✔ Updated · 57 vegetables, sorted by category
Vegetables that start with O include onions, okra, olives, oregano, orache, oca, oakleaf lettuce and Okinawan sweet potatoes.
This list rounds up 57 culinary vegetables that begin with the letter O, from kitchen staples to named tomato and pepper varieties and international finds like ong choy, oha and okazi leaves. They are sorted into groups such as leafy greens, roots, alliums, legumes, sea vegetables and mushrooms, and each entry describes the taste, the texture and how it is cooked.
Vegetables that start with O, from everyday favorites to rare finds. The most popular:
Leafy Greens That Start With O
Salad leaves, cooking greens and wild greens beginning with O. I love a handful of oakleaf lettuce in my salads.
Orache
Also called orach or mountain spinach, soft green, red or gold leaves with a mild, slightly salty taste, eaten raw young or cooked like spinach.
Oakleaf Lettuce
A loose-leaf lettuce with lobed, oak-shaped green or red leaves, a tender texture and mild, nutty flavor, served raw in salads.
Okinawa Spinach
A tropical perennial with leaves green on top and purple underneath, a crunchy texture and mild, nutty, piney taste, eaten raw or stir-fried.
Outredgeous Lettuce
A deep red romaine with crisp, glossy leaves and a sweet, mild taste, eaten raw in salads and famously grown in space.
Oscarde Lettuce
A red oakleaf lettuce with large, deeply lobed leaves, a soft, buttery texture and sweet flavor, served raw in salads.
Olympia Spinach
A smooth-leaved spinach with thick, dark green leaves and a sweet, mild flavor, eaten raw in salads or quickly wilted.
Ong Choy
Cantonese water spinach, hollow-stemmed greens with a crunchy texture and mild, sweet taste, stir-fried with garlic or fermented bean curd.
Oyster Leaf
Mertensia maritima, a blue-green coastal leaf with a juicy, succulent texture and a surprising oyster-like, briny taste, eaten raw.
Oxtongue
A wild Mediterranean green with rough, bristly leaves and a pleasantly bitter taste, boiled and dressed with olive oil in Italy.
Root Vegetables That Start With O
Tubers, roots and named potatoes and carrots. I keep a sack of potatoes in my pantry year-round.
Oca
Small, waxy Andean tubers in pink, red or yellow with a tangy, lemony taste when fresh, roasted, boiled or eaten raw.
Okinawan Sweet Potato
A sweet potato with beige skin and vivid purple flesh, a dense, creamy texture and mildly sweet, nutty taste, steamed or baked.
Oyster Plant
Salsify, a long, slender root with creamy white flesh and a delicate, oyster-like flavor, peeled and boiled, fried or sautéed.
Oxheart Carrot
A short, very thick heirloom carrot with crisp, juicy flesh and a sweet, earthy flavor, roasted, stewed or eaten raw.
Ozette Potato
A knobbly fingerling grown by the Makah people of Washington, with creamy, waxy flesh and an earthy, nutty taste, roasted or boiled.
Orla Potato
A first-early potato with creamy-white, waxy flesh and a fresh, mild flavor, boiled as new potatoes or used in salads.
Ocumo
The Venezuelan name for malanga, a starchy corm with a nutty, earthy flavor that turns creamy when boiled in soups and sancocho.
Alliums That Start With O
Onions that start with O. Onion is the start of almost every dinner I cook.
Onion
A layered bulb with a sharp, pungent bite when raw that turns soft, sweet and golden when sautéed, caramelized or roasted.
Oignon de Roscoff
A pink onion from Brittany with protected status, crisp, juicy layers and a mild, fruity sweetness, eaten raw or in onion soup.
Oignon Doux des Cevennes
A sweet white onion from terraced fields in southern France, with juicy, tender flesh and almost no bite, eaten raw or confit.
Brassicas That Start With O
Cabbages, cauliflower and mustard greens.
Orange Cauliflower
A cauliflower with orange curds, a firm texture and a mild, sweet, slightly creamy taste, roasted, steamed or eaten raw.
Ormskirk Savoy Cabbage
A hardy English Savoy with deeply crinkled, tender leaves and a sweet, mild flavor, shredded and braised or used for cabbage rolls.
Osaka Purple Mustard
A Japanese mustard with purple-veined leaves, a tender texture and hot, garlicky bite, eaten raw young or stir-fried.
Squash & Gourds That Start With O
Squash, pumpkins and gourds.
Opo Squash
A long, pale green bottle gourd with soft, juicy, mild flesh, peeled and cooked in Filipino ginisang upo, soups and stir-fries.
