What can I make with kale?
Kale wilts down to almost nothing, so it works in far more dishes than people expect. Recipes using kale are below, along with storage tricks that buy you several extra days.
7 recipes with kale
Kale Caesar Salad
Hearty kale tossed in creamy Caesar dressing.
American15m4
Vegan Buddha Bowl
Quinoa bowl with roasted veg, chickpeas, and tahini.
American35m2Buddha Bowl
Grain bowl loaded with roasted veg, protein, and tahini drizzle.
American35m4Caldo Verde
A hearty and flavorful soup from Portugal, made with potatoes, kale, and sausage.
Portuguese60m4Colcannon
A traditional Irish side dish made from mashed potatoes, kale or cabbage, onions, and sometimes ham or bacon.
Irish75m6
Callaloo Jamaican Style
Cut leaves and soft stems from the kale branches, them soak in a bowl of cold water for about 5-10 minutes or until finish with prep.
Jamaican4
Sukuma Wiki
Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or pot over medium heat until shimmering.
Kenyan4
How to get the most flavour out of kale
- 1Cut into even pieces so everything finishes at the same moment.
- 2Roast at 425F on a preheated sheet pan for caramelised edges, or sear hard in a skillet if you want it fast.
- 3Do not crowd the pan; steam is the enemy of browning. Use two trays if you have to.
- 4Season in layers: salt before cooking, then acid and fat after, so the kale tastes finished rather than plain.
What goes well with kale
Kale is at its best with garlic, olive oil, lemon, feta, toasted seeds and chili. Any two or three of those, plus kale, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing kale
Store kale unwashed - moisture is what causes rot. Leafy types last longest wrapped loosely in a towel inside a bag; roots prefer somewhere cool and dark, not the fridge door. Anything starting to soften is ideal for soups, stocks, and roasting.
Substituting kale
If you are out of kale, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Kale recipes: common questions
- What can I make with kale and not much else?
- Plenty. With kale plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest kale recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute kale?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover kale?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover kale without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- Are these kale recipes vegetarian-friendly?
- Many are, and the vegetarian and vegan collections filter the whole library down to recipes with no meat or no animal products at all. In the chat you can also say "vegan" or "no dairy" and every suggestion will respect it.