How to Cook Swiss Rainbow Chard, Sauteed

Cooking sauteed rainbow chard is incredibly simple, and this 3-ingredient sauteed rainbow chard is my go-to easy low-carb side dish recipe.

Easy Sauteed Swiss Rainbow Chard Recipe

Cooking rainbow chard often seems intimidating.

Here is this alien-looking vegetable, all sinewy and billowing at the same time. Its stem is hard and colorful, a rainbow of colors in each bunch. But the leaves are a uniform green, with veins of the same color as the stem running through them.

Do you eat it raw? How does it differ from regular Swiss chard? Do you eat the stems or the leaves? And when it comes to cooking Swiss rainbow chard, what is the best method?

From my experience playing around with this vegetable, I believe that the best way to cook Swiss Rainbow Chard is by sauteing it. 

This recipe for rainbow chard is easy, fast and delicious. You’re going to discover a newfound love for this leafy green - and your favorite new way of cooking greens in general.

What is Swiss Rainbow Chard?

A large leafy green, Swiss Rainbow Chard is often also called simply Rainbow Chard.

It has a strong taste that is somewhat similar to spinach, but the vegetables are not related. The taste of chard is a tad bitter, which is why it goes well with assertive and acidic seasoning like garlic and lemon.

Pro tip: While regular Swiss chard is green in stem and leaves, Swiss Rainbow Chard comes in a variety of colors across the stems - pink and red (also called Ruby or Rhubarb Chard), orange and yellow, and even white are some of the hues you will find in a bunch of Swiss Rainbow Chard.

Can you eat Rainbow Chard raw?

Absolutely! Rainbow Swiss Chard is packed with nutrients like:

• Vitamin K for skin and bone health
• Vitamin A for our eyesight
• Magnesium for our muscles
• Antioxidants for everything else and to fight cancer
• Low in calories, carbs and sugar, fat and sodium.

It makes for a wonderful base in salads when sliced raw, and can be used anywhere you would use spinach. And in fact, raw Swiss chard is actually less bitter than cooked!

When is Swiss Chard in season?

Rainbow Swiss Chard is in season in the summer and fall, from July all the way to November.

How to buy and choose Rainbow Swiss Chard?

Go for Rainbow Swiss Chard with strong, crisp stems and wild, firm leaves with a lot of bounce. If your stems are very bendy or the leaves are drooping, that bunch of Rainbow Chard has seen better days. But don’t worry - you can still cook wilted Rainbow Swiss Chard, it just won’t be great raw.

Best way to cook Swiss Rainbow Chard?

You can braise, saute, roast or make grilled rainbow chard. Just note that the stems take slightly longer to cook than the leaves.

I recommend sauteing it, as sauteed rainbow chard retains some of its natural qualities, color and nutrients, but it still transforms it just enough so its not raw. Sauteing also softens it a great deal.

Of course, adding garlic and shallots plays very nicely with the rainbow Swiss chard’s natural acidity, but balances out the bitterness.

For my sauteed rainbow chard recipe, keep reading!

What can be a Swiss chard substitute?

If you don’t have rainbow Swiss chard, you can use:

• Regular Swiss chard (green)
• Kale
• Lacinato kale (also known as dinosaur kale)
• Spinach
• Bok Choy

For more Swiss Chard recipes:

Why this Swiss chard sauteed with garlic is the best:

This garlicky sauteed swiss chard makes for my favorite low-carb side dish for fish, chicken and veggie meals alike. I love it because it is:

• Incredibly easy - ready in 10 minutes
• Nutritious
• Requires only 3 ingredients
• Low in calories
• Low carb
• Good for you - it's high in folates, vitamin A and K, and antioxidants!
• Makes for an easy side dish
• Delicious - I love the garlicky and lemony taste of this green
• Beautiful - the vibrant colors of Swiss Rainbow Chard are no less beautiful when cooked
• Gluten-free, vegan, paleo, keto and Whole 30

I have been eating largely vegetarian for over 22 years, and this remains one of my favorite ways to eat leafy greens - and to make greens into an easy low carb side dish.

Ingredients

To make this sauteed rainbow chard, you will need:

Rainbow Swiss Chard - choose a nice, firm bunch of perky looking Swiss Chard. You can use all Ruby Swiss Chard, White or Yellow, or even good old green Swissh Chard for this easy Swiss Chard sauteed with garlic recipe.

Young onions or shallots - I recommend using young onions or shallots for this recipe for garlicky sauteed Swiss chard, as their flavor is much softer. If you can’t find them, omit.

