Stinging Nettle-Ade Recipe (2024)

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Do you have foraged stinging nettle that you’ve dried or recently collected? Make this stinging nettle-ade! It’s a refreshing sugar free lemonade recipe that’s easy to make and sugar free. It’s the perfect foraged drink recipe.

Stinging Nettle-Ade Recipe (1)

Wildcrafting Weeds

If you want to learn more about the edible and medicinal weeds that surround us and how to use them, check out my eBook: Wildcrafting Weeds: 20 Easy to Forage Edible and Medicinal Plants (that might be growing in your backyard)!

Gather & Root Online Foraging Course

My online foraging course is a great way to learn about wild edible and medicinal plants! Learn more about the gather + root online foraging course here.

Stinging Nettle Benefits

Many people know about stinging nettle, but it is much more well-known for its painful sting than its edible and medicinal qualities.

If prepared the right way, stinging nettles are delicious and nutritious! So many edible wild “weeds” are brushed off as being a nuisance, when they are actually quite tasty, and often have medicinal value as well.

Stinging nettle is a very nutritious superfood. It has a large amount of many vitamins and minerals, but is particularly high in vitamins A and C, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium.

Related: 40+ Stinging Nettle Recipes (without the sting!)

Stinging Nettle-Ade Recipe (2)

Nettle is also a potent medicinal plant. It is commonly used for kidney and bladder problems, including urinary tract infections.

Stinging nettle is known as an all around tonic for women’s reproductive system, and is often used when trying to conceive, as well as throughout pregnancy (check with your doctor or midwife before using it during pregnancy).

Because of its high concentration of minerals, nettle is also commonly used for bone ailments such as arthritis and osteoporosis.

Stinging Nettle-Ade Recipe (3)

Stinging Nettle-Ade Recipe

The book by Mia Wasilevich titled Ugly Little Greens tells us how to cook these overlooked plants in delightful ways! That is where I got this recipe for Nettle-Ade that I’m going to share with you today.

If you don’t have any dried nettles on hand for this recipe, you can always purchase them from Mountain Rose Herbs, my favorite place to buy high quality, organic herbs.

First, steep the dried nettles. Place the nettles in a teapot or a nonreactive pot and pour the boiling water over them. Let the nettles steep for 15 minutes, then strain them from the water.

Stinging Nettle-Ade Recipe (4)

Add ice to a tall glass and muddle the honey with the preserved lemon. Pour in ½ cup (120 ml) of the strong nettle tea and finish with the sparkling water.

Stinging Nettle-Ade Recipe (5)

Photo credit: Mia Wasilevich

This Nettle-Ade recipe is surprisingly delicious!

Slightly sweet from the honey, and a pleasant tartness from the lemon make it really wonderful. It is super refreshing on a hot day!

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It’s nice to know how healthy it is, too.

Nettle infusion is something that we could all use a little more of, and this is the perfect way to make it more enticing.

I’m pretty sure I’ll be making this nettle-ade all summer long with my stash of foraged dried stinging nettle!

Ugly Little Greens Book

I really love the book Ugly Little Greens by Mia Wasilevich!

She takes underutilized wild plants like dandelions, mustards, nettles, plantain, cattail, thistles, lambs quarters, mallow, watercress, and elderberries and turns them into gourmet recipes such as:

  • Plantain and Purslane Poke
  • Cattail Pollen Madeleines
  • Nettles Benedict
  • Salted Dandelion and Plantain Two Ways
  • Lambsquarters Marbled Bread
  • Elderflower Sangria with Summer Fruit

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Both this wonderful book and this amazing Stinging Nettle-Ade recipe are highly recommended!

It’s always so much fun to actually make awesome recipes from foraged and wildcrafted ingredients. Mia’s book will help you with some of the best recipes I’ve seen for these wild edible weeds!

What is your favorite way to prepare stinging nettles?

Stinging Nettle-Ade Recipe (8)

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5 from 2 votes

Nettle-Ade

Make this refreshing Nettle-Ade with foraged stinging nettles!

Course Drinks

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Steeping Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Calories 16kcal

Author Colleen @ Grow Forage Cook Ferment

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

  • Dried nettle leaves and stems as needed (see note)
  • Boiling water as needed (see note)
  • Ice as needed
  • 1 tbsp honey per serving
  • preserved lemon or a ½-inch chunk per serving
  • 1 cup sparkling water per serving

Instructions

  • To steep the dried nettles, place the nettles in a teapot or a nonreactive pot and pour the boiling water over them. Let the nettles steep for 15 minutes, then strain them from the water.

  • Add ice to a tall glass and muddle the honey with the preserved lemon. Pour in ½ cup (120 ml) of the strong nettle tea and finish with the sparkling water.

