Escarole Substitutes: 9 Options To Spice Up Your Recipes

Did you come across a recipe calling for escarole and there’s no chance of finding it in your area? We have some excellent escarole substitutes you can use for both raw and cooked dishes!

Have you spotted escarole on an ingredient menu without knowing it ever existed? Same here. Once upon a time, escarole was an unknown item in my kitchen dictionary.

Yet, it isn’t just about popularity, escarole isn’t widely available in grocery stores, compared to other leafy greens. Besides, you can easily miss it because it’s unrecognizable in the lettuce corner.

If you’re at the green leaf aisle, look for escarole among the lettuce heads, kale, and collards. However, if you still can’t find escarole, I’ve got your back.

In this article, I’ll share some of the best tried and trusted escarole substitutes to keep your healthy meal wheel turning.

Don’t let a missing ingredient ruin your day! These nutritious substitutes will boost your meal variety until you hopefully meet escarole in person.

What Makes Escarole Special?

Escarole belongs to the chicory family. It’s a staple in Italian cuisine along with the radicchio, Belgian endive, and frisée, which are also members of the chicory family. Most Italian-favored chicories are commonly eaten raw or cooked.

Remarkably, escarole is known for its slightly bitter taste that’s less pronounced in the inner leaves, which are also more tender and lighter in color. 

That’s why escarole’s inner leaves are typically used for fresh salads, while the outer leaves are cooked.

In either case, escarole’s bitterness is best balanced with both sweet and salty flavors.

Escarole can be easily confused with butter lettuce at the store. Despite that, escarole is significantly more expensive because it’s viewed as specialty produce.

Make sure to print out the Egg Substitution Printable {FREEBIE}, Whole Plant Substitutions Printable {FREEBIE}, Cooking and Baking Ingredient Substitution Printables {FREEBIE} for your Recipe Binder!

Best Escarole Substitutes

There isn’t a single best substitute for escarole. So, you’ll need to choose the alternative based on what the recipe calls for.

If it’s a salad, then it’s better to choose a leafy green with a texture similar to escarole. On the other hand, when your recipe requires cooking the escarole, give more attention to the taste.

The appearance and nutritional value of the escarole substitute are also worth considering.

Spinach

Spinach is slightly sweet with a barely recognizable bitter taste when raw. It’ll serve as a nutritious alternative to escarole in salads but won’t give the same crunchy texture.

However, when cooked, spinach is one of the most versatile substitutes for escarole.

Cooked spinach has a more acidic and robust flavor. This flavor is ideally complemented with garlic and lemon. 

If you like creamy meals, you’ll favor spinach in cooked dishes because it easily wilts. Take care not to overcook spinach, as its bitter taste can become too prominent.

You can substitute escarole for spinach in soups, pesto sauce, spinach lasagna roll ups, spinach Alfredo pizza, spinach slab pie, spinach tomato quiche or pasta meals.

Kale

Kale has an earthy, peppery taste. It’s less spicy compared to arugula, which comes later on our list of escarole substitutes.

With regards to spinach, kale retains more of its tough crunch when cooked.

Interestingly, kale is more bitter than spinach but less bitter than escarole. Besides, kale has a tougher, crunchier texture set against escarole.

Since it can be too chewy when eaten raw, I recommend you massage kale leaves for a few moments. This will make its leaves more tender in a fresh salad. 

The other way to tenderize kale is through cooking.

It tastes amazing when sauteed for a side dish or as part of whole meals, such as bean soup, beef and kale soup, garlic butter rice, or stir-fries. I personally admire oven-roasted kale chips, which make a great healthy snack.

Butterhead Lettuce

Butterhead lettuce looks like escarole’s twin to the untrained eye. However, the depth of differences goes beyond looks.

In contrast to escarole, butterhead lettuce has a soft texture that melts in your mouth.

When it comes to taste, butterhead lettuce develops a bitter taste only if its growing temperatures aren’t ideal.

It’s slightly sweet with a subtle floral flavor, so I prefer to serve it alongside cheese and meat.

All in all, I would say butterhead lettuce isn’t the best escarole substitute in terms of taste or texture.

Still, it’s a tasty and nutritious leafy green that proves handy in salads, burgers, and lettuce wraps.

Collard Greens

Collard greens belong to the cabbage family, but they draw some hearty flavor from kale. Yet, they taste less bitter than kale when eaten raw. If you heat collard greens, their earthy flavor heightens as the bitterness mellows.

As a staple in southern cuisine, collard greens are traditionally slowly braised over low heat.

For braising, use a rich broth infused with garlic, onions, and smoked meat. This method will ensure the leaves perfectly tenderize and blend with the hearty ingredients of the dish.

Personally, I prefer removing the tough stems to get a silky smooth southern dish.

However, you might prefer to keep the stems for their nutritional value, as some southerners do.

Tip: Add some apple cider vinegar to collard greens broth to brighten the dish with a tangy tint. Plus, if you add a tablespoon of sugar, it’ll balance the salty flavors in the broth.

