Most people hardly think about cilantro until the discussion of what it tastes like comes up. Even though only four to 14 percent of Americans get a soapy taste when they eat cilantro, that hasn’t stopped a lot of people from shying away from it. If you’re one of them, you could be missing out on a few wonderful health benefits.
8 Surprising Health Benefits of Cilantro
1. It May Help With Cognitive Issues
Researchers need to conduct more studies on this benefit, but the initial results are promising. One study showed that it prevented nerve-cell damage and reduced seizures, while another showed an improvement in memory. This could be great news for people who are dealing with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
2. It May Help Your Anxiety
According to some recent studies, cilantro may be as effective as medication in alleviating the symptoms of anxiety. In one study with animals, the herb was shown to be as effective at controlling anxiety as diazepam. While more research is needed, it would be interesting to have an alternative to medication, as many anxiety drugs have side effects like nausea, fatigue, drowsiness, and confusion.
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3. It Can Help to Maintain Healthy Blood Sugar Levels
This benefit is little better known because many people who take medication for diabetes are told to reduce how much cilantro they eat because it can lower their blood sugar further than required. When researching cilantro, it was found that it has an enzyme that removes sugar from the blood. In some cases, it was as effective as medication that’s used to manage blood sugar.
4. It May Help With Weight Management
One issue that can bother people who are trying to maintain a healthy weight is that they sometimes have to eat bland food. Cilantro is a great way to add flavor to a healthy meal while barely moving the needle on the calorie scale. In fact, it takes a quarter cup of cilantro to almost get to one calorie.
5. It May Reduce Inflammation
Cilantro is a good source of antioxidants that can reduce inflammation and prevent cell damage. It’s important to pay attention to inflammation in the body as it can contribute to the development of chronic illnesses like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
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6. It Has Antibacterial Properties
Studies show that cilantro can have such strong antibacterial properties that it can help you combat the symptoms of a foodborne illness. One study even showed that it could be effective against certain infections that people are likely to pick up in the hospital.
7. It’s a Great Source of Antioxidants
As mentioned previously, cilantro contains antioxidants. These nutrients help prevent cell damage, which can help you reduce your risk of developing diseases caused by oxidative stress. This can include arthritis, stroke, cancer, respiratory diseases, and Parkinson’s disease.
8. It May Be Good for Your Bones
Cilantro also contains Vitamin K. Research shows that Vitamin K helps make osteocalcin, which helps improve bone density. According to some studies, a high daily intake of Vitamin K can lower your risk of fractures.
RELATED: Almond Hummus With Cilantro
How Much Should You Eat?
Currently, there are no food regulations about the consumption of cilantro. That means you can have as much as you want. What matters is that you prepare it properly. When raw, cilantro can be a source of bacteria. That’s why it’s good to wash and dry it thoroughly before eating–especially if you don’t plan to cook it.
While it’s rare, it’s important to note that some people can have an allergic reaction to cilantro. If you notice any itchiness, redness, or swelling after eating it, you should see your doctor.
5 Recipes You Should Try
1. West Lake Soup
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 8 ounces ground pork or minced beef fillet, or white fish fillets, such as cod or flounder, roughly chopped
- Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine
- 6 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water, to form a paste
- 4 egg whites, lightly beaten
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 ¼ cups finely chopped cilantro
Method:
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine meat with 1 teaspoon salt, soy sauce, and rice wine and set aside.
- Combine broth and cornstarch paste in a 3-quart saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until broth comes to a boil and thickens slightly. Reduce heat to a bare simmer.
- Add the marinated ground meat, stirring to break it up as you add it (stir gently if using fish). When the meat or fish is just cooked (about 30 seconds for meat or 2 minutes for fish), add egg whites by drizzling them into the simmering broth and stirring the broth around slowly with a pair of chopsticks.
- When egg whites are solidified, about 30 seconds longer, turn off the heat. Add white pepper and more salt to taste. Add chopped cilantro and stir around to incorporate. Serve immediately.
2. Split Fava Bean Dip
Servings: 10 – 12
Ingredients
For the Shallot-Infused Oil and Fried Shallots:
- 1 cup neutral frying oil, such as canola
- 10 medium shallots, thinly sliced
- Kosher salt
For the Bissara:
- 2 cups dried split fava beans, rinsed
- 2 cups packed fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems, divided
- 1 cup packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled, root end trimmed, and quartered lengthwise
- ¼ cup packed fresh dill
- 3 medium cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 green chile pepper, such as serrano, stemmed, seeded, and chopped (about 1 tablespoon), or ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
- 5 fresh mint leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon dry mint
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) shallot-infused oil (recipe above)
To Serve:
- 1 tablespoon shallot-infused oil
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- Fried shallots
- Store-bought pita chips
Method:
- For the Shallot-Infused Oil and Fried Shallots: In an 8-inch skillet, combine oil and shallots over medium-low heat, and cook, stirring often, until shallots are golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes.
- Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl. Transfer shallots to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain and season with salt. Set shallot-infused oil aside to cool.
- Store the fried shallots in an airtight container until you are ready to garnish the bissara. Store the shallot-infused oil in a clean jar.
- For the Bissara: Add the rinsed split fava beans to a large bowl; cover with cold water by at least 2 inches. Cover and set aside to soak overnight (at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours) at room temperature. The second day, transfer the beans to a colander and rinse well under cold water; drain.
- In a 7-quart Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, combine the fava beans, 1 cup cilantro, parsley, quartered onion, dill, whole garlic cloves, green chili pepper, mint, cumin, coriander, dry mint, paprika, pepper, and salt. Stir in broth and shallot-infused oil.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let the beans simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Your beans may finish cooking in less than an hour; continue simmering to reduce the liquid until to a thick porridge-like consistency. The beans should be soft and easy to crush with a fork. Make sure to stir every now and then so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely to room temperature, 60 to 90 minutes (mixture will thicken as it cools).
