Group · Vegetables
Garden cress
Garden cress has nothing to do with watercress: it grows in soil, not in water. Its peppery young shoots are eaten raw, as sprouts or as a fresh herb.
In terms of nutrition facts, raw it provides 23.8 kcal per 100 g, with 2.6 g of protein. Its figures are spectacular: 542 µg of vitamin K1, seven times the reference intake, 606 mg of potassium, 69 mg of vitamin C, 4,150 µg of beta-carotene and 81 mg of calcium per 100 g.
Macronutrient breakdown
Nutrition table per 100 g
| Calories | 24 kcal |
| Kilojoules | 100 kJ |
| Protein | 2,6 g |
| Carbohydrate | 1,3 g |
| Fat | 0,7 g |
| Fibre | 1,1 g |
Micronutrients per 100 g
All measured nutrients, ranked by share of the daily reference intake.
- Vitamin K1542 µg723 %
- Vitamin C69 mg86 %
- Vitamin A346 µg43 %
- Potassium606 mg30 %
- Manganese0,55 mg28 %
- Vitamin B20,26 mg19 %
- Vitamin B60,25 mg18 %
- Copper0,17 mg17 %
- Vitamin B9dietary folate equivalents80 µg
See the other 12 nutrients
- Phosphorus76 mg11 %
- Magnesium38 mg10 %
- Calcium81 mg10 %
- Iron1,3 mg9 %
- Omega-3 ALA0,17 g9 %
- Vitamin B10,08 mg7 %
- Vitamin B31 mg6 %
- Vitamin E0,7 mg6 %
- Vitamin B50,24 mg4 %
- Zinc0,23 mg2 %
- Iodine0,9 µg1 %
- Omega-6 LA0,06 g1 %
Anses Ciqual 2025. Source: Anses, 2025, Ciqual food composition table
Tips
542 µg of vitamin K1: the record among all the plant foods in our database. Seven times the reference intake per 100 g, but you eat a 10 g handful, which is 54 µg, still very significant.
Anticoagulants: take care. On vitamin K antagonists, a steady intake is the rule; it is a sudden change that throws the INR off. At this level, a daily handful added overnight is not neutral. Talk to your doctor.
606 mg of potassium and 4,150 µg of beta-carotene. Values of a very concentrated leafy vegetable, explained by the youth of the shoots: nothing has yet been diluted by growth.
It is not cooked. Its bite and its vitamins do not survive heat. Snip it over a soup, an egg or a slice of toast at the last moment.
It can be grown in three days. On damp cotton wool on a windowsill: it is the simplest crop there is, and it gives much livelier shoots than shop-bought ones.