Looking for vegetables that start with E? It is a smaller list than A, C or P, but there are still plenty of interesting, useful and delicious options to explore. Some are everyday supermarket finds, such as edamame and endive. Others, like eddoe, elephant foot yam and Egyptian spinach, are more common in Asian, African, Caribbean or Middle Eastern shops.

This guide keeps things practical for UK cooks. You will find what each E vegetable is, how to use it, where you might buy it, and how to avoid wasting money when trying something new.

Vegetables That Start With E: Quick List

Here is a handy overview before we get into the details.

1. Edamame

Edamame are young soybeans, usually sold in pods or shelled. In the UK, you will most often find them frozen in larger supermarkets, Asian food shops and some health food stores.

They are brilliant for cheap, quick meals because frozen edamame cook in minutes and add colour, texture and protein. They work especially well in rice bowls, noodle salads, fried rice and packed lunches.

How to use edamame

• Boil or steam the pods and sprinkle with a little salt.
• Add shelled edamame to stir-fries near the end of cooking.
• Mix into couscous, quinoa or rice salads.
• Blend with lemon, garlic and oil for a budget-friendly dip.

Money-saving tip: buy frozen shelled edamame if you want less waste and faster cooking. Pods are lovely for snacking, but you are paying for the inedible pod as well as the beans.

2. Endive

Endive can be a slightly confusing name. In the UK, it often refers to the pale, tightly packed vegetable also called chicory or Belgian endive. It has crisp leaves and a mild bitterness that becomes sweeter when cooked.

Raw endive is great in salads with apple, walnuts, blue cheese or citrus. Cooked endive can be braised, baked with cheese sauce or added to gratins.

How to reduce bitterness

• Slice off the base, which can be the most bitter part.
• Pair it with sweet ingredients such as orange, pear or honey-mustard dressing.
• Braise it slowly with butter or oil to mellow the flavour.

Money-saving tip: endive is not always the cheapest salad vegetable, so use it as an accent rather than the whole salad. Mix it with lettuce, cabbage or grated carrot to stretch it further.

3. Escarole

Escarole is a leafy green related to endive, but it has broader, looser leaves. It is popular in Italian cooking and is often used in soups with beans, garlic and olive oil.

The outer leaves can be slightly bitter, while the inner leaves are milder. It is sturdy enough for cooking but tender enough to use raw when finely sliced.

Easy ways to cook escarole

• Wilt it into white bean soup.
• Sauté with garlic, chilli flakes and olive oil.
• Add shredded leaves to stews just before serving.
• Use young leaves in mixed salads.

Budget idea: if you cannot find escarole or it is too expensive, try curly endive, spring greens, chard or kale in cooked dishes.

4. Eddoe

Eddoes are small, starchy root vegetables related to taro. They have rough brown skins and creamy flesh that becomes soft and slightly nutty when cooked. You may spot them in Caribbean, African and Asian grocers.

They can be boiled, roasted, added to soups or used in curries. Their texture is somewhere between potato and taro, making them useful in filling, low-cost meals.

Food safety note for eddoes

Eddoes should be cooked properly before eating. Like taro, they can contain natural compounds that may irritate the mouth or throat when raw or undercooked. Peel carefully, cook until tender, and avoid eating them raw.

How to use eddoes

• Boil and mash with butter, salt and pepper.
• Cube and add to coconut-based curries.
• Roast with onions, garlic and paprika.
• Use in place of potatoes in hearty soups.

Money-saving tip: compare the price per kilo with potatoes, sweet potatoes and yam before buying. Eddoes can be good value in specialist shops, but prices vary widely.

5. Elephant Garlic

Elephant garlic looks like a huge garlic bulb, but it is more closely related to leeks. The cloves are large, easy to peel and milder than standard garlic.

It is particularly good roasted whole, because the flavour becomes sweet and mellow. Squeeze the soft roasted cloves into mashed potatoes, soup, pasta sauce or homemade bread dough.

Best uses for elephant garlic

• Roast whole bulbs alongside a Sunday dinner.
• Slice thinly and add to traybakes.
• Mash roasted cloves into butter for garlic bread.
• Add to soups where you want a gentle garlic flavour.

Money-saving tip: elephant garlic can be pricey, so use it where its size and mild flavour matter. For everyday sauces, ordinary garlic is usually cheaper and stronger.

6. Egyptian Onion

Egyptian onions, also called walking onions or tree onions, are perennial onions that produce small bulbs at the top of their stems. Gardeners like them because they come back year after year and can be very productive.

