43 Delicious Ways to Cook With Kale

This kale salad calls for Tuscan kale, also known as black or dinosaur kale. The simple recipe offers loads of variations, so you can make the recipe a number of different ways. If you find raw kale too tough, try massaging the chopped leaves with the dressing to tenderize the greens a bit.

Healthy and filling yet light, lemon, kale, and lentil soup makes a delicious lunch or dinner paired with crusty bread and salad. If you're a meat eater, add extra flavor with crumbled, cooked spicy sausage.

For a refreshing green smoothie, combine naturally sweet pear and banana with fresh ginger, kale, and almond milk. Add ice for a chilly treat.

Add a little nutrition to your pesto by swapping out half of the fresh basil for kale. This kale pesto recipe is also vegan, using nutritional yeast instead of parmesan cheese. It still has all of the flavors you want from pesto and tastes great as a spread, sauce, or dip.

Any leafy green can be "creamed," and kale pairs deliciously with heavy cream, garlic, and parmesan. Creamed kale has a little more texture than the traditional, delicate spinach, and is the perfect companions to steak.

Kale chips tend to be high priced at the grocery store, but they're easy to make in your home oven. Crispy and airy, your whole family will love munching the healthy snack like popcorn.

This simple raw kale salad is light and bright thanks to the lemon dressing, and is a crunchy accompaniment to most any meal. Make it a main dish for lunch by topping with grilled chicken and croutons or a few more veggies.

Ground beef, black-eyed peas, tomatoes, corn, and kale come together to make a delicious hamburger soup. It's an ideal cold weather lunch, perfect for packing away and taking to work.

This easy, low-fat kale frittata recipe is a nice main dish for breakfast or brunch. Add a sprinkling of cheese like feta, cheddar, or parmesan for a burst of flavor.

Adding kale to a chicken and pasta casserole makes it a complete meal. You can even make the dish ahead of time, omitting the breadcrumb topping, and store it in the fridge for up to a day before baking. Add the topping just before baking to keep it crisp.

This vibrant fig and kale salad is a summertime treat. Ripe, fresh figs add sweetness and texture to the light and crunchy dish. Arugula adds a peppery bite and avocado adds mild creaminess.

Green smoothies are beloved for their vibrant color, good nutrition, and balance of flavor. This recipe combines raw kale with fresh herbs like mint and parsley and naturally sweet banana and orange juice for a real treat.

Use kale as the greens in the vibrant shakshuka recipe. Cooked with onions and garlic and topped with eggs, it's a healthy breakfast, brunch, or lunch dish. Serve with warm pita.

This kale and cabbage salad is light and oh-so-crunchy. A simple mustard vinaigrette and a topping of walnuts give the dish lots of flavor. It's ideal served with anything off the grill and only takes minutes to toss together.

For a super healthy, hot side dish, boil kale until tender and toss it with sautéed onion, peppers, and garlic. Vinegar adds a nice tang, and fresh tomato lightens everything up. Serve alongside fish or chicken.

Cashews are the secret to this vegan chowder recipe. Vegetables like sweet potato, bell pepper, corn, and kale are combined to make a hearty and warming soup. The dinner-in-a-bowl comes together in just a few minutes—perfect for a weeknight.

A simple combination of fresh kale, blueberries (fresh or frozen), and orange juice makes a simply delicious smoothie. Try it for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

The crisp texture and slight bitterness of raw kale pairs perfectly with sweet and tart citrus. This vegan salad combines the green with orange segments and a fruity dressing for a colorful dish.

A quick stir fry of collard greens and kale makes a delicious and nutritious side. Serve with any kind of meat and mashed potatoes, and add a splash of hot sauce for a bit of spice.

Flavorful sausage, wilted kale, sweet onions, and melty cheese come together to make a very special grilled cheese sandwich. If you're vegetarian, try this sandwich with veggie sausage, or omit the sausage altogether.

Slow-cooked kale is flavored with bacon and topped with sausage for a classic German dish. The greens soak up all the flavors of the meat, making German kale and sausage delicious comfort food.

