25 Uses For The Dandelion Plant ~ Flower, Greens and Root

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:

• Dandelion Flower Jelly
• Make Dandelion Pesto and Save the Goodness for Later

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.

• Stop the Dandelion Madness
• Common Dandelion

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!