Baking With Microgreens? Try These 3 Amazing Recipes

Today is another episode highlighting the versatility of microgreens. While we may not be juicing today, we will explore an exciting cooking method with microgreens: by baking with microgreens. 

Microgreens are a great partner with baked goods because of their high nutrient density and their delicious taste like Malunggay Pan De Sal Infused With Legume Microgreens, Microgreen Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Carrot Cake.

However, is baking with microgreens a doable task? Baking with microgreens can be intimidating, but it can also be entertaining. Microgreens offer many taste profiles that can help enhance your baked goods’ flavors. With some guidance, baking with microgreens is a fulfilling task- albeit challenging for beginners. 

We know how it feels to approach a new task, particularly as strange as baking with microgreens. That is why in this article, we will guide you through creating unique and familiar “baking with microgreen” recipes.

What Can I Do With A Lot Of Microgreens?

What can you do with a lot of microgreens? Funny enough, you can do A LOT of things with A LOT of microgreens. Having lots of them is never a problem. All it takes to utilize these microgreens is to use your imagination with a touch of creativity.

• Used as a garnish
• Eating microgreen raw
• Add to salads
• Stir-fry with vegetables
• Juices and smoothies
• and of course, baking

Because we can only touch on so much, we will focus specifically on baking with microgreens in this article. Below is a list of recipes we will discuss later. If you are interested in juicing microgreens, visit our article Here Are The Top Three Microgreens For Juicing. Or maybe you are more into tea? Three Microgreens You Can Use For Teas.

Baking With Microgreens: A List Of Recipes

1. Malunggay Pan de Sal infused with legume microgreens.
2. Microgreen chocolate chip cookies
3. Carrot cake with an infusion of microgreens

An Authentic Filipino Microgreen Breakfast: Malunggay Pan De Sal Infused With Legume Microgreens

For this recipe, let us go oriental and visit an island country in Southeast Asia, the Philippines. For our first meal, let us discover how to make a Filipino breakfast staple, pan de sal, with a sweet mix of health. While malunggay pan de sal is not necessarily new, malunggay pan de sal with microgreens is quite a novel recipe!

Pan de sal comes from the Spanish term “salted bread,” which, when translated literally, means “bread with salt.” And while salt is present in our pan de sal recipe, the overall bread tastes a bit sweet and is perfect for breakfast and coffee. 

Malunggay, on the other hand, is a Filipino term for the drumstick tree, also referred to as the moringa tree. (source) Malunggay, as to be discussed later, is an incredibly healthy addition. This oriental microgreen bread recipe is the next best thing to sliced bread!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of legume microgreens of your choice
• 1/2 cup of dried legume malunggay leaves
• 7 g instant yeast 
• 1 1/2 cup of Lukewarm Water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour (plus 1/4 for kneading)
• A pinch of salt
• 3/4 cups of shortening
• 1 tsp of vegetable oil
• 1 cup of breadcrumbs for coating

Instructions

This recipe makes 16 wonderful malunggay pandesal bread.

1. Cut your microgreens into fine sizes. You can choose the variety of your liking, but if you are in doubt, we can recommend using peas, lentils, or mung bean microgreens.
2. Chop your dried legume malunggay leaves in the same manner.
3. To activate the yeast; mix the water and yeast, add one teaspoon of sugar and leave it for 10 minutes. Stir well and allow to become bubbly.
4. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, warm water, salt, and shortening. Stir well until well combined. 
5. Add the yeast mixture into the large bowl and stir it again. If the mixture is too wet you can add more flour.
6. As you start to knead the dough, add the chopped microgreens and malunggay leaves.
7. Wet your hands with vegetable oil and knead the mixture thoroughly. The kneading process should go for six to eight minutes, and you need to do this until the dough mixture is smooth. 
8. Place a cheesecloth over the bowl and set it for one and a half hours, or until double in size.
9. Remove the dough and place it on a flat surface. Make sure to flatten the dough to remove excess air.
10. Roll the malunggay pan de sal infused with microgreens into small pieces. 
11. Cover the pan de sal with bread crumbs.
12. Put them into the baking pan.
13. Let it rise for another thirty minutes.
14. Bake in 350 F heat for fifteen minutes.
15. Serve!

