Red cabbage seems quite obvious substitute for radicchio whenever you are short on this chicory leafy vegetable. However, did you know other alternatives too?
Besides everything, our beloved coleslaw is incomplete without the vibrant red hue of radicchio, our soups get their satisfying delicate texture from the radicchio, and it also gives a strong leafy flavor to salads.
However, if you have no radicchio for preparing a thanksgiving bowl of coleslaw or salad, what you can use instead? This is what we are addressing in this article and guide you when and how to do the perfect replacement.
So, upgrade your cooking experience and learn to replace food ingredients without compromising the real aesthetic oomph of the respective recipes.
Substitute For Radicchio
Radicchio is an eye-popping leafy vegetable of the chicory family having dark reddish-purple leaves adorned with white veins. It’s a real beauty of Italian cuisines and makes them colorful, worth eating, and appealingly satisfying.
Whether you’ve planned for a stunning soup or salad, radicchio can make your ordinary recipe heavenly delicious and mouth-watering. Its savory, spicy, and leafy-bitter flavor pair well with a variety of food dishes.
And when tasted raw, radicchio has a combination of both bitter and spicy flavor notes that one can mellow down by either grilling, roasting, or baking.
However, a real problem comes when you didn’t get radicchio even after a great hassle in the market, and think about what goes well with your star recipe in place of radicchio. So, we are here to broaden your list of radicchio alternatives you can opt for if radicchio isn’t available to go with.
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Red Cabbage
Red cabbage and radicchio are so similar apparently that can even confuse you about their appearance. It’s also a leafy vegetable but belongs to a different family, the cabbage family.
Due to the exact similar color, red cabbage can replace radicchio in salads, coleslaw, and other side dishes. The overall flavor is leafy and crunchy while the only difference is the thicker texture of leaves than radicchio.
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Chicory
Chicory works great in replacing the delicate texture of radicchio in casseroles, stews, and soups. The apparent chicory color is quite different from radicchio but offers a closer flavor profile.
Chicory leaves are also consumed raw as radicchio, however, roasting them with a dash of olive oil is the best way of munching.
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Arugula
Despite the apparent color, arugula is the best radicchio substitute in a variety of foods. In soups and stews, you can easily mimic radicchio using arugula. This is because, arugula gives a closer leafy, peppery, and slight bitter flavor to the recipes with a delicious tender bite.
When eaten raw or fresh, arugula leaves are delicate and tender with a strong hint of peppery or spicy flavor like radicchio.
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Endive
Endive is a pretty versatile option when comes to replacing chicory veggie, radicchio. Versatile in sense that endive varieties including Belgian Endive and Curly Endive, both are good replacements.
Owing to the fresh, crunchy, and tender bite, endive goes great in salads and coleslaw. It’s a substitution you can use in almost every recipe calling for radicchio.
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Watercress
Watercress is also another leafy vegetable that you can use instead of radicchio in various savory treats. Although there’s no apparent similarity between radicchio and watercress, yet its flavor and nutritional profile are pretty much compatible.
The overall flavor is peppery and bitter which you can enjoy as-is or mellow down by roasting. Its such a versatile flavor is what makes it also a good spinach alternative. So, substituting radicchio with watercress really makes sense.
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Red Leaf Lettuce
If you’re missing the similar eye-popping color of radicchio, we’ve also got you covered. In terms of colorful appearance and texture, red leaf lettuce is your ultimate alternative for radicchio.
Both are closer enough that even sometimes used interchangeably in almost every cooking creation. Enjoy red leaf lettuce either fresh or roast it with some olive oil or lemon juice to serve with your favorite food.
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Treviso
Looking at treviso in radicchio substitute list seems strange? Don’t worry, many people think so, but treviso is a leafy vegetable packed with a delicious crunch and mild peppery notes.
To more, it offers slight sweet undernotes one can enjoy amazingly either fresh or cooked. Thereby, it’s a great replacement for people who crave something different other than radicchio.
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Mustard Greens
Mustard greens pop up in this substitution list because of their unique flavor profile that’s seems quite closer to radicchio. Their sharp bitterness will never make you feel that you’re missing radicchio in your signature foods.
Serve them with roasted creations instead of radicchio or make a side dish by either sautéing, steaming, or grilling.
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Romaine Lettuce
Romaine lettuce is naturally good for complementing salads and coleslaw. And thanks to its characteristic leafy flavor and tender mouthfeel, romaine lettuce is also a great radicchio sub.
However, the overall flavor of romaine lettuce becomes mild and sweet on cooking, so it goes well only fresh and raw like in salads.
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How To Choose The Best Radicchio Substitute?
Despite its huge culinary significance and nutritional value, radicchio isn’t readily available in all parts of the world. Thereby, you must choose one or two handy alternatives to make your dishes similarly vibrant and amazingly flavorful.
At first, you must know your recipe compatibility with a wide range of abundantly available replacements. This is because not any single ingredient can replace radicchio in all your beloved treats.
For instance, if you want to swap radicchio in casseroles, soups, and stews, then opt for watercress, arugula, or endive. And if you need some radicchio for a heartily satisfying bowl of coleslaw or salad, red cabbage, red leaf lettuce and romaine lettuce are the best alternative candidates.
And if want to enjoy cooked radicchio recipes, go for substitutes like mustard greens and chicory.
