28 Quick And Easy Water Chestnut Recipes You’ll Love

A staple ingredient in Asian cuisine, water chestnuts are a versatile ingredient that can be used in anything from a cozy casserole to a spicy stir-fry.

Giving dishes an incredible crunch and stupendous flavor, water chestnuts are an ingredient you need to use more.

Nutty, sweet, and tart, their complex flavor and unique texture are too good to miss out on. Therefore, we’ve rounded up 28 of the quickest and easiest water chestnut recipes in this post.

Let’s take a look!

1. Water Chestnuts Wrapped In Bacon

Let’s start with a recipe that features water chestnuts as the main event. Sweet, salty, and delightfully crunchy, this meaty snack is fantastic finger food. It consists of individual water chestnuts wrapped in strips of bacon. 

2. Macaroni Coleslaw

This is a coleslaw recipe you’ll come back to time and time again. Light, fresh, and super quick to make, this coleslaw is loaded with veggies and water chestnuts. The chestnuts give the coleslaw a great texture.

3. Moo Goo Gai Pan

Ever dreamt of making a restaurant-quality moo goo gai pan from the comfort of your own kitchen? This recipe gives you the perfect chance. Loaded with authentic Asian flavors, this recipe is fragrant, sweet, savory, and slightly spicy. 

4. Spinach Dip With Water Chestnuts

We can make a ridiculously creamy, insanely tasty spinach dip using water chestnuts. Made without a veggie soup mix, this spinach dip is full of flavor, vegan-friendly, dairy-free, and easy to make.

Again, the chestnuts give the recipe a great crunch.

5. Water Chestnut And Snow Peas

Next up, we have a super simple water chestnut and snow peas recipe. An awesome side dish, this recipe calls for water chestnuts, sesame seeds, snow peas, and mint.

The overall flavor combination is fantastic, making it a great choice for those times we have company.

6. Water Chestnut Chinese Soup

Naturally sweet, hearty, comforting, and extremely flavorsome, this Asian soup recipe calls for tender pork ribs, sweet carrots, red dates, dried figs, and water chestnuts.

Surprisingly simple to make, this healthy, nutritious mixture of ingredients is complete with a rich broth.

7. Hot And Sour Soup

Another great soup recipe is this hot and sour soup from Okonomi Restaurant. Sour and spicy, this aromatic recipe puts a vegan twist on a Chinese classic.

Full of flavor and unique texture, this soup will leave your taste buds feeling satisfied.

8. Tuna Wraps

Ready to eat in just 10 minutes, this recipe is perfect for a quick and healthy lunch. Vibrant, fresh, and crunchy, these wraps are rich in protein from the fresh tuna and high in nutrients from the veggies. 

9. Water Chestnut, Celery, And Pork Wontons

These one-bite pork, water chestnut, and celery wontons are the perfect finger food to serve at your next party.

Just as we’d expect from a wonton recipe, these wontons are filled with satisfying flavors, a unique texture, and are nice and light. This particular recipe also shows you how to make a ma la chili oil.

10. Water Chestnut Cake

We can even use water chestnuts to make a delicious cake. This recipe outlines the step-by-step process we need to follow to create a traditional Chinese cake.

Transparent and yellow, this cake is beautifully sweet and has a great appearance.

11. Water Chestnut And Mushroom Salad

If you love salads, you’ll adore this water chestnut and mushroom salad recipe. Taking your salad game to the next level, this salad can be thrown together in less than 30 minutes.

You might also be pleased to hear that it’s vegan-friendly.

12. Steamed Minced Pork And Water Chestnuts

Next, we have this healthy Chinese recipe that can be made quickly and easily. A great comfort food, this recipe calls for a wide range of ingredients.

This includes water chestnuts, minced pork, onion, garlic, and ginger. To give the dish extra flavor, strong seasonings such as soy sauce are added.

13. Broccoli Beef Lo Mein

If your family loves pasta, but you want something new, give this broccoli beef lo mein recipe a try. You’ll quickly come to find that this Chinese-style pasta is better than any pasta you’ve had before.

The flavors are immense, whilst the veggies are packed with healthy nutrients.

14. Texas Citrus Salad

This next recipe is a great summer salad for BBQ parties and cookouts. Light and refreshing, this sweet, tangy, and savory salad is divine.

Despite being quite simple, the flavors are gorgeous. The dressing only elevates the salad to another level.

15. Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This is another healthy recipe that can be served at parties. The combination of spicy chicken and cool lettuce alongside the crunchiness of the water chestnuts and peanuts is lovely.

