Go Wild! 25 Vegan Recipes For Foraged Food (2024)

Foraging for food is fun, and free! Here are some vegan recipes for foraged food you can find easily, from just about anywhere!

By Lora O’Brien

Whether you want to eat cheaply, organically, or more naturally (or all of the above), you need to consider foraging.

Whilst that sounds pretty ‘survivalist’, it actually just makes sense. Depending on where you live and the season, there’s an abundance of vegan food you can find anywhere, and it’s mainly going to waste.

For example? Here in the UK, all of the following grows wild:

• Fool’s parsley
• Chickweed
• Dandelion
• Nettle
• Chestnut
• Walnut
• Wild strawberry
• Wild asparagus
• Elderberry
• Crab apples
• Blackberry
• Currants
• Wild gooseberry
• Raspberry

and much more! But in warmer climes, figs, peppercorns, mulberry, prickly pears, persimmon, plums and other fruits and plants grow even more abundantly. Why not search for which edible wild plants grow in your area and get hunting?

You don’t need to risk foraging for (potentially deadly) mushrooms or wander deep into the forests to find these plants – many grow in the city, but you probably pass them by every day without a second thought.

Sure, you may need a guide like this to know exactly what’s what, but once you recognise edible plants, why not turn them into something tasty? A good friend of Eluxe Magazine’s, Rob Greenfield, has been providing us with self-sufficiency inspo for years. This is a guy who not only managed to eat only food he grew himself or foraged for a year, but also brought the concept of dumpster diving into the public consciousness. When you think like Rob, food is not only tasty and healthy, but it’s abundant and cheap, too!

Here, I’ve found 20+ recipes for food you can find anywhere. Super cheap, and super healthy! Happy foraging!

Main image courtesy Rob Greenfield.

Recipes for Wild Food You Can Find Almost Anywhere

1. Elderberry Smoothie

This smoothie is a ‘berry good’ way to start the day! Elderberries are a great addition to any diet, but more so when colds, four and viruses are going around as they’re a super potent immune-booster! Additional berries are added to increase the antioxidant levels even more, plus the freshly squeezed grapefruit provides an extra boost of vitamin C!

Get the recipe here.

2. Raspberry Chia Jam Stuffed Pancakes

The only thing better than pancakes topped with wild raspberries? Pancakes that are stuffed with them! These raspberry chia jam stuffed pancakes make the perfect breakfast or snack recipe. They’re gluten-free, oil-free and refined sugar-free. And SUPER delish, trust me on this one – this is definitely one of my favourite vegan recipes for foraged food!

Get the recipe here.

3. Vegan Dandelion Honey

I’ve seen this dandelion honey floating around social media for some time now and people are loving it! Forget the ‘is honey vegan’ saga and make this 100% vegan honey. It doesn’t rely on bees to make it, but dandelions instead. It’s sweet, runny and blossomy, plus it looks and tastes like the real thing.

Get the recipe here.

4. Blackberry Chia Seed Jam

I just HAD to include a blackberry jam recipe. As a kid, my cousins and I would go with our Nan to pick blackberries from this huge bush near her house. We’d pick as many as we could carry and, if they lasted long enough until we got back to her house, we’d make something yummy with them, like this blackberry jam! Which we would use to top everything from toast to scones.

Get the recipe here.

5. Red Currant Quinoa Crumble Bars

I love picking red currants – but damn, they can be sour! So, if you’re not a fan of eating them by themselves, why not sweeten them up with this yummy quinoa crumble bar recipe? They’re super wholesome, easy to make and easily adapted to suit whatever wild fruit you have – so you could even use gooseberries, strawberries or crab apples!

Get the recipe here.

6. Nettle Seed & Dandelion Blossom Bars

These bars are ‘wildly’ good! It uses dandelion flowers, which are super common to find, and super fun to pick, as well as nettle seeds. Can’t find nettle seeds, no problem – sesame will do. It’s also packed with nuts and spices, making this the best of all the vegan recipes for foraged food to take with you on a hike, or packed into lunch boxes.

Get the recipe here.

7. Mushroom & Chestnut ‘Sausage’ Rolls

Foraging for edible mushrooms and chestnuts? Combine them both into a golden, puff pastry covered veggie sausage roll – yum! Simply cut a slit into your mushrooms and then roast them until cooked before peeling them and using them in this decadent vegan dish.

Get the recipe here.

8. Vegan Chickweed Pesto

Pesto is a staple food in my household. I load it onto pizza, stir it into pasta – or simply eat it by the spoonful! Regular vegan pesto is super healthy, but the addition of chickweed helps to load it with even more nutrients since it contains 20% protein and 20x more iron than a beef steak – impressive!

Get the recipe here.

9. Foraged Nettle Soup

Don’t think of nettles are those annoying plants that sting you when you’re hiking through fields! Once simmered in a soup, they’re so delicious, (and of course, they lose their sting!) This nettle soup is loaded with tender potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic and nettles – which have a similar taste to spinach. Nettles also contain a lot of detoxifying qualities, so this soup is full of health benefits as well as deliciousness!

10. Mushroom Soup with Foraged Hedgehog Mushrooms

This is a really simple, but flavoursome soup made with just a few aromatics and a lot of mushrooms! Though it calls for hedgehog mushrooms, you can really use any edible kind. The roasted garlic adds a sweetness that works really well alongside the fragrant mushrooms. This is one of the most elegant vegan recipes for foraged food that I know of.

Get the recipe here.

11. Foraged Greens Salad

Nothing feels more rewarding than growing your own veggies and then getting to eat them, right? Well, you know what’s even cooler? Hunting for your own greens in the wild! The addition of edible flowers makes this mega-healthy salad look super pretty!

Get the recipe here.

12. Sweet Potato Patties with Dandelion Greens

Nothing screams SPRING more than the sight of dandelions! While many try to rid the weed from their garden, you may want to salvage them and use them in your dishes. The sweet nature of the sweet potato is the perfect food companion to the bitter dandelion greens. Season with flaky salt and enjoy!

Get the recipe here.

13. Spring Garlic Mustard & Dandelion Greens Vegan Frittatas

These frittatas make the perfect wild edible breakfast dish. They’re savoury, creamy, egg-like, tangy and flooded with garlic and onion flavour. This is a great high-vegan protein snack to have on hand for when hunger strikes!

Get the recipe here.

14. Pickled Nettles

Fresh nettles are a versatile ingredient to cook with, and their flavour and texture is similar to spinach when cooked, and can, therefore, be used in many of the same dishes. You can dry or freeze nettles for later use, but a great alternative is to pickle them to preserve them. They’re even more flavourful this way, and can then be added straight from the jar to salads, sandwiches, frittatas or even as a pizza topping!

See more preserved food ideas here.

Get the recipe here.

15. Vegan Morel Mushroom Cream Sauce

Attention all vegans: this morel mushroom cream sauce is SUPER creamy and addictive! And the part that’s hard to believe? It has just SEVEN ingredients! So, if you’ve struck gold and got your hands on morel mushrooms, turn them into this simple yet stunning sauce, which is tasty as heck on not only pasta, but rice and quinoa, too.

Get the recipe here.

16. Asparagus and Zucchini Pasta

I love grilling asparagus and tossing it into my salad or pasta dishes! It gives a great texture against the soft noodles and veggies. If wild asparagus is in season, this is a must-make. But if not, you could just use the above chickweed pesto recipe are the dressing for your zucchini pasta.

Get the recipe here.

17. Steamed Nettles with Toasted Sesame Seeds & Chive Blossoms

Did you know nettles are packed full of calcium, iron and magnesium and are a natural detoxifier? If you’re a little intimidated by cooking them, then start with this steamed nettle with toasted sesame seeds and chives dish. It’s really easy to make and is also really healing. Serve alongside brown rice and seared tofu.

Get the recipe here.

18. Vegan Miso Mushroom, Squash & Chestnut Wellington

I love collecting chestnuts to take home and roast. They’re so creamy and sweet! And this mushroom, squash and chestnut Wellington is a yummy way to turn those chestnuts into something outstanding, and a bit fancy, too. Miso mushrooms, sweet butternut and chestnuts are roasted until sweet, stirred through prunes and breadcrumbs and then baked in puff pastry. Anyone else drooling?

Get the recipe here.

19. Raw Chocolate Cupcakes with Nettle Frosting

Is there anything nettles can’t do? There, they give these raw cupcakes a gorgeous hue as well as flavour. They’re a wholesome treat and don’t be fooled into thinking the chocolate makes these sinful – they’re made from a mix of walnuts, pumpkin seeds, medjool dates and raw cocoa. It’s so cool that vegan recipes for foraged food can even include dessert!

Get the recipe here.

20. Chai Spiced Elderberry Cobble

Thus cobbler is a great way to use berries and indulge in their natural sweetness. The breaded topping has the most scrummy texture and is laced with chai spices. This is a treat that, thanks to the antioxidant richness of the elderberries, is great for your health, too.

Get the recipe here.

21. Vegan Chestnut Cream Tart with Cinnamon Apples

I’ve been enjoying chestnuts since I was a kid, but I never once thought to use them in a sweeter recipe like this tart. Sure, it’s a little tedious roasting and peeling the chestnuts to make the puree for this dessert, but honestly, it’s so worth it and you’ll be SO glad you did it!

Get the recipe here.

22. Vegan Gooseberry Crumble Cake

You either love or loathe gooseberries, there’s no real in-between feeling. They’re super sharp when not fully ripe, but incredibly sweet when plump and juicy. I personally LOVE it when they’re sour. My mum and I eat them by the punnet when they’re in season. But if you can’t quite deal with them as they are, why not sweeten them a little by turning them into this crumble cake?

Get the recipe here.

23. Elderberry Kefir

I couldn’t make a list of vegan recipes for foraged food without adding some healthy drinks! This kefir is a healthy healing probiotic drink that is packed with probiotics and the immune-boosting vitamins of elderberries. Kefir also contains high levels of vitamin B12, beta carotene, calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin K2, biotin, folate, and enzymes, and it’s super refreshing when iced!

Get the recipe here.

24. Sage, Rosemary and Bay Leaf Cordial

Looking for a refreshing drink that’s made from the most natural, organic ingredients imaginable? This magical cordial will cleanse your energy field, not to mention protect your body and spirit.

Get the recipe here.