Chinese Cabbage

Otherwise known as napa cabbage, this leafy green is a personal favorite because it easily brings a Chinese flavor to my meals. Chinese cabbage has a crisp texture, but it’s not as tough as escarole.

Even if you’re not a fan of Chinese food, I bet you’ll admire the sweetness of raw Chinese cabbage in your salads.

Its sweetness is even more pronounced when cooked. Still, if you like escarole’s bitter taste, then Chinese cabbage isn’t the best alternative.

What I like about Chinese cabbage is its versatility. You can cook it in almost every way, from simple sauteing to sophisticated cabbage rolls.

The one Chinese cabbage dish I’d probably recommend to anyone to try is the cabbage tofu stew.

With the added sweetness of seasonal squashes and some jasmine rice by the side, this meal can’t get any cozier in winter.

Arugula

There’s more to arugula than being a salad ingredient. That’s not to undermine its incredible taste when eaten raw. 

Arugula’s peppery, spicy flavor makes it my favorite addition to feta cheese and sourdough bread.

Even more, the texture gives an added layer of interest to this creamy sandwich. 

If I’m lucky to eat arugula fresh from the farmer’s market, I find that its crunch brings a subtle balance to juicy tomato slices.

Looking for warmer arugula dishes? Arugula retains some of its peppery flavors after cooking. You can sauté arugula for a healthy side dish, cook it with pasta, wild rice, egg omelets, or even as a pizza topping.

Frisée

Frisée is one of the closest greeny leaves to escarole on our list. It also belongs to the chicory family with similar bitterness.

Like escarole, frisée is tough enough to hold much of its shape and green color after cooking.

I like to incorporate frisée in warm salads with mushrooms or ground beef. It’s even better if you initially caramelize some mushrooms and shallots before adding maple syrup, vinegar, and Dijon mustard.

If you prefer going raw to reap all the green benefits, here’s my favorite, French-inspired, fresh frisée salad.

All you need are some sweet red peppers, chives, and poached eggs. Finally, make things juicy with a dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Dijon mustard.

Mustard Greens

Similar to mustard seeds, mustard greens have a lively, light flavor. Mustard greens are peppery in taste, like arugula, but they’re more pungent and slightly bitter. They’ll make your salads dance with a complex flavor.

When it comes to texture, mustard greens are more on the humble side. They’re thin, more tender, and markedly shrink after cooking.

If you like the creaminess of cooked spinach, you’ll adore stir-fried mustard greens simmered in chicken broth and cream.

I like to stir in some fried shallots right before serving to heighten the contrast between the silky greens and crispy shallots.

Radicchio

Radicchio is another member of the chicory family. Again, this family is all about the strong, bitter taste, which’s why it’s delicious.

Indeed, this bitter taste is what makes radicchio blend well with savory ingredients like meat, goat cheese, parmesan, and pickled olives.

I also tried a radicchio salad with oranges, which turned out quite impressive. I realized the bitter taste of radicchio is a great complement to sweet citrus flavors.

To tenderize radicchio, mix it with olive oil, vinegar, and salt. Then, let it sit for about ten minutes before serving.

In case radicchio’s taste is too bitter for you, you can reduce the bitterness by cutting the leaves and soaking them in water for a few minutes.

Roasting radicchio is another way to tone down the bitter taste.

All of your substitutes needs all in one handy reference spot! Comprehensive list substitutes here or to print off for your own menu binder. You to find an ingredient option that will allow you to not run out to the store or you may find a flavor combination you love even better than the original. Garlic Powder Substitute, Cojita Cheese Substitute, Parsley Substitute, Green Chilis Substitute, Italian Seasoning Substitute, Mustard Seed Substitute, Cilantro Substitute, Sriracha Substitute, White Pepper Substitute, Onion Powder Substitute, Five Spice Substitute, Turmeric Substitutes, White Wine Vinegar, Cardamon Substitute, Parsley Substitute, Cremini Mushroom Substitute, Egg Yolk, Leeks, Egg Wash, Coconut Cream, Tomato, Stewed Tomatoes, Coconut Sugar, Palm Sugar, Hoisin, Adobo, Chili Sauce, Oyster Sauce, Escarole, Watercress, Rice Wine Vinegar, Ketchup, Tomato Puree, Tomato Paste, Lemongrass, Chervil, Cheesecloth, Worcestershire Sauce, Fennel, Dark Soy Sauce.

Wrap Up

That’s the list of my favorite escarole substitutes. What once began as a disappointment for not finding a missing ingredient turned out as a journey of discovering more leafy greens.

What I like most about these discoveries is that they encouraged me to alter traditional recipes by changing their leafy greens. 

So, when stuck with a seasonal vegetable, try to play around with its dishes by experimenting with its substitutes’ recipes.

Who knows, maybe one day you’ll end up with a cookbook for escarole, or the next little-known leafy green.