If you’re like me and you enjoy serving your kids not only a variety of fruits and vegetables but also a variety of different colors, you’re in the right place. Today we’re going to focus in on the color purple and I’ll show you ways to add a pop of color to your meals.
Want foods in more vibrant colors? Check out these two articles and start eating the rainbow.
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Lists of Naturally Purple Foods
Let’s start with a list of naturally purple foods. These are great fruits and vegetables you can purchase for all sorts of purple fun. I will say, some foods are more purple than others, and, if your goal is to dye white food (such as rice), some of these ingredients will do a better job than others on the list.
List of Purple Vegetables
Personally, I’ve had the most success purchasing purple vegetables at specialty stores, especial natural/organic/co-op style stores. I’ve also seen some at farmer’s markets, but that’s been pretty hit and miss.
- Purple Asparagus
- Purple Brussels Sprouts (these are more like purple veined than full on purple)
- Purple Cabbage (sometimes called red cabbage)
- Purple Carrots
- Purple Corn
- Purple Cauliflower
- Eggplants (there are several varieties to choose from including baby eggplant)
- Purple Garlic
- Purple Green Beans (sometimes called royal burgundy green beans, easier to find at a farmer’s market, serve raw to maintain the most colour)
- Purple Peppers (these are easier to find at a farmer’s market when they’re in season)
- Purple Potatoes
- Purple Sweet Potatoes
- Purple Kale (also called Redbor Kale)
- Radicchio (a type of bitter lettuce with a little spice, you can mellow the flavor by grilling or roasting it)
One little note for you: there are two types of purple potatoes. One type has purple skin and white flesh whilst the other has both purple skin and purple flesh, so make sure you know which one you’re getting. When purchasing tri-color fingerling potatoes, the purple potatoes in the bag are almost always the purple flesh variety.
Honourable mention for purple vegetables goes to purple kohlrabi which is white on the inside.
List of Purple Fruits
Here are some of the most well-known purple fruits, along with some that may be new to you. Adding purple fruits to your diet is relatively easy since you can snack on raw fruit, or add it to a smoothie (a super easy way to add powerful antioxidants to your regular diet).
- Acai Berries (native to South America, you’ll usually find it in the freezer section of your grocery store)
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Elderberry
- Mulberry
- Plum
- Purple Figs (amazing on a fig and bacon pizza)
- Purple Grapes/Concord Grapes
- Purple Star Apple (mostly purple on the outside, but some of the purple colour bleeds into the white center/flesh)
- Purple Tomatoes
I want to give honourable mention to purple passion fruit and purple mangosteen that are both purple on the outside. If you’re making a super colourful fruit basket, these could be included in the arrangement to represent the color purple.
Whilst it’s neither a fruit or vegetable, I also want to give honourable mention to black rice (sometimes called forbidden rice). It comes in several varieties, some of which absolutely have a purple tint once cooked. It could be delicious food to incorporate into your meal plan to add a pop of colour to your regular meals.
Fun Ways to Use Purple Fruits and Vegetables in Meals
Whilst many purple food items don’t have the most delicious flavor standalone, they can be incorporated to delicious recipes you’re already planning to cook. These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg on how to incorporate fun purple plants.
Shredded Purple Carrots
Use these to make purple carrot cake which can be a fun take on dessert. You can also fold shredded purple carrot into waffle and pancake batter to give it a little purple flare. To see the colour pop when making cakes, be sure to use a white cake, yellow cake, or carrot cake recipe. Chocolate cake and other dark coloured cakes won’t allow your purple carrots to shine through.
Purple Carrot Peels
I did this with my kids once, and they were eating them faster than I could keep up. I used a vegetable peeler to peel several purple carrots. Then, I deep fried the peels until they were a little brown and totally crispy. Dusted with a little salt and wow did they go wild for them.
Purple Corn Tortillas
Some specialty stores carry purple corn tortillas. If you can’t find them, you can make them at home. From there, use your favourite taco fillings and enjoy. You can also purchase blue corn tortilla chips and use those as part of a purple meal.
