Vegetables are a significant part of many cuisines globally. They’re some of the most versatile ingredients that can be cooked or eaten raw.
If vegetables are essential ingredients in your daily diet, you might have seen some that contain seeds. Some seed vegetables take time to prepare as you must de-seed them. This is especially true for vegetables whose seeds taste bitter. Other vegetables have tiny seeds that you can eat or cook together.
So, what vegetables have seeds? Before you head to the grocery, we’ll help you identify vegetables with seeds. Let’s dig in.
Contents
10 Vegetables With Seeds
Most people find it challenging to differentiate vegetables with seeds from fruits. A botanist will tell you that any vegetable with seeds is a fruit. This might be the case for tomatoes, pumpkins, and cucumbers. However, we categorize these fruits as culinary vegetables because we primarily use them for cooking.
Below is our list of vegetables that have seeds:
Peppers
Peppers are seed vegetables commonly used in spicy or savory dishes. They are available in different colors, sizes, and shapes. Peppers can be sweet or fiery hot.
The most common peppers include bell, banana, poblano, and Fresno peppers. You can eat peppers raw as your on-the-go snack or add them to your salad or sandwich. Alternatively, you can cook peppers by adding them to stews, soups, pasta sauces, or rice.
Before adding fresh pepper to your dish, slice them up and remove the seeds. Pepper seeds are not spicy. The spiciness comes from the pepper’s pith and ribs.
Peppers do more than make your food spicy or hot. They provide our bodies with Vitamin A and C, folic acid, fiber, and potassium.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are seed vegetables used in various recipes. They’re versatile, especially when fresh. You can use fresh tomatoes in sauces, salads, soups, baked dishes, and grilled items. If you’re a fan of fried dishes, you can use tomatoes as a specialty vegetable.
Tomatoes vary in shape, size, and color. You’ll usually find pink, purple, orange, and white tomatoes at the grocery store. They’re also available in multiple varieties, including cherry, grape, Roma, heirloom, beefsteak, and green tomatoes.
When you cut open your tomatoes, you’ll find seeds inside. Thankfully, tomato seeds are nutritious and delicious, so you don’t have to throw them away. They’re rich in Vitamin C, which can boost your immunity.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers are nutritious seed vegetables prized for their versatility. You can use cucumbers in scrumptious dishes such as salads, soups, pickles, and sandwiches.
They’re green, long vegetables that can be cooked or eaten raw. Garden-fresh cucumbers are great on-the-go summer snacks when eaten raw. Alternatively, you can chop and slice up your raw cucumbers and add them to your tasty spreads.
Removing the seeds is necessary whether you prefer to cook or eat raw cucumbers. Their seeds have a bitter flavor that might overpower the desired flavor. Removing seeds is also a great way of reducing the crunchy texture of cucumbers.
Despite adding a refreshing taste to your meal, cucumbers are highly nutritious. They contain Vitamins C and K, potassium, magnesium, and manganese.
Eggplants
If you’re wondering what vegetables have seeds, eggplants are one of them. These short-season seed vegetables can grow in your home garden in the late spring. You can also buy them at grocery stores to prepare delicious dishes.
Eggplants come in multiple varieties, all having unique characteristics. The most common eggplants include Italian, graffiti, Japanese, fairy tale, white and Indian eggplants. Depending on the type, eggplants can be large or small, rounded or oblong.
Eggplant seeds are small and edible. However, they can be bitter to some extent. You can cook the seeds with the rest of the eggplant to eliminate any bitter taste.
Eggplants are nutrient-rich vegetables containing Vitamin C and K, fiber, manganese, and potassium.
Zucchinis
Zucchinis are seed vegetables that resemble cucumbers. They’re typically green but can vary in shape and size. Upon harvest, zucchinis are long, cylindrical, egg-shaped, or round.
If you dread de-seeding your vegetables, you should not worry if zucchini is part of your ingredients. Zucchini seeds are edible and won’t affect the flavor and texture of the vegetable. The seeds have zero flavor/texture impact when the zucchini is harvested when immature.
If you allow your zucchini to mature, you can remove the seeds and roast, cook or eat them raw. The seeds are nutty and can make part of your daily snacks. They are also excellent sources of protein, fiber, healthy fats, and Vitamins A and C.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is a nutritious vegetable. It can be used in many recipes, such as soups, rice, pizza, pasta, and tacos. Remember, the cauliflower head produces seeds when left unpicked. So if you want to prepare these dishes, pick the head in the first growing season.
Cauliflower seeds emerge in the plant’s second growing season. You don’t have to throw the cauliflower away after producing seeds. Sundry the seeds and grind them into powder. This powder can be a nutritious additive to your smoothies.
Alternatively, press the seeds to get the oil. You can use the oil to prepare meals or make a lotion for treating your skin.
You can also dry your cauliflower seeds and plant them in your home garden.
Carrots
When looking for the answer to what vegetables have seeds, it’s necessary to know that some vegetables don’t have seeds within them. Some root vegetables, such as carrots, grow seeds on their flowers.
Since carrots are biennial plants, we eat the root before the flower and seeds develop. If you have planted carrots in your home garden, you can use the tuber in your soups, salads, and cakes. You can also roast them or eat them raw.
If you allow your carrots to produce seeds, harvest and dry them. You can use carrot seeds as a salad ingredient. Alternatively, eat them raw or fry them to eat as snacks. These seeds contain Vitamins C and E and essential oils.
Beets
Beets are root vegetables commonly found in grocery stores. They are available in different colors like purple, red, and white. Most people love beetroots due to the sweet taste they add to food. You can use beetroot in your salads, sandwiches, milkshakes, and soups.
Like carrots, beet seeds don’t grow within the beetroot. They attach to the flower stalks when the beet grows into the second season.
Beet seeds are delicious when eaten as snacks. You can also crush them and sprinkle them on your salads and toasts. Beetroots and beet seeds contain Vitamins C and B9, fiber, iron, and potassium.
Beans
Beans are popular vegetables used in different cuisines across the world. They grow inside the pods of the bean plant.
Bean seeds are available in over 100 different types. The most common ones include kidney, black, cannellini, chickpeas, pinto, and Lima beans. They can be black, white, green, creamy, red, or purple.
Beans are protein-rich vegetables, making them essential ingredients for vegetarians. You can use beans in soups, stews, salads, burritos, and tacos.
Peas
Peas are vegetables used in various recipes, especially when freshly green. They’re usually sold when fresh or frozen in grocery stores and supermarkets. However, you can use dried peas to make tasty soups and stews.
Like beans, pea seeds grow inside the pod. They can be green, purple, black, and yellow.
Besides eating them as vegetables, you can add them to other foods such as stir-fries. You can also put them in your salads to add crunch. If you want to be more creative, roast the seeds, and add salt and pepper to make tasty snacks.
Peas contain Vitamins B and C, magnesium, fiber, and proteins.
What Vegetables Have Seeds?
Hopefully, the list above has answered this question. While it’s not an exhaustive list, you can identify vegetables with seeds in the grocery store. You can add these vegetables and their seeds to your dishes when making tasty meals. Alternatively, you can de-seed the vegetables, dry the seeds and plant them in your home garden.
Hello! My name is Chris, and I am the founder of Yard Floor. When I was a toddler, my family had a lush green lawn. I was at the center of caring for and maintaining this lawn and even proceeded to take an associate’s Degree in landscaping. I am here to share my years of experience with you – be it repairing your mower/tractor or caring for your lawn.