Blitva – Swiss Chard with Potatoes
Blitva is a simple, quick to prepare and delicious vegan swiss chard recipe from Croatia. Here, swiss chard meets potatoes, which together with olive oil and garlic create a particularly tasty combination. This traditional dish is easy to prepare and ideal for anyone who loves uncomplicated Mediterranean cuisine. In this post, I’ll show you a recipe with just a few ingredients for authentic blitva – just like on vacation.
Blitva s krumpirum
Blitva is the Croatian word for chard and also refers to a simple but popular dish made from chard, potatoes, olive oil and garlic. The full name is “Blitva s krumpirom” – which translates as “chard with potatoes”. On menus and in restaurants, it is usually only listed and ordered as blitva.
Especially along the Dalmatian coast, blitva is traditionally served as a side dish with fish and is one of the typical dishes there. For me, it became the main course during a seaside vacation in Croatia, as the Balkan peninsula is not exactly famous for vegan cuisine.
As I have been living without meat and fish for an eternity, I have become accustomed to the role of side dish eater. Alongside french fries and grilled vegetables, blitva is one of the most popular dishes among vegan Balkan fans like me.
Although blitva is widespread in Croatia – I also ate it often in Montenegro – it is still more of an insider tip outside the region. However, the dish is quick and easy to make with just a few ingredients. More on this later and at the end of this post.
Rarity
Swiss chard is far too rarely found on supermarket shelves in Vienna, even though it actually grows well here and is in season from June to October.
I sometimes find it at Interspar and Billa Plus. Or in Turkish supermarkets or even at City Farm Augarten.
I’ve been renting a garden plot in Vienna for a few years now, where Swiss chard grows and runs wild. In this post featuring another vegan Swiss chard recipe—creamy Swiss chard curry with lentils—I’ll show you my first Swiss chard harvest of the season.
Alongside the curry—and even more so—Blitva is one of my favorite Swiss chard recipes and a staple on my menu every year, even when I’m not on vacation in the south.
Blitva: a Delicious Vegan Swiss Chard Recipe
For a delicious and easy chard recipe you only need a few simple ingredients, namely:
- swiss chard
- potatoes
- onion (not quite as authentic, but adds flavor)
- garlic
- olive oil (don’t skimp on this)
- vegetable stock powder (or “Vegeta”)
- salt
- pepper
Now there are just a few steps left to your chard potatoes:
- Prepare the swiss chard: wash thoroughly and separate the leaves from the stalk. Cut the stalk into approx. 0.5-1 cm pieces and cut the leaves into slightly coarser strips.
A few words and tips about the stalk at this point: as the stalk is quite thick and extends into the leaf, don’t cut it off straight, but cut it slightly into the leaf to get as much of the thick stalk as possible (see the photos below). It has a slightly longer cooking time than the leaves and is therefore cooked separately. - Peel the potatoes, cut them into smaller pieces and boil them in salted water in a pan.
- After a few minutes, add the chard stems.
- After a few more minutes, add the chard leaves.
- Peel and finely chop the garlic.
- Heat a little olive oil in a pan and fry the garlic very briefly.
- Next, add the cooked and drained potatoes with the chard, more olive oil and the vegetable stock powder or “Vegeta”.
- You can mash the potatoes a little with a fork.
- Finally, season with salt, pepper and, if you like, a little more olive oil.
Blitva Variations
If you want to add a plant-based source of protein to your Blitva dish, (smoked) tofu is a wonderful addition. It may not be quite as traditional, but it tastes very good:
- To do this, cut the (smoked) tofu into small cubes and fry in a pan before you sauté the onion and garlic in it. Place the fried tofu on the side and mix in or sprinkle on top at the end.
I got another variation from a hungry reader, Erich, who left this tip as a comment on the German version of this recipe:
- Serve with toasted pine nuts and feta. In this case, I recommend my beloved almond feta.
Whichever version you choose, I wish you every success and “dobar tek!” (bon appétit).
Blitva – Swiss Chard with Potatoes, Croatian Style
Ingredients
- 1 kg Swiss chard regardless of whether green or colored
- 500 g potatoes
- 5 cloves garlic
- 8 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp (homemade) vegetable stock powder
- 1 tsp salt Plus 1 tbsp more for the boiling water
- pepper
Instructions
- Wash and clean the Swiss chard. Separate the leaves from the stalks (see photos in the post).Cut the stalks into pieces about 0.5–1 cm thick and slice the leaves into thin strips.
- Peel the potatoes, cut them into smaller pieces and add them to about 2 liters of boiling salted water.
- After 5 minutes, add the chopped Swiss chard stalks and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Then add the chard leaves and cook for up to 5 more minutes – until the potatoes and stalks are soft and the leaves have wilted.
- Meanwhile, finely chop the garlic.
- Drain the cooked vegetables using a colander.
- In a large pan, heat about 5 tbsp of olive oil and briefly sauté the garlic for just a few seconds (around 5 seconds) – just enough to mellow its sharpness.
- Add the cooked potatoes and Swiss chard to the pan. Lightly mash the potatoes with a potato masher or fork.
- Stir in the stock powder and the remaining 3 tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Optionally, drizzle a bit of olive oil on top when serving.
Notes
- This amount is good for 2 to 3 main dishes or 4 to 5 side dishes.
- Instead of vegetable stock powder, you can also use Vegeta *), the condiment of the Balkans. In Vienna, I find it in most regular supermarkets. Be sure to buy the glutamate-free version.
- Recipe update: I revised the recipe in June 2025 and think it tastes even better and more authentic now. If you’d like to access my original version, you can access it via the “Wayback Machine” internet archive.
Delicious!
Glad you liked it. 🙂
Like you said, we can use blitva instead of spinach, so if you know to make spinach in white garlic sauce, you can enjoy in same dish made with blitva
Mmmmh, sounds nice.