The Secret Ingredient for Keeping Your Veggies Vibrantly Colorful (2024)

Updated: Dec. 19, 2023

Boiling vegetables is one of the fastest and easiest ways to make a healthy meal. If done right, it keeps your vegetables crunchy and helps them retain most of their valuable nutrients. Plus, you don’t get any of the added fat or sugar from breading, glazes or other marinades. With fresh, ripe spring veggies, this simple method is one of the best ways to truly enjoy the full flavor of the vegetables.

The only downside? When you go to boil those vegetables for dinner, it can be oh-so-easy to overcook them. And then those poor veggies turn them from a gorgeous, vibrant green to an unappetizing grey or brownish color. Yuck! Fortunately, there’s an easy trick for slowing down the discoloration process so that your vegetables stay green and crunchy when you boil them. Better yet, it all comes down to one workhouse cleaning agent you probably already have in your pantry.

How to Keep Vegetables Colorful

CentrallTAlliance/Getty Images

The trick to keeping your vegetables colorful while boiling them is to add baking soda to the pot of water. The addition of baking soda will turn your water alkaline (or basic), as opposed to acidic.

But how and why does this happen? To understand why baking soda’s alkalinity keeps vegetables bright, it’s important to first understand how chlorophyll functions in vegetables.

How Baking Soda Affects Chlorophyll

Simply put, chlorophyll is the element that makes veggies so green. And when it is in an acidic environment, hydrogen replaces the magnesium in the core of the chlorophyll. Finally, when the magnesium is leached out of the chlorophyll, the chlorophyll goes dull and the vegetables turn grayish.

Because baking soda lessens the acidity of the cooking water, it also slows down the chlorophyll dulling process, thereby keeping the veggies greener for longer.

Things to Keep in Mind When Using the Baking Soda Hack

When trying the baking soda hack in your own kitchen, using the appropriate amount is key. Be sure to only use a pinch—less than 1/8 of a teaspoon—for a full pot of water. If you use more than that, you run the risk of imparting a bitter flavor to your vegetables.

Additionally, only use this hack for green vegetables, such as artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, green beans, kale, lettuce, snap peas or spinach. These vegetables have the highest chlorophyll content and therefore the highest potential of browning while boiling and staying green with baking soda.

And finally, because baking soda—sodium bicarbonate—does contain sodium, if you are on a low-sodium diet, this may not be the hack for you. While the amount of salt is minimal, it can still be impactful if you are on a strict health regimen.

Spring Vegetable Recipes You'll Love

1 / 40

Asparagus-Spinach Pasta SaladFresh spinach, crunchy cashews and penne pasta are tossed with roasted asparagus to create this delightful spring salad. —Kathleen Lucas, Trumbull, ConnecticutGet Recipe

Spinach Salad with Rhubarb DressingSpinach salad is excellent with this tangy topping, which really perks it up. A friend shared a similar salad dressing recipe with me and I modified it a bit. The rhubarb adds rosy color and mouthwatering flavor.—Twila Mitchell, Lindsborg, Kansas

Go to Recipe

Sauteed Tarragon Radishes Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Sauteed Tarragon RadishesWho says radishes only belong in salads? These sauteed radishes are cooked in wine and tarragon, and may just change the way you look at radishes forever. They can be served on their own, or added to your favorite au gratin recipe. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen

Go to Recipe

Roasted Carrots with ThymeThese roasted carrots are so simple but always a hit. Cutting the carrots lengthwise makes this dish look extra pretty.—Deirdre Cox, Kansas City, Missouri

Go to Recipe

Spring AsparagusThis fresh and colorful side dish is delicious served warm or cold. I get lots of compliments on the homemade dressing. —Millie Vickery, Lena, Illinois

Go to Recipe

Taste of Home

Lemon Garlic MushroomsI baste whole mushrooms with a lemony sauce to prepare this simple side dish. Using skewers or a basket makes it easy to turn them as they grill to perfection. —Diane Hixon, Niceville, Florida

Go to Recipe

Herby Pea SaladWe love spring vegetables. One Mother's Day I came up with this flavorful green salad that everyone enjoyed. You could increase the dressing and mix in some cooked small pasta, like acini de pepe, to make it a more robust salad. —Ann Sheehy, Lawrence, Massachusetts

Go to Recipe

Taste of Home

Winters can be very long here in New Hampshire. I always look forward to the first veggies of spring and making some lighter dishes like this fresh salad. —Jolene Martinelli, Derry, New Hampshire

Go to Recipe

Citrus Rainbow CarrotsI grow lots of carrots and I’m always experimenting with ways to serve them. The first time I made this citrusy recipe for my husband, he said it tasted like Christmas! Although he calls them my "Christmas carrots," they're tasty anytime; I especially like serving them at Easter, with the array of carrots available in early spring. It's easy to prepare, and can easily be doubled to serve a large group. To save time, I sometimes cut up the carrots several days in advance. —Sue Gronholz, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin

Go to Recipe

Lemon Couscous with Broccoli Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Lemon Couscous with BroccoliI combined two recipes to create this side with broccoli and pasta. The splash of lemon adds nice flavor. Instead of toasted almonds, you could also sprinkle servings with grated Parmesan cheese. —Beth Dauenhauer, Pueblo, Colorado

Go to Recipe

Simple Lemon Parsley PotatoesFor a simply delicious side dish, I often prepare these potatoes. I like the fact that there are few ingredients and they take such little time to prepare.—Dorothy Pritchett, Wills Point, Texas

Go to Recipe

Chinese Spinach-Almond Salad Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Chinese Spinach-Almond SaladThis recipe combines power-packed spinach, a good source of vitamins A and K, with other veggies, lean meat and crunchy, heart-healthy almonds. Reduced-fat dressing adds a light Asian flavor and touch to each hearty serving.Mary Ann Kieffer - Lawrence, Kansas

Go to Recipe

I first tasted roasted green beans in a Chinese restaurant and fell in love with the texture and flavor. This is my Americanized version and it's always a big hit at our holiday table. —Lily Julow, Lawrenceville, Georgia

Go to Recipe

Totally scrumptious and packed with nutrition, this salad was my response to friends who asked how they could incorporate kale into their diets without sacrificing taste. It is also wonderful made with collard or mustard greens, prepared in the same fashion as the kale, or with a mix of spinach & arugula or watercress. —Elizabeth Warren, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Go to Recipe

Radish Asparagus SaladLemon zest and mustard in the dressing add the perfect punch to crisp asparagus and crunchy radishes in this fresh spring salad. My family loves it! —Nancy Latulippe, Simcoe, Ontario

Go to Recipe

Air-Fried RadishesRadishes aren't just for salads anymore. These fried radishes make a colorful side for any meal. Plus, they're quick to make in your air fryer. —Taste of Home Test Kitchen, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Go to Recipe

Taste of Home

Bacon and Broccoli SaladYou'll want to serve this family-friendly broccoli salad with bacon year-round. The broccoli gets a big-time flavor boost from bacon, toasted pecans, dried berries and a mayo dressing. —Cindi Read, Hendersonville, Tennessee

Go to Recipe

Marmalade Candied CarrotsMy favorite way to make baby carrots is to steam them, then drizzle with an orangey glaze that makes them candy-sweet. —Heather Clemmons, Supply, North Carolina

Go to Recipe

Garlic-Sesame Green Beans Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Garlic-Sesame Green BeansSauteed bits of garlic and shallot, with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds, turn ordinary beans into something special. Keep the recipe in mind for your garden crop in summer. —Deirdre Cox, Kansas City, Missouri