Using Edible Flowers as a garnish is a beautiful, quick, and easy way to create restaurant-style plating at home. When creating and styling plates of food, there are so many ways to add interest, and using edible flowers is one of my favorites. Bright and colorful, what's not to love?
Chefs use edible varieties of flowers all the time to add color as well as flavor to a plate, and I love going out into the garden to see what's in season that I can use. Here's a list of edible flowers with everything you need to know about the types of flowers you can eat.
Jump to:
- 🌸 Types of Edible Flowers
- 1. Primroses
- 2. Nasturtiums
- 3. Pansies
- 4. Courgette or Zucchini flowers
- 5. Borage flowers
- 6. Violets
- 7. Lavender
- 8. Roses
- 9. Chamomile
- 10. Honeysuckle
- 11. Chive blossoms
- 12. Marigold
- 13. Hibiscus
- 14. Anise Hyssop
- 15. Daisies
- 16. Carnations
- ❄️ How to store edible flowers
- 🌼 How to make candied flowers
- ❓Edible Flowers FAQ
- 👩🏼🍳 Other garnish ideas
- 💬 Comments
🌸 Types of Edible Flowers
1. Primroses
I'm sure you've heard of primrose tea and primrose oil, but did you know you can eat fresh primrose flowers too? They are delicate and flat so I like to use them as a garnish for cocktails and cakes.
2. Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum Majus) have a quite peppery taste, so they work well in savory dishes. I like using peppery nasturtiums in a green salad, and they work well with the tang of rocket leaves (AKA arugula or roquette) and blue cheese.
3. Pansies
Pansy flowers are one of the most common edible flowers. They are flavorless and, therefore, purely ornamental flowers so pretty perfect for use in the culinary arts. Their scientific name is viola tricolor, which I love because it refers to their 3 colors and the shape, like a viola.
4. Courgette or Zucchini flowers
If you've never tried stuffed zucchini flowers, this is the sign you've been waiting for. The large and sturdy nature of squash blossoms makes these edible flowers ideal for stuffing. Often, you'll find them piped full of garlicky cream cheese, battered, and deep-fried for an indulgent treat.
5. Borage flowers
Famously used in the quintessentially British drink Pimms - borage flowers are a piercing sky blue color and create the feeling of a wildflower meadow. Float them on top of cocktails or scatter them over fruit salads to add a pop of summer. You can eat the leaves too!
6. Violets
Violets are one of the most popular edible flowers as they have surprisingly sweet petals. They work well in desserts, or if you want to add a different dimension to a savory dish.
7. Lavender
Excellent in desserts, lavender flowers are beautifully fragrant and can be used dried as well as fresh. They have a strong and intense scent and flavor, so don't overdo it. I love a few small petals scattered over vanilla ice cream in summer.
8. Roses
Rose petals are one of the most traditional flowers you can use in cooking. Used a lot in Middle Eastern dishes, the flavor of rose is very strong and distinct. The petals are often dried and crumbled over dishes, too.
9. Chamomile
Chamomiles are a popular flower to make herbal tea from, which are daisy-like and have a sweet taste, so they work well in desserts.
10. Honeysuckle
With their unusual shape, honeysuckle flowers can be quite sculptural and dramatic - giving real flair to your food styling. Only eat the flowers, not the berries.
11. Chive blossoms
Chive flowers are pretty, feathery, purple domes of tiny petals that have a mild onion taste and work really well as a garnish for savory dishes. The flower buds are just as pretty. I love this recipe for chive blossom vinegar!
12. Marigold
Marigolds come in the golden colors of the sun, so think bright yellows, reds, and oranges. They are quite large, multilayered blooms, so they need to be used carefully so as not to dominate the plate.
13. Hibiscus
Hibiscus flowers (Rosa-Sinensis) are stunningly beautiful and will give a tropical feel to any dish.
14. Anise Hyssop
These vibrant purple flowers have a slight aniseed flavor. It would taste excellent with similar flavors, like this roasted fennel salad.
15. Daisies
A pretty little daisy (Bellis Perennis) will brighten up any dish, but they can have a slightly bitter aftertaste so it's best to use them in small quantities. I prefer to just use the white petals in a similar way to fresh herbs. If you have your own garden with a lawn, they'll probably already be growing for you ready to pick.
16. Carnations
Carnations come in many colors, and you can also color them yourself by putting food coloring in the vase water of the plain white flowers. They have a mildly sweet flavor, so carnation petals are ideal as a dessert garnish. Even the stems are edible!
❄️ How to store edible flowers
Once picked, edible flowers can stay fresh for 3-4 days if kept cool and away from moisture in an airtight container in the fridge.
🌼 How to make candied flowers
Make candied flowers to decorate cakes and other desserts. It's a great way to use edible flowers that add texture and crunch as well as a bright pop of color. Simply use a pair of tweezers to dip your fresh edible flowers into egg white to coat them. Then dip the flowers into a dish of white granulated sugar to coat them on both sides. Place the candied flowers on a plate covered with greaseproof/parchment paper and remove to a warm, dry place for 12 hours.
❓Edible Flowers FAQ
No, not all flowers are edible. It is very important to check which flowers you can eat, as while some are delicious, others are very toxic to humans. They might be pretty, but they'll still poison you, so if you are in any doubt as to what kind of flower it is, don't eat it. You should only eat unsprayed flowers (so no possible herbicide use) and also be cautious if you have a pollen allergy.
Decorate food with edible flowers at the last minute before service. You can use whole flowers or just the petals. Try to keep sauce or gravy away from them as much as possible, if possible, or they will collapse and lose all their shape.
Some flowers you can eat have no flavor, while other edible flowers taste delicious and can, therefore, enhance the taste and add depth and dimension to your dish. For this reason, it's important to choose which edible flowers to use in cooking carefully. A little can also go a long way. Rose and lavender flowers, for example, are highly fragrant and can make you feel like you're eating a bar of soap if you're not careful.
I hope this blog has inspired you with creative ideas for food styling and how to use flowers in your cooking! I'd love to see your culinary creations. Tag me on Instagram if you try anything.
Want to know what's in season and when? Here's how to get my free printable PDF download you can use to ensure you're buying as fresh as possible.
Gary says
How fascinating! I never knew you could eat some of these and that they actually have flavour, will definitely try
Cindy says
You've given me so many ideas! I'm going to grow some edible flowers and start using them.
Sean says
This is great for cake and pie decorations! Love this!
Jacqui says
This is so helpful! I always wanted to dig deeper into the world of edible flowers and this is really a great start.
Katie says
This was so informative and helpful, I honestly learned so much!
nancy says
great round up of edible flowers. i'd be too scared to eat any to be honest without a guide