16. Cashew Chicken

We don’t know about you but we find cashew chicken incredibly satisfying. The crunch of the cashews and water chestnuts go perfectly with the tender chicken.

This recipe’s sauce does a great job of tying everything together nicely. The dish is filled with protein and powerful flavors.

17. Turkey And Asparagus Stir-Fry

Twenty minutes is all it takes to make this simple, yet delicious stir-fry. Featuring lean turkey, water chestnuts, asparagus, and mushrooms, this stir-fry is filling, healthy, and extremely nutritious.

Serve the dish with rice or noodles for the best results.

18. Ginger Pork Stir-Fry

Packed with exciting flavor combinations and nutritious ingredients, this ginger pork stir-fry is super healthy and delicious.

You’ll love how spicy and rich it is without overpowering your taste buds. It’s packed with veggies and offers a great burst of flavor with every bite.

19. Veggie-Cashew Stir-Fry

This is the last stir-fry recipe, we promise! This time we have a vegetarian stir-fry that suits anyone that doesn’t eat meat.

This stir-fry is again packed with veggies and a range of herbs and spices. You can expect strong flavors, varied textures, and a delicious crunch from the water chestnut.

20. Lumpia Shanghai

Lumpia Shanghai are bite-sized meat rolls filled with ground meat, carrots, scallions, and water chestnuts. When filled, the rolls are fried to perfection, making them nice and crunchy, and golden in color. 

The best part? These rolls can be made in advance and frozen.

21. Asian Quinoa

Made in less than 50 minutes, this is a great side dish to serve at parties or BBQs.

Light and refreshing, this Asian Quinoa is served with rice vinegar for extra flavor, but we actually find that the flavors can be further enhanced by using soy sauce and scrambled eggs instead.

22. Sausage And Rice Casserole

If you’re looking for something comforting, this casserole recipe is perfect. This gorgeous casserole recipe is bursting with comfort food flavors, making it a hearty meal for any cold night.

The combination of water chestnuts, rice, and sausage is wonderful.

23. Sesame Chicken Salad

Easily made in 30 minutes, this salad offers an impressive mix of flavors. The crunchy water chestnuts and peanuts compliment the tangy cranberries well, whilst the mandarin oranges give the chicken a typical Asian cuisine feel.

24. Asian-Style Round Steak

Containing less than 300 calories per serving, the next recipe on our list is another wonderful Asian-inspired dish. Featuring unique Asian flavors and interesting texture combinations, this is a filling dish the whole family will love.

25. Elegant Green Beans

The water chestnuts and mushrooms added into this dish give the baked green beans a new lease of life.

Adding more flavors as well as a crunchier texture, the water chestnuts might actually be the star of the show in this creamy, vibrant dish.

26. Chinese Style Ribs

Slow-cooked to perfection these Chinese-style ribs are tender, soft, juicy, and incredibly well-flavored. The addition of water chestnuts in the recipe gives the dish a more complex flavor.

The crunchy texture of the chestnuts also compliments the tenderness of the meat well.

27. Chicken And Rice Noodle Soup

This may well be the easiest chicken and rice noodle soup recipe on the internet. Made in just 20 minutes using 9 basic ingredients, this soup is one you could make quickly after a busy day at work.

It’s well-seasoned, light, yet filling, savory, spicy, and super comforting.

28. Crispy Water Chestnuts

The final recipe on our list shows you how to expertly deep fry water chestnuts. An excellent snack, the water chestnuts are coated in a mixture of flour and cornstarch before a variety of herbs and spices are added.

They are then fried. The end result is a spicy, strong-flavored bite of crispy, golden goodness.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Can You Cook Water Chestnuts?

Water chestnuts can be boiled, fried, pickled, grilled, candied, or eaten raw. This is one of the reasons why there are so many water chestnut recipes to choose from.

Are Water Chestnuts Healthy?

Yes, water chestnuts are healthy. They are nutritious because they are high in fiber, contain no fat, and are low in calories.

What Does Water Chestnut Taste Like?

Water chestnuts are described as having a tart and nutty taste. Their flavor is often compared to a cross between coconut and apple. They have the texture of an Asian pear.

Final Thoughts

That concludes this post looking at water chestnut recipes. In this post, we’ve shown you 28 quick and easy recipes that you’ll fall in love with.

It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a quick snack, an unhealthy treat, or a party appetizer, we’ve got a recipe on our list that will suit you. All you have to do now is decide which recipe you want to try first.