Add to your meal and snack repertoire with a nutritional gem that’s extremely versatile: edamame. As a snack, mixed in to a dish, or just as a side dish for lunch, frozen edamame are a fantastic staple to have on hand. Edamame are soybeans that are harvested before they mature. Sometimes you can find them fresh at the farmers market in the summer, but they are readily available in the frozen section of most grocery stores now, both in and out of the pod. (Sharon is partial to frozen Columbia River Organics’ Edamame, product of the USA).
Edamame are packed with protein and vitamins like folate, potassium, iron, zinc and B vitamins. Eaten boiled with a little salt, they are the least processed form of soy you can get. Edamame are fast and simple to prepare: just boil the edamame, either in or out of the pod, for about 4 minutes, drain, and sprinkle with salt. If boiled in the pods, just pop the beans out – this makes them a great finger food for kids. (from Kimberly – my kids call edamame “popping beans” in our house.) Other than eating them steamed or boiled, you can use these soybeans as you would any other bean.
8 Ways to Add Variety and Nutrition with Edamame:
- Add different flavors to boiled edamame: drizzle with sesame oil, sesame seeds, a little soy sauce, or even lemon juice.
- Add to salads.
- Use in a succotash (a mixture of corn, lima beans, and red peppers usually sautéed in butter) instead of lima beans.
- Mix in with cooked grains for a hot or cold side dish.
- Add to soups like vegetable soup.
- Add to stir-frys or fried-rice.
- Use to make a dip, like edamame “hummus.”
- Roast in the oven with some spices to make a great crunchy snack (recipe below).
Roasted Edamame
Here is our favorite combination of spices for the roasted edamame, but you can choose any spices you want.
- 1 bag (16 ounces) of frozen shelled edamame (Defrost to reduce cooking time, or just run the frozen edamame under cold water in a colander for a few minutes before cooking.)
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Dry the edamame as much as you can by placing them in between dishtowels. Spread them out on a baking sheet. Pour on the olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Mix everything together. (You can also mix everything together in a bowl and then spread it out on the baking sheet.)
3. Bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes so they roast evenly. They should have a nice golden-brown color.
Enjoy!