15 Easy Kale Recipes

There are different ways of eating kale; kale chips and sauteed kale are some of the most popular, but you can easily jazz up a soup, stew, curry, salad, and pasta with a bunch of kale.

1. Sauteed kale

The first recipe on our list is this 10-minute vegetable side dish; sauteed kale is super easy to make at home. Pair it with olive oil, garlic, and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes for an aromatic, bright, and healthy side dish.

2. Crispy kale chips

Crispy, healthy, and a great green alternative to crisps, these bright green kale chips are wonderful as an appetizer, side dish, or snack.

3. Kale salad

It's a perfect wholesome side dish, colorful appetizer, or a healthy lunch and dinner idea. It's even better as a make-ahead meal since it stores great in the fridge for a couple of days. Handy for putlocks and as a lunchbox meal as well.

4. Quinoa kale salad

This kale and quinoa salad is a tasty, nutritious, and colorful recipe excellent as a healthy make-ahead lunch or dinner and for meal prepping. Serve it as a wholesome dinner or vibrant lunch, and confidently store it in the fridge as it keeps well for several days.

5. Kale pesto

Easy, tasty, and vibrant, this kale pesto recipe is ready in 5 minutes and made with simple ingredients. Use it in sandwiches, pasta, and on crostini as an appetizer - the serving options are numerous!

6. Creamy kale pasta

A quick and easy dinner, ready in just the time to cook the pasta. It's super easy to make vegetarian or vegan by subbing your favorite dairy-free cheese alternatives, and it's a great way to use up kale leftovers.

7. Easy kale pesto pasta

This 20-minute creamy kale pesto pasta is a fall and winter dinner favorite! Make it with our tasty kale pesto for a wholesome and quick meal that kids and adults alike will love.

8. Kale soup

Kale is perfect in soups and stews, especially when paired with a rich tomato sauce. This creamy and comforting kale soup is a 30-minute recipe filled to the brim with beans, veggies, and tomato flavor.

9. Tuscan soup

Rich, rustic, and packed with healthy leafy greens! You can expect a wholesome and comforting meal to feed your whole family, excellent for cold winter days and perfect to make ahead.

10. Lentil soup

Here's an Italian-inspired soup with plenty of kale and healthy greens. This lentil soup is an excellent everyday dinner and make-ahead meal, as you can store it for up to 5 days in the refrigerator and up to 3 months in the freezer.

11. Savory mushroom crepes

Gluten-free and delicious, these savory chickpea crepes are perfect for a special dinner. They are wholesome, nutritious, stuffed with a mushroom and kale filling, and garnished with a quick and tasty white sauce.

12. Sweet potato curry

Sweet potato is a great match with kale as you pair leafy greens and potassium-rich sweet potatoes. Making this sweet potato curry is easy. Tasty, warming, nourishing, and family-friendly, it's our favorite way of eating sweet potatoes, and we are sure you'll love it too.

13. Chickpea soup

This chickpea soup is a warming, wholesome and colorful soup. Make it extra nutritious by adding fresh or frozen leafy greens such as kale, spinach or baby spinach, chard, and broccoli rabe.

14. Easy chickpea curry

Creamy, rich, and with a perfect Indian spice mix, this chickpea curry is a great weeknight-dinner idea. Make it green by adding spinach or kale, either fresh or frozen. Add them in 10 minutes before the curry is ready, and enjoy with a serving of white rice.

15. Sweet potato chickpea stew

Make this creamy and tomato-rich chickpea stew even more colorful and nutritious by adding spinach or kale just 5 minutes before the chickpea stew is ready.

Stir them in, allow them to wilt - it takes about 5 minutes - then serve the curry with your favorite grain or bread for a comforting yet healthy dinner.

How to get the bitterness out of kale

Massaging kale is an efficient step to soften its texture making it less tough, easier to eat, tastier, and less bitter. We think this step is essential to consume raw kale.

1. Chop the kale leaves into bite-size pieces and add them to a large bowl.
2. Add a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice (about one tablespoon), then pinch or massage the kale with your fingertips until you can feel it get softer (about 30 seconds).

You should feel some of the fiber break off. Don't over-massage. We don't want flimsy kale. The lemon and salt help us break down some tougher kale fiber.

What can I make with a bunch of kale?

Kale is a superfood and you can easily make a quick soup, stew, curry, or casserole when mixing it with:

• Vegetable flavor base (carrot, celery, onion).
• Spices (cumin, curry, turmeric, or dried Italian herbs).
• Nutritious legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas).
• Diced or crushed tomatoes.
• Herbs (fresh rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves).

Kale is a great remedy (not a cure) against winter blues and cold winter days. 

More easy dinner ideas

Try these flavor-packed and veggie-rich dinner ideas, they're easy to make at home and family-friendly:

• Lentil curry (lentils, coconut milk, diced tomatoes, cumin, turmeric, curry, garam masala).
• Spaghetti aglio e olio (spaghetti, garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes, olive oil).
• Red lentil soup (split red lentils, canned tomatoes, garlic, onion, rosemary).
• Whole roasted cauliflower (cauliflower, harissa, tahini sauce, chimichurri).
• Stuffed eggplant (eggplant, cherry tomatoes, basil, green pesto).