Twelve Whole-Food Plant-Based Kale Recipes You Should Try This Week (2024)

Kale every day. Your body will thank you. Kale is incredibly beneficial to your health, and I've selected a mix of stir-fries, salads, grain bowls, and soups to keep your kale levels topped up!

1. Spicy Tahini Noodles with Roasted Vegetables - (101 Cookbooks)
This is my favorite kind of weeknight meal. Noodles tossed with a quick sauce, topped with an abundance of roasted vegetables - roast a pan of kale along with your other veggies here. Really tasty. Get the recipe here.

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2. Instant Pot Minestrone Soup - (101 Cookbooks)
A stand-by. Making really good minestrone in the Instant Pot with dried, un-soaked beans is totally possible! No need to use mushy canned beans. Loads of kale. Skip the Parmesan rind to keep it WFPB. Get the recipe here. Also, more Instant Pot recipes here.

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3. Kale Stir Fry with Crispy Curried Tofu - (Lauren Caris Cooks)
Everyone needs a strong stir-fry repertoire, and this version is packed with goodness - curry-spiced tofu with kale, cabbage, and carrots. Get the recipe here.

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4. Harissa Spaghettini - (101 Cookbooks)
I wrote this recipe nearly a decade ago(!), and it's still in regular rotation. Black olives, pine nuts, lots of kale, and a big dollop of harissa. Boom. Get the recipe here.

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5. Hazelnut & Chard Ravioli Salad - (101 Cookbooks)
We're talking about plump raviolis tossed with toasted hazelnuts, lemony flecks of chard (or kale!), and deeply caramelized onions. You've got crunch from toasted hazelnuts, and brightness from a bit of zest. Choose a vegan ravioli and skip the Parmesan to keep it WFPB. Get the recipe here.

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6. Grilled Corn Kale Salad - (The Almond Eater)
This. For lunch. Today. Get the recipe here.

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7. Curried Cauliflower Rice Kale Soup - (Cotter Crunch)
Curry-spiced and creamy (you can use coconut or a nut milk), this is a hearty soup packed with cauliflower, kale, and carrots. Get the recipe here.

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8. The Prettiest Purple Kale, Eggplant & Blackberry Salad - (Green Kitchen Stories)
Love this brilliant combination of roasted eggplant and purple onions with warm spices. Massaged kale with herby dressing, and black lentils with creamy avocado. Hazelnuts bring the crunch, and juicy blackberries top it off. Skip the feta to keep it WFPB, and use maple syrup in the dressing if you're looking to keep it vegan. Get the recipe here.

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9. Roasted Vegetable Orzo - (101 Cookbooks)
I often make this with a whole wheat orzo (or small bean-based pasta), and non-dairy yogurt. You can also substitute all sorts of different whole grain for the pasta - farro, quinoa, or a brown rice blend. Get the recipe here.

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10. Sweet Potato & Kale Tortilla Soup - (Local Milk)
Sweet potatoes, kale, cilantro, tomatoes, spices, and chiles all in a beautiful bowl. Simply skip the quest fresco, and ase a dairy-free yogurt to keep it WFPB. Get the recipe here.

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11. Chopped Kale Salad with Peanut Chili Vinaigrette - (Little Broken)
A chopped kale salad with feisty peanut chili dressing. I can imagine this in a lettuce wrap (or spring roll) with a bit of grilled tofu as an ideal lunch! Get the recipe here.

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12. An Excellent, One-pan, Protein-packed Power Pasta - (101 Cookbooks)
A full pound of chopped kale goes into this! It's pasta and lentils simmered in crushed tomatoes, finished with lots of chopped kale, saffron, swirls of tahini and chopped almonds.Perfect weeknight dinner. Get the recipe here.

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Bonus! Autumn Kale Slaw - (Green Kitchen Stories)
Another beautiful green Kitchen Stories recipe. Carrots, kale, apples, and hazelnut come together in a crunch-tactic autumn slaw. Get the recipe here.

