Could there truly be 25 uses for the dandelion plant? There’s definitely more than 25 uses, but let’s start with a few excellent tips which I gleaned from some amazing homesteading friends!
Was there ever a time when you considered dandelions to be weeds? Maybe this thought never occurred to you as a homesteading adult, but I know as a kid you didn’t look at them and think, ‘Ohhhh, this is an herb with many amazing qualities!’.
Well, maybe some of you did, but I sure didn’t. I remember picking a handful of dandelion flowers singing, ‘momma had a baby and it’s head popped off’…popping off the yellow blossom from the stem. That was my childhood in a nutshell and I’m willing to bet it was many of yours as well!
As a homesteader I now look at the dandelion and map out how I can get through the land of Google making the plethora of items found there. Trust me when I say, there are a ton of things you can do with the dandelion plant, you just need to find the time.
With that in mind I decided to help you out and share my Top 25 – I am going to one day make all these things – List. You’re so very welcome, enjoy!
Food Items and Baked Goods
If you do not have a nice dandelion field available to you I’d suggest you find one! These amazing recipes will have you cooking with the dandelion plant all summer long.
- Dandelion Peanut Butter
- Strawberry Dandelion Cake with Berry Cream Frosting
- Dandelion Sunshine Cookies
- Dandelion Honey Butter
- Dandelion Flower Fritters
- Dandelion Bread
- Dandelion Pesto
- Dandelion Egg Noodles
- Dandelion Salad with a Pecan Vinaigrette
Canning & Preservering
Eventually, the season for harvesting dandelions will come to end, but you don’t have to go without during the winter months. Here are 2 methods for preserving parts of the plant:
Chia, Tea and Spirits
Did you know you could make spirits with dandelion flower, let along make coffee with the root?!
- Roasted Dandelion Root Coffee
- Dandelion Mead
- Harvesting Dandelion Root Tea
- Roasted Dandelion Root Chia
- Dandelion Wine
Medicinal Uses
There are so many uses for this amazing herbs, it’s hard to list them all! I am only touching on a few, but would love for you to leave a comment with what your favorite medicinal use for this plant is.
- Dandelion Magnesium Lotion for Muscle Cramps
- Harvesting and Using Dandelion Root-The Natural Detoxifier
- Gardener’s and Farmer’s Hand Cream
- Six Wild Plants to Harvest Now
- Dandelion Root Bitters
- Naturally Boosting My Milk Production with Mother’s Milk Tea
- Using Dandelions for Food and Medicine
- 12 Things to Make with Dandelion Flowers
Informative News
Of course we aren’t able to think of dandelions without thinking of the bees; I think you will find these two blogs pretty informative in regards to how harvesting the flower will affect the bees.
We really could have covered quite a bit more on this amazing herb, but this gives you some great tips to start with. I encourage you to search the land of Google for further recipes and tips, you’re going to be amazed at what you will find!
Great roundup of killer uses for these “weeds”! I can’t wait to try out the bitters recipe, as I’m trying to incorporate more into my diet. Thanks, Ann!