Chives vs. Green Onions: What’s the Difference?

Chives are herbs with slender, uniformly green stems sometimes sold with their purple flowers still attached. Like onions and garlic, they are part of the Allium genus, and while you’re most likely to see onion chives (Allium schoenoprasum) in the grocery store, the term “chive” can refer to several different species, most notably Allium tuberosum, or garlic chives.

Due to their milder flavor and partly because they can easily become bitter when cooked, chives are best used raw. The flavor of chives is similar to that of other members of the onion family, but incredibly delicate. Fresh chives are an excellent choice of garnish for soups, stews, salads, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, omelets, deviled eggs, or anything else that could benefit from a hint of onion-y flavor. They’re also useful as a component of a spread or dip since they won’t overpower the palate. That’s why you often find chives in compound butters and dips.

Green onions are the young form of either the Japanese bunching onion (Allium fistulosum) or the common bulb onion (Allium cepa), the difference being that the former does not develop bulbs. In contrast, the latter will eventually develop into full-sized white or yellow onions. Green onions are also called scallions.

Green onions are typically sold in bunches with the bulb still attached. The white part closer to the bulb has a stronger onion flavor, but as you get farther down the stalk and the plant takes on more of a green color, the flavor becomes both milder and fresher.

Green onions are a staple of Asian cooking; you will often see them included in stir-fry recipes along with ginger and garlic. One of their most famous uses is in Chinese scallion pancakes, typically served as an appetizer or a side dish. The green part of green onions is also often used in savory baked goods like biscuits and scones and in dips like sour cream and onion dip.

While there are similarities between chives and green onions—namely, their relation to leeks, shallots, and other alliums and have a similar flavor profile—there are a few key differences you’ll want to keep in mind when meal planning, including:

• Heat tolerance: Green onions hold up to heat and can be stir-fried or charred; chives will quickly become bitter and unusable if cooked at too high a temperature.
• Appearance: Chives have much thinner, more delicate stems than green onions do. They also tend to have a uniform green color, while green onions are white at the root and gradually transition in color to their green tops.
• Texture: Chives have thin stems with a barely noticeable texture. The white part of green onions is crunchy, like an onion, while the green part is thicker and coarser than chives.
• Flavor: This is the main difference between the two: Green onions have an astringent, onion-y flavor; chives, meanwhile, are much milder. Therefore, chives are herbs and green onions are vegetables.

You can use chives and green onions in place of one another in certain cases, especially when you plan to eat them raw. However, keep in mind that since green onions have a much stronger flavor, you’ll want to use less of them in recipes that call for chives. Conversely, you’ll want to use chives in greater quantities in recipes that call for green onions.

The same general principle applies to baking. You can include chives in a biscuit or scone batter that calls for green onions, but you’ll want to use more of them than what’s called for in the recipe.

When following recipes that require high or direct heat, it’s best to use green onions rather than chives since the high heat will ruin the flavor of the chives. Instead, add chives as a garnish for a similar flavor.

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