Simple Sundays: 5 Way To Cook With Ramps + Ramp Butter

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This post explains how to prepare ramps, how to cook ramps, and what these wild onions are. I’m also giving you a ramp butter recipe, plus I’m sharing 5 more ramps recipes!

wild ramps on dark background

What Are Ramps?

Heyya! Welcome to my newest series, Simple Sundays! I’ve been longing to get back into checking in more than once a week so I’ve decided having a simple recipe or even round-up on Sundays may be my answer. This series won’t run every Sunday but I’m hoping it’ll be a good excuse for me to pop in more often in addition to my extensive weekly posts (that really do take a long time to put together).

This week I’m talking about the my favorite spring produce: ramps! These spring onion gems are known by all sorts of different names: wild ramps, spring ramps, wild onion ramps, onion ramps, and wild leek ramps. For anyone not familiar with ramps, as you can guess by the names, they are a wild onion that taste a bit like a mix between onions and garlic. Their growing season is so short and limited that they’ve gained a cult following as food associated with early spring (and are rather hard to get your hands on since most grocery stores do not carry them).

If you live in the Eastern US and some part of the Midwest, check your local farmer’s market in April and May to try and get your hands on a batch so you too can cook with ramps.

read more: My 10 Favorite Spring Recipes Worth Making This Weekend

easy ramps recipes

5 Easy Ramps Recipes

Once you’ve acquired your first batch of spring ramps, you are probably a bit confused on how to prepare them, yeah? Since they can be rather strong tasting, I do recommend cooking (sauteing, blanching, etc) them before adding to your dish.

You can use ramps anywhere that you might use spring onions or scallions, but let me help you with 5 suggestions for how I like to cook with ramps:

1. Ramp Butter

This may be my favorite way to prepare wild ramps since it’s so beyond easy and such a great way to fancy up a dish. My favorite way to enjoy ramp butter is on salty baked or smashed potatoes. Ramp butter would also be excellent in savory oatmeal or tossed with fresh pasta. /// RECIPE: See below!

2. Spring Quiche

Throw them into eggs. My first encounter with ramps was a quiche I made in 2014. It’s such a great way to showcase these spring onions without making them the center of attention.  /// RECIPE: Loaded Vegetable Spring Quiche.

3. Ramps on Toast

Sautéed on toast. If you haven’t noticed a pattern already, the key for me to is to keep the preparation simple to really enjoy the flavor. Sometimes all you need is a little lemon juice and thick sliced bread. /// RECIPE: Simple Sautéed Ramps with White Beans.

4. Spring Salad

Toss them into a salad! Greens are just starting to pop up again in most areas of the US so why not utilize them in a big spring salad. Just don’t forget to cook the ramps a bit first to tame their flavor. /// RECIPE: Vegetarian Wheatberry Spring Salad.

5. Spring Ramen Soup

Throw them into a soup or stew. They work great in place of any recipe that might call for spring onions so find a favorite veggie heavy soup and mix them on in! /// RECIPE: Vegetarian Spring Ramen.

ramp butter in gray bowl

What’s Needed for Ramp Butter?

In today’s blog post, I’m sharing my go-to ramp butter recipe (which is probably my favorite ramps recipe ever since it’s so easy to make!). Here’s what you’ll need to make ramp butter:

  • Ramps
  • Unsalted butter
  • Lemon juice
  • Salt and pepper

How to Make Ramp Butter

As I’ve already mentioned, ramp butter couldn’t be easier to make! Here are the basic steps to making this ramps recipe at home:

  1. Wash the spring ramps thoroughly (I’ve given instructions on how to do so in the recipe card below).
  2. Cut the ramps into small chunks, then sauté in butter until softened.
  3. Add all the ramp butter ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth.

How Long Does Ramp Butter Last?

If stored in an airtight container in the fridge, this homemade ramp butter should last up to 1 week.

ramp butter in gray bowl

Tips for Making Ramp Butter

Cooking the wild ramps is a key step in this recipe. The wild ramps need to soften a bit before you blitz them up in the butter, otherwise the texture and flavor won’t be right.

I used unsalted butter in this ramps recipe, but you’re welcome to use salted if that’s all you have on hand. Just keep in mind that using salted butter means you won’t need to add any additional salt!

Ramp butter can be enjoyed atop potatoes, toast, savory oatmeal, pasta, bagels, and more!

Want More Vegetarian Spring Recipes?

5 from 4 votes
Ramp Butter
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
10 mins
 

Today we cover 5 way to cook with ramps which will included tips on how to prepare ramps, how to cook ramps, what these wild onions are, recipes with ramps, and a recipe for ramp butter.

