8 Edible Flowers to Pick Straight from Your Garden to Your Plate

The bright yellow dandelion flower tastes sweet, almost like honey. Use not only the flower but also the tender, tasty leaves in salads—they’re great for digestion. You can even make a stew from the leaves, seasoned with white pepper and lemon juice for a fresh twist.

This colorful spring flower has a subtle minty flavor and makes a stunning decoration on cakes and desserts. It also brightens up salads and appetizers. You can candy it with sugar, mix it into pancake batter, or add it to homemade cheese spreads. It’s perfect for decorating sandwiches too.

Tiny purple violets carpet spring gardens like a natural ground cover. Candied violets are a charming treat for desserts. Use these pretty little flowers to decorate sweets, scent teas and vinegars, or toss the leaves into salads. Try mixing violets into spring herb butters or creamy cheese spreads for a fresh twist.

This versatile plant offers edible flowers and dark berries used in juices, jams, cakes, and even wine. Elderflowers are packed with vitamin C and have a lovely fragrance. Make refreshing lemonade or syrup from the flowers, or dip the large, plate-sized blossoms in pancake batter and fry for a delicious dessert. Caution: Red elderberries are toxic!

With a slightly spicy, lemony flavor, lilac flowers add a fresh note to salads. You can also make lilac sugar blends for baked goods. Lilac syrup and jam offer a fragrant culinary experience you’ll want to savor.

Bright and cheerful in the garden, marigold flowers also brighten salads and side dishes. Known as a saffron substitute, they add color and flavor to rice, flour mixes, pasta, and soups. Plus, they make a soothing herbal tea.

Lavender’s signature scent calms the mind and soothes stomach troubles while boosting bile flow. It’s a kitchen star for both savory and sweet dishes—think breads, cakes, jams, beef dishes, sauces, stews, and creamy desserts.

The bright yellow flowers of squash plants (zucchini, pumpkin, and others) look stunning on the plate. Enjoy them fried, stuffed with cheese, in salads, or paired with tender squash for a fresh, tasty dish.