Purple Cauliflower Steaks
If you’ve never seen a vegan cauliflower steak before, you must check it out. It’s a creative (and very clever) use for cauliflower. When seasoned and seared well, even meat eating enthusiasts enjoy cauliflower steak. You can follow any recipe you find for this online, but use purple cauliflower instead. For an extra kick of flavour, also serve your “steak” with a fresh chimichurri.
Purple Pepper Stars
If you regularly pack lunches for a child, you can include stars made from purple bell peppers. To do this, you’ll need a mini cookie cutter (buy a set so you have other shapes to choose from in the future). Remove the core of the pepper, lay it flat, then use your cookie cutter to cut the shape. Leftover scraps can be diced and added to a chili or easy meal you plan to cook.
Mashed Purple Sweet Potatoes
When my kids were little, one of the best ways I was able to introduce them to purple potatoes and sweet potatoes was through mashed potatoes. My kids LOVE potatoes, so it was an easy way to introduce something new.
In fact, the first time I made them, my youngest helped and was over the moon excited to try them because PURPLE. Sometimes just having some novelty in your child’s life can really make their day.
Make a Purple Dessert
Dessert can be as simple as juicy berries + crepes + whipped cream, and what an easy yet tasty way to incorporate colourful foods into your diet. Stewed purple plums would make for another great crepe + whipped cream pairing.
You’ll want to avoid using acai berries in your desserts unless you’re following a proven recipe because of their intense flavour profile.
Make Pickled Vegetables
Properly fermented vegetables are long known to improve gut health because of their beneficial bacteria. There are lots of fantastic video tutorials online and on Youtube that you can follow, or you can purchase pickled veggies in stores. I used to get some of the best fermented vegetables at a farmer’s market in our area, so be sure to look there as well.
If you want to have some fun with your ferments, try making something like spicy kimchi, but focus on purple raw ingredients. You can then use this as a condiment when serving a range of ingredients, or include it in a rice dish.
Make Quick Pickled Onion
My kids adore the quick pickled onion I make at home. Sometimes I make it on the sweet side, and other times I make them on the more floral side. The enjoy adding the pickled onion to sandwiches, and I like adding them to a range of recipes I cook for them as a topping. It’s an easy way to not only add colour, but a nice bright hit of acid to your meals.
Smoothies & Salads
Smoothies and salads are easy ways to not only improve your digestion, but get more fruits and veggies into your diet. If you’d like to have a purple forward smoothie, be sure to pair your purple ingredients with mild coloured foods (banana, cashew, etc.) rather than green foods which can muddy the mix.
When making delicious salads, you can top them with fresh purple berries, or use shredded purple carrots. Shaved purple brussels sprouts would also be a great addition to your salad.
Gluten Free + Allergy Friendly Purple Leaning Recipes
Here are some fun recipes you can try the next time you want to have a colourful meal. Each recipe is gluten free, dairy free, egg free, and very allergy friendly.
- Creamy Purple Rice
- Purple Sweet Potato (Ube) Gluten Free Cake Recipe
- Pork & Purple Cabbage Filling (great for eating standalone, on top of pasta, rice, etc.)
- Purple Chicken Ramen Recipe
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Overall Health Benefits of Eating Purple Foods
Purple foods, along with other fruits and vegetables with vibrant colours, are a nutritional powerhouse and if you ask me, they’re an excellent choice for adding to your dinner recipes. When you see produce with vibrant colours, that indicates that they’re packed with high concentrations of phytonutrients. Plus, purple vegetables are also a great source of dietary fiber (like most vegetables are).
Purple carrots as an example are not only full of essential nutrients, but also provide anthocyanin antioxidants as well as beta carotene like orange carrots which can have a positive impact on your eye health.
Like carrots, purple grapes also contain anthocyanins and their resveratrol content can help protect your cells from oxidative stress. Purple potatoes are pretty special as well, seeing as how they have 2 to 3 times the amount of antioxidants when compared with white potatoes. They’re also a great source of Vitamin C.
Blackberries and other deep/rich colored berries have been known to boost cognitive function as well as your mood. Overall, purple foods have the power to improve your immune system, fight free radicals, and support the overall function of the human body. If that’s not enough, colour-rich foods have anti-inflammatory properties which can help you move well and feel awesome.
