Seaweed salad isn’t the only way to enjoy the superfood from the ocean. As well as wakame seaweed salad served on the side in many Japanese restaurants, there’s seaweed pasta, kelp noodles, nori crackers and (my personal favorite) sea grapes.
In Vegetables from the Sea, authors Seibin Arasaki and Teruko Arasaki describe how seaweed contains “all of the minerals required by human beings, including calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium, iodine, iron, and zinc are present in sufficient amounts. In addition, there are many trace elements in seaweeds.”
Seaweed in vegan recipes is a good source of vitamin B12 that’s lacking in most plant-based foods. Then there are powerful antioxidants like fucoxanthin and even compounds in golden kelp that may work as next-generation antibiotics for use against drug-resistant infections.
1. Cucumber Wakame Seaweed Salad
A cooling, zesty traditional Japanese cucumber wakame salad packed with nutrition. Quick and easy to prepare and the perfect tasty addition to any Spring or Summer meal.
From: Scratch Eats
Cucumber Wakame Seaweed Salad & Goma Wakame (Seaweed Salad)
2. Goma Wakame (Seaweed Salad)
Here is the kind of seaweed salad you would be served in any Japanese Restaurant. Wakame seaweed salad is packed with antioxidants, minerals as well as fiber and it’s also low in calories.
From: Big Oven
3. Keto Seaweed Salad Hiyashi Wakame
Low-carb & keto friendly at only around 1 gram of carbs per serving. This keto seaweed salad pairs very well with many other Japanese dishes. Seaweed is great because it offers so many health benefits including a wide range of vitamins, essential minerals like Zinc & Iron plus antioxidants.
From: Low-Carbing Asian
Keto Seaweed Salad Hiyashi Wakame & Sea Grapes Seaweed Salad
4. Sea Grapes Seaweed Salad
Many years ago I was finishing a plate of salmon and tuna sashimi by the sea in Bali. All that remained were a few fronds of what looked like little plastic leaves, for decoration. Moving them around with a chopstick I found they were sort of squishy. I could pop them. How weird. So then I tried a tentative mouthful.
They were delicious – each front popped gently releasing a lightly salted bubble of juice. They were sea grapes and I’ve never seen them since. But it turns out they are now available to buy and make salads with. Here’s a simple recipe from supper Sea Grapes 24.
From: Sea Grapes 24
5. Pan-Roasted Salmon with Spicy Miso Broth & Wakame
Topped with pan-roasted salmon fillets and a rich miso broth, this dish is simple and incredible.
To serve, share the broth between to bowls of the noodles and top with the cooked salmon fillets. Then garnish with the sesame seeds and green tops of the scallions.
From: Blue Apron
Pan-Roasted Salmon with Spicy Miso Broth & Wakame & Seaweed & Mushroom Congee
6. Seaweed & Mushroom Congee
Congee is a slow-cooked rice dish made all over Asia. Long, slow cooking breaks down the starch in the rice grains, creating a creamy porridge that’s similar to risotto. Very warming, comforting and nutritious, here with a coastal twist and umami-rich shitake mushrooms. This is a dish of surf and earth.
From: The Wondersmith
7. Kelp Lasagne
Kelp is very high in a wide range of minerals: Iron, Iodine, Bromine, Phosphorus, Boron, Magnesium, Calcium and Zinc. It also contains protein, sugar, starch, fat, vitamins A, B1, B12 and C. Also known in Japan as kombu.
Its texture makes it a good pasta replacement for low-carb and keto dishes, like this ingenious lasagne.
From: Eatweeds
8. Pasta with Seaweed-Matcha Butter & Vegan Scallops
Seaweed & matcha are a superfood dream team that elevates this dish to great heights of nutritional value. The vegan scallops are based on oyster mushrooms. A smart and creative vegan treat.
From: Olives for Dinner
Pasta with Seaweed-Matcha Butter & Vegan Scallops & Spicy Sesame Nori
9. Spicy Sesame Nori
Nori is made from a species of red algae that has long been cultivated specifically for human consumption. It’s harvested and pressed into thin sheets in a process similar to papermaking. Savory paper, packed with umami flavors. We’re going to try this in the air fryer.
From: Earthy Delights
10. Low-Carb Kelp Noodle Ramen
Kelp noodles taste much like rice noodles but without the carbs because they are plant-based. That’s why they’re catching on as a go-to, low-carb vegan ingredient lately. But one packed with vitamins and minerals.
