Watercress, Nasturtium officinale is one of the most consumed wild plants in the world. You've probably heard of it, maybe even seen it in a nice grocery store, but, if you're unfamiliar with harvesting your own watercress or cooking with it, I'll help you positively identify, harvest, and enjoy it.

Deliciously Invasive
Before I hopefully inspire you to try some or propagate some in your nearby pond, know that watercress can be a bit invasive, and will take over streams and ponds.
It was probably brought over by Europeans as a food plant, and it's a wonderful food plant, but before you inoculate a stream near you by plopping some in, know that it will spread, which can be a good and bad thing depending on who you are, and where you are.
That also means you should feel good about harvesting it if you find a good patch, even if it's on public land.
Cook that watercress!
I'm amazed at how many people I talk to that have gathered cress for years have never thought of cooking it.
I love a good salad any time of the year, but, safety of eating raw cress aside, I harvest watercress in large amounts specifically so I can cook it, since it's easier to eat large quantities cooked than it is raw. Consume mass quantities!
Safety, Pollution, and Liver Fluke
Whether you're picking in a spring or creek, a pond, or wherever else, you need to know about the water you're picking it from, and a few other things. If you're new to picking watercress, hands down the most important thing in my view, is knowing that the water is clean.
Even in situations where you know the water is good, like my private spring that's pictured here, nature happens: keep your eyes peeled for decomposing animals, or other dead things floating in the water, and if you are at all skeptical of where you're harvesting, skip the watercress, or blanch it in a large volume of salted water (start with a gallon).
I'm lucky, since I can easily inspect the entire pond while I'm harvesting, If you pick from a flowing stream, things can be more difficult to sniff out, the rotting beaver carcass or hog farm may be out of sight, up stream.
Know where you're picking from, and inspect it before you harvest. Regarding liver fluke specifically (a nasty thing) I've heard that it's probably too cold for them to thrive in cold-ish places where I harvest in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but to be safe, you can always cook your cress.
Identification
One thing people find confusing is the shape of watercress leaves. When you see watercress in the store, it will generally be circular-shaped leaves. In the wild though, it's different, and as the plants get older they will develop oval or lance shaped leaves.
Quick tips
- When in doubt, cook your watercress in a large volume of salted water which will kill bacteria and parasites, especially liver fluke. Cooking also makes it easier to eat large amounts of the greens you love.
- Watercress is notorious for harboring small snails and bugs, inspect any you harvest carefully, especially if it was under the water.
- Always wash your watercress in cold water before eating, especially if it was touching the water. Immersing the cress in cold water also refreshes it and makes it come back to life, an important trick to have around if it was purchased or a bit wilted.
- Pick watercress from above the water, which is going to be a lot easier to clean, safer, as well as more attractive on the plate. The only time I don't do this is in the Winter, which I only do occasionally--and I always cook it to sterilize it then.
- Be comfortable with the water source you are harvesting from. When in doubt, don't pick it. If you've picked some and want to eat it, refer to tip #1.
Harvesting
I put some waders on and get into the spring, about waist height with a plastic cooler and a scissors. Why a cooler? Because it floats. If I don't have a cooler, I might use a restaurant fish box, at home, you could use something like a, shallow, thin, plastic tub, something like an underbed box.
But, even if all you have is a hand or an extra shirt, you'll be fine. I use a long scissors since it's very efficient, and keeps the quality of the greens I want to serve more than cutting with a knife, which can bruise the greens.
Collecting in the Winter
Absolutely! Even in the cold weather climate where I live in Minnesota, I can harvest watercress from the private pond with a spring I have access to.
It will have a higher proportion of stem to leaves in the winter, and I usually cook it since it's below water, but it's still water cress, and it's delicious.
Cooking
Flavor
Watercress is prized for it's spicy, brassica flavor that may remind you of mustard greens, but it really shines for the speed and bountiful harvest that a single patch and a scissors can provide. In just a few clips of a scissors, you can fill a cooler and harvest enough food to last a good period of time.
The flavor is going to be reminiscent of other plants in the mustard family: spicy hot, a bit like horseradish or radishes, with a heat increases in the summer as the plants get more sun.
Early in the year, they'll be mild and enjoyable by everyone, and there's just about nothing better than a steaming hot, tender pile of cooked watercress with lemon and a knob of butter.
Even in the height of the growing season, when raw cress is spicy hot, cooked watercress still makes a mild tasting, delicious vegetable, just cook the stems a bit longer to make them tender.
Serving Ideas
- Wilt large amounts just like any other leafy green!
- Watercress isn't only for enjoying raw, toss chopped cress into soups and stews, too, just make sure to give it a good chop so the stems don't hang all over your spoon.
- One of my favorite ways to have it is a ham sandwich, a really nice ham sandwich, with plenty of butter or mayo.
- Use it to top hot food, just as you would arugula: on top of flatbread, pizza, pasta, anything. Dress it with a little olive oil, lemon and a pinch of salt and put it on everything. The contrast of hot and cold is really nice.
