Vegan Savory Swiss Chard

I picked Swiss chard this morning from my garden, and I went through my recipe books looking for new chard recipes. I found the following recipe in The Chopra Center Cook Book, by Deepak Chopra, M.D., David Simon, M.D., and Leanne Backer, published 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Many of the recipes in this book are vegan, but not all.

This recipe calls for garam masala. I made the gram masala, which Jackie has at her blog, The Vegan Diet. It’s very good. It was better that any ready made gram masala I have ever used. I was able to find all of the spices and herbs at a natural food store that had spices and herbs in bulk.

I liked the Savory Swiss Chard a lot, but I liked it better when I added a bit more vinegar than the recipe calls for.

Vegan Savory Swiss Chard
serves 4

1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 pinch black pepper
½ cup chopped leeks or onions
1 teaspoon Bragg Liquid Aminos or tamari (I used the Bragg)
8 cups red or white Swiss chard, washed, drained, and torn
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon garam masala


Heat the oil in a large saute pan (on medium, so you don’t burn the spices). Add the mustard seeds and pepper. When the seeds have popped, add the leeks or onions and the aminos. Add the Chard, stirring often so the chard will cook evenly. Cook until the chard begins to look slightly limp but is still a vibrant color. Add the balsamic vinegar and garam masala and simmer for 2 minutes before serving. Add a little more aminos if the chard tastes bitter.

I also had the leftover orange seitan from yesterday. It was better the second day like I thought it would be.