Orangetti Squash
An orange spaghetti squash whose flesh separates into sweet, tender strands when roasted, served like pasta with sauce.
Orange Hokkaido Squash
Red kuri, a teardrop orange squash with thin, edible skin and dense, sweet, chestnut-like flesh, roasted or made into soup.
One Too Many Pumpkin
A white pumpkin with red veins like bloodshot eyes, with sweet, fine-textured flesh, roasted or baked into pies.
Legumes & Pods That Start With O
Beans and peas that start with O.
Orca Bean
A black-and-white yin-yang bean with a creamy texture and mild, potato-like flavor, simmered in soups, salads and chili.
October Beans
Appalachian speckled cranberry beans with a rich, nutty flavor and creamy texture, cooked fresh-shelled with ham in fall.
Ojo de Cabra Bean
A Mexican goat's eye bean, brown with dark stripes, with a dense, creamy texture and rich, earthy flavor, simmered in stews.
Oregon Giant Snow Pea
A snow pea with large, flat, tender pods and a sweet, fresh flavor, eaten raw, steamed or stir-fried.
Oregon Sugar Pod Pea
A classic snow pea with flat, stringless pods, a crisp texture and sweet taste, stir-fried or added raw to salads.
Fruiting Vegetables That Start With O
Okra, olives, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants and corn.
Okra
Green, ridged pods with a grassy, eggplant-like flavor and tender, slightly slippery texture, fried, grilled or simmered in gumbo.
Olives
Botanically fruits but used savory, cured olives are salty, briny and firm or meaty, eaten as snacks or cooked into tapenade and stews.
Orange Bell Pepper
A fully ripened bell pepper with thick, crunchy walls and a sweet, fruity flavor, eaten raw, stuffed, grilled or roasted.
Orange Habanero
A small lantern-shaped chile with thin, crisp walls, intense heat and a fruity, floral flavor, used in hot sauces and salsas.
Ozark Giant Pepper
A large, blocky heirloom bell pepper with thick, juicy walls and a sweet flavor, stuffed, roasted or sliced raw.
Ohnivec Pepper
A Czech heirloom paprika pepper with thick, crisp, red walls and a sweet, mildly spicy taste, roasted, stuffed or dried.
Oxheart Tomato
A large, heart-shaped heirloom tomato with dense, meaty flesh, few seeds and a sweet, mild flavor, sliced or made into sauce.
Old German Tomato
A huge yellow-and-red bicolor heirloom with juicy, meaty flesh and a sweet, fruity, low-acid flavor, sliced for sandwiches.
Orange Banana Tomato
An orange paste tomato with dense, meaty flesh and a sweet, fruity flavor, used for sauces, drying and fresh salsa.
Opalka Tomato
A long Polish heirloom paste tomato with meaty, nearly seedless flesh and a sweet, rich flavor, cooked into sauces and canned.
Omar's Lebanese Tomato
A giant pink heirloom tomato with juicy, meaty flesh and a sweet, rich, balanced flavor, sliced thick for salads and sandwiches.
Oregon Spring Tomato
An early, cold-tolerant red tomato with juicy, nearly seedless flesh and a mild, sweet flavor, sliced or cooked.
Orient Express Eggplant
A long, slender Asian eggplant with glossy black skin and tender, sweet, creamy flesh, stir-fried, grilled or steamed.
Orient Charm Eggplant
A long pink-and-lavender Asian eggplant with thin skin and mild, creamy flesh, grilled, braised or stir-fried.
Ophelia Eggplant
A mini eggplant with egg-sized purple fruit, tender skin and mild, creamy flesh, roasted whole, grilled or halved and fried.
Oaxacan Green Dent Corn
A Mexican heirloom dent corn with green kernels and a rich, earthy flavor, dried and ground into masa for green tamales.
Orient Express Cucumber
A long, slender Asian cucumber with thin skin, crisp, juicy flesh and a mild, sweet taste, sliced raw or quick-pickled.
Stalks, Shoots & Flowers That Start With O
Fern shoots cooked as vegetables.
Ostrich Fern Fiddleheads
The coiled spring shoots of the ostrich fern, with a crunchy texture and grassy, asparagus-like flavor, boiled well then sautéed.
Sea Vegetables That Start With O
Seaweeds that start with O.
Ogonori
A red seaweed called ogo in Hawaii, with crunchy, branching strands and a fresh, briny flavor, mixed raw into poke and salads.
Oarweed
Laminaria digitata, a brown kelp with broad, leathery fronds and a deep, savory umami flavor, simmered for stock or added to soups.
Mushrooms & Fungi That Start With O
Mushrooms are fungi rather than plants, but they are cooked as culinary vegetables. Only eat wild mushrooms identified by an expert.
Oyster Mushroom
Fan-shaped mushrooms with soft, velvety caps and a mild, slightly sweet, savory flavor, sautéed, roasted or stir-fried.
Oak Mushroom
Another name for shiitake, with a meaty, chewy texture and rich, smoky umami flavor, stir-fried, simmered or grilled.
Herbs Used as Vegetables That Start With O
Herbs and aromatic leaves used generously.
Oregano
A Mediterranean herb with soft, fuzzy leaves and a warm, peppery, slightly bitter flavor, used by the handful on pizza, salads and grills.
Oba Leaves
Green shiso leaves in Japan, with a minty, basil-like, citrusy flavor and soft texture, wrapped around sushi or fried as tempura.
Rare & International Vegetables That Start With O
Less familiar vegetables from around the world.
Oha
Tender leaves of the Pterocarpus tree with a mild, slightly sweet taste and soft texture, the star of Igbo oha soup in Nigeria.
Okazi
Also called ukazi or afang, tough, glossy Gnetum leaves with a slightly bitter, nutty taste, shredded thin for Nigerian soups.
Did You Know?
- Okra pods release a thick, slippery mucilage when cut and cooked, which is why okra is used to thicken gumbo in Louisiana.
- Raw olives are too bitter to eat straight from the tree; they must be cured in brine, water, salt or lye before they are edible.
- Oca, a tuber from the Andes, is called New Zealand yam in New Zealand, where it has been a popular vegetable since the 1800s.
- The red lettuce variety Outredgeous became one of the first vegetables grown and eaten on the International Space Station, in 2015.
Quick List: All 57 Vegetables That Start With O
Handy for alphabet games, quizzes and Scattergories. The full list, A to Z:
Oak Mushroom, Oakleaf Lettuce, Oarweed, Oaxacan Green Dent Corn, Oba Leaves, Oca, October Beans, Ocumo, Ogonori, Oha, Ohnivec Pepper, Oignon de Roscoff, Oignon Doux des Cevennes, Ojo de Cabra Bean, Okazi, Okinawa Spinach, Okinawan Sweet Potato, Okra, Old German Tomato, Olives, Olympia Spinach, Omar's Lebanese Tomato, One Too Many Pumpkin, Ong Choy, Onion, Opalka Tomato, Ophelia Eggplant, Opo Squash, Orache, Orange Banana Tomato, Orange Bell Pepper, Orange Cauliflower, Orange Habanero, Orange Hokkaido Squash, Orangetti Squash, Orca Bean, Oregano, Oregon Giant Snow Pea, Oregon Spring Tomato, Oregon Sugar Pod Pea, Orient Charm Eggplant, Orient Express Cucumber, Orient Express Eggplant, Orla Potato, Ormskirk Savoy Cabbage, Osaka Purple Mustard, Oscarde Lettuce, Ostrich Fern Fiddleheads, Outredgeous Lettuce, Oxheart Carrot, Oxheart Tomato, Oxtongue, Oyster Leaf, Oyster Mushroom, Oyster Plant, Ozark Giant Pepper, Ozette Potato
Frequently Asked Questions
What vegetable starts with O?
Onion is the most common vegetable that starts with O. Okra, olives, oyster mushrooms, oakleaf lettuce, orache, oca, oyster plant, Okinawan sweet potatoes and orange bell peppers are other O vegetables.
Are olives a fruit or a vegetable?
Botanically, olives are fruits, specifically drupes like cherries and plums. In cooking they are treated as savory foods and often grouped with vegetables, since they are cured and used in salads, tapenade, pasta and stews.
What is oca?
Oca is a small Andean tuber, Oxalis tuberosa, with waxy skin in pink, red or yellow. Fresh oca tastes tangy and lemony, while sun-cured oca turns sweeter. It is roasted, boiled or eaten raw, and is called New Zealand yam in New Zealand.
What is a green vegetable that starts with O?
Green vegetables that start with O include okra, oakleaf lettuce, orache, Okinawa spinach, ong choy, Oregon sugar pod peas, ostrich fern fiddleheads, oregano, oba leaves and the West African leaves oha and okazi.
What root vegetables start with O?
Root vegetables that start with O include oca, Okinawan sweet potato, oyster plant or salsify, Oxheart carrots, Ozette and Orla potatoes, and ocumo, the Venezuelan name for malanga. Onions are bulbs rather than roots but are often grouped with them.
More vegetables by letter:
