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HealthyGreenSavvy

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November 19, 2017

25+ Healthy Kale Recipes to Make You Crave Kale

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Last Updated on June 13, 2022

Amazing healthy kale recipes from around the blogosphere for delicious and nutritious meals, snacks, and sides. These healthy kale recipes will have you eating lots more kale — a very good thing!

Have you already joined the kale fan club or have you yet to get crazy for kale? Though there are a lot of “superfoods” out there, kale not only deserves the hype it gets, but unlike the more exotic superfoods, it’s pretty inexpensive and easy to work into all kinds of dishes. Here are some other top superfoods to consider.

healthy kale recipes -- pin with title text and photo of bunch of dino kale

It’s also a snap to grow your own kale, and you can be harvesting your own super-healthy kale all season long. (Instructions here. Not a gardener yet? Let me help you get started with a FREE quickstart guide to growing your own food for total novices.)

Kale is a great fall food, a little heartier than lettuce for really satisfying, gorgeously green salads with a bit more heft, and perfect for baking into casseroles or tossing in nourishing soups. Here in Minnesota, where the average first frost date is mid-September, the pop of green our kale plants can offer in the snow are a welcome sight indeed.

Plus something fresh to eat from the garden when everything else is dead? Oh, yeah!

Here’s more on eating seasonally, even in winter.

What to do with these tough green leaves? They’re surprisingly versatile, wonderful in salads, dried into crispy chips (where most of our kale winds up), tossed in warming winter soups, even baked into cookies!

If you’re planning to add kale to smoothies in one of the recipes below, you want a high-power blender that can deal with the tough leaves, like this one or this one.

Why You Want to Eat More Kale with these Healthy Kale Recipes

Kale is chock full of nutrients your body will appreciate in the challenging winter months. It’s a rich source of vitamin A, which plays an important role in immune function. It’s also an exceptional source of vitamin K, critical in bone building.

Vitamin K also helps with blood clotting, so those on blood thinning medications shouldn’t go overboard on kale. In the crucifer family with other fall faves like brussels sprouts, cabbage, and broccoli, kale contains the same compounds that have been linked with a lessened risk of cancer.

Kale is also a great source of fiber, which we need to cultivate a healthy gut. One cup also supplies a decent amount of potassium and more than the recommended daily allowance of vitamin C, another potent anti-inflammatory that also supports your immune system.

You might remember a 2015 story about thallium in kale. (It’s actually in a lot of crucferous veggies.) Though the article did make a splash on social media, if you read it, you’ll find that the concern is for people who eat really huge quantities of cruciferous veggies. Don’t go crazy with kale juice, OK?

Raw kale and other raw crucifers should also be consumed in moderation due to their high levels of progoitron, which can affect thyroid function, especially in conjunction with iodine deficiency.

So how about some healthy kale recipes to make the most of this oh-so-healthy fall food? These mout- watering ideas from around the blogosphere will have you clamoring for more kale!

Farmbox Direct

Delicious & Healthy Kale Recipes!

Snacks and Salads

photo of kale chicken caesar salad from The Organic Kitchen

Kale Chicken Caesar Salad (The Organic Kitchen)

Breakfast Kale Egg Cups (Prepare and Nourish)

Sprouted Hummus with Kale and Chives (Today in Dietzville)

Kale Pesto (Dr. Karen S. Lee)

Kale Pesto with Sunflower Seeds and Pepitas (Sweet Peas and Saffron)

Spicy Chipotle Kale Chips (Today in Dietzville)

No Fail Kale Chips (HealthyGreenSavvy)

Dairy-Free “Sour Cream” and Onion Kale Chips (Dr. Karen S. Lee)

Kale and Bok Choy Slaw with Spicy Sesame Ginger Dressing (Small Footprint Family)

Kale Salad with Cranberries (Attainable Sustainable)

Red Winter Kale Salad (Strength and Sunshine)

Mains & Soups

Low-Carb Zuppa Tuscana (Today in Dietzville)

Kielbasa And White Bean Soup with Kale (Reformation Acres)

Spiced French Lentil, Kabocha, and Kale Stew (Nourishing Days)

Kale and Cauliflower Soup (Running on Real Food)

photo of kale-stuffed squash from Finding Happy in Healthy

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Kale, Spinach, and Mushrooms (Finding Happy in Healthy)

Parmesan Kale Turkey Meatlets (Prepare and Nourish)

Kale and Black Bean Quesadillas (Turning the Clock Back)

Crustless Quiche with Kale, Zucchini and Garlic (Eat Beautiful)

Slow Cooker Green Chicken Chili with Kale (Nourishing Days)

Kale Quinoa Stuffed Sweet Potatoes (Green Healthy Cooking)

Healthy Kale Recipes: Sweets and Treats

healthy kale recipes -- photo of kale cookies

Coconut Kale Lime Cookies (Life Infused)

Kale Banana Muffins (Vegging At the Shore)

Chocolate Chip Kale Cookies (Chocolate Covered Katie)

Kale Pineapple Smoothie (Well Plated by Erin)

Green Pumpkin Smoothie (Cadry’s Kitchen)

Coconut Kale Banana Smoothie (Ilona’s Passion)

Kale Berry Smoothie (Baking-Ginger)

Super Kale Pops (Super Healthy Kids)

>>> Kale is a popular add-in for smoothies of all sorts. Here are more than 50 inspiring healthy smoothie recipes if you need some ideas!