- The spicy flavor of cress is particularly good with sweet things. Think carrots, beet salads, mixed with orange segments and some nice goat cheese, or a combination of all of them.
The flowers
If you want to harvest the flowers for a garnish, use a shallow plastic container and use it strictly for flowers, instead of lumping them in with the rest and trying to fish them out later, flowers are more delicate, and getting jostled around can make them spoil faster. Store the flowers in a container or bag with a damp cloth or towel.
Tips for serving and cleaning
Wash your watercress in cold water for a few minutes, or longer if it's wilted or has been in a warm car on a ride back to your kitchen, then spin dry in a salad spinner, store in a plastic bag with a corner open, and refrigerate.
When you're serving watercress, you can get a little more creative with the flavors than with something very mild like romaine, since watercress is a little spicy, it can stand up to some stronger flavors, although a little lemon juice, good olive oil, and a pinch of salt is usually all I put on mine, a little anchovy vinaigrette and parmesan is great for a watercress Caesar.
Easy Steamed Greens
Equipment
- 1 gallon sized pot with lid or another pot with tall sides
- 1 Steamer basket
Ingredients
- 1 lb Fresh greens such as spinach, watercress, amaranth, or others
- Kosher salt to taste
- soft salted butter or extra virgin olive oil
- lemon wedges or vinegar for serving
Instructions
Using a steamer basket
- Wash the greens, looking them over for bugs, debris, leaves, or other foreign objects, then dry them well, preferably in a small salad spinner.
- Put the steamer basket in a tall pot. Add water until you have at least 2-3 inches in the bottom of the pot. Bring the pot to a boil with the lid on. Add the greens, cover the pot, turn the heat to low.
- Cook the greens until they're tender and taste good to you. Serve with soft butter, salt and lemon wedges at the table.
Without a steamer basket (the best for watercress)
- Put a film of water in the bottom of the pot, add the greens—I like to add them until they completely fill the pot--sometimes I add them in batches if I need to feed a lot of people. Put the lid on the pot, and turn the heat to medium high and wait a few minutes until the pan gets very hot.
- Take the lid off and stir the greens. Put the lid back on and cook for another minute or two, and repeat until the greens are wilted.
- Now taste the greens and judge their tenderness, if they need a little more time, continue cooking, and add a splashes of water if needed to keep it juicy. Keep cooking and tasting the greens--young ones will cook fast, mature leaves could take 15 minutes or more.
- When the greens are cooked and taste good to you, turn the heat off. There should be a very small amount of water in the bottom of the pan--drain that off.
- Drizzle a little olive oil and salt to taste. Mix very well in a circular motion to distribute everything, taste again, adjust as needed, then serve, with lemon or dashes of vinegar if you like. Many people spread salted butter on them at the table.
Nutrition
Recipes
Glazed Carrots with Watercress
Stanton
Hi! Quick question that's entirely off topic. Do
you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My website looks weird when browsing from my apple iphone.
I'm trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to correct
this problem. If you have any suggestions, please share.
Thank you!
Alan Bergo
Looks weird how? The theme I use here is pretty responsive to mobile.
Celesta
I do not know if it's just me or if perhaps everyone else encountering
problems with your site. It appears like some of the written text within your content
are running off the screen. Can somebody
else please comment and let me know if this is happening to them
as well? This could be a issue with my web browser because I've had
this happen previously. Many thanks
Alan Bergo
I just looked at it on mobile and it’s fine for me. Text hiding can happen if you’re zoomed in a bit—try holding control and scrolling your mouse to zoom in or out—a window should pop up that will allow you to restore the browser to the original setting. Let me know if that works for you. A
Patty
Thanks for the great article! I’ve never thought to cook watercress! I live in southern WI and stopped foraging watercress a few years ago when I was made aware of liver fluke — now I’m back in the game!
Anne Kay
Great article! I was watching to see if you mentioned water quality. Hats off for the liver fluke warning! I live in an urban area and our stream is choked with watercress, cattail, and blackberries that I would love to harvest (being a N. Michigan transplant) but I know that water plants, especially cattails, absorb chemicals and heavy metals from urban run-off. In fact, constructed wetlands function to clean run up water because plants sequester toxic substances in their tissues. Just wanted to add that, good foraging!
Linda Martin
Hello I have loads of watercress growing in my pond and stream. I picked a large bunch but found it had quite a few tiny, little snails on the leaves. The water is very clear and the watercress is growing incredibly well. Can I still use it? How do I get rid of the snails apart from going over every leaf by hand.
Alan Bergo
Some critters are natural. Soak the cress in a deep bowl or a sink, jostling it around a bit, then spin it dry, and cook if you prefer. Washing should remove them.
Katie
I’m in central wisconsin and land on this page every spring when I first go out looking for watercress. Just picked up on your ‘Save big money’ photo caption and the Menards bag. Thanks for the info and chuckle, but not the ear worm 🤣
Alan Bergo
Glad to help Katie 🙂