You can use the green shoots like spring onions, and the small bulbs can be cooked, pickled or used in place of shallots.

How to use Egyptian onions

• Slice the green stems into omelettes or fried rice.
• Use the small bulbs in pickles.
• Add to soups, stews and gravies.
• Plant spare bulbs if you have garden space or a large pot.

Money-saving tip: this is a useful vegetable to grow if you want low-effort alliums. Once established, it can provide harvests for several seasons.

7. Elephant Foot Yam

Elephant foot yam is a large tropical tuber used in Indian, Sri Lankan and South East Asian cooking. It is also known as suran or ol. The flesh is starchy and filling, making it suitable for curries, fries and stews.

In the UK, you are most likely to find it in specialist Asian grocery shops, sometimes fresh, frozen or tinned.

Food safety note for elephant foot yam

Elephant foot yam should be cooked thoroughly. Some varieties can cause irritation if handled or prepared incorrectly, so follow the instructions on the packet if buying frozen or packaged yam. If preparing fresh yam, peel carefully and cook until fully tender.

Cooking ideas

• Cube and simmer in a spiced tomato curry.
• Parboil, then roast or shallow-fry until crisp.
• Add to lentil dishes for extra bulk.
• Use in coconut milk stews.

Budget idea: if elephant foot yam is expensive or hard to find, potatoes, sweet potatoes or standard yam can often work in similar recipes, though the flavour and texture will differ.

8. Egyptian Spinach

Egyptian spinach is commonly known as molokhia or jute mallow. It is a leafy green used in Middle Eastern, North African and East African cooking. When cooked, it has a distinctive texture that helps thicken soups and stews.

You may find molokhia frozen, dried or fresh in Middle Eastern and African shops. Frozen packs are often the easiest option for UK home cooks.

How to use Egyptian spinach

• Cook into a garlicky chicken or vegetable broth.
• Serve with rice and lemon.
• Add to stews where you want a thicker texture.
• Use frozen chopped molokhia for speed and less waste.

Money-saving tip: frozen molokhia can be excellent value because it is already washed and chopped. Check the ingredients list if you want plain leaves without added seasoning.

9. Ethiopian Kale

Ethiopian kale is a leafy brassica also linked with names such as Ethiopian mustard or texsel greens. It has tender leaves and a flavour somewhere between spinach, mustard greens and kale, depending on the variety and age of the leaves.

It is not as common as curly kale in UK supermarkets, but seeds are available, and it is sometimes found through specialist growers or veg box schemes.

How to cook Ethiopian kale

• Stir-fry with garlic and onions.
• Add to lentil stews and bean dishes.
• Steam lightly and dress with lemon.
• Use young leaves raw in salads.

Budget idea: if you grow your own, leafy greens like Ethiopian kale can be a good-value crop because you can pick leaves as needed rather than harvesting the whole plant at once.

10. Eruca

Eruca is the botanical name behind rocket, also known as arugula. Although most people in the UK simply call it rocket, it earns a place on this list because Eruca sativa is the plant name.

Rocket has a peppery flavour and is usually eaten raw, though it can be lightly wilted into pasta, risotto or warm salads.

Ways to use rocket

• Add to sandwiches instead of lettuce.
• Scatter over pizza after baking.
• Stir into pasta just before serving.
• Blend into pesto with cheaper seeds instead of pine nuts.

Money-saving tip: bagged rocket can turn slimy quickly. To reduce waste, store it with a piece of kitchen paper in the bag or tub, and use delicate leaves early in the week.

11. Echalion Shallot

Echalion shallots, often called banana shallots, are long, oval shallots with a mild, sweet flavour. They are easier to peel than small round shallots and are useful in sauces, roasts and traybakes.

They are not always the cheapest allium, but a little goes a long way, especially in dressings and gravies where you want sweetness without the sharper bite of onion.

How to use echalion shallots

• Roast whole with carrots and parsnips.
• Finely chop for salad dressings.
• Use in onion gravy for a sweeter flavour.
• Add to tarts, quiches and savoury bakes.

Budget swap: use ordinary onions for bulk cooking and save echalion shallots for recipes where their sweeter, gentler flavour is noticeable.

12. English Peas

English peas are also known as garden peas or shelling peas. Fresh peas in pods are lovely when in season, but frozen peas are one of the best-value vegetables in the UK.

They cook quickly, suit almost any family meal and help rescue leftovers. A handful of frozen peas can brighten up pasta, rice, soup, curry or pie filling.