From: She’s Cookin
Low-Carb Kelp Noodle Ramen & Kelp Noodle & Mango Salad with Peanut Dressing
11. Kelp Noodle & Mango Salad with Peanut Dressing
This is a fresh take on the Indonesian Gado-Gado salad, but super low-carb as there are no grain noodles in the mix (though peanuts, honey and sriracha do contain some).
From: Rachael Hartley Nutrition
12. Zucchini Spaghetti with Seaweed Pesto
Mineral-rich, plenty of umami flavour, sustainable, abundant – seaweed ticks all the superfood boxes. Here it’s prepared as a pesto, which is great, interesting and new. But in the next two recipes… seaweed used as pasta.
From: Adventures in Cooking
Zucchini Spaghetti with Seaweed Pesto & Seaweed Pasta Nori Tagliatelle with Sea Urchin
13. Seaweed Pasta Nori Tagliatelle with Sea Urchin
This dish truly brings the ocean to your table. Nori is blended with wheat flour to make the pasta but it should be possible to use a fathead style dough if you’re keen on keeping it low-carb.
Sea urchin may be difficult to source but it’s a regular ingredient in many coastal regions. It’s popular in Greece and Italy, so if you vacation there, you’re sure to come across it.
From: Wild Green & Sardines
14. Low-Carb Paleo Gluten-Free Seaweed Pasta all’ Amatriciana
We featured this recipe in our Low-Carb Pasta article earlier this year. It’s so good it has to make another appearance here. It uses I Sea Pasta tagliatelle, made from a seaweed call sea spaghetti which looks set to become more widely available.
From: Eat Drink Paleo
Low-Carb Paleo Gluten-Free Seaweed Pasta all’ Amatriciana & Seaweed Pesto Zucchini Noodles with Shrimp
15. Seaweed Pesto Zucchini Noodles with Shrimp
Amy Myers recommends this dish as a great way to get more iodine in your diet, something that helps people with thyroid conditions. Both seaweed and shrimp are rich in the stuff, which is lacking in many diets.
From: Amy Myers MD
16. Avocado & Seaweed Hummus
I haven’t tried this one yet, but I am intrigued. It’s taken from Ocean Greens: Explore the World of Edible Seaweed and Sea Vegetables: A Way of Eating for Your Health and the Planet’s
From: Clean Plates
Avocado & Seaweed Hummus & Pesto Kelp Noodle Salad
17. Pesto Kelp Noodle Salad
This recipe is a feast for the eyes and a great dish to see in the Spring. This Pesto Kelp Noodle Salad is nourishing and will leave you feeling full.
From: Delightful Vegans
18. Kelp Noodles with Avocado Miso
This one is super easy to make but packed with flavor. A light but nutritious way to use kelp noodles that takes minutes to make.
From: A Simply Raw Life
Kelp Noodles with Avocado Miso & Wild Garlic & Seaweed Pesto
19. Wild Garlic & Seaweed Pesto
Wild garlic is everywhere at this time of year, you’ll see the white flowering heads by the side of trails for the next few weeks. It’s very much like garlic, but less pungent. Goes really well with seaweed too!
From: One Green Planet
20. Nori & Kale Pesto
Nori scores very highly for nutrition. It has more Omega 3 fatty acids than avocado. It also has high levels of chlorophyll, a powerful natural detoxifier that helps the body eliminate toxins and purifies the blood.
Last, but not least, nori also has the highest levels of protein of any plant, containing an astonishing 50% protein by dry weight!
As for kale… good for bulking out this pesto, I guess.
From: Almond to Zest
21. Chicken Broth Seaweed Egg Drop Soup
This chicken broth seaweed egg drop soup is packed with goodness. Best of all, it is immune-boosting, gut-healing, GAPS, Paleo and whole 30.
From: Yang’s Nourishing Kitchen
22. Quick Tomato Soup with Seaweed
No cooking required for this one, so five minutes prep time and this tomato soup is ready to enjoy, boosted by seaweed and carrot. Add chilli if you wish to give it a kick.
From: Tin & Thyme
Quick Tomato Soup with Seaweed & Wild Seaweed Broth
23. Wild Seaweed Broth
This is interesting. As well as all the other nutritional benefits, seaweed also contains many of the amino acids that make up collagen. No need to boil down bones to enjoy collagen’s gut-healing properties with this recipe.
From: Wild Food Café