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Bonus! Creamy Kale Pasta - (Pinch of Yum)
Five ingredients. And I'm going to bet you have all of them. Use whatever pasta you like, and my sense is you can scale back the olive oil a bit, or use a really rich, thick homemade nut milk, and scale it back a lot. Get the recipe here.

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Bonus! Kale Detox Salad with Pesto - (Well and Full)
All the good things in one bowl. This is an ultra-super green salad. With roasted potatoes, brown rice, chickpeas, a bit of kick from jalapeño chiles, and a carrot top(!) pesto. Brilliant. Get the recipe here.

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Twelve Whole-Food Plant-Based Kale Recipes You Should Try This Week (2024)

FAQs

How do you sneak kale into your diet? ›

Below are a few tips to get them to enjoy kale, or to sneak it into their diet:
  1. Kale chips. ...
  2. Kale smoothie. ...
  3. Mix them into these delicious vegetarian kale-quinoa burgers.
  4. Mix it into their favourite salad. ...
  5. Make kale pesto. ...
  6. Blend kale into a soup. ...
  7. Make it disappear. ...
  8. Make it sweet.

How to make kale taste better? ›

If desired, season the sautéed kale with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. For more flavor, try sautéing kale in this hearty lentil skillet or with some prosciutto and sweet potatoes.

What is the healthiest way to prepare kale? ›

Steaming is a better option than boiling because you don't lose as many nutrients with this cooking method, according to Gray. “You're not giving it heat treatment for very long, so it's closest to raw that you can get and you still are cooking it to some degree,” she said.

Should you eat kale stems? ›

Cutting the stems crossways shortens the fibres, much as with a tough steak, making them perfectly edible and preventing waste. Cut this way, the stems can be cooked in the same way as the rest of the leaf: sauteed, boiled or steamed.

Why can't you eat kale everyday? ›

Plus, eating too much fiber (like what you find in kale) could wreck havoc on your GI system, causing bloating, diarrhea, gas, constipation, and even improper absorption of nutrients. Of course, you'd have to be eating a lot of kale to suffer these effects, says Manganiello, but it's still something to keep in mind.

Why is kale a laxative? ›

Our findings indicate that kale modifies certain gut microbes, such as [Eubacterium] eligens and [Ruminococcus] gnavus, and improves bowel movements, particularly in those with smaller stool amounts.

What does kale do to your gut? ›

Kale is loaded with soluble fiber that can cause nausea and insoluble fiber that can cause diarrhea. It also belongs to a complex sugar family — called the raffinose family of oligosaccharides (RFOs) — that can cause bloating.

Does kale make your stomach flat? ›

Spinach and other leafy green vegetables like kale, lettuce, etc. are great for burning belly fat and are very nutritious as well. There have been some studies done on the subject of the fat burning capabilities of spinach and the very healthy veggie has come out a winner in this category.

Can you prep kale in advance? ›

Kale is a green that can be prepared in advance because it's heartier green compared to lettuce, romaine or spinach. Store in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days in a sealed container. Kale can be served raw, steamed, sautéed, and added to veggie bowls or soups.

Can kale last a week in the fridge? ›

Typical shelf life: Generally, kale can last in the fridge for about five to seven days. The key is to store it correctly to maintain its crispness and nutrients. Impact of temperature and humidity: Kale prefers a cool and slightly humid environment, so the crisper drawer in your fridge is ideal.

How to keep kale fresh for longer? ›

Store Whole Bunches In the Fridge

To avoid excess moisture, wrap the whole bunch of kale in a layer of paper towels, and store in a supermarket plastic bag or a zip-top plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper drawer. The kale should keep for 1 week.

Can I eat kale for a week? ›

Manganiello says you can eat kale every day, just don't overdo it. She recommends one to two servings maximum of kale per day, leaving room for other healthy foods that provide an assortment of nutrients.

References

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