Cheap meal ideas with peas

• Pea and mint soup with toast.
• Pea risotto using basic rice and stock.
• Tuna and pea pasta.
• Mashed peas with lemon as a quick side.
• Vegetable fried rice with peas, egg and leftover veg.

Money-saving tip: frozen peas are often cheaper, sweeter and less wasteful than fresh peas in pods. Keep a bag in the freezer for emergency veg portions.

Other E Foods Often Mistaken for Vegetables

A few foods starting with E appear in vegetable lists but need a quick explanation.

• Eggplant: this is the American name for aubergine. In the UK, you will usually see it sold as aubergine. It is botanically a fruit but cooked as a vegetable.
• Enoki mushrooms: often used like vegetables in stir-fries and soups, but mushrooms are fungi rather than vegetables.
• Epazote: a leafy herb used in Mexican cooking, especially with beans. It is more of a herb than a vegetable.
• Elderflower: edible when prepared correctly and used in cordials, but it is a flower, not a vegetable.

Best Vegetables Beginning With E for UK Shoppers

If you want easy, affordable E vegetables, start with the ones you can buy frozen or use in several meals.

How to Save Money When Buying Unusual E Vegetables

Unfamiliar vegetables can be fun, but there is no point buying something that ends up forgotten in the fridge. Try these simple habits.

• Buy a small amount first: test the flavour before committing to a large bag or box.
• Check frozen sections: edamame, molokhia and some yams are often cheaper frozen and last much longer.
• Shop in specialist grocers: Asian, African, Caribbean and Middle Eastern shops may have better prices for eddoes, molokhia and elephant foot yam than mainstream supermarkets.
• Plan two meals: if you buy a new ingredient, decide how you will use the leftovers before you pay for it.
• Use strong flavours wisely: bitter greens like endive and escarole are best balanced with acidity, sweetness, fat or salt, so they do not feel like a chore to eat.
• Store leaves properly: wrap leafy greens loosely with kitchen paper and keep them chilled to slow wilting.

Simple Meal Ideas Using Vegetables That Start With E

Need a bit of inspiration? These ideas are easy to adapt to what you already have.

• Edamame fried rice: fry cooked rice with egg, edamame, peas, spring onion and soy sauce.
• Endive and apple salad: slice endive with apple, lemon juice, walnuts and a little yoghurt dressing.
• Escarole bean soup: simmer white beans, stock, garlic and escarole for a cheap, warming lunch.
• Roasted eddoes: peel, cube, parboil and roast with paprika, oil and salt.
• Elephant garlic mash: stir roasted elephant garlic into mashed potatoes.
• Molokhia stew: cook Egyptian spinach with garlic, stock and lemon, then serve with rice.
• Rocket pesto pasta: blend rocket with oil, garlic, hard cheese and sunflower seeds.

FAQs About Vegetables That Start With E

What are some common vegetables that start with E?

Common vegetables that start with E include edamame, endive, escarole, eddoe, elephant garlic, Egyptian onion, elephant foot yam, Egyptian spinach, Ethiopian kale, rocket under its botanical name Eruca, echalion shallots and English peas.

Is eggplant a vegetable that starts with E?

Eggplant starts with E, but in the UK it is usually called aubergine. Botanically it is a fruit, although it is cooked and eaten like a vegetable. If you are doing an alphabet food challenge, it is fair to include eggplant as long as you note the UK name.

What is the cheapest E vegetable?

For most UK shoppers, frozen English peas are likely to be one of the cheapest and most useful E vegetables. Frozen edamame can also be good value, especially if you want something filling for salads, noodles and rice bowls.

Which vegetables beginning with E are good for salads?

Endive, rocket, escarole and edamame are all good in salads. Endive adds crunch, rocket adds peppery flavour, escarole works well finely sliced, and edamame makes salads more filling.

Where can I buy eddoes or elephant foot yam in the UK?

Look in Caribbean, African, Indian, Sri Lankan and other Asian grocery shops. Some larger supermarkets may stock eddoes or yam depending on the area, but specialist shops usually offer a better range.

Do eddoes need to be cooked?

Yes. Eddoes should be cooked thoroughly and not eaten raw. Peel them carefully and boil, roast or simmer until completely tender.

Are enoki mushrooms vegetables that start with E?

Enoki mushrooms start with E and are often used like vegetables, but they are fungi rather than true vegetables. They are still useful in soups, hot pots and stir-fries.

What is a good E vegetable to grow at home?

Egyptian onions, rocket and Ethiopian kale are good options if you have space. Rocket grows quickly, Egyptian onions can come back year after year, and leafy brassicas can provide repeat harvests when picked carefully.