Vegetables in Spanish: Vocabulary & Examples

Spanish vegetable words are useful in supermarkets, recipes, menus, and conversations about healthy food. In this lesson, you will learn common vegetables with articles, useful plural forms, and short examples for A1 practice.

Common Vegetables

In Spanish, learn each vegetable with el or la when it helps you remember gender and build natural phrases.

• La zanahoria – Carrot
• La patata – Potato
• El tomate – Tomato
• La lechuga – Lettuce
• La cebolla – Onion
• El ajo – Garlic
• El pepino – Cucumber
• El pimiento – Pepper
• El brócoli – Broccoli
• La espinaca – Spinach

Examples:

• Necesito una zanahoria para la sopa. (I need a carrot for the soup.)
• Ella compra patatas en el mercado. (She buys potatoes at the market.)
• Ponemos lechuga en la ensalada. (We put lettuce in the salad.)

More Useful Vegetables

These words are useful for recipes, side dishes, and everyday meals.

• El repollo – Cabbage
• La coliflor – Cauliflower
• La berenjena – Eggplant
• El calabacín – Zucchini
• La calabaza – Pumpkin
• El maíz – Corn
• El guisante – Pea
• La judía – Bean
• El champiñón – Mushroom
• El apio – Celery

Examples:

• Este calabacín está fresco. (This zucchini is fresh.)
• Me gustan los champiñones con arroz. (I like mushrooms with rice.)
• La sopa lleva apio y cebolla. (The soup has celery and onion.)

Articles and Plural Forms

For A1 Spanish, start with these practical patterns.

• La appears with many feminine vegetables: la zanahoria, la patata, la cebolla.
• El appears with many masculine vegetables: el tomate, el ajo, el pepino.
• Many plurals add -s after a vowel: zanahorias, patatas, tomates.
• Words ending in a consonant often add -es: champiñón → champiñones.
• Some accents disappear in plural: champiñón → champiñones.

Examples:

• Quiero dos tomates. (I want two tomatoes.)
• Ella come brócoli en la cena. (She eats broccoli at dinner.)

Common Confusions

Pimiento and pimienta are not the same

• El pimiento – Pepper, the vegetable
• La pimienta – Pepper, the spice

If you mean the vegetable, use pimiento. If you mean the spice, use pimienta.

Judía can change by region

• La judía – Bean
• La judía verde – Green bean
• El frijol – Bean, common in many Latin American countries

The exact translation depends on the country and the type of bean.

Practice with real vegetables: say la zanahoria, el tomate, la cebolla, el brócoli, and el champiñón out loud. Learning the article with the noun makes Spanish easier later.