Course: Sauce, starter
Cuisine: Vegetarian
Keyword: ramp butter, ramps
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 110 kcal
Author: Shelly Westerhausen
Ingredients
  • 4 oz ramps (1 bunch, or about 5 medium), roots trimmed off and cut into small chunks (green and white parts)
  • 8 Tbsp unsalted butter , divided
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • Salt , to taste
  • Pepper , to taste
Instructions
  1. Wash the ramps thoroughly. My method for this is chopping them and then placing them in a bowl of cold water and stirring them around. I then scoop them out of the water (after letting the dirt settle to the bottom) and dry them with a clean dish towel.
  2. Heat 1 Tbsp butter in a small saucepan over medium and add ramps. Let sauté for about 5 minutes or until completely softened. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

  3. Transfer ramps, remaining butter, lemon juice, and a dash of salt and pepper to a food processor. Process until a green butter has formed (I like to keep a few chunks of ramps in my butter but you can process longer if you'd rather have it creamier).

  4. Serve right away or transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Nutrition Facts
Ramp Butter
Amount Per Serving
Calories 110 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 7g44%
Cholesterol 30mg10%
Sodium 1mg0%
Carbohydrates 2g1%
Vitamin A 595IU12%
Vitamin C 2.4mg3%
Calcium 12mg1%
Iron 0.3mg2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Comment

17 Comments

  • Kankana
    April 17, 2017

    That looks SO GOOD! Breakfast would sure get elevated with that. I love making flavored butter 🙂

  • Herb and Green Tomato Salsa
    September 10, 2017

    […] true to the simple Sunday philosophy, I’ll keep this short! I love making this sauce when my garden is overflowing (or on […]

  • Trish
    March 30, 2020

    Terrible picture of the incorrect way to sustainably harvest ramps!!!! Leave the roots and part of the bulb!!!

    • Shellywest
      Trish
      March 30, 2020

      Hey Trish – totally hear you on this! These are from my farmer’s market and the guy picks them off his property like this. If I was foraging them myself, I’d definitely harvest them in a sustainable way. Thanks for visiting!

    • John Mason
      Trish
      April 11, 2020

      Sustainability
      The overused word of 2018.
      We are fortunate, they are so thick in the woods around my house there is no need to worry and fret over digging a mess of a very common woodland plant.

    • Mother Nature
      Trish
      April 18, 2020

      Or don’t be a muppet and only harvest a few from a patch and don’t be lazy , find more than one patch to harvest from . Looking at you Trish !

    • William Pasco
      Trish
      March 20, 2021

      Yada yada blah blah! Fact is, ramps grow from seeds…!

      • Diann
        William Pasco
        April 20, 2021

        Not easily grown from seed, Smart Man. Check it out, then try it, and give your “yada yada yada” stuff a permanent vacation.

        • Stephen Kish
          Diann
          May 18, 2021

          I have wild ramps that have growing my little garden now for over 10 years. I transplanted the entire plants at first and I really don’t harvest from the garden with these. I kind of use them as an indicator of when to visit the Woods in the Spring. They produce seeds every year so they will grow from seeds. Easier to start out with the whole plants though.

  • Suzanne
    May 6, 2020

    I enjoy the leafy part of the ramp the most, so harvesting, leaving the bulb intact allows the patch to flourish and me to have an endless supply of ramps for many years since I have been foraging these in the same patches for 2+ decades. The ramp butter is a nice addition to my ramp repertoire of soups, pasta sauces, breads, egg dishes and salads.

  • Andrew
    May 6, 2020

    Do you use the whole ramp?

  • Andrea
    May 7, 2020

    Can you freeze the butter?

    • Shellywest
      Andrea
      May 7, 2020

      Oh – interesting idea! I have not tried freezing it but hopefully maybe someone else will have and sees this comment.

    • Juli
      Andrea
      May 9, 2020

      Andrea, I just got 3 bunches in my CSA box yesterday. I will be making 3 batches and freezing in smaller mason jars. I freezer herb butter in the fall when we clean out the garden and need to use up some herbs. If in a container with little air, it will be great!

  • David Muir
    May 21, 2020

    Which CSA? Good Lord, all we get at the moment is limp broccoli, potatoes and squash!

  • Emma Walker
    August 1, 2020

    Sorry, I forgot to share my experience, as I was busy with a few other things. I have bought this ramp vegetable from a local grocery store in May, and then I made all your recipes back-to-back. The salad and quiche are the top favorites for my family, and I still make them because I stored a few ramps in my storage area for the later use. Now, I will try this ramp butter today. I am really excited about how it comes ou

  • Rick Crace
    April 28, 2022

    I’m lucky enough to live where ramps are abundant. I know of a few football field sized patches that I’ve discovered while morel hunting. This is my first time eating them and I’m 68 years old. They have a surprisingly creamy and sweet taste. Your Ramp Butter recipe is delicious! Thank you.It beats any garlic butter I’ve ever tasted and makes perfect toast to go with my spaghetti. I put 4 ounces of ramps in my spaghetti sauce too. Mmmm

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