Water chestnuts are an interesting and versatile ingredient that can add texture and flavor to many dishes. While fresh water chestnuts have a sweet, nutty flavor, canned water chestnuts tend to be more mild in flavor with a firm, crunchy texture. If you have a can of water chestnuts sitting in your pantry, don’t let them go to waste! Here are some ideas for how to use up canned water chestnuts.
Add Them to Stir-Fries
One of the most popular ways to use canned water chestnuts is to add them to stir-fry dishes. Their crunchy texture provides a nice contrast to tender cooked vegetables and meat. Try adding water chestnuts to classic stir-fries like beef and broccoli, chicken and vegetables, or a vegetable medley. They’ll add extra flavor, texture, and nutrition to your one-pan meals. Just drain and rinse the water chestnuts before stirring them in during the last few minutes of cooking so they stay firm and crunchy.
Make Lettuce Wraps
Lettuce wraps make a fun and healthy lunch or light dinner when you’re looking for a gluten-free, low-carb option. Fill crispy lettuce leaves with cooked ground meat, rice or quinoa, vegetables, and chopped water chestnuts for added crunch. The options are endless for lettuce wrap fillings: chicken, beef, shrimp, tofu – take your pick! Top it off with a tangy sauce like hoisin, teriyaki, or peanut sauce.
Add to Salads
Crunchy water chestnuts are a great addition to fresh salads. They pair well with crisp Asian-inspired salads that have ingredients like cabbage, carrots, snow peas, and an Asian salad dressing. Or simply dice them up and add them to a green salad for a bit of texture. Just watch the portion size since they are relatively high in carbohydrates.
Make Sushi
If you enjoy making homemade sushi, definitely pick up a can of water chestnuts. Water chestnuts are commonly used in maki sushi rolls in Japanese cuisine. Their texture and mild flavor complement the rice, seaweed, fish, and vegetables. Try using chopped water chestnuts in crunchy shrimp tempura rolls, classic California rolls, or spicy tuna rolls. They add a satisfying crunch when you bite into the roll.
Add to Fried Rice
Take your fried rice to the next level by tossing in canned water chestnuts with the rice, meat, and vegetables. The extra crunch and density of the water chestnuts is a nice contrast to fluffy cooked rice. Make sure to mix them in at the end to keep their texture. Chicken or shrimp fried rice are particularly delicious with water chestnuts.
Make Cold Salads
Canned water chestnuts are commonly used in cold Asian noodle and rice salads since they retain their crunchiness. Try adding diced water chestnuts to rice noodle salad, cold sesame noodles, or summer rolls for extra texture and flavor. Their mild taste won’t overpower the other ingredients. Or make your own water chestnut salad by combining diced water chestnuts, shredded cabbage and carrots, sliced scallions, and your favorite Asian dressing.
Add to Broccoli Salad
For a new twist on broccoli salad for your next barbecue or potluck, mix in some canned water chestnuts. They complement the crunchy raw broccoli, celery, carrots, raisins and nuts typically found in broccoli salad. To make, simply toss together bite-sized broccoli florets, diced water chestnuts, shredded carrots, sliced celery, raisins, and toasted nuts. Then stir in mayonnaise or Greek yogurt for a tasty, crowd-pleasing salad.
Use in Casseroles
Since water chestnuts hold up well to cooking, they are an excellent addition to casserole dishes. Stir them into rice casseroles, baked pasta dishes like ziti or lasagna, egg bakes, or stuffing to add extra texture. You can also soften them slightly in Asian-inspired dishes like stir-fry casseroles. Just fold them in towards the end of cooking so they don’t get overly soft.
Make Dumplings
For homemade dumplings or potstickers, finely minced water chestnuts are commonly used as a filling ingredient. Their crunchy texture offset the soft dumpling wrapper beautifully. To make the filling, you can sauté ground pork or chicken with water chestnuts, mushrooms, scallions, garlic, ginger and seasonings. Use this as a filling for potstickers, wontons, or stuffed dumplings.
