5 Watercress Substitutes (and How to Use Them)

Watercress is an edible water plant native to Europe and Asia that adds a flavorful punch to your favorite dish. This aquatic leafy green has become increasingly popular in North America for its nutritional and potential health benefits. The vegetable’s distinctive appearance—small rounded mid-green leaves attached to skinny light green hollow stems—catches one’s eye from the sea of produce at farmer’s markets and grocery stores.

If you love eating watercress, but don’t have any on hand (or prefer to use another veggie instead of watercress in the recipe), we have a few suggested replacements that can easily replace watercress.

What Does Watercress Taste Like?

Raw watercress is earthy, grassy, sharp, and peppery. Its slender stalks are crispy and chewy. Some people note raw watercress has a blended taste of mustard greens and wasabi, offering a bright yet slightly bitter finish. Raw watercress lends well to potato salads. It is also an excellent garnish to brighten your pizza and pasta dishes with a vibrant green.

When cooked, watercress quickly wilts and its bold pepperiness mellows. Because water makes up 95% of the vegetable’s weight, you can expect shrinkage when cooked. Still, the cooked veggie has a bright, vibrant, and distinctive savory flavor when stir-fried with minced garlic or cooked in a hot pot, soups, and stews.

Best Watercress Substitutes

Watercress is available year round, but it could be occasionally unavailable at your local farmer’s market or grocer. Here are five substitutes that could replace watercress:

1. Arugula

Arugula is the best and closest option to replace watercress, as both veggies have peppery and bitter leaves. The young arugula leaves are best for replacing watercress in salads, like the Fennel and Watercress Salad, where the watercress could be simply swapped out and replaced by arugula.

2. Indian cress

Indian cress is another close contender for replacing watercress, particularly in salads. Both vegetables have a similar texture, aroma, and peppery flavor. One downside is that this vegetable is not widely available, and you may need to look for a different alternative.

3. Radish Sprouts

Watercress and radish sprouts are closely related—this may not be a surprise as they have similar-looking leaves and stems. You can also expect the same bitterness and peppery kick from radish sprouts. 

Though different in height and stem color, radish sprouts are more delicate. Only supertasters and people with culinary-trained experience would notice that you have used radish sprouts instead of watercress in most recipes. 

Raw radish sprouts could be a suitable replacement for watercress in salads and sandwiches. While radish sprouts are an ideal alternative, children, pregnant and older people, and people with a weakened immune system may want to avoid eating them to lower the risk of contracting foodborne illness.

4. Dandelion Greens

Dandelion greens are the next best choice in substituting watercress. While this leafy green lacks the peppery taste of watercress, both vegetables have a fairly similar taste—both are earthy, with the younger leaves having softer and milder flavor and the older leaves more bitter. 

While available year-round, dandelion greens are more abundant during spring. This veggie may also be available at a farmers’ market or CSA box. 

You can swap watercress for dandelion greens in salad. Pair them with your favorite vinaigrette or dressing. You can also use dandelion greens in egg salad recipes and Celery and Stilton Soup as a garnish.

5. Spinach

Raw spinach has a milder taste and lacks the peppery undertones of raw watercress. You also can’t replicate a similar texture, as spinach doesn’t have crunchy stalks. Despite their different flavor profiles and textures, you can mimic a close flavor of raw watercress with raw spinach by adding a dash of black pepper to your spinach greens.

Like watercress, spinach shrinks to one-tenth of its raw state when exposed to heat due to its high moisture content. When spinach is enjoyed as a green in hot pots or as a sautéed vegetable, make sure you have plenty available if you want to enjoy a filling portion.