Swiss Chard Kimchi is just like regular kimchi, but made with beautiful rainbow Swiss chard instead of napa cabbage. It’s an easy lacto-fermented recipe that’s spicy, tangy, and packed with umami. It’s a delicious and healthy way to preserve these lovely leafy greens.

Swiss chard is one of those vegetables that really deserves more attention. It really is such a wonderful vegetable! Beside being beautiful, it’s also full of vitamins, magnesium, and iron. And it’s delicious. I love it raw in salads, or simply blanched and then used similarly to spinach. I also love to stuff the leaves and use it as a wrap. And I especially love it fermented!

Last week a friend of mine brought me over a huuuuuge bundle of rainbow Swiss chards from her garden, which gave me the perfect excuse to experiment with a few new recipes. This kimchi quickly became my favorite. It’s easy to make, totally customizable, keeps well in the fridge, and is a fun twist on the classic Korean recipe.

Swiss Chard Kimchi is…

naturally vegan and gluten-free
lacto-fermented
healthy and probiotic-rich
salty, spicy, and tangy
packed with umami
great for meal prep
a delicious way to preserve Swiss chard
very customizable
easy to make

What’s kimchi?

Kimchi is a traditional Korean fermented vegetable dish. While Napa cabbage kimchi is by far the most well-known version, you can actually ‘kimchi’ almost any veggies, including radishes, cucumbers, green onions, mustard greens, and, of course, Swiss chard.

The veggies are salted, then coated in a flavorful paste made with garlic, ginger, and chili, then left to ferment. During fermentation, naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria create the characteristic tangy flavor and also helps preserve the veggies. The result is the perfect combination of spicy, salty, sour, and savory flavors, that will get even more complex over time.

While most kimchi is not vegan (usually made with fish), you can still often find plant-based versions in Asian stores, larger supermarkets or online. However nothing beats homemade kimchi. It tastes better, costs a lot less to make, and you can customize it however you like it.

How to make Swiss Chard Kimchi

This recipe is very straightforward and doesn’t require salting the Swiss chard separately (though you can do so, if you prefer). Simply wash the leaves well, chop them into bite-sized pieces, and prepare the kimchi paste by mixing together the garlic, ginger, onion, apple, sugar, chili powder, and the rest of the seasoning ingredients.

Toss the Swiss chard with the kimchi paste until every leaf is evenly coated, then pack the mixture tightly into a clean glass jar. Press it down firmly so the vegetables release some of their liquid and stay submerged as much as possible.

Leave the jar to ferment at room temperature for a few days, depending on how tangy you like your kimchi. Once it reaches a flavor you enjoy, transfer it to the fridge, where it will continue to slowly develop even more flavor over time.

How to serve Swiss Chard Kimchi

Swiss chard kimchi is super versatile.

Serve it as a side dish alongside rice, noodles, tofu, dumplings, or any Korean-inspired meal. It’s also super delicious added to fried rice, noodle bowls, grain bowls, potato salads, wraps, sandwiches, burgers, or savory pancakes.

Or simply as a little snack in between meals (I adore kimchi with aged vegan cheese).

As the kimchi continues to ferment, its flavor becomes more complex and tangy. Fresh kimchi has a brighter, milder taste, while older kimchi is perfect for cooking in soups, stews, stir-fries, and fried rice.

Customize it the way you like it!

Add extra veggies to your Swiss Chard Kimchi! Carrots, green onions, daikon radish, Tuscan kale, chives, cabbage or cucumber are all great options

You can also totally play around with the seasoning of your kimchi. Use less chili powder, if you don’t like things too spicy, or double it for an extra spicy version. Add extra garlic, or use less ginger, depending on how you like your kimchi

Kimchi will develop a stronger taste, the longer you ferment it. If you prefer a more fresh and light taste, ferment your kimchi for only 1-3 days. Or go for a bolder taste and let the mix ferment for 2 weeks. Simply taste it every day, if you are not sure, how you like your kimchi

More fun fermented recipes to try:

Swiss Chard Kimchi (Vegan – No Fish Sauce)

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Author: Plants for Later
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 5–6 cups 1x

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Ingredients

Units Scale

1.1 lbs / 500 g Swiss chard
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 apple, cored and roughly chopped
5–6 cloves of garlic
small piece of ginger
2 tbsp vegan fish sauce (optional)
2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp gochugaru
1 tbsp salt

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Instructions

Wash Swiss chard thoroughly, then chop it roughly. I like to chop the stems into smaller pieces, and leave the leaves in larger chunks, but you can cut your chard however you like. Add chard to a large bowl.
Add onion, apple, garlic, ginger, vegan fish sauce, sugar, gochugaru, and salt to a food processor, and blend until smooth and turns into a paste. Transfer paste to the bowl with Swiss chard.
Massage the Swiss chard with your hands (use gloves!) together with the paste until the leaves break down and turn softer, and moisture comes out. It will take about 2-3 minutes.
Pack the mixture tightly into clean jars, tamping the leaves down as much as possible. Leave an inch / 2 cm space at the top. There should be enough liquid from the chard so that the leaves are completely submerged, but otherwise add a little bit of extra water on top.
Place a fermentation weight or a small dish on top of the leaves, so they stay under the liquid. Close the jars, and leave them to ferment at room temperature, out of direct sunlight.
You can start tasting your kimchi after 1-2 days (for a mild result), or let it ferment for up to 2 weeks (for a stronger result). Once you reached your desired taste, transfer jars to the fridge to slow down the fermentation process. Swiss chard kimchi will last for several months in the fridge. Enjoy!

Prep Time: 15 minutes