Notes

This recipe is from the bookUgly Little Greensby Mia Wasilevich, Page Street Publishing Co. 2017

A general rule of thumb is to use 1 tablespoon (1 g) dried nettles per 1 cup (240 ml) water. But I like to make this strong so I can enjoy it with ice and sparkling water, so I use 2 tablespoons (2 g) dried nettles per 1 cup (240 ml) water. For example, to make 4 servings, use 8 tablespoons (6 g) nettles and 4 cups (960 ml) water. It’s OK to eyeball this, as dried nettles weigh practically nothing and you won’t get a significant measurement by weight.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 16kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Sodium: 8mg | Potassium: 8mg | Calcium: 10mg

Stinging Nettle-Ade Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Stinging Nettle-Ade Recipe? ›

Strain nettle

nettle
Urtica is a genus of flowering plants in the family Urticaceae. Many species have stinging hairs and may be called nettles or stinging nettles (the latter name applying particularly to U. dioica). The generic name Urtica derives from the Latin for 'sting'.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Urtica
s from water and let the tea cool to room temperature. Add ice to a tall glass and muddle the honey with the preserved lemon. Pour in ½ cup (120 ml) of the strong nettle tea and finish with the sparkling water.

How do you prepare stinging nettle for medicinal purposes? ›

There are several ways to prepare the leaves once you've taken them home. You can wash and dry them by leaving them in the open air, or you can freeze-dry them for long-term storage. If you freeze the leaves, blanch them first. Boil them in water for 2 minutes, then soak them in ice water for 2 more minutes.

How to make sting nettle tincture? ›

Put the nettle leaf and alcohol in pint jar, stir and cover with the lid. Label the jar with contents. Place the jar in a cool, dark place, and shake it daily. After 2-3 weeks, strain into bowl and use wooden spoon to press down on herbs left in strainer to get all the goodness.

Does stinging nettle detox your body? ›

Kidney and gallbladder health

Nettle is an excellent diuretic and may lower the risk of kidney and gallbladder stones. Additionally, being a diuretic, stinging nettle helps eliminate harmful substances, including pathogens, rapidly and guards against bladder infections.

How to prepare stinging nettles for consumption? ›

Sautéing – Sauté until they look fully cooked, usually about 5-8 minutes. Steaming – place nettles in a colander and steam for 5-10 minutes. The stinging substance in nettles (formic acid) is neutralized with heat and once it is dried.

Is it safe to drink nettle tea every day? ›

The dose of nettle tea should be limited to 300 mg one or two times daily. Nettle should not be taken if you are taking any medications, herbs, or other supplements. Before continuing, consult your doctor if any side effects are observed.

What part of stinging nettle is used for medicine? ›

Stinging nettle products are usually made from the leaves and stems, and sometimes the roots. Root preparations are used to relieve symptoms of BPH.

Is stinging nettle bad for your liver? ›

Stinging nettle extracts are generally well tolerated and have not been implicated in instances of serum aminotransferase elevations or cases of clinically apparent liver injury.

Who should not take nettle? ›

Avoid if you're pregnant or breastfeeding because there isn't enough information on its safety. Use with caution if you're elderly because of the potential of causing low blood pressure. And use stinging nettle with caution if you have diabetes because of the potential that it may lower or raise blood sugar levels.

Does stinging nettle cause weight gain? ›

They discovered that eating nettles activates a hormone in cells known as FIAF (short for fasting induced adipose factor, in case you were wondering), which not only accelerates the conversion of fats into energy, but seems to protect your vital organs from absorbing too many fatty acids.

How to cook stinging nettle benefits? ›

The dried leaves and flowers can be steeped to make a delicious herbal tea, while its leaves, stem and roots can be cooked and added to soups, stews, smoothies and stir-frys. However, avoid eating fresh leaves, as their barbs can cause irritation. Currently, there is no recommended dosage for stinging nettle products.

What happens when you boil stinging nettle? ›

At this point, it's best to think of stinging nettles in a similar fashion to spinach in terms of cooking the leaves. Quickly blanching them in a pot of boiling water will deaden the sting.

What are the side effects of nettle tea? ›

When taken by mouth: Stinging nettle is possibly safe when used for up to 1 year. It might cause diarrhea, constipation, and upset stomach in some people. When applied to the skin: Stinging nettle is possibly safe.

What is the best way to take stinging nettle root? ›

The dried leaves and flowers can be steeped to make a delicious herbal tea, while its leaves, stem and roots can be cooked and added to soups, stews, smoothies and stir-frys. However, avoid eating fresh leaves, as their barbs can cause irritation. Currently, there is no recommended dosage for stinging nettle products.

What parts of the stinging nettle are edible? ›

They can be used medicinally, ceremonially and as a highly nutritious food source. Roots, seeds, stems and young, tender leaves are all edible. Native Indigenous people use stinging nettle for medicine, ceremony and as a food source. Mature fibrous stems have been used to make rope, cloth and fishing net.

How do you use stinging nettle for inflammation? ›

You can apply stinging nettle to the skin around the painful area. Common side-effects include itching and a tingling sensation. Because it can be applied to the skin, it's unlikely that it'll affect other medications.

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