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Watercress

Peppery aquatic salad leaf used raw and in soups.

Watercress — illustrative ingredient image

About Watercress

Watercress is a leafy aquatic plant used as a salad green, garnish, sandwich filling, or soup ingredient. Its tender leaves and stems can be eaten raw, while cooking makes it suitable for soups, sauces, and warm vegetable dishes.

Raw watercress has a distinctly peppery, mustard-like flavour with a fresh, green quality. The leaves are tender and lightly crisp, and the stems may provide more snap. Heat softens the greens and mellows their peppery bite, with the final texture depending on whether they are briefly wilted or thoroughly cooked.

It is usually sold as bunches or loose leafy sprigs, with deep green leaves and slender stems. It may be rinsed and served whole, chopped into salads, wilted into hot dishes, or blended into soup. Removing thicker stems produces a softer, more uniform result.

Ingredient type
whole food

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Where watercress appears

2 linked foods

Find foods to recognise by country and type. Recipes and products vary; these are recorded ingredient connections.

Showing 1–2 of 2

Main dishes

Ingredient connections awaiting review · Coverage is still growing, including packaged snacks.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for watercress

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

watercress

English

watercress leaf (raw)

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Watercress, cooked

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

English

Watercress, raw

Search alias · Not a confirmed translation

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Watercress nutrition & diet

Watercress nutritional value

Watercress, raw

Per 100 g of the edible portion in the stated food form.

Calories
26.3kcal
Protein
2.9g
Carbs
0.8g
Fat
0.4g

Reference values apply to the named food form, not every preparation, variety or brand. © Food Standards Australia New Zealand. AFCD Release 3, food F009532. Available carbohydrate excludes sugar alcohols; energy converted from kJ to kcal (÷4.184). Australian data may not be appropriate for use in other countries. There are limitations associated with food composition databases. Food composition data used in the database or databases may represent an average of the nutrient content of a particular sample of foods and ingredients, determined at a particular time. The nutrient composition of foods and ingredients can vary substantially between batches and brands because of a number of factors, including changes in season, processing practices and ingredient source, and methods of calculation. Data licensed under the FSANZ Data User Licence Agreement, based on CC BY-SA 3.0 AU: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science-data/monitoringnutrients/afcd/datauserlicenceagreement.

Portions & preparation

Use the reference for fresh watercress leaves and tender stems, distinguishing raw salad portions from cooked or puréed preparations. Washing, trimming, wilting, and cooking affect the edible portion presented. Record dressings, oils, broths, dairy, or other ingredients separately rather than attributing the whole prepared dish to the leaf.

Compare the right form: Reference must match fresh watercress leaves and tender stems, raw or cooked, with trimming and any dressing or sauce excluded or identified.

Diet considerations

Watercress is plant-derived. Plain leaves differ from salads, soups, sauces, and sandwiches containing eggs, dairy, meat, seafood, oils, dressings, bread, or coatings. Compatibility therefore follows the complete preparation. Its carbohydrate pattern is portion-dependent and can change substantially when paired with cereal ingredients, sweet dressings, or starchy accompaniments.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Not established
  • Vegetarian
    Not established
  • Pescatarian
    Not established
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Not established
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Vegetarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Pescatarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Not established
The ingredient form and processing have not been assessed against this dietary pattern.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: Australian Food Composition Database, Release 3, 2025 — Watercress, raw ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .