56+ Vegetables That Start With D: Complete List With Pictures

Vegetables that start with D include roots, leafy greens, beans, squash, and edible pods. Their names cover familiar produce and regional foods from different cuisines. Daikon is a crisp root, while delicata is a tender winter squash with edible skin. Dandelion greens and dock are leafy vegetables, while drumstick pods come from the moringa tree.

This article covers D vegetables with concise definition and pictures. Vegetables starting with D can also help readers talk about letter games and produce in kitchens, grocery stores, gardens, and classroom activities.

What Vegetables that Start with D?

D vegetables come from several plant groups, including roots, greens, legumes, and squash. Some are common produce items, while others have stronger regional connections. Their edible parts can include roots, leaves, pods, seeds, and fruits.

The main names include daikon, dandelion greens, dasheen, delicata squash, dumpling squash, dolichos bean, dragon tongue bean, and drumstick.

List of Vegetables that Start with D

The names below cover established vegetables and edible plant parts beginning with D. A few are regional foods rather than everyday supermarket produce. The list also includes different vegetable types to give the topic broader coverage.

• Daikon
• Daikon Greens
• Dandelion Greens
• Dasheen
• Datil Pepper
• Daylily Buds
• De Cicco Broccoli
• Delicata Squash
• Dickinson Pumpkin
• Diamond Eggplant
• Dinosaur Kale
• Dolichos Bean
• Dragon Carrot
• Dragon Tongue Bean
• Drumstick
• Drumstick Leaves
• Dulse
• Dutch Cabbage
• Dutch Carrot
• Dutch Cucumber

Vegetables that Start with D with Pictures and Explanation

Daikon

Daikon is a long white radish with crisp flesh and a mild, slightly sweet flavor. It also has a gentle peppery bite that becomes softer after cooking. You can grate young roots into salads or slice them for fresh dishes. Meanwhile, cooks roast, pickle, simmer, or stir-fry mature daikon. It adds crunch to salads and depth to soups, noodles, and stews.

Daikon Greens

Daikon greens are the edible leaves that grow above the daikon root. Young leaves have a tender texture and mild peppery flavor, while mature greens taste stronger and more earthy. You can eat young leaves raw in salads. However, cooks usually sauté, simmer, pickle, or chop mature greens for soups, rice dishes, and stir-fries. The leaves also pair well with garlic and sesame.

Dandelion Greens

Dandelion greens are the edible leaves of the common dandelion plant. Young leaves taste mildly bitter, while older leaves develop a stronger peppery flavor. You can add tender greens to salads for a sharp leafy note. Alternatively, cooks blanch, sauté, braise, or simmer mature leaves to soften their taste. Garlic, olive oil, beans, and lemon pair especially well with dandelion greens.

Dasheen

Dasheen is a tropical root vegetable closely related to taro. Its rough brown skin surrounds starchy white or cream-colored flesh with a mild, nutty taste. Once cooked, the root develops a soft texture similar to potatoes. Cooks boil, steam, roast, fry, or mash dasheen for savory dishes. In addition, some cuisines cook its leaves as a separate leafy vegetable.

Datil Pepper

Datil pepper is a small chili pepper strongly associated with St. Augustine, Florida. Mature peppers usually turn yellow-orange and offer fruity sweetness alongside intense heat. Because the flavor combines sweetness with spice, cooks use datil peppers in hot sauces, relishes, marinades, and savory dishes. A small amount can add substantial heat, so cooks often combine the pepper with vinegar, fruit, or sugar.

Daylily Buds

Daylily buds are the unopened flower buds of edible daylily species. They have a firm, slightly crisp texture and a mild flavor that resembles green beans or peas. Cooks add fresh buds to stir-fries, soups, and vegetable dishes. They can also dry the buds for later use. However, proper identification matters because not every ornamental flower should be treated as an edible vegetable.

De Cicco Broccoli

De Cicco broccoli is an Italian heirloom variety that produces a central head followed by many smaller side shoots. Its green florets have a tender texture and mild, slightly sweet broccoli flavor. Because the plant produces shoots over time, gardeners can harvest it in stages. You can steam, roast, sauté, or blanch the florets and tender stems for quick vegetable dishes.

