Recipes

Cicada Recipes: How to Cook Gourmet Brood X Appetizer, Entrees

How to cook and eat cicadas, according to a gourmet French chef

NBC Universal, Inc.

You’ve probably heard of the Brood X cicadas that have emerged after 17 years underground — maybe you’ve even heard them singing in your own yard.

Did you know cicadas are edible? That's right, Brood X is on the menu.

If you want to eat a cicada, it's best to grab them when they emerge from the ground as nymphs. Or, remove the hard, crunchy shell.

Eating cicadas is safe (unless you have shellfish allergies), entomologists and food experts say.

Xavier Deshayes, executive chef for the Ronald Reagan Building, shared his Brood X cicada recipes so anyone can try Caesar salad with crispy cicada croutons, cicada and beef chili dogs or cicada-rubbed grilled flank steak topped with crispy onions and cicadas.

Caesar Salad With Crispy Cicada Croutons Recipe

Cicada and Beef Chili Dogs Recipe

Cicada-rubbed Grilled Flank Steak Topped with Crispy Onions and Cicadas Recipe

Storm Team4 Meteorologist Doug Kammerer tried all these recipes. Check out the videos here.

Contact Us