Check out these other collections for more brilliant ways to work super-healthy veggies into your meals!

  • Healthy Spaghetti Squash Recipes You Need to Try
  • 50+ Healthy and Delicious Bean Recipes
  • 75 Healthy Pumpkin Recipes
  • Drool-Worthy Sweet Potato Recipes
  • 50+ Delicious Zucchini Recipes

What are your favorite healthy kale recipes? Share in the comments!


Pin to save these healthy kale recipes for later!

pin with title text and photos of healthy kale recipes (prepped kale in bowl, kale cookies, and stuffed squash with kale)

Photo credits: anandasandra, pompi, The Organic Kitchen, Life Infused, Finding Happy in Healthy

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Susannah

Susannah is a proud garden geek and energy nerd who loves healthy food and natural remedies. Her work has appeared in Mother Earth Living, Ensia, Northern Gardener, Sierra, and on numerous websites. Her first book, Everything Elderberry, released in September 2020 and has been a #1 new release in holistic medicine, naturopathy, herb gardening, and other categories. Find out more and grab your copy here.

Filed Under: Healthy Food & Easy Recipes

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Trackbacks

  1. Vegetarian Stir Fry with Tofu, Mushrooms & Bok Choy  - HealthyGreenSavvy says:
    January 22, 2018 at 8:30 am

    […] choy is a cruciferous vegetable, like cabbage and kale, with the same cancer-fighting compounds. Rich with vitamins A, C, and K, it’s a great […]

    Reply
  2. Plantain Herb Benefits and Uses from a Pesky Weed! | Whole New Mom says:
    May 20, 2018 at 8:15 pm

    […] Older plantain leaves make a tasty substitution before your kale is ready to harvest (or if you run out) in kale chips or one of these kale recipes. […]

    Reply
  3. What is a CSA (& Why You Want to Join One!) | HealthyGreenSavvy says:
    September 12, 2018 at 3:30 pm

    […] I learn about new varieties of fruits and vegetables and get tips on how to use them. Open Hands is where I first tried groundcherries, where my daughter discovered that she loves eating pea flowers, and where I learned about making kale chips. […]

    Reply
  4. 40+ Vegetables that Grow in Shade! | HealthyGreenSavvy says:
    December 7, 2018 at 2:00 pm

    […] — Kale is delicious in so many recipes (see this collection of kale recipes if you need a little inspiration).  Keep yourself in kale chips this season with plenty […]

    Reply
  5. Growing Your Own Food Is Easier Than You Think! says:
    January 16, 2019 at 2:00 pm

    […] In addition to arugula, lettuce, and spinach for salads, I love to grow lots of kale for use in soups, salads, and for kale chips. A nutritional powerhouse, kale is very easy to grow and has a long season. (And is far more versatile than you might imagine — check out these creative and delicious uses for kale.) […]

    Reply
  6. Wild Rice Recipes ~ Healthy Salads, Soups & Sides! | HealthyGreenSavvy says:
    February 26, 2019 at 5:00 pm

    […] 25 Healthy Kale Recipes that Will Make You Crave […]

    Reply
  7. Healthy Eating Habits Simplified | HealthyGreenSavvy says:
    March 11, 2019 at 1:00 pm

    […] Healthy Kale Recipes […]

    Reply
  8. Baked Kale Chips Recipe ~ Easy, Healthy & YUM! | HealthyGreenSavvy says:
    March 23, 2019 at 6:00 pm

    […] my kale gets turned into baked kale chips, but this collection of healthy kale recipes can give you great ideas for using any you have […]

    Reply
  9. Healthy Food for Kids Hacked! | HealthyGreenSavvy says:
    March 24, 2019 at 10:01 am

    […] veggie-rich collections of recipes including treats made with zucchini, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, kale, and beans. Black bean pumpkin brownies? Oh, yeah! If you need more inspiration, here’s a big […]

    Reply
  10. Is Granola Good For You? The Surprising Truth | HealthyGreenSavvy says:
    April 11, 2019 at 8:00 am

    […] For many people, granola falls into a broad category they think of as “health food,” probably because it was something that gained popularity in the 1970s when it was sold at places called “health food stores.” It acquired a halo of health because it was associated with crunchy people who ate then-unusual things like tofu and kale. […]

    Reply

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