Garlic - to make Swiss chard sauteed with garlic you need, well, garlic. I don’t recommend skipping it. Garlic salt will also work if you can’t find fresh garlic.

Equipment

• Cutting board
• Chef's knife
• Large pan (I shot this recipe using the large pan from the Cuisinart Hammered Collection, but I also own and love this professional-grade nonstick pan.

How To Cook Rainbow Swiss Chard With Garlic

Making this easy Swiss chard recipe couldn’t be simpler!

First, slice the stems and the leaves of rainbow chard thinly. The thinner they are, the softer they will be to eat. Keep the stems and leaves separate - don’t worry about the ribs running through the Swiss chard, as they are softer than the stems.

Preheat a large nonstick pan to medium heat. Then add oil - olive oil or vegetable oil are best.

Next, add diced shallots or young onions. Let them saute just onions become translucent, 2-5 minutes. Next add the minced garlic, and saute for 1 minute.

Add the stems of the rainbow Swiss chard. Saute them for 4-5 minutes.

Add the diced Rainbow chard leaves to the pan. Stir them in well and saute for another 4-5 minutes.

Remove from heat and serve immediately. Sauteed Rainbow chard can also be reheated in the microwave.

Note: add a squirt of lemon juice in the end - this is optional, but recommended. A squirt of fresh or refrigerated lemon juice helps play with the acidity and counteracts the slight bitterness of Swiss rainbow chard.

Video

Watch this video to see how to make 4-ingredient gluten free and vegan stuffed dates:

Storage and Making in Advance

You can store raw Rainbow Swiss Chard in the vegetables drawer for up to 3 days, specifically the one for crisper vegetables. You can also prep it by washing it and wrapping the leaves in moist paper towels, like you would with romaine lettuce.

You can store this sauteed Rainbow Chard recipe in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Is this Swiss Rainbow Chard Sauteed Recipe freezer friendly?

Yes! You can freeze this for up to 6 months.

Substitutions

This recipe for rainbow chard is vegan, gluten-free, paleo, keto and Whoel30 appropriate.

To make this low fodmap friendly, omit the garlic and shallots.

Variations

There are things you can do to this recipe for rainbow chard to make it more versatile or unique. You can make:

• Sauteed kale with garlic - use kale, and ideally lacinato kale (also known as dinosaur kale) in place of the rainbow Swiss chard in this recipe. It’s delicious!
• Spicy Sauteed Swiss chard - add a pinch of chili flakes in the last 2 minutes of cooking, or right before serving.
• Creamy Swiss Chard - add a splash of cooking cream in the last 2 minutes of cooking.
• Sauteed Rainbow Swiss Chard with Parmesan - Add ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese right before serving.
• Sauteed Rainbow Swiss Chard with Parmesan and Pine nuts - Add ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts right before serving.

Top Tips

• Choose big, perky leaves of Swiss chard, with crunchy stems. If the stems are bendy, this Swiss chard is not great anymore.
• You can let your Swiss chard saute longer if you like it more cooked.
• You can add more or less garlic to this recipe, according to your taste.
• A squeeze of lemon goes a long way to neutralizing the bitterness of rainbow Swiss chard.

Products

The only “tool” you really need for cooking this is a good teflon pan.

I shot this recipe using the large pan from the Cuisinart Hammered Collection. It's definitely a statement piece, and I save it for my prettiest stir-frys (the handle stays cool, so you can take it from the stovetop, to the oven, and even onto the handle on a trivet).

I recently discovered OXO non-stick pans, and I LOVE them! All my previous non-stick pans lost their coating very quickly, and this professional-grade nonstick pan has lasted me for a while. I strongly recommend you give them a try!

Also, when i don't have fresh garlic, I often used freeze-dried garlic or even garlic salt. These are some of the brands I like:

Ways to serve this sauteed rainbow chard recipe:

I love serving this rainbow Swiss chard recipe as a side dish with many things. It goes very well:

• with pasta - pasta in tangy yogurt sauce is fantastic, or try this baked feta pasta or vegan pasta primavera.
• With salmon - pan-fried sockeye salmon, fire-grilled Nordic salmon, Moroccan salmon, or Salmon skewers.
• With other fish - this cold haddock recipe goes very well with sauteed garlic chard!
• With chicken - Oven-baked buttermilk chicken, Chicken marbella or paprika roasted chicken.
• With vegetarian dishes like Cauliflower with tomatoes and capers or buckwheat kasha - you can even replace the kale in the recipe for a side of this sauteed Swiss chard with garlic!
• Mexican gluten free cornbread.

Recipe