Here are 9 Fabulous Chayote Recipes To Help Control Your Cholesterol

Kale is sooo old-school these days. Same goes with Cauliflower! The new veggie that is all the Pinterest buzz is chayote squash! And, if you’re wondering (and I know you are), it’s pronounced “chay-yo-tay.” I’ve got some great chayote recipes for you all today!

Chayote is also known as mirliton squash or vegetable pear because of its pear-esque shape and size. It’s also green on the outside and it’s fleshy inside is white. Chayote has a crunchy and mild “with a slightly sweet taste and light notes of cucumber,” according to Specialty Produce.

The whole vegetable is edible, and I mean that: the rind, flesh, seed, tendrils, flowers, even the roots can be eaten!

Chayote squash is a great source of vitamin C, vitamin B-6, folate, dietary fiber, and a ton of potassium. Some chayote recipes allow you to eat the veggie raw, shredding it into salads and/or slaws. But, it’s more generally cooked.

A very popular ingredient in Cajun, Hispanic, Indian and Filipino cuisines, but it’s slowly making its way into more common dishes. You can find it in farmers markets, as well as the produce section in most grocery stores.

Once you’ve got your new chayote, I’ve got 9 fabulous recipes for you to try!

1. Roasted Chayote with Garlic

To prepare the chayotes for roasting, after peeling, you slice them lengthwise into wedges. A generous dousing of olive oil and salt go on before a half hour of roasting.

After the first half hour of roasting the fries, go ahead and toss them in the thyme and garlic to season them, then back to roasting. Another 15-20 minutes of roasting should give your chayote fries a nice and crispy look. That goes for the taste as well!

2. Mexican Chayote Salad

This salad recipe is a flavorful and refreshing experience! Chayote is so easy to work with, you’ll be adding it to your plate in no more than 10 minutes! This salad does have a pretty long list of ingredients, but there are only 2 real steps. First, toss all your wet ingredients into a big bowl and whisk them together. After that, add in the radishes, chayote, avocado, jalapeno, and cilantro.

That’s all you need to do! Once you’ve got all that done you can either serve it immediately or cover the bowl and refrigerate for up to 5 days. As if it would even last the full 5 days..

3. Chayote Soup

If you’re like me, you’re a huge fan of potato soup. That is why I’m very excited about this next recipe: Sopa de Chayote! Or, to put it simply: Chayote soup! This amazing soup is creamy and comforting. Perfect for a cold, winter afternoon, or rainy day.

Chayote’s mild flavor can be substituted potatoes or zucchini in soups and stews if you’re looking for a little more zest. This delectable soup is topped with crispy bacon, freshly chopped cilantro, and irresistible Manchego cheese!

4. Chuchu Frito (Fried Chayote)

Although Chayote is a very common vegetable in Brazil, it’s usually considered to be a “less noble” ingredient. However, there are countless chayote recipes that are more “traditional” and completely contradict what is known about its delicate flavor.

If you’re looking for one of the most popular chayote recipes, you can’t get much better than fried! Take note, this is not your usually frying experience. Chayote has to be cooked by boiling first, then coated with egg and breadcrumbs or batter. The results are a little different, but oh so good! This dish is perfect as a side dish or appetizer!

5. Pickled Chayote

Chayote, also known as a vegetable pear, mirliton, or christophine, is practically begging to be pickled! Due to its high water content and mild flavor, chayote receives brine like you wouldn’t believe (quite well)! It’s also a gourd, which means it’s closely related to the cucumber, the great pickler.

If you’ve never pickled anything before, no worries. This recipe is super easy to follow and the directions take you step-by-step to get the perfect pickling! The creator of this recipe highly recommends using gloves to protect hands from a sticky fluid that oozes from the vegetable! Other than that, it’s all in the recipe. Good luck!

6. Chayote with Tomato & Green Chile

The cool thing about chayote, is it’s relation to zucchini, cucumber, and melons, as well as it’s strange taste of all three combined. Chayotes are a staple of Mexico and Costa Rica, and are making their way into popular American cuisine. You can eat them raw, cooked, fried, baked, broiled, sauteed, steamed, or mash.

This dish reminds me of summer zucchini, which is sauteed onions and tomatoes, served with cheese and melted together with the chayotes. Like zucchini, mild chayote is more of a terrific backdrop to bring out the more flavorful ingredients in the meal.

7. Chicken Tinola

From what I could gather, chicken tinola is 100% a Filipino meal. You won’t find anything like this dish anywhere else in the world for the most part. Tinola is one of those household meals that’s commonly served for either lunch or dinner. And, of course, don’t forget the rice.

To put it as simply as I can Tinola is chicken soup with a whole lot of ginger and deliciousness! Used as a common “sick day” soup much like we use American chicken noodle soup. It’ll keep you warm and comfy throughout the cold season! If you’re a fan of ginger, you’ll love this Chicken Tinola.

8. Chayote Squash Patties

You can learn how to prepare and cook your own chayote squash patties in this 15-minute recipe! If you’re vegetarian or vegan and are looking for a little more variety in your veggie burgers, this is the one for you!

There are so many different ways to prepare chayote recipes: slicing, peeling, pickling, etc. You’d prepare this batch of chayote patties in pretty much the same way as your usual veggie burgers (with a few extra flavors). You won’t feel sorry about checking out this amazing recipe!

9. Almond ‘Apple’ Crumble

I’ve compared chayote to a big variety of other foods: cucumber, zucchini, apples? That’s right! Chayote squash has a crisp, sweet, and oddly apple-like taste to it. This makes it great as a low carb apple substitute! So now, I’ve given you plenty of amazing lunches, dinners, and side dishes, well, now it’s time for a little dessert!

Traditionally used in more savory cuisines, chayote’s sweet taste works wonders with this ‘Apple’ Crumble. The creator of this recipe declares the importance of an apple extract (details on the recipe website). It brings your apple/chayote-related meals to a new level!

Unlike apples, chayote’s are not acidic. If you want to spice up your acid levels, use a little lemon juice. I suggest you start with 1 tablespoon and then add more to taste. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!