How to Make Swiss Chard Powder for Greens Boost

I love green foods, but a lot of people don’t (i.e. a few of my kids). I’ve been dehydrating Swiss Chard straight from the garden for years now and it makes the best “seasoning” for just about any dish. You don’t really taste Swiss chard powder, but it gives your homecooked food a nutrients boost.

Pick and wash your greens. Remove any thick stems (especially for the larger, more mature leaves). Then lay them out on the dehydrator trays. Put the dehydrator on the lowest heat setting for herbs and let it sit for several hours or overnight.

The leaves will shrink and be very brittle. Stuff them into your cup for grinding/blending. Studies show, dehydrated leafy greens will retain quite a bit of the micronutrients, including high levels of carotene.

A whole cup stuffed with dried leaves will only end up about an inch or so full of powder. I’ve found roughly 1 teaspoon of powder equals about 10 large Swish chard leaves.

Surprisingly, Swiss chard powder has very little taste (even less than dried parsley). It can be used in place of parsley or in just about any sauce/puree without altering the taste much. I like to add it to sweet potatoes for my baby, top pizzas with it, add it to our pasta sauce, soups and more.

Of all the things I’ve dehydrated over the years, this is by far my favorite thing to do. It is easy and a very practical thing I use in so many dishes. I can never make too much Swiss chard powder!

This makes it so easy to sneak green nutrients into my kids’ foods. They eat their veggies, but this is just an extra boost. It’s really helpful for babies that don’t like green foods.

What do you like to dehydrate?