- Transfer cooled mixture to a food processor, add the remaining 1 cup fresh cilantro, and process until you reach a creamy consistency similar to hummus, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. In case the dip is anything less than vibrant green, just add some more fresh parsley or cilantro herbs to punch up the color. Taste the bissara and adjust the seasoning.
- Transfer the bissara back to the pot to reheat gently over low heat until just warm or serve at room temperature.
- To Serve: Transfer the bissara to a serving bowl and drizzle with shallot-infused oil, garnish with a flutter of paprika, and top with the fried shallots. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with pita chips and/or vegetable sticks.
3. Thai Style Shrimp Cakes
Servings: 12
Ingredients
1 pound medium or large shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or grated
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
Large handful fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems (plus extra for garnish)
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 large egg white
- ¼ to ½ cup panko-style breadcrumbs
- Peanut or canola oil, for frying
Method:
- Coarsely chop shrimp into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside. Reserve a few tablespoons of sliced scallion greens for serving.
- Combine garlic, jalapeño, remaining scallions, cilantro, lime zest, and a large pinch of salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until everything is finely minced. Add half of the shrimp, the mayo, the cornstarch, and the egg white. Pulse until the mixture forms a coarse paste, about 5 or 6 pulses. Add the remaining shrimp and pulse 2 or 3 times to combine everything. Some of the shrimp will be chunkier.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add 1/4 cup of the panko breadcrumbs. Fold in with a spatula or your hands. The mixture should be soft and should just hold its shape if you form a ball. If it’s too soft, add more breadcrumbs a little at a time until a ball just holds together. It will stiffen up more when it gets cold. Chill mixture for at least 30 minutes and up to a day.
- Once chilled, use wet hands and a tablespoon (or portioning scoop) to form the mixture into bite-size patties. Transfer to a large plate as you go. When all the patties are formed, heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Fry patties in batches until golden brown and cooked through, turning once, 3 to 4 minutes total.
- Serve warm, scattered with cilantro and finely sliced scallions along with a dipping sauce of your choice.
4. Mexican Vegan Stew
Servings: 5 – 6
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried posole (pozole/hominy)
- 3 dried chipotle peppers, stemmed
- 2 dried cascabel chiles, stemmed and torn
- 1 white (or yellow) onion, quartered
- 3 large shallots or 1 red onion, quartered
- 7 medium cloves garlic, whole
- 2 medium tomatoes, cored
- 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups cilantro, chopped (tender stems ok)
- 1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
- 5-6 cups water or vegetable broth
- 2-3 cups finely shredded green cabbage
- 2 makrut lime leaves, slivered (optional)
- 1 tablespoon tangerine or lemon olive oil
- Toppings of your choice
Method:
- Cooking dried posole is similar to cooking dried beans. To cook the posole kernels, rinse and pick over the kernels, cover with water, and let soak for at least six hours, or overnight. Drain, place in a large pot, and cover with a few inches of water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about an hour, or until a good percentage of the kernels blossom. Drain, reserving the broth, and set aside. If you’re making this ahead of time, both the broth and the cooked posole kernels (drained) freeze well.
- On hot, dry comal, cast iron pan, or under a broiler, toast the dried chiles for about a minute. Remove and soak the chiles in scalding water. Blister the onion, shallots, garlic, and tomato in the same way while the chiles soak. You’re after some blistering on all sides, it’ll take 15 mins or so. Peel the garlic when soft and transfer to a blender along with the blistered onion, shallots and tomato. Drain the chiles and add them to the blender along with the salt. Puree.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Carefully pour the pureed chile sauce into the pan – it should be hot enough to sizzle. Simmer for ten minutes and remove from heat. Stir in the cilantro, oregano and 1 cup of the water or broth. Pulse with a hand blender.
- Add 4 more cups of water or broth and the cooked posole, bring back to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the cabbage and makrut lime leaves, if using. Adjust with more water/broth and more salt if needed. Finish with the tangerine or lemon oil and serve with lots of toppings.
5. Otsu
Servings: 5 – 6
Ingredients
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- Fresh ginger, cut into a 1-inch cube, peeled, and grated
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¾ teaspoon cayenne
- ¾ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ cup unseasoned brown-rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup shoyu, soy sauce, or tamari
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 12 ounces dried soba noodles
- 12 ounces extra-firm tofu
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced
- 1 small handful of cilantro sprigs, for garnish
- ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
Method:
- Make the dressing by combining the zest, ginger, honey, cayenne, and salt in a food processor (or use a hand blender) and process until smooth. Add the lemon juice, rice vinegar, and shoyu, and pulse to combine. With the machine running, drizzle in the oils. Taste and make any needed adjustments.
- Cook the soba in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water just until tender, then drain and rinse under cold running water.
- While the pasta is cooking, drain the tofu, pat it dry, and cut it into rectangles roughly the size of your thumb (½ inch thick and 1 inch long). Cook the tofu in a dry nonstick (or well-seasoned) skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until the pieces are browned on one side. Toss gently once or twice, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba, the 1/4 cup cilantro, the green onions, cucumber, and about 1/2 cup of the dressing. Toss until well combined. Add the tofu and toss again gently.
- Serve on a platter, garnished with the cilantro sprigs and the toasted sesame seeds.
Cilantro has several health benefits that many people don’t know about. That’s likely why only a few Americans regularly incorporate cilantro into their meals. Thankfully, it’s never too late to start using more of the amazing herb in your dishes so you can reap all the benefits.