Add A Glass Of Cold Milk: Microgreen Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies pair well with a glass of cold milk, and some may even say it’s chocolate chip’s best partner. Dunk it in, and enjoy it fresh! However, there is an up-and-coming competitor, and that is microgreens.

Chocolate chip cookies with a glass of cold milk are not what one would often refer to as “a healthy snack.” Quite the contrary, chocolate chip cookies carry a lot of fattening sugar and are bad for the cardiovascular system. 

However, this version is using plant-based ingredients and with a twist of adding a bit of microgreen into the system, this guilty pleasure will soon be healthier for you to consume. 

This snack is exceptionally delicious that a quick reminder is a must. Just because microgreens are in it does not mean that you can consume as much as you want!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup of non-dairy milk
• Three eggs (add more if preferred)
• 1 cup of brown sugar (preferred as brown sugar has molasses)
• Active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup of warm water
• Applesauce to taste
• 1/2 cup of nutty microgreens (i.e., sunflower microgreens, dandelion microgreens, legume microgreens)
• Honey, to taste. It may be an alternative to brown sugar entirely, except for the sugar used to activate the yeast.
• 1 cup of chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 1 cup of instant oatmeal
• 2 cups of all-purpose flour. Like the pan de sal recipe, you can use alternative flour options

Instructions

1. Mix, in a cup, the warm water, one tablespoon of sugar, and the active dry yeast. Leave this mixture for five to ten minutes. Sometimes, activating the yeast can last as long as fifteen minutes.
2. Beat the eggs in a bowl.
3. Add the vanilla extract and the remaining sugar (or honey) and beat thoroughly.
4. Add the oats, the all-purpose flour, the yeast mixture, and the apple sauce. Beat the mixture thoroughly.
5. In a separate area, chop the microgreens into fine pieces.
6. Add the chopped microgreens to our mixture.
7. Add the chocolate chips to the mixture.
8. Stir the mixture.
9. Preheat the oven to 350 F. If possible, add a lubricant (oil, cooking spray) to the cookie sheet. 
10. Bake for twelve minutes.
11. Serve and enjoy! If there are leftovers (I bet there won’t be any), store them in a cool, dry place. You can also refrigerate it to extend the shelf life further.

Health, And More Health: Carrot Cake Infused With Microgreens

Carrot cakes are what one typically bakes around easter. However, you don’t need easter (or any other reason for that matter) to bake yourself some homemade carrot cake. 

And while the addition of carrots makes this cake a tad bit healthier than other guilt-tripping cakes, the twist of microgreens “takes the cake” into making this cake as healthy as ever.

Below is a quick carrot cake recipe infused with microgreens, masterfully made and crafted over several trials and errors!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups grated peeled carrots, equal to 5-6 medium carrots
• 1 cup of microgreens of your choice

Cream Cheese Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1 ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• Chopped peakan nuts (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Prepare three eight-inch cake pans.
3. Add parchment paper to the cake pans and spray food spray for lubrication.
4. Chop your microgreens into fine pieces and put them aside. We can recommend using carrot, broccoli, or parsley microgreens)
5.  Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl until well blended.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla.
7. Break the eggs and add one at a time.
8. Mix in the dry ingredients and gently stir until the batter is smooth.
9. Skin the carrots and grind them into fine pieces.
10. Add the carrots and the chopped microgreens as you mix through the dough.
11. Place the carrot cake batter into the pans evenly.
12. Bake for 40 minutes. You can also do the toothpick test. To know whether a cake is fully baked, place a toothpick into the baking cake and see if the toothpick comes out clean. If it is indeed clean, the cake has finished baking.
13. Allow the cake to cool.

Cream Cheese Instructions

1. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, and after a minute add the powdered sugar.
2. Add the whipped cream and mix until the frosting is creamy.
3. Add the cream cheese on top of the cake. Make sure it is completely cool. Leave the sides of the cake unfrosted.
4. Sprinkle some chopped pecan nuts on top of the frosting.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Summary

Baking and microgreens go well together, as long as you let your creative drive guide you! We have explored three unique recipes in this article, from Malunggay Pan De Sal Infused With Microgreens to microgreen chocolate chip cookies, and finally, the microgreen carrot cake recipes. 

These recipes highlight all we can do by baking with microgreens and creating fresh, novel recipes that add more health to otherwise rather unhealthy food options.

Frequently Asked Questions About Baking With Microgreens