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by Carrie Walderlast updated October 11, 2023
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This collection of 20+ dietitian-designed recipes using kale will give you a ton of ideas for how to include the nutritious leafy green in your cooking. Here you’ll find plenty of delicious kale salads as well as both main and side dishes using kale. You’ll never have to ask “what can I do with kale?” again!
In this post, you’ll find 20+ healthykale recipe ideasfrom the blog along with some helpful kale nutrition facts! Keep scrolling or click on the following sections to go straight to them:
- nutrition + health benefits of kale
- kale salad recipes
- main dishes with kale
- side dishes with kale
- breakfast with kale
Nutrition & Health Benefits Of Kale
Just one cup of kale providesover100% of your daily needs for:
- vitamin A(206%)
- vitamin K(684%)
- vitamin C(134%)
Kale is also a good source of other micronutrients like:
- manganese
- magnesium
- potassium
- calcium
- copper
- vitamin B6
That same cup provides 2 grams ofdietary fibre, helping to keep your gut and heart happy.
In addition to micronutrients, kale is also loaded withantioxidants, which prevent cellular damage and provide a multitude of health benefits.
As you can see, kale is truly a superfood!
Kale Salad Recipes
You can’t have a kale recipe roundup without plenty of kale salads! I promise you there are no dry, tough, or boring kale salads around here.
These kale salads are packed with flavour, nutritious ingredients, and are often really great to make in advance. I love that kale doesn’t get soggy like other leafy greens, rather it starts to taste even better over time!
TIP: Many of these salads use massaged kale as their base! Curious to learn what “massaging” kale really means? You’re in luck – I’ve got an in-depth post ALL abouthow to massage kale. It’s one of my favourite ways to prepare kale for salads 🙂
1) Vegan Kale & Brussels Sprout Caesar Salad
This vegan kale and brussels sprout caesar salad recipe is made with apples, pomegranates, sourdough croutons, and a cashew-based caesar salad dressing. It's easy, healthy, and absolutely delicious!
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2) Kale Butternut Squash Salad With Farro & Goat Cheese
This kale butternut squash salad is made with delicious ingredients like farro, goat cheese, dried cranberries, and pumpkin seeds. It's easy, healthy, and so satisfying!
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3) Grilled Kale Salad With Avocado, Lemon & Parm
This healthy grilled kale salad is paired with avocado, lemon, garlic, pecans, and parmesan. It's one of the best ways to eat kale!
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4) Warm Mushroom & Kale Salad With Miso Dressing
Warm Mushroom Salad With Miso Dressing (Vegan)
This warm mushroom salad recipe is made with kale, farro, avocado, and topped with a delicious miso-sesame dressing. It's a hearty vegan salad that can been enjoyed as a side or a main!
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5) Kale Pasta Salad With Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Kale Pasta Salad With Sun-Dried Tomatoes
This kale pasta salad is made with sun-dried tomatoes, red bell peppers, parmesan, and a simple red wine vinaigrette. It's an easy, delicious, and nutritious make-ahead meal! Recipe is vegetarian and can easily be made gluten-free.
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6) Broccoli Kale Salad With Tahini Dressing
Broccoli Kale Salad With Tahini Dressing
This broccoli kale salad recipe is made with nutritious ingredients like quinoa, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and a creamy tahini dressing. It's a hearty and crunchy salad that's packed with fiber, healthy fats, and plant-based protein! Recipe is vegan and gluten-free.
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7) Kale Salad With Sweet Potatoes, Pomegranate & Goat Cheese
This fall salad combines massaged lacinato kale, roasted sweet potatoes, pomegranates, and toasted pecans for a delicious and filling meal or side.
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8) Kale Apple Salad With Parmesan & Walnuts
Simple Kale Apple Walnut Salad
This massaged kale apple salad recipe brings together apples, parmesan, and walnuts for a nourishing, simple, and dietitian-approved meal. Enjoy this kale salad on its own as a main dish, or as a side salad.
