How to Cook Kale: 7 Unique Ways Plus Recipes
Kale has been a superfood darling for years. But be honest, how often do you do anything aside from making kale chips or throwing it in a salad? We admit we’ve been getting a bit lackadaisical about our kale preparation. Let’s get back into our obsession with the leafy green by uncovering how to cook kale in seven different ways. We’ve also compiled kale recipes to make these new methods easier and even more mouth-watering.
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1. Massage It
If you’re not massaging your kale salads already, you’re about to discover something wonderful. Raw kale tends to be a bit tough. But by massaging it into its dressing, you not only bring out its flavor, but you allow it to take on a much more pleasant texture. This kale salad pairs the slightly bitter green with grains and sweet-and-sour dried cherries in an exquisite blend of flavors.
2. Powder It
Don’t worry — you don’t need any sort of modern molecular biology tools to make this powder, just an oven and a food processor. In this popcorn recipe, kale coats your favorite movie snack, but once you’ve mastered powdered kale, you can use it as a topping for all sorts of things, from your favorite white fish to cooked noodles.
3. Sweeten It
What? Sweet kale? Trust us — as strange as this kale granola might seem at first glance, this is one for the books. This raw-friendly superfood granola combines kale with far more traditional granola recipes like sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, nuts, and coconut. Either bake or dehydrate and add to the granola. Or try a blended kale smoothie bowl topped with granola.
4. Blend It
Letting kale take the traditional spot of basil in pesto is one for the books. Earthier kale adds a bolder flavor to the traditional sauce, meaning you can take this arugula pesto and sub it out for kale and then find even more places: put it on pasta, but also put it on fish, spread it on tartines, or use it as a topping for cooked vegetables.
5. Stuff It
Lest we forget that kale is indeed a cabbage, this recipe treats it like the more traditional brassica heads and stuffs it with a seasoned turkey and quinoa mixture. The resulting stuffed kale is somewhat reminiscent of cabbage rolls, but it’s a whole lot greener. You can serve these as a cold dish with guacamole, or hot and topped with tomato sauce.
6. Sauté It
You have to be very careful about over-cooking kale. Doing so will end up with a too-bitter flavor, not to mention a pungent aroma in your kitchen. Two or three minutes is ideal, as in this kale pasta recipe. Wilt the kale by tossing it in with the pasta and squash. This gives the kale a strong but not overwhelming taste.
7. Bake It
The days when casseroles were synonymous with fake ingredients and too much fat are over. This kale casserole includes a combo of flavorful ingredients like kale, fontina, and rosemary, along with the protein of white beans. Bake in the oven until the cheese is bubbly. This makes the perfect vegetarian comfort food.
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