and watercress soup.

27 of 31

Risotto with Parsley Puree and Caramelized Garlic

Chef Alice Delcourt's vivid risotto layers in parsley puree for fresh, green flavor. Plush with goat and Parmesan cheeses, the dish gets extra depth from a sweet boost of caramelized garlic.

28 of 31

Lemony Barley Salad with Kale Pesto

Jessica Koslow's very green barley salad has a double dose of kale. Some of it is blended into the pesto, while the rest is torn into pieces and stirred into the cooked barley. Though the preserved lemons are optional here, we love their bright tartness.

29 of 31

Creamy Spinach Soup with Dill

This spinach soup, adapted from Swedish chef Magnus Nilsson's The Nordic Cookbook, is flavored with cream, shallots, white pepper, and nutmeg, plus a sprinkle of chopped dill.

30 of 31

Matcha Tea Cake Cookies

Get your matcha on with these moist, tender, perfectly green cookies. The powdered tea imparts a light, toasty flavor — it's in both the dough and the snowy dusting on top.

31 of 31

Broccoli-Spinach Soup with Crispy Broccoli Florets and Croutons

Justin Chapple's lush soup is incredibly silky, thanks to the inclusion of a starchy potato. Each bowl is crowned with crispy roasted broccoli and croutons for added texture, plus a complementary sprinkle of snipped chives.