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9) Kale Salad With Maple Tahini Dressing
Massaged Kale Salad With Maple Tahini Dressing
This easy vegan massaged kale salad is made with a maple tahini dressing, roasted delicata squash, apples, toasted pecans, and dried cranberries. Delicious!
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10) Sweet Potato Kale Salad With Smokey Tahini
This vegan roasted sweet potato salad is made with kale, beets, and a smoked paprika-tahini dressing. It's super hearty, nourishing, and easy to make. Can be enjoyed warm or cold.
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11) Massaged Avocado Kale Salad
Massaged Avocado Kale Salad
This massaged avocado kale salad recipe uses creamy avocado as part of the dressing. Soft and tender, it's an easy side salad that goes with everything!
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12) Asian Kale Salad
Easy Asian Kale Salad With Sesame Dressing
This simple Asian kale salad is a Whole Foods copycat of one of my favourite items from their deli. Kale is massaged in a sesame-ginger dressing until it's soft, tender, and flavourful. It's a nutritious and easy side salad recipe!
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Main Dishes With Kale
In this section you’ll find a handful of delicious main dish recipes that use kale!
13) Spaghetti Squash With Kale Pesto
This healthy spaghetti squash recipe is served with a kale miso pesto and sautéed shrimp. It's dairy-free, gluten-free, and high in fibre and protein. All you need is 10 ingredients!
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14) Lemon Kale Pasta With Eggs
Lemon Kale Pasta With Fried Eggs
This lemon kale pasta with fried eggs is one of my go-to, quick + easy dinner recipes! All you need to make this tasty and nutritious meal are 30-minutes and 7 simple ingredients.
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15) Sweet Potato & Kale Skillet Hash
This Sweet Potato Hash Breakfast Skillet is packed with veggies, protein, fibre, and fresh herbs. An easy stovetop recipe with no oven required!
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16) Baked Harissa Salmon Over Lemon & Kale Quinoa
Baked Harissa Salmon Over Lemon Quinoa
This oven-baked harissa salmon recipe is light, fresh, and flavourful! It's an easy, healthy weeknight dinner idea ready in 35-minutes!
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17) Kale Butternut Squash Hash
Kale Butternut Squash Breakfast Hash (Vegetarian)
This butternut squash hash with eggs and kale is such a delicious, easy, and cozy breakfast idea! All you need are 9 simple ingredients. Recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, and can easily be made dairy-free as well.
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Side Dishes With Kale
In this section you’ll find some tasty vegetable side dishes that feature kale as a key ingredient.
18) Quinoa Stuffed Delicata Squash With Kale
Quinoa Stuffed Delicata Squash With Kale
This delicata squash stuffed with quinoa and kale is a delicious vegetarian side dish. Topped with goat cheese, pomegranate, and a simple red wine vinegar dressing, this recipe is packed with nutrients and full of flavour.
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19) Roasted Butternut Squash With Kale & Coconut Sauce
This Roasted Butternut Squash is paired with crispy kale, crunchy almonds, and drizzled with a spicy coconut cream sauce. An easy, delicious, and healthy twist on a seasonal vegetable side dish!
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20) Roasted Broccolini & Kale With Honey
Honey Roasted Broccolini (Tenderstem) With Kale
This easy oven-roasted broccolini (tenderstem broccoli) recipe with crispy kale is a delicious and super simple vegetable side dish. A drizzle of honey after roasting adds the perfect touch of sweetness to the cooked veggies. Ready in just 20 minutes! Recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free.
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Breakfast With Kale
In this section you’ll find one of my go-to kale smoothies to start your day with some greens!
21) Kale Mango Smoothie
10-Minute Kale Mango Smoothie With Greek Yogurt
This refreshing and creamy kale and mango smoothie is the perfect no-cook, healthy breakfast. Wholesome and quick to make in a blender, it’s a great recipe to start your day off, thanks to a nicely balanced combination of fruits (mango + banana), greens (kale), healthy fats (avocado) and protein (Greek yogurt)!
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And there you have it –20+ Easy, Healthy Kale Recipesto cook and enjoy! If you make any of these recipes, don’t forget to tag me onInstagramorPinterest– seeing your creations always makes my day. You can alsosubscribe to my email listto never miss a new recipe or nutrition education post!
