How to Cook Yucca

Co-authored by Jessica Gibson

Last Updated: June 13, 2020 Tested

You may have seen delicate yucca flowers in South American or Mexican recipes. Remove clusters of yucca flowers from the top of the yucca plant. Separate the flower petals and deep fry them in a batter. You can also boil the yucca flowers until they're soft and then stir them into scrambled eggs. Traditionally, yucca flowers are also the base for a simply flavored soup.

Ingredients

Scrambled Eggs with Yucca Flowers

1 cluster yucca flowers
1 tablespoon (17 g) salt
1 teaspoon (5 ml) olive oil
1/4 cup (40 g) diced onions
1 serrano pepper, chopped, optional
1/2 cup (100 g) diced tomatoes
4 eggs, beaten with a fork
Salt to taste
1 avocado, diced
6 corn tortillas, optional

Makes 3 to 4 servings

Fried Yucca Flowers

Petals from 12 to 15 yucca flowers
1/4 cup (30 g) all-purpose flour or rice flour
1/4 cup (30 g) mesquite flour (or all-purpose flour)
1/4 cup (32 g) corn starch
1 cup (240 ml) sparkling water, ice cold
1 egg yolk
1/8 teaspoon (1 1/2 g) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (3 g) salt
Oil for frying
Hot sauce for serving

Makes 4 servings

Yucca Flower Soup

3 cups yucca flower petals
2 tablespoons (28 g) butter
1 tablespoon (9 g) cornstarch
1 quart (946 ml) whole milk or half-and-half
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch ground nutmeg

Makes 5 cups of soup

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Making Scrambled Eggs with Yucca Flowers

1
Trim the yucca flowers. Take 1 full cluster of yucca flowers from the top of a yucca plant and cut the stems off of each flower. Use scissors to snip away the green base from each flower. Pull the long central threads (the pistils and stamens) out and discard them.^{[1]
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2
Rinse and soak the flowers for 10 minutes. Rinse the flowers to rinse away any dirt and insects that could be hiding in the petals. Place the petals in a bowl and pour enough water to cover them. Soak them in the water for 10 minutes.^{[2]
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3
Boil the yucca flowers for 4 to 5 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Drain the flower petals in a colander and rinse them. Add the flower petals and 1 tablespoon (17 g) of salt to the pot. Boil the petals over high heat for 4 minutes so they soften. Drain the petals into a colander in the sink.^{[3]
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- The pot should be at least 4 quarts (3.78 liters) in volume.
4
Sauté the diced onion for 2 minutes. Pour 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of olive oil into a skillet and turn the heat to medium. Add 1/4 cup (40 g) of diced onions and stir them into the oil. Sauté the onions until they begin to turn translucent. This should take 2 minutes.^{[4]
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5
Stir in and sauté the serrano pepper for 2 minutes. If you want to add extra heat to the dish, chop 1 serrano pepper and stir it into the diced onions in your skillet. Stir and sauté the pepper until it softens a little. This should take about 2 minutes over medium heat.^{[5]
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6
Sauté the diced tomatoes and yucca flowers. Add 1/2 cup (100 g) of diced tomatoes and the drained yucca flowers to the skillet. Stir them into the onion and pepper mixture. Cook the yucca and vegetable mixture for 2 minutes.^{[6]
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7
Stir the eggs into the skillet and cook them for 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the heat to medium-high and add 4 beaten eggs to the skillet. Stir and cook the scrambled eggs until they're cooked as well as you like. This could take 3 to 5 minutes depending on how dry you like the eggs.^{[7]
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8
Serve the scrambled eggs with yucca flowers. Turn off the heat and serve the scrambled eggs while they're still warm. Season the eggs with a little salt according to your taste. To make breakfast tacos, serve them along with 1 diced avocado and warm corn tortillas.^{[8]
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- You can refrigerate leftover scrambled eggs with yucca flowers in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Keep in mind that the texture of the dish may change and become softer.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Making Fried Yucca Flowers

