Is Arugula *Really* A Parmesan Swap? Our Food Editor Weighs In

Arugula as a substitute for Parmesan? It’s the kind of quick-fix recipe swap that might even make ChatGPT think twice before belching it out. But Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow, who is no stranger to generating controversy for promotional purposes (see the This Smells Like My Vagina candle hullabaloo), made the controversial case for the leafy green as the ideal non-dairy substitution in a recent TV appearance on The Today Show.

Paltrow, who was on the morning show last week to promote Goop Kitchen—her made-to-order food delivery service—was cooking up her recipe for gluten-free, grain-free turkey meatballs when she dropped the following advice on Today Show hosts Savannah Guthrie and Carson Daly: “If you want to avoid dairy, one trick that I do is dice up arugula and I put it in.”

Guthrie had the good sense to call the idea “weird” but Paltrow, who has five bestselling cookbooks under her belt, claimed that the leafy, peppery green adds a nice “texture” to the meatballs.

Paltrow didn’t just come up with the swap on the spot. Her 2013 cookbook, It’s All Good, contains an “Elimination Diet”-friendly recipe for turkey meatballs that leaves the parmesan ungrated in the fridge, and instead adds a “large handful of arugula, roughly chopped.”

The cookbook was co-created with chef Julia Turshen, and for this reason—and this reason only—we trust that the meatballs taste just fine with arugula instead of parm. (And if you haven't checked out Turshen’s excellent cookbook, Small Victories, you definitely should.) But as Chatelaine deputy food editor Chantal Braganza points out, parmesan is nearly lactose-free, which makes it a pretty ideal ingredient for people seeking to avoid the irritant. (Though of course, it's still a dairy product.)

Arugula and parmesan are pretty yummy partners, too, which makes separating them feel like a missed connection.

Paltrow’s recipe advice had many detractors online—one genius Reddit commenter quipped “someone’s in for arugula wakening”—but the Iron Man star also got some positive responses from dairy-free supporters who could see how arugula’s water content might prevent turkey meatballs from being too dry.

Braganza isn't bothered by the swap but doesn't agree that it's a one-to-one replacement. ”They both add something texturally, but arugula can't add the fat and salt that parm does,” she says. ”If you don't want fat or salt for dietary reasons, that's another thing—in which case do the arugula.”