More Recipe Roundups To Explore
- 30 Healthy Recipes with Oats
- 20+ Summer Salad Recipes
- 20+ Healthy Pasta Recipes
- 20+ Healthy Vegetable Side Dishes
- 30+ Plant-Based Breakfast Ideas
- 10+ Breakfast Smoothie Recipes
Get the Recipe:20+ Healthy Kale Recipes, Including Kale Caesar Salad
This vegan kale and brussels sprout caesar salad recipe is made with apples, pomegranates, sourdough croutons, and a cashew-based caesar salad dressing. It's easy, healthy, and absolutely delicious!
Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes minutes
0 minutes minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
Servings: 6
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Ingredients
- 5 cups lacinato kale, chopped then (about 1 large or 2 small bunches – how to massage kale for salad)
- 5 cups brussels sprouts, shredded (roughly 15 sprouts, depending on size)
- 2 slices sourdough bread
- 2 tsp olive oil (for sourdough)
- 1 pomegranate, arils only
- 1/2 a large honeycrisp apple, sliced thin
- Salt + pepper, to taste
Vegan caesar dressing:
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked + drained
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- 2 tsps dijon mustard
- 4 cloves garlic
- 5 tsp capers (with brine)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 4-6 Tbsp water
- Salt + pepper, to taste
Instructions
*NOTE: you'll need to soak the cashews for at least 4 hours or overnight. I find it easiest to just throw them into a jar, cover with water, and place in the fridge the night before I plan on making a recipe.
Preheat your oven to 350F. Slice sourdough bread into roughly 1/2- to 1-inch chunks. Toss in olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 10-15 mins, until lightly browned and toasted. Remove from oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, make the caesar dressing by placing all dressing ingredients into a high-speed blender. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Adjust seasonings to taste. If you like a thinner dressing, simply add a tablespoon or 2 more water and blend until it reaches your desired consistency.
In a large salad bowl, add chopped kale, shredded brussels sprouts, apple slices, pomegranates, and sourdough croutons. Drizzle caesar dressing on top, and toss to combine. Serve immediately!
Notes
*NOTE: This recipe makes a fair amount of dressing. If you’re someone who prefers a lighter amount of dressing on their salads, don’t feel like you need to use all of it. Save any leftover dressing in an airtight jar in the fridge to use with other veggies or as a dip!
*See full blog post for instructions on how to shred brussels sprouts and chop kale.
*This kale and brussels sprout caesar salad is best enjoyed immediately! That said, leftovers will keep for 1-2 days in an airtight container in the fridge, but do note that the croutons will become soggy.
*If you want to make this salad in advance, prep all the ingredients and store them separately. Chop the kale, shred the brussels sprouts, de-seed the pomegranate, make the croutons, and make the dressing. When you’re ready to serve, mix ingredients together and add fresh apple slices (so that they don’t go brown).
*Recipe variations:
- If you need a gluten-free version of this recipe, simply swap sourdough with your favourite gluten-free bread. If you’d prefer to omit the bread, add some extra crunch with some pumpkin seeds or nuts!
- I love honeycrisp apples because of their crunchy sweetness, but feel free to swap them with your favourite variety. You could also try this with dried cranberries instead of pomegranates.
- If you don’t feel like making homemade caesar dressing, feel free to use a store-bought version. I’ve listed my favourite brands in the blog post.
Nutrition
As a dietitian, I create recipes with whole food ingredients that provide the nutrients needed for optimal health. My nutrition philosophy does not focus on numbers; however, I understand that this information can be helpful.
Do note that the nutrition info provided is an estimate and I cannot guarantee correctness of the displayed values. These numbers will differ depending on brands used, recipe modifications, and amount eaten. If you require specific nutrition information due to medical reasons, please consult with your dietitian or physician.
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Diet: Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian
Keyword: cashews, dairy free, easy, quick
Author: Carrie Walder
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This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.
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originally published September 17, 2021 — last updated October 11, 2023
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