Add to Stuffing & Dressings
Stir chopped water chestnuts into stuffing or dressing mixes for extra moisture, flavor and crunch. They’ll pair nicely with traditional bread-based stuffing as well as wild rice, quinoa or cornbread stuffing. You can also add them to the dressing in recipes like turkey tetrazzini or chicken casserole to liven up the texture.
Make Chicken Salad
For an Asian-inspired spin on chicken salad, stir in some crunchy water chestnuts. Dice cooked chicken and water chestnuts and mix together with mayo or Greek yogurt, diced celery, scallions, sesame seeds, rice vinegar and seasonings. Pile the chicken salad onto bread or lettuce for sandwiches or rice cakes for an entrée salad.
Add to Vegetable Dishes
Don’t limit water chestnuts to just Asian recipes – they can also be used in all kinds of vegetable side dishes too. Add diced water chestnuts to roasted Brussels sprouts or root vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes or beets. Or incorporate them into veggie sautés like green beans, spinach or summer squash. They add great texture mixed into any cooked veggies.
Make Trail Mix
Dehydrated sliced water chestnuts have an extra crunchy texture that makes a fantastic addition to homemade trail mixes. Toss them together with nuts, seeds, granola, coconut flakes, raisins and chocolate chips. Portion into baggies or jars for an energizing on-the-go snack. It takes the place of dried fruit with a nice crunch.
Use as Crudités
Fresh water chestnuts make a unique and healthy addition to a raw veggie platter. Peel and slice fresh water chestnuts and arrange on a platter with crunchy vegetables like carrot sticks, bell pepper strips, broccoli florets and celery sticks. Serve with a healthy dip like hummus, yogurt dip or guacamole. They have a satisfying crispness when eaten raw.
Make Chips
For a low-carb snack, try slicing fresh water chestnuts thin and baking them into chips. Toss the slices in olive oil and your favorite seasonings like sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder or cayenne pepper. Bake at 400F for about 15 minutes until lightly browned and crispy. Enjoy as a nutritious alternative to potato chips!
Use as Kebab Skewers
Sturdy, thickly sliced fresh water chestnuts work perfectly for kebabs. Skewer them along with meat, vegetables, shrimp or fruit for a fun dinner or appetizer. Grill or broil the kebabs until the ingredients are charred and tender. The water chestnuts will soften but still retain a pleasant crunch. Kids will love these too!
Make Pickles
Pickled water chestnuts are a common ingredient in many types of Asian cuisine. To make them at home, peel fresh water chestnuts and boil briefly to soften slightly. Pack them into sterilized jars along with rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, chili flakes and sugar. Allow to pickle for at least a week before eating for maximum flavor.
Add to Cake or Cookie Batter
For a fun twist, add chopped water chestnuts to cake or cookie batter. They’ll bake up nice and soft while retaining a hint of crunch. Try folding water chestnuts into recipes like carrot cake, banana bread, oatmeal cookies or chocolate chip cookies. About 1 cup chopped water chestnuts per recipe adds great texture.
Make Dessert Nachos
For a kid-friendly dessert, chop water chestnuts and toss with cinnamon sugar. Top with melted chocolate for “fajita” style nachos, or pile on fruit, whipped cream, chocolate and caramel sauce for a sweet veggie-based dessert platter!
Blend into Smoothies
Add a few chunks of water chestnut into your usual fruit smoothies for extra nutrition. The mild flavor won’t overwhelm the fruit. For a tropical smoothie, blend diced water chestnuts with pineapple, mango, banana, coconut milk and ice. They add great thickness and creaminess.
Conclusion
As you can see, water chestnuts are endlessly adaptable in both sweet and savory recipes. Keep a few cans in your pantry to add unique texture and flavor to everyday dishes. Or seek out fresh water chestnuts and experiment with them in raw preparations. With a bit of creativity, you may just find that water chestnuts quickly become a new kitchen staple.