Delicata Squash

Delicata squash is a small winter squash with cream-colored skin and green or orange stripes. Its orange flesh tastes mildly sweet and nutty, while the thin skin softens enough for eating after cooking. Therefore, you do not need to peel it before roasting. Cooks slice, bake, roast, steam, or sauté delicata squash. It works especially well in salads and roasted vegetable sides.

Dickinson Pumpkin

Dickinson pumpkin is a large squash with tan skin and dense orange flesh. It has a rich, mildly sweet flavor and smooth texture after cooking. Although its appearance differs from the bright orange pumpkins used for carving, cooks value it for food preparation. It works particularly well in pumpkin puree, pies, breads, soups, and other baked recipes. Its dense flesh creates a smooth consistency.

Diamond Eggplant

Diamond eggplant is a dark purple variety with elongated, slightly curved fruit and smooth skin. Its pale flesh has a tender texture and mild, earthy flavor. You can slice or cube the eggplant before cooking it. For example, cooks roast, grill, fry, sauté, or stew Diamond eggplant. Its flesh absorbs sauces and seasonings easily, making it useful in many savory vegetable dishes.

Dinosaur Kale

Dinosaur kale is a dark green leafy vegetable also called Lacinato or Tuscan kale. Its long, narrow leaves have a deeply wrinkled surface and firm texture. The flavor tastes earthy and savory with a slight sweetness. Young leaves work well in salads, while mature leaves suit cooked dishes. You can sauté, braise, or simmer dinosaur kale in soups, stews, pasta, and grain bowls.

Dolichos Bean

Dolichos bean is a legume that produces edible pods and seeds. People also call certain varieties hyacinth beans. Young pods have a crisp texture and mild, grassy flavor. Cooks boil, steam, sauté, or simmer them in curries and stews. However, some varieties contain naturally occurring compounds that require proper cooking. For that reason, cooks should prepare the beans according to the variety.

Dragon Carrot

Dragon carrot is a colorful carrot variety with deep purple-red skin and orange or reddish flesh. Its crisp root offers a sweet, earthy flavor with a mild spicy note. You can eat dragon carrots raw or cook them in several ways. For instance, cooks roast, steam, sauté, slice, or grate them for salads, soups, vegetable sides, and mixed roasted dishes.

Dragon Tongue Bean

Dragon Tongue bean is a flat bean variety with yellow pods marked by purple or violet streaks. The young pods have a crisp, tender texture and mild, slightly sweet flavor. As the beans mature, their appearance and texture change. You can steam, sauté, boil, grill, or roast young pods. They also add color and crunch to salads and mixed vegetable dishes.

Drumstick

Drumstick is the long, edible fruit pod of the moringa tree. It remains especially popular in South Asian and African cuisines. The ridged pod contains fibrous flesh and edible seeds, while the cooked vegetable develops a mild, earthy flavor. Cooks cut the pods into pieces before adding them to curries, soups, stews, and lentil dishes. The pods readily absorb surrounding sauces.

Drumstick Leaves

Drumstick leaves are the small green leaves of the moringa tree. They have a delicate texture and mildly peppery, earthy flavor. Cooks usually strip the leaves from their tougher stems before preparation. Then, they sauté, simmer, or add the greens to soups, curries, stews, and lentil dishes. Because the leaves cook quickly, gentle preparation helps retain their tender texture.

Dulse

Dulse is an edible red seaweed that grows along rocky coastlines in cool marine waters. Its thin, leathery fronds range from reddish-purple to dark red and provide a savory, slightly salty taste. You can eat dulse fresh, dried, or rehydrated. For example, cooks add it to soups, salads, breads, and savory dishes. Dried dulse also works as a seasoning when crumbled over food.

Dutch Cabbage

Dutch cabbage refers to cabbage varieties associated with Dutch cultivation and cooking traditions. These varieties generally produce firm heads with crisp leaves and mild, slightly sweet flavors. You can shred the leaves for slaws or cook them in several ways. Cooks often boil, steam, braise, roast, or ferment Dutch cabbage for soups, stews, salads, and traditional vegetable dishes.

