Matt Preston on the best way to cook silverbeet

May 22, 2026

It’s not the first time that Matt Preston has tried to make silverbeet sexy, and it won’t be the last. Here’s why it should be your leafy green of choice.

This is not the first time I’ve tried to give silverbeet a makeover. Too long it’s been the coarse older brother of baby spinach. Yet here is a veg that’s easy to grow and robust enough to stand up to the big comfort flavours we demand of the colder months. It’s also in season right now, so it offers good value for money. Here are six ideas for giving silverbeet a glow-up.

Silverbeet recipe ideas

Roasted chicken with silverbeet

Crispy chicken with braised white beans and silverbeet

Roast a butterflied chook at 200°C fan-forced on a bed of silverbeet, potatoes and fennel strewn with garlic, olive oil and thyme. This recipe allows the tasty juice of the chook to baste the vegies as they cook, while the addition of smoked paprika, lemon juice and cumin, fennel and coriander seeds adds even more fragrance.

Silverbeet filo toasties

This might be one of my favourite ideas. All the joys of spanakopita with the convenience of a toastie. Wilt loads of shredded silverbeet in a little oil. Squeeze over lemon juice. Cool a little and fold in crumbled feta and ricotta. Butter six sheets of filo in a stack. Use to line the bottom of your toastie machine. Push down and fill the resulting cavities with the filling. Layer more buttered sandwiched filo on top. Seal and toast. You can mix chopped mint and dill into the silverbeet filling if you want.

Silverbeet ‘sausage’ rolls

Silverbeet, pea and feta ‘sausage’ rolls

They call silverbeet the vegan’s friend because of how it can add bulk to dishes like these vegetarian rolls from chef Colin Fassnidge. A blitzed mix of feta, peas, mint, dill, shallot, breadcrumbs and nutmeg join shredded silverbeet in a filling that’s baked, rolled in puff, for 40 minutes at 180°C fan-forced.

Silverbeet pasta

If you can get your hands of some fresh, new-season olive oil, blend it with fresh silverbeet and plenty of grated pecorino to spoon over cooked pasta. The saltiness of the cheese should cut through any bitterness of the oil, but lemon zest or a pinch of salt can also help.

Silverbeet galette

Think of it as a rustic tart; the pastry edges are just folded over inwards to keep the filling in. The silverbeet galette recipe from Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards of Sydney’s Cornersmith fame ensures that the simple sour cream pastry holding the tart together gets equal billing. If you want to make a more formal tart, then we also have you covered with Victorian chef Jo Barrett’s recipe for a leek and silverbeet tart with pastry that’s frugally made from stale sourdough.

Silverbeet mac ‘n’ cheese

While lesser leaves risk melting into insignificance in robust, creamy, cheesy dishes like gratins or lasagne, silverbeet leaves are strong enough in form and flavour to not just survive but thrive. Try shredded silverbeet added to the bacon and cheese bechamel of a mac ‘n’ cheese. In Phoebe Wood’s recipe, grated celeriac is included too, which is nice, but not essential if you can’t find one. Plenty of garlic, caraway and fennel seeds already ensure that the cheese sauce has plenty going on.