10 Edible Flowers to Use this Summer

Edible flowers are not only beautiful but flowers that you can eat as well. Find out which ones to use, they’re not hard to find and some are even considered weeds…

Using edible flowers

Using edible flowers gives dishes a beautiful look and adds a special charm. You can use them to decorate cookies and for very special cakes.

Some of the most common edible flowers are pansies, dandelion, nasturtium, alkanet, calendula, and chamomile. But there’s more color and beauty, read on to discover more beautiful, edible blooms.

Important: Never consume any flowers without first verifying you indeed have the right flower or by consulting an expert. I claim no responsibility for the wrong use of, or side effects of the use of edible flowers.

List of edible flowers

Pansy

Are panies edible? Yes, they are! First of all edible pansy flowers look pretty. You can use them in a salad or on top of a homemade cake. Press them into the icing and you’ll have a very pretty edible flower cake. Also, because they come in so many colors they’re easy to pair with savory dishes. Just choose any color that matches the dish.

Dandelion

What can dandelion flowers be used for? While most people might see dandelion as a weed. Dandelion flowers are edible. Did you know the whole plant is edible?

You can use its leaves in salads. And if you feel like relaxing tonight, make some dandelion tea.

Deborah from She Mams with Oils has a good dandelion tea recipe and lots more information on dandelions. Kathy from My Homestead Pantry has a recipe for making Dandelion jelly.

Chive blossoms

If you grow chive on your window sill or in the garden you know chive gets beautiful, puffy, purple flowers. Perhaps you’ve wondered: “Are chive flowers edible?”. Well good news, chive flowers are indeed edible! They have a subtle union taste. They look beautiful on top of homemade chive butter.

Nasturtium


These abundant flowers are a feast for any dish. Nasturtium flowers look beautiful and are edible. Just like its seeds. The flowers can be used for decorating, but can be stuffed as well. The seeds can be used to substitute capers or black pepper. Furthermore, nasturtium is know for its antiseptic properties which makes nasturtium not only an edible plant, bus a great medicinal plant as well.

Alkanet

Alkanet is not only a beautiful plant, but alkanet flowers also are edible and the herb has been used for centuries for better bowel movements.

Calendula

Calendula is both a medicinal and edible plant. Calendala flowers are edible and have a beautiful bright orange color. Did you know calendula flowers were sometimes used as a cheese colorant? Calendula flowers are also great for making tea. It’s flowers are so abundant that if you dry them regularly you have a whole years stock of petals for your tea. The more calendula flowers you pick, the more will grow. Leave some flowers on the plant and let them dry, you’ll then be able to easily harvest the calendula seeds.

Borage

Being from the same family as alkanet, they look somewhat the same. Borage flowers are edible as well.

They not only look pretty with their bright blue color but they have a subtle sweet taste as well.

If you want to serve your guests something special this summer. borage is definitely one of 10 edible flowers to use this summer.

Chamomile

Chamomile is probably most famous for making tea. But, chamomile flowers are edible too. It can also be used to infuse oil, to top of salads and of course for decorating a beautiful summer edibile flower cake!

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Zucchini flowers

While you definitely want to leave some zucchini flowers on the plant to become zucchini’s. These beautiful, big, yellow summer squash flowers are edible and can be used in stir fry recipes and they can be eaten stuffed.

Rose

Lastly, and probably my favourite is rose. Rose petals are edible. They smell lovely and can be used for decorating and making teas and infusions. Looking for inspiration? This recipe for a rose panna cotta tart is a great place to start.

Some last words

Edible flowers are a beautiful and tasty addition to special dishes and cakes. Flowers can be used to make teas, creams, infusions, make something beautiful this summer with edible flowers.

Be sure you are certain you have the right kind of flowers. Especially when picking flowers in the wild. When in doubt, don’t use them.

Pansies, rose petals, nasturtium, and pansies are some edible and tasty flowers. Looking for more than 10 edible flowers to use this summer? The list of edible flowers is much longer.

When you want to use edible flowers be sure you take the following into consideration, especially when foraging in the wild.

Guidelines for using edible flowers

• Don’t pick edible flowers near the side of the road.
• Use organically grown/ unsprayed flowers.
• Make sure you identified which flower it is.
• Acquaint yourself with poisonous flowers in your area.
• Don’t pick more than you’ll use
• To sum things up, don’t use it when in doubt!

1. Pansy
2. Dandelion
3. Chive blossom
4. Nasturtium
5. Alkanet
6. Borage
7. Calendula
8. Chamomile
9. Zucchini flowers
10. Rose

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