Like many weeds, lambs quarters self seeds, so they are up and established weeks before your regular garden. Also called goose foot – lambs quarters is a relative of spinach and quinoa. Sometimes known as wild spinach, and considered a weed in most gardens, it deserves more credit than it usually gets. Highly nutritious, tasting similar to spinach but more tender, rich in Vitamins A, C and E, essential fatty acids, iron, calcium, minerals and antioxidants.
Name:
I always thought the name was curious and so odd. Apparently, it comes from “Lammas quarter“, an old English harvest festival celebrating the first grain harvest at the beginning of August. Lammas means “loaf mass” in Old English, originating from two words meaning bread and festival. It seems the name evolved from “Lammas” to “lamb’s” over time. It may have had nothing to do with ‘lambs’ except that it likely was a field green they liked to eat. Certainly, it was an abundant green that people liked to eat as well.
Identifying:
I’ve heard many people call it pigweed, and fair enough they look similar. Sometimes pigweed is simply an easy name to call all sorts of weeds that look similar and are often given to pigs, but more precisely both lambs quarters and pigweed are in the amaranth family. That may not help much, because there are officially 42 types of amaranth in North America. For the record, red rooted amaranth IS red rooted pigweed.
Leaves: Young leaves are often opposite and become alternate as the plant matures. They are triangular to diamond-shaped, sometimes resembling a goose foot (often called Goosefoot).
Powdery Coating: The most distinctive feature is a whitish, dusty powder on new growth and the underside of leaves.
Stems: They are succulent, hairless, and frequently have reddish, purple, or light green lengthwise stripes.
Flowers: Small, grey-green, roundish flowers grow in tight clusters at the top of the stalk or in leaf axils.
Size: Generally grows 2 to 3 feet tall but can reach up to 6 feet.
Edible Parts: All parts are edible and nutritious, but the best-tasting and easiest to eat are the young leaves. Once the plant matures, energy goes into flowering, seeding and growing taller so the seeds can be more widely dispersed.
Location: Grows best in full sun to partially sunny areas, including gardens, roadsides, fields, and disturbed soil.
Growing Season: Germinates early in the season, with peak growth in late spring to early summer. After that, it begins going to seed, with less energy devoted to the leaves – but no matter, it’s filled its job of providing us with early greens, and it can step into the background while other garden greens become the focus.
What if nature gave you a FREE vegetable that is super nutritious, cold-hardy, and fed you while you waited for the rest of your garden to produce?
Oh Wait! It did!
Surely you recognize lambs quarters as a common weed in your garden. I did, and I was trained to look at all weeds as the enemy and to get rid of them. At the same time, I was a big fan of spinach, but when the spring weather warmed up, spinach would bolt – which means that a plant prematurely produces a flowering stem and goes to seed. This usually happens as a result of heat or stress. The plant takes its cues from hotter, longer, rainless days, and goes into the next phase of its life. It stops producing edible leaves or roots to focus energy on reproduction. Bolting commonly affects lettuce, chard, spinach, cilantro, broccoli and onions. It is irreversible, but you can break off the stem to buy yourself a few more days, and harvest all you can while you still can.
*tip: to prevent bolting, plant the affected plants earlier in the season when the weather is still cool, provide shade during heatwaves and keep the plants well watered.
This would be a big frustration to me. Had I understood that spinach should be planted much earlier, (at least a month earlier) when the spring was still cold, I would have been less frustrated. At the same time, while I was mourning the loss of spinach, I noticed lambs quarters in my garden living its best life. It seemed to be snubbing its nose at me – this incorrigible WEED. I also noticed that it tasted good (yes I tasted it). One day the light went on so-to-speak. “Why am I knocking my head against a brick wall trying to grow spinach, when this weed that tastes so much like it, WANTS TO GROW? Why am I ripping it out and feeling sorry for myself because my spinach hates me?” My story changed that day.
I looked into Lambs Quarters, and discovered it had much to offer a gardener with an open mind. I opened my mind.
Lambs Quarters in the Kitchen
* tip: Like spinach, beet greens, swiss chard and most other greens lambs quarters contains some oxalic acid which, when eaten raw in large quantities, can inhibit calcium absorption.
These plants are so loaded with calcium, however, that the amount of calcium not absorbed due to oxalic acid is minimized. Its a good idea to rotate your ‘greens’ for that reason anyway. Variety is always a good thing. Individuals with kidney issues, gout or arthritis – know that oxalic acid should be consumed in moderation.
Lambs Quarters is highly nutritious, with a taste similar to spinach, and is often used in salads, sautéed, or blanched. The black seeds are edible and are an excellent source of vegetable protein.
The underside of Lamb’s Quarters’ leaves and the top of the new leaves are covered in a fine whitish or pinkish ‘dust’. Resist the temptation to wash it off, as it is full of calcium and protein. Lambs quarters contains more protein than kale, more iron than spinach, and it WANTS to grow in your garden. You don’t even need to plant it; it is so comfortable that it invites itself to the party. You’ve gotta respect that quality.
The stems and leaves can be eaten raw, steamed, or sautéed; used in any way and in any recipe calling for spinach: scrambled eggs, omelets, fresh as a green in sandwiches, in a mixed green salad, or in a green breakfast smoothie. Add some to your next spaghetti sauce, soup, or fried rice. Use them in your favourite “spinach dip”.
recipe:
Korean Lambs Quarters Side Dish
Serves 2-4
10 oz lambs quarters (300 g) young leaves and stems
3 tablespoons doenjang (soybean paste)
1 tablespoon gochujang (hot pepper paste)
2 garlic cloves minced
1 green onion chopped
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Directions
1. Boil 3 quarts of water. Blanch the lamb’s quarters for about 1 to 2 minutes, until the leaves are tender.
2. Strain and rinse them in cold water a couple of times to stop them from cooking and to remove any grit.
3. Strain and squeeze out any excess water. If the leaves and stems are too long, cut them a few times into bite-sized pieces.
4. Put them into a mixing bowl and add soybean paste, hot pepper paste, garlic, green onion, and toasted sesame oil.
5. Mix by hand until all the leaves are well coated with the seasonings, and have absorbed them. You can wear disposable plastic gloves if you want.
6. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and transfer to a serving plate.
Serve as a side dish to rice. Toss in or garnish with sundried tomatoes if desired.
When I am in my garden, I will often pick the tender new plants and eat them while I work. I never pull them to get rid of them. They’re much too valuable for that, I just break them off, hoping they’ll come back and offer more. I’ll throw them into early season salads, and combine with other greens that I steam, including our favourite: spanakopita.1 (read more about Spanakopita here)
Back to that nasty rumour about lambs quarters being considered a ‘common weed’.
It’s true. Officially. But don’t listen to that sorta ridicule. Those other plants are just jealous.
Who cares what people call it? “Weed” is just a word. Don’t be unkind or avoid eating it. It’s not it’s fault that some uneducated person gave it such a rude nickname.
5 Facts:
1. Lambs quarters is cold-hardy, and heat-tolerant. That’s quite a talent.
2. Because it self-seeds, it will grow before any of your cultivated greens have even germinated.
3. It WANTS to grow in your garden. It WANTS to be your friend. And it’s FREE.
4. It is a versatile, nutrient-dense substitute for spinach or chard in nearly any recipe.
5. It deserves to be accepted on its own merit, not indiscriminately discarded because of some misunderstanding carried over from a previous generation.
Here’s to Lambs Quarters!
Enjoy it.
Warmly,
Cindy Suelzle
- link to my recipe for SPANAKOPITA https://backyardcityhomestead.com/2025/08/21/homemade-greek-spanakopita/ ↩︎
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