Abstract The phenolic profile and the content of the bitter sesquiterpene lactone 8- O -acetyl-15-β- d -glucopyranosyllactucin were assessed in the edible shoots of Cicerbita alpina (L.) Wallroth. Shoots from four different accessions, three of them cultivated and one collected in the wild, were analyzed by HPLC-DAD. 8- O -Acetyl-15-β- d -glucopyranosyllactucin, the main bitter compound of the vegetable, and caffeic acid derivatives chlorogenic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, caffeoyltartric acid, and cichoric acid were identified and quantified. Pronounced variability in the content of all compounds was observed within samples from the same accession. The edible shoots of C. alpina contain large amounts of antioxidant caffeic acid derivatives and might therefore be of interest as chemopreventives. The observed variability within the species offers opportunities to start a breeding program with the focus on the sensory and antioxidant properties of the envisaged cultivar.