It’s never been easier (or tastier) to cook vegan, even if you’re not doing it full-time. In Part-Time Plant-Based, associate cooking editor Antara Sinha brings you bright ideas from veggie-forward cookbooks.
Hearts of palm—those tinned, briny, squeaky stalks from the pickle aisle—made their way into innumerable pasta, salad, and dip recipes of the late ’90s and early aughts. And like baggy jeans and cottage cheese, they’ve swung back around to this side of the trend cycle. Gen Z TikTokers marvel at its appearance (”It looks like string cheese?”), and innovative plant-based chefs turn to this humble ingredient for its versatility.
“When you make vegan food, you have to think about texture,” says Denai Moore, author of Plentiful: Vegan Jamaican Recipes to Repeat. “When I was writing this cookbook, I didn’t want to go into the faux-meat direction—I wanted to use something that felt accessible.”
Moore went on a quest to create a vegan version of the pick-up saltfish she grew up on—a Jamaican dish made with salted cod and an assortment of fresh ingredients like peppers, tomatoes, and onions. She tested a few iterations: one with young coconut and one with jackfruit standing in for the traditional cod.
“It’s my favorite Jamaican dish, so it was really important to me that I nailed this recipe,” says Moore. While both were delicious, Moore turned to hearts of palm as her ingredient of choice in her final recipe. Its wide availability and uncanny flakiness and salinity made it the winner.
Hearts of palm are a stellar pantry staple for any home cook, vegan or otherwise. And because they’re good in just about anything, you’ll work your way through that jar faster than you can say, “What’s for dinner?”
What are hearts of palm?
Harvested from the core of a variety of palm trees like coconut, peach palm, and palmetto, hearts of palm are widely available and relatively inexpensive. They’re stalk-shaped, sold either intact or sliced into coins. The brined version you’re likely to encounter at the supermarket taste close to jarred artichoke hearts with a little more crunch. As far as which brand to seek out, Moore says don’t sweat it—they’re wonderfully consistent across the board. (Fresh hearts of palm is typically more difficult to track down, mostly available in specialty supermarkets or by special order online.)
How to use hearts of palm
Once you’ve purchased a jar or can of hearts of palm, there are innumerable ways to put it to good use.
Chop stalks into bite-size pieces and add them to your favorite pasta salad recipe—this Pasta Salad With Spring Vegetables and Tomatoes is a great place to start. Cut them into spears to dip into spreads, dips, and seasonings like Tajín or this umami-herby Ranch Fun Dip. Slice into coins and toss into a seasonal salad: Hearts of palm are at home in both crunchy slaws and among delicate greens. Or, marinate slices of hearts of palm in olive oil, vinegar, spices, and herbs to serve alongside an impressive snack spread.