Two superfoods come together in this dish for a powerhouse of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Kale and quinoa offer lots of texture and make an especially good side dish for salmon.

Kobachi means "small bowl" in Japanese and is a common term for side dishes. Stir-fry dinosaur kale, olive oil, soy sauce, and mirin (Japanese sweet cooking sake) for a quick and healthy dish.

Turn sweet potatoes into a main dish by stuffing them with chicken, kale, and barbecue sauce. BBQ chicken-stuffed sweet potatoes are a high-protein and nutritious meal packed with veggies that the whole family will love.

Kale is taken to the next level when cooked with mustard greens, onion, cherry tomatoes, and spicy sausage. Garlic, lemon, and Cajun spices add even more flavor. This kale dish is hearty enough to simply serve with beans or rice for a full meal.

For a salad that's bright and fresh, combine raw kale, avocado, various fruits, tomato, and a coconut-lime dressing. A healthy fruit and kale salad is ideal served alongside egg dishes at brunch.

Light and crispy kale chips are a guilt-free, addictive snack, and they're especially easy to make with a dehydrator. Add nutritional yeast for a cheesy umami boost, and a dash of cayenne pepper for a little heat.

This fragrant side dish is cooked much like fried rice, with the quinoa crisping in the pan after cooking. The kale adds a nice touch of green and textural contrast. Top the crispy quinoa with Parmesan or grated cheese of your choice.

This creamy soup is basically a potato chowder with the addition of sausage and kale. It's a hearty meal in a bowl, perfect for cold winter nights. Frozen kale works just fine for this recipe.

For a healthy alternative to mayo-laden potato salad, try this vegan version with kale. It's dressed simply (add a squeeze of lemon for extra flavor) and can be served at room temperature or cold.

Turn your pesto into health food by replacing the basil with nutritious kale. Use kale pesto to top pasta, toast, risotto, and more. It's a milder-flavored pesto—toss in a little basil for that familiar flavor.

Sautéed mushrooms and kale are paired with tender beets and tangy, creamy goat cheese for this unconventional grilled cheese sandwich. It's a feast of a sandwich for vegetarians (and meat eaters, too).

Looking for a hearty side dish? Tender lentils, sweet potato, and kale is a simple and filling dish that goes well with a variety of meats and grains.

This kale salad is an explosion of flavor with roasted golden beets, raisins, walnuts, and a lemon-tahini dressing. To make it a main dish, try topping it with grilled or broiled fish.

Kale and white bean soup is a quick and easy one-bowl meal, especially when served with crusty bread. Andouille sausage adds plenty of flavor to the hearty dish.

If you need a bit of green for your dinner plate, this marinated kale salad only takes a few ingredients and is fresh and crunchy. Letting the kale marinate in the vinaigrette tenderizes the leaves while still tasting fresh.

Ribollita is a traditional Tuscan soup of white beans, potatoes, beet greens, and kale. It's served with alternating layers of soup and day-old bread, turning it into a warming stew.

Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes, cooked greens like kale, onions, and butter. It's delicious served with a stew, especially on St. Patrick's Day.

Fresh apple, kiwi, kale, cilantro, and ginger make this green smoothie a healthy and flavor-filled drink. Use a sweet and flavorful apple for this recipe.

This simple kale and sweet potato soup is a nice light lunch, first course, or main dish. Swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth and pair it with crusty bread and a salad for a vegetarian dinner.

Use leftover rice to make stir-fried jasmine rice for a toasty side dish. Kale adds green color, while teriyaki sauce, ginger, and garlic add flavor. Serve with stir-fried chicken, beef, or shrimp.

Red quinoa has a fun texture and is high in protein. Paired with lentils and kale, this quinoa bowl is a nutritional powerhouse. Sun-dried tomatoes and a flavorful sauce make it a tasty meal.

These kale chips have a similar flavor profile to many store-bought varieties, but for a fraction of the price. Tahini, nutritional yeast, and apple cider vinegar give the greens a cheesy flavor without using actual cheese.