Everything You Need to Know About Amaranth

Amaranth is often called an ancient grain—the plant has been cultivated for over 8,000 years—but technically it’s not a grain at all. It belongs to the same botanical family as beets, chard, and spinach. Amaranth is highly adaptable and disease-resistant, and it’s a multi-use plant: In addition to its seeds, its sprouts, microgreens, and leaves are edible. Some varieties are grown just for their seeds, which are similar to whole grains culinarily and nutritionally, and can be used in place of them.

Most amaranth species are native to the Americas. Central and South American indigenous people started cultivating the plant millennia ago as a staple food and an ornamental (for its bright-colored flowers). The Aztecs considered it sacred, making offerings with the seeds for religious rituals and even fashioning a giant effigy of their warrior god out of amaranth dough. In the 16th century the Spanish conquistadors banned the plant’s cultivation, fearing that the spiritual connection with it would stymie the establishment of Catholicism on the continent. But the Incas and Mayans continued to grow amaranth.

When it comes to grains, many people stick with rice, wheat, and oats, says Sonya Angelone, MS, RDN, a national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Eating amaranth is a way to break out of that rut. “The more varied your diet, the more different types of healthy gut bacteria you have, which then helps you stay healthier because 70 percent of your immune system is in your gut,” she says.

What’s more, amaranth is “a perfect mix of protein and starches,” Blair says, “and within the protein it has amino acids [such as lysine] that are deficient in other whole grains we eat, like corn and rice.”

One cup of cooked amaranth has 9 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber. It also has more than four times as much calcium as wheat—153 vs. 34 mg, which is 12 percent of your daily need—and is a good source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, and B vitamins and vitamins C and E. Naturally gluten-free, it’s a good option for anyone who has celiac disease or is sensitive to gluten, Angelone says. Although amaranth has several antioxidants and other healthy plant nutrients, not enough research has been done in humans to determine if it might have a role in helping prevent chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and cancer.

Like other dark leafy greens, amaranth leaves (which, like chard, can range from red to green) are highly nutritious. They supply many of the same nutrients as the grain, but they’re lower in protein and higher in calcium, folate (a B vitamin), potassium, and selenium. 

Amaranth is a multipurpose staple you can adapt for sweet and savory dishes. For breakfast, you can cook it with water as you would a hot cereal—2 cups of water for every cup of amaranth, which will cook up to 2½ cups—and add fruit, nuts, and/or cinnamon, Angelone says. Or blend it into your favorite smoothie in place of chia seeds or flaxseeds.

You can also add it as a protein-rich thickener to chilis and soups. Or cook it like rice and add sautéed garlic and onions to make a side dish. “It ends up looking like a pilaf or a porridge, depending on how much water you put in,” Angelone says. She likes to make a batch of amaranth and add some greens and shrimp, chicken, or tofu for a one-pot dinner. You can also heat up a skillet, add the seeds, and cover the skillet to make popped amaranth.

Amaranth can also be sprouted from seeds; the sprouts are a wine-red color and can be added to salads. Amaranth leaves, when they’re small, can be used like other microgreens in salads. More mature leaves can be cooked in the same way you would spinach or kale.

It’s easy to grow amaranth in your garden, Blair says. Although some amaranth plants can grow to 8 feet, the veggie and seed varieties tend to top out at 3 to 4 feet. He suggests the Burgundy variety as a good option if you want to be able to eat the seeds, microgreens, and leaves.

Plant amaranth in full sun a month to six weeks after the last frost (amaranth thrives in warmer soil). After two weeks, thin out the plants (they’ll be no more than 3 inches tall) and voilà—they’re edible microgreens. After six weeks you can harvest and eat the leaves, which are similar to spinach and chard.

You can harvest the seeds after three to four months or an end-of-season freeze. Cut off the flower heads and let them dry out in a sunny spot. Then put them in a deep tray and crush them with your hands or a small rolling pin until the seeds start popping out. After that, the best way to separate the grassy chaff from the seeds, Blair says, is decidedly low-tech: Use a hair dryer on cool (no heat) at the lowest airflow setting. One plant can yield half a million seeds, about 2 pounds’ worth.