1
Trim the petals from 12 to 15 yucca flowers. Cut the stems off of each flower and pull away all of the green base to release the petals. Pull the long central threads (the pistils and stamens) out and discard them.^{[9]
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- Avoid rinsing the petals for this recipe because batter won't stick well to wet petals. Instead, you can look them over for insects and remove them.
2
Set up a frying station and heat the oil. Place a large, deep pot on the stove and pour in enough vegetable oil to come at least 2 inches (5 cm) up the sides. Turn the heat on to medium-high and heat the oil until it reaches 360 °F (182 °C). Lay several paper towels on a wire rack and set the rack next to your pot.^{[10]
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- Insert a deep-fry thermometer into the pot to monitor the temperature of the oil.
- The pot should be at least 7 quarts (6.6 liters) in size.
3
Whisk the dry batter ingredients. Get out a mixing bowl and measure in 1/4 cup (30 g) of all-purpose flour or rice flour, 1/4 cup (30 g) of mesquite flour, 1/4 cup (32 g) of corn starch, 1/8 teaspoon (1 1/2 g) of baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) of salt. Whisk the dry ingredients until they're combined.^{[11]
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- You can find mesquite flour online or at some health food stores. If you can't find it, just use another 1/4 cup (30 g) of all-purpose flour.
4
Stir in the egg yolk and sparkling water. Place 1 egg yolk in the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients and stir it in. Pour in 1 cup (240 ml) of ice cold sparkling water and stir just until the dry ingredients are incorporated.^{[12]
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- The batter will be a little lumpy, but you should avoid mixing the batter too much or it will become tough.
5
Coat some of the petals in batter and fry them for 2 to 3 minutes. Gather 3 flower petals into a little stack and lower them into the batter. Lift them up and drop one petal at a time into the hot oil. Place a total of 12 to 15 petals into the pot at once and fry them for 2 to 3 minutes. You can use a chopstick to carefully flip them over once while they fry.^{[13]
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- Avoid frying all of the yucca petals at once or they may bring down the temperature of the oil too much. This can prevent the petals from crisping up.
6
Fry the rest of the petals in batches. Use a slotted spoon to lift out the fried yucca petals once they're dark golden brown. Set them on the paper towel-lined rack to drain. Let the oil heat back up before you add another batch (12 to 15 petals) of yucca flowers.^{[14]
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7
Serve the fried yucca flowers. Serve the yucca flowers while they're still hot and crunchy. Consider serving them with hot sauce on the side for extra flavor. Avoid storing leftover fried yucca flowers because they'll become soggy as they sit.^{[15]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Making Yucca Flower Soup

1
Trim and rinse the yucca flowers. Take a cluster of yucca flowers from the top of a yucca plant and cut the stems off of each flower. Use scissors to snip away the green base from each flower. Pull the long central threads (the pistils and stamens) out and discard them. Rinse away any dirt and insects that could be hiding in the petals.^{[16]
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- You should end up with 3 cups of yucca flower petals.
2
Boil the flowers for 15 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Add the flower petals and boil them until they're soft. This should take 15 minutes.^{[17]
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- The pot should be at least 4-quarts (3.78 liters) in volume.
3
Drain and mash the yucca flowers. Place a colander in the sink and drain the yucca flowers into it. Transfer the petals back into the pot and mash them with a potato masher until they're smooth.^{[18]
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4
Stir in cornstarch and butter and cook the petal mixture for 2 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons (28 g) of butter and 1 tablespoon (9 g) of cornstarch to the mashed yucca petals. Stir the mixture so the cornstarch is absorbed and cook it over medium heat for 2 minutes.^{[19]
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- The mixture should thicken up into a paste.
5
Whisk in the milk or half-and half and cook the soup for 5 minutes. Slowly pour in 1 quart (946 ml) of whole milk or half-and-half while you whisk the thickened yucca mixture. Continue to whisk the soup over medium heat until it's as thick as you want it. This could take about 5 minutes.^{[20]
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6
Season and serve the yucca flower soup. Turn off the heat once the soup has thickened. Stir in 1 pinch of ground nutmeg along with salt and pepper according to your taste. Serve the soup while it's hot.^{[21]
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- Refrigerate the leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.