When you add anthocyanin-rich foods to your diet, you’re not only adding a good source of vitamins, but you’re setting yourself up for long term success. To get the most out of these foods, make sure you wash and eat the peels where possible. With some purple fruits and vegetables, that’s where a lot of the added benefit comes from.
Answering Your Purple Food Questions
Do purple carrots taste the same as orange carrots?
Yes, purple carrots taste the same as orange carrots, and have the same function and weight as well. If a recipe calls for “carrots” you could use purple or orange, or even a combination of the two. Purple carrots can be peeled, sliced, shredded, juiced, and everything else in between, so have fun with them.
How can I make ice cream naturally purple?
I love that you want to include powerful plant compounds in your ice cream! Personally, I’d go with blackberries as a way to get a purple hue to your ice cream. What you’ll do is blend the blackberries on high speed in your blender, then strain it through a fine mesh sieve. This part is important because there are tonne of small seeds that you won’t want in your ice cream.
Once strained, use the blackberry purée as part of the liquid in your ice cream mix. How much you use will determine how intense the purple colour will be. Keep in mind though, blackberries have a distinct taste, so if you’re making a flavour that might clash with blackberries, you may want to use a different fruit such as purple grapes.
You can control how purple the final ice cream is by adjusting how much of the purée you use. Also, if you don’t want to go all in, you could make a blackberry ripple and mix that in when you churn your ice cream. Your ice cream machine’s manual should tell you about adding a ripple, so follow those instructions.
One other option is to use a freeze dried powder. You can get one for just about every fruit or vegetable these days, and you can blend the powder into your ice cream base, or use it to make a ripple as well.
Would red wine be considered a purple food?
I mean, red wine as purple is a stretch…. However, almond milk isn’t really milk (by legal definition), so why not? In certain lighting conditions one could argue that red wine totally looks like it has purple pigments, so I’m going to say yes. Plus! There are purple grapes, so we’re in the right ballpark.
Does purple cabbage taste the same as green cabbage?
No, purple cabbage doesn’t have the same taste or even texture as green cabbage. There are several varieties of green cabbage, and I’ll say that Napa Cabbage (has “ruffly” looking leaves” has one of the more distinct tastes in the green cabbage family, followed by cone shaped green cabbage.
A regular head of green cabbage has a somewhat mellow flavour and pairs well with a wide range of ingredients. Purple cabbage on the other hand has a more intense flavour and can almost have a sharp quality about it. However, it cooks up well and won’t throw off a recipe if you were to swap red/purple for green. I often pair purple cabbage with strong flavours and meats, and my kids love it.
How do I make purple rice?
Purple rice can be such a fun way to incorporate extra nutrition into your regular meals. Coloured rice, in my opinion, is also a great way to get creative with meals for little ones, and you can also use it as a teaching tool for toddlers who are currently learning colours, numbers, etc.
The easiest way to make purple rice is to start by juicing a head of purple cabbage. The end result is a juice that has a deep purple color, and is great for cooking. Use this liquid in conjunction with the water you’ll use to cook your rice. It’s up to you what the ratio is, but the more cabbage juice you use, the more intense the purple colour will be.
The alternative option is to cook your rice the way you normally would. Before serving, either pour some of the cabbage juice on top and mix it in very well, or, cook your rice on the stovetop in a little cooking fat/olive oil and add the juice. Be sure to mix well, and the juice will stain the white rice purple as it cooks. I’ve used this method quite a bit in the past, and it gives the rice a lovely purple hue.
Are there any drinks that are naturally purple?
There may be some sodas that are naturally purple if they’ve been made with purple fruits. However, then you’re adding a good amount of sugar to your day. You can easily make a purple drink at home by blending cashew, milk, and blackberries or blueberries together.
The milk will help dilute the colour so it comes across as more purple than black, and the cashews can give your drink body. Don’t add too much cashews though, or you end up with something that’s closer to a smoothie.
If you’d like a little sweetness in your drink, add a little maple syrup or honey.
