Stinging Nettle Uses: How to Eat, Harvest, and Use Nettles

What Is Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)?

The stinging nettle is a common weed, and, believe me, you will know if you accidentally run into a wild patch of stinging nettles (which I found in my raspberry patch). When you brush against them with bare skin, the delicate, needle-like hairs that cover their stems and leaves break off and inject you with irritating chemicals that feel like a host of wasp stings. But if you do suffer such an encounter, count your lucky stars. Guard the spot carefully.  

Are Nettles Edible?

Nettles are an edible treat! Young, tender nettles rank among the yummiest and most nutritious of green vegetables. And don’t worry! Even the lightest cooking eliminates the stinging hair during the process.

Nutritional Benefits of Nettles

A rich source of calcium, iron, magnesium, and other minerals and of high levels of vitamins C and A, they also contain more protein than other green vegetables (dried leaves are 25 percent protein!). What’s more, many of these nutrients act as antioxidants inside your body, defending your cells against damage from free radicals, which are linked to aging, cancer, and other harmful diseases.

How to Cook Stinging Nettles Safely

Nettles have a mineral taste like a strong spinach—and are full of iron. In fact, you can slightly steam young, tender nettle leaves like you would spinach. You can enjoy them as a side dish with a bit of butter melted on top, turn them into delicious pesto, or add them to soups, stews, and quiches. You can freeze or dry them in the same way that you would spinach or parsley. Again, nettles need to be lightly cooked to remove the sting.

Nettle Soup Recipe

1. While wearing gloves, cut off the tough stalks of the nettle leaves and wash the leaves. You’ll need 2 cups of leaves for this recipe (or cut it in half). Massage in olive oil until the leaves become soft.
2. In a pot, heat up a tablespoon of olive oil, a chopped onion, and 3 chopped cloves of garlic, and cook until translucent.
3. Now add 2 cups of diced potato (about 2 potatoes). Add 2 teaspoons of stock/bouillon and 2 cups of water.
4. Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer for 10 minutes or until potato is soft.
5. Add nettle leaves. Cook for 1 minute or until leaves are wilted.
6. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice. Then blend the soup until smooth. Season to taste.

Using Nettles in the Garden

Nettles are not only healthy for us humans but also a great source of nutrients for our crops! Gardeners have long used fermentations of nettle leaves to fertilize and protect crops. As nettles are high in nitrogen, they’re a great fertilizer for leafy veggies like kale, spinach, and chard.

Nettle Fertilizer for Plants

How to make nettle organic liquid plant food: Just stuff nettle leaves in a bucket or container. Some folks like it to have a lid. Weigh the leaves down with bricks or stones. Fill with water. Leave to steep for a month. Mix 1 part tea to 10 parts water and water your plants. Now you have growth-boosting goodness! Learn more about making your own organic garden fertilizer.

Additional Uses for Nettles in the Garden

• Nettles can also be used as food for beneficial insects, as the plants attract both ladybugs and aphids (ladybug food). Nettles are beloved by caterpillars of butterfly species. Use nettles to lure away aphids from nearby crops!
• Finally, prune nettles and lay them around larger plants as a valuable mulch.
• Or, add to compost to speed up the decomposition process. Mix with dry ingredients such as dry leaves and cardboard. (Do not include roots or seed heads.)

Medicinal Uses of Stinging Nettle

Herbalists use nettles to lower blood pressure, and there is a long history of nettles being used by traditional cultures as medicine to treat a variety of ills, such as an overactive bladder.

• Stinging nettle tea has been known to help those with allergies, asthma, or sore muscles. Just steep a few leaves in boiling water, and you have a cup of nettle tea! See natural remedies for allergies.
• Dried nettle leaves and roots make a nourishing hair rinse. See old-fashioned hair treatments.
• An infusion of stinging nettles is also known to help treat sunburns. 

How to Harvest Stinging Nettles Safely

Pick the young leaves or whole shoots from February to June. Avoid older plants; they’ll have a tough taste. 

Bring your gloves! To harvest stinging nettles without getting stung, wear rubber or leather gardening gloves and long sleeves. Do not touch any part of the nettle, as the mild sting lasts for hours.

For the best eating, pick the top three sets of leaves while the plants are just a few inches tall. Use scissors or garden clippers to cut the top bracts of leaves, leaving the rest of the plant to regenerate and benefit wildlife. Set a pot or bag alongside the plant and clip directly into the container.

Rinse the plants well in a colander, remove any debris, and wear kitchen gloves if you plan to chop them.

Watch our video to see how to use nettles in the garden as well as make nettle soup and nettle tea.