With St. Patrick's Day approaching, we found photogenic and festive green-food recipes to test in your own kitchen before the festivities on March 17.
From mint-green cupcakes to green smoothies and green shakshuka, these recipes are easy to whip up and just as good as a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow -- with no luck required!
Stout cupcakes with green Irish cream frosting
Not only is this dessert from Genius Kitchen topped with perfectly=-piped green frosting, but the cake itself is made with an Irish staple -- stout beer.
Yield: 24 cupcakes
Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup stout beer
2/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 cup light-brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
Frosting and filling
1 cup unsalted butter
coarse salt
8 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup Irish cream
2 tablespoons milk, plus more if necessary
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
green sprinkles, for garnishing
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the upper and lower thirds. Fill two 12-cup cupcake pans with paper liners.
In a saucepan, heat the butter, stout, cocoa powder, and brown sugar, whisking often, until the butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Add cooled Guinness mixture and beat on medium for 1 minute.
Add eggs and sour cream and beat on medium for 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth.
Divide batter evenly among cupcake liners, filling about ? full. Transfer to oven and bake 20-25 minutes, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean.
Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a cooling rack until completely cooled.
Meanwhile, in bowl of stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add salt, and slowly add confectioners sugar.
Add 6 tablespoons Irish Cream and milk, adding more milk as necessary, until spreadable consistency is achieved.
Transfer to a piping bag or ziplock fitted with a star tip and wash stand mixer bowl.
In bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip cream until stiff peaks form.
Add remaining 2 tablespoons Irish cream and a pinch of salt and whisk to combine.
Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a half-inch pastry tip.
Insert tip into tops of cupcakes and divide whipped cream mixture evenly among cupcakes, dispensing approximately 1 tablespoon per cupcake.
Frost tops of cupcakes with Bailey's frosting and sprinkle with green sprinkles. Serve.
Mint chocolate icebox cake
This mint green icebox cake from Genius Kitchen's Next-Level Eats has a fun chocolate twist and can be made ahead to add a festive vibe to any St. Patrick's Day table.
Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon mint extract
green food coloring
2 (9 ounce) packages chocolate wafer cookies
fresh mint sprig, for serving
Directions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine heavy cream, sugar, and mint extract. Beat on medium-high speed until medium peaks form.
Add green food coloring, drop by drop, until cream turns mint green.
Continue beating until stiff peaks form; do not overbeat.
Using an offset spatula, spread a thin layer of mint cream to a 7-inch round on a serving plate.
Arrange 7 cookies side by side on top of the circle, keeping one cookie in the center. Spread with 1/2 cup cream. Repeat with remaining cookies and cream, making 9 layers and ending with a layer of cookies. (Note: you will have cookies leftover.) Reserve remaining cream for topping. Cover reserved cream and cake and transfer to the refrigerator, six hours or overnight.
When ready to serve, top with reserved cream, sprinkle with crushed cookies, and garnish with fresh mint.
Green shakshuka (baked eggs in green tomatillo sauce)
Green shakshuka from the Jack's Wife Freda eatery in New York City is the perfect colorful Tunisian dish to spice up any meal. Get the full recipe here.
Green pea, mint and ricotta toast
This bright green pea and ricotta toast also comes from chef Julia Jaksic at Jack's Wife Freda. See the full recipe here.
Green smoothie
Fast and easy green smoothie from nutritionist Kelly LeVeque. Try her recipe here.
Leprechaun pops with shamrock confetti sprinkles
Green Irish coffee cupcakes from Sprinkles
Matcha vegan nut free brownies
Avocado toast with greens
Australian chef Dan Churchill's green smoothie bowl