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Purslane substitute

Best substitute

Watercress

Use the same amount by volume as the purslane you are replacing

Best for Greek village salads

Different taste

For a raw Greek village salad, watercress at 1:1 is the closest in crunch and character, though it is peppery rather than lemony. Mache or baby spinach with an extra squeeze of lemon works if you want something mild and tender. For cooked dishes like Mexican verdolagas, spinach or chard is the standard stand-in, added at the very end so it keeps some body.

Other purslane substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Purslane with ratios

  1. 2Baby spinach with extra lemon

    Taste and texture differ

    Use the same amount by volume raw, or 1.5:1 if you want the same bulk once dressed

    The most available green in any supermarket, mild enough to take on whatever you dress it with.

    What changes
    Best for
    salads, cooked greens, verdolagas-style stews, omelettes, pies

    Flavour is mild and slightly mineral, and a good hit of lemon gets it into the right neighbourhood. What you lose is the whole point of purslane texturally: spinach leaves are soft and floppy where purslane is fat and crunchy, so a salad comes out tender rather than snappy. Excellent in cooked dishes, where the difference matters much less.

  2. 3Mache (lamb's lettuce)

    Different taste

    Use the same amount by volume

    Small tender rosettes with a sweet, nutty, delicate flavour.

    What changes
    Best for
    raw salads, garnishes, delicate salads with feta and olive oil

    It has a similar cool, moist mouthfeel and the same knack of standing up to olive oil without wilting immediately. It is sweeter and quieter than purslane and contributes no acidity at all, so lean on lemon and a little more salt. Never cook it, as it collapses to nothing.

  3. 4Sorrel mixed with spinach

    Different texture

    1 part sorrel to 2 parts spinach, used 1:1 for the purslane

    Sorrel delivers purslane's lemony sourness better than anything else, and spinach supplies the bulk it lacks.

    What changes
    Best for
    salads, cooked greens, soups, fillings for pies

    The best answer if you care most about the sour note. Sorrel is genuinely tart, sometimes more so than purslane, so keep it to a third of the mix or the salad turns puckering. Sorrel collapses and goes olive-drab within seconds of hitting heat, so in a cooked dish stir it in off the heat.

  4. 5Samphire, sea beans or ice plant

    Different taste

    Use the same amount by volume, and taste before adding any salt

    Coastal succulents with the same thick juicy structure as purslane.

    What changes
    Best for
    salads, seafood plates, garnishes, quick sautes

    Texturally the closest thing on this list, since they are actual succulents that snap and release juice the same way. Samphire and sea beans are markedly salty, so cut the salt in the dressing entirely and rinse them first. Ice plant is closer in flavour, mild and faintly saline with a crystalline crunch.

  5. 6Swiss chard or beet greens (cooked dishes only)

    Taste and texture differ

    Use the same amount by weight

    Sturdy cooking greens that hold their shape in a stew far better than spinach.

    What changes
    Best for
    verdolagas con puerco, stews, braises, greens with pork or tomatillo

    For a Mexican verdolagas stew, this is the practical answer. Chard keeps enough body to be recognisable in the pot, though it tastes earthier and beetier and contributes none of purslane's lemony tang. In a tomatillo-based dish the salsa is doing most of the sour work anyway, so the gap is small.

What is Purslane?

Purslane is Purslane, called glistrida in Greek and verdolagas in Mexico, is a low-growing succulent whose thick juicy leaves and reddish stems taste lemony and faintly salty with a crisp, slightly slippery bite.

Cooking tips

  • Purslane's job in a dish is a lemony-saline tang plus a distinctive juicy crunch, and in cooked dishes it also thickens the liquid slightly, because like okra it contains mucilage. If your substitute leaves a stew thinner than expected, that mucilage is what is missing.
  • Use the stems as well as the leaves. On young purslane the stems are the crunchiest and juiciest part, and trimming them away throws out the best of it. Only discard stems that have gone woody and fibrous.
  • Purslane grows low and sprawling, so it holds grit. Swish it in a bowl of cold water, lift it out rather than pouring it off, and repeat until the water runs clear.
  • Add purslane to hot dishes in the last minute or two of cooking. Left to simmer, the succulent leaves collapse and go slimy, which is why cooked purslane has an undeserved bad reputation.
  • Dress it simply. Olive oil, lemon, salt, sliced onion and crumbled feta is the classic Greek glistrida salad, and the tang of the leaves is the point rather than the dressing.
  • Wrapped loosely in a damp towel inside a bag, purslane keeps three or four days in the fridge. Do not wash it until you are ready to use it, as wet purslane turns translucent and slippery fast.
  • If you are foraging rather than buying, be careful. Purslane has smooth fat leaves, thick reddish stems and clear juice, while spurge, a toxic look-alike that grows in the same places, has thinner stems, hairier growth and oozes milky white sap when broken. Any milky sap means it is not purslane.

Frequently asked questions

What does purslane taste like?

Bright and lemony with a mild salty edge, a little like a cross between watercress and a very fresh green bean. The texture is what people remember: thick succulent leaves that are crisp and juicy at once, with a faint slipperiness.

Is purslane the same as verdolagas or glistrida?

Yes. Purslane is called verdolagas in Mexican cooking, glistrida in Greek, and sometimes pigweed in English, though pigweed is also used for other plants entirely. It is the same succulent, Portulaca oleracea, in all of these dishes.

Can I substitute spinach for purslane?

In a cooked dish, yes, and it is the usual answer. In a raw salad it is a compromise, because spinach is soft where purslane is crunchy and juicy. Add a solid squeeze of lemon to spinach either way, since purslane's tang is a big part of what it contributes.

Can I just leave purslane out?

In a mixed salad, yes, and increase the other greens. In a dish named for it, such as verdolagas con puerco or a Greek glistrida salad, it is the main vegetable, so use one of the swaps above rather than omitting it and ending up with meat in sauce.

Is purslane safe to eat raw?

Yes, and raw in salad is the most common way it is eaten in both Greece and Mexico. Like spinach, chard and beet greens, it is relatively high in oxalates, so if you have been advised to limit oxalates it belongs in the same category as those greens.

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