Dutch Carrot

Dutch carrot refers to carrot varieties associated with Dutch cultivation. Many types develop compact roots with crisp flesh and a naturally sweet, earthy flavor. Their smaller size makes them convenient for roasting and whole-vegetable dishes. You can also eat Dutch carrots raw or prepare them by steaming and sautéing. In addition, they work well in salads, soups, stews, and vegetable sides.

Dutch Cucumber

Dutch cucumber is a slender cucumber variety with smooth skin, crisp flesh, and a mild, refreshing flavor. Compared with larger field cucumbers, it often has thinner skin and fewer prominent seeds. You can slice it into salads, sandwiches, and cold dishes. Meanwhile, cooks can pickle Dutch cucumbers or serve them with dips. Their fresh texture also works well in simple vegetable platters.

Root Vegetables Beginning With D

Root vegetables beginning with D include edible underground plant parts with firm or starchy textures. They can vary greatly in size, flavor, and cooking method. Below are the main root and tuber names.

• Dandelion Root: Dandelion root is an edible taproot with a firm texture and stronger flavor, usually cooked before eating.
• Desert Yam: Desert yam is a native Australian tuber with starchy underground flesh traditionally prepared as food by Aboriginal Australian communities.
• Daikon: Daikon is a crisp, juicy root vegetable with a mild, slightly peppery flavor similar to other radishes.
• Dasheen: Dasheen produces a starchy underground corm with mild flavor and soft texture when boiled, steamed, or added to stews.

Leafy Vegetable Starts with D

Several D vegetables are leafy greens rather than roots or pods. Their edible leaves range from tender and mild to sour or bitter. Cooking methods often depend on the leaf’s texture and natural flavor.

• Dandelion Greens: Dandelion greens are tender leafy vegetables with a naturally bitter flavor, often eaten fresh when young or cooked when mature.
• Dock: Dock leaves are edible greens with a naturally tart flavor and are commonly cooked before eating.
• Dolichos Leaves: Dolichos leaves come from the lablab bean plant and can be cooked as leafy greens in various vegetable dishes.
• Doucette: Doucette is another name for lamb’s lettuce, a delicate leafy green with small, tender leaves commonly used in salads.
• Drumstick Leaves: Drumstick leaves are young moringa leaves commonly cooked in soups, stews, sauces, and vegetable dishes.

Squash Vegetable Starting with D

D squash names mainly refer to winter squash varieties with edible flesh. Their shapes range from small and rounded to elongated. Most are baked, roasted, steamed, or added to soups.

• Delicata Squash: Delicata squash has elongated fruit with striped cream-colored skin that becomes tender when cooked, so the skin can be eaten.
• Dumpling Squash: Dumpling squash is a small, rounded winter squash with ridged skin and sweet flesh, often roasted or baked for individual servings.

Pod Vegetable that Starts with D

Pod vegetables are often harvested while their pods remain young and tender. Several D vegetables belong to this group, including beans from different plant varieties. Their pods can be cooked whole when sufficiently young.

• Dolichos Bean: Dolichos bean, also called lablab or hyacinth bean, produces young pods commonly cooked as vegetables, while mature seeds can be prepared separately.
• Dragon Tongue Bean: Dragon Tongue bean has pale yellow or cream-colored pods with purple markings, and its young pods can be cooked whole.
• Drumstick Pods: Drumstick pods are long, narrow moringa pods with tender interiors when young, while mature pods become fibrous.
• Dwarf French Bean: Dwarf French beans grow on compact bush plants and produce tender young pods commonly eaten as green beans.

Vegetables that Start with D for Kids

D vegetables for kids can include familiar shapes, unusual colors, and different edible plant parts. Simple descriptions make it easier for children to connect each vegetable name with its appearance and food use.

• Daikon
• Dandelion Greens
• Dasheen
• Delicata Squash
• Dragon Tongue Bean
• Drumstick Pods
• Dumpling Squash
• Dwarf French Bean

FAQs About Vegetables That Start With D

Takeaway for Learners

Vegetables that start with D include roots, leafy greens, squash, beans, pods, and edible sea plants. Daikon and delicata squash are among the more familiar names, while desert yam, dolichos leaves, and drumstick vegetables represent more regional foods.

Learning these names helps readers understand different vegetable types and edible plant parts. Pictures can also make unfamiliar D vegetables easier to recognize during classroom activities, grocery shopping, gardening lessons, and food discussions.

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