It’s the day after Halloween and I don’t know about you, but I’m in the mood for some healthier fare today. When I need to detox from too many sweets, wine and pizza, I tend to gravitate towards something made with kale, whether it be a smoothie or salad. So today I thought I would share with you my favorite kale recipes from the blog in-case you were looking to detox with some kale as well.
Let’s start off the with my favorite kale salads. I love kale because it lasts for 1-2 weeks if stored properly in the refrigerator, and kale salads can be made ahead of time for dinner or an event. They also for last 3 days, so you can make up a salad on Monday and have it for dinner or lunch Tuesday and Wednesday. Kale does not wilt or get soggy like other lettuces, plus it’s jammed packed with nutrition!
Lacinato kale salad. This is my all time FAVORITE kale salad, as well as Zoe’s, and if you follow my weekly menu then you already know that because it’s on my weekly dinner menu every week. This salad has turned kale haters in to kale lovers. I also put together a video on how to make this salad. The video is long, but pretty informative as I show you how to pick the best head of kale, as well as how to wash, de-stem, thinly slice and de-stem kale.
Kale and ricotta salata salad. This is my second favorite kale salad, and John’s and Eli’s favorite. The ricotta salata cheese adds a nice salty flavor to the salad and paired with the minced shallots in the dressing, it’s a winning combination.
Miso kale salad with miso roasted tofu. This is another family favorite salad and one that gets made quite often when we’re wanting a hearty, but meatless meal. The dressing is so creamy that I find myself easily eating a whole head of kale. The miso tofu doesn’t need to be made, but the tofu turns this salad into a complete meal.
Kale salad with pear, toasted almonds and aged Gouda. This is such a great fall and winter salad and it’s so simple to make. My kids love this version with the pear and the salty aged Gouda. The dressing is a simple combination of lemon juice and olive oil. This is a great seasonal salad to serve up for Thanksgiving.
Kale salad with delicata squash, almonds and aged cheddar. Here’s another favorite fall salad of mine. It’s amazingly delicious with the caramelized roasted squash paired with the toasted almonds and the aged cheddar. I love making this up when I’m craving a healthy vegetarian lunch. My kid’s are not big fans of the delicata squash, but I love it in this salad. This is another perfect salad to serve up for Thanksgiving.
Kale, cranberry, apple and toasted almond salad with lemon dressing. This is a sweeter kale salad and is totally vegan. This is the first kale salad that I ever tried and the first kale salad recipe that I posted on my blog. I usually introduce this salad to friends who are new to kale, as it hooks them every time. This is also a great salad for those of you that can only find curly kale, as the sweet dressing massaged into the kale takes away the bitter taste of the curly kale.
I have more delicious kale salads for you to check out, but the ones listed above are my favorites. Stay tuned next week when I will post the recipe for this kale, Brussels sprout and toasted almond salad.
Let’s move onto my favorite kale smoothie and juice. Smoothies and juices were my first introduction to kale. They are a great way to disguise kale.
Kale and spinach smoothie. I make this smoothie all of the time, like weekly! It’s my smoothie of choice, and when I drink one up, I feel strong! It’s jammed pack with nutrition, as you’re getting 3-4 kale leaves plus 2 cups of spinach in this smoothie.
Mean green juice. When I have time to juice, I make this up. I love the spicy flavor that the ginger gives to this juice. I don’t have a juicer, but in this post I show you how to make up this juice without a juicer.
Here are some of my favorite recipes that incorporate cooked kale.
Pasta with kale, lemon and toasted walnuts. This is such and easy, healthy and family approved weeknight dinner. It’s a great way to get your kids to like kale. I love it made with regular pasta as shown in the photo below.
I also love it made with whole-wheat pasta.
Mashed potatoes with kale. I can’t wait to make up these potatoes this fall. My kids love these potatoes, and it’s another great way to add some nutrition and texture to plain old mashed potatoes.
Wheat berries with charred onions and kale. This is a great side dish or it can serve as a complete meal for lunch or dinner. I love the chewy texture of the wheat berries and the flavor from the charred onions. Yum!
I have a whole kale recipe section on my blog that shows all of my kale recipes, so check it out!
What is your favorite way to enjoy kale?
Feel free to link up your recipes in a comment below. I’m always looking for new kale recipes!
Love the lacinato kale salad. Oh my gosh. It IS good!!! I ate the whole bowl. My favorite kale salad for sure! Thanks for the recipe and all the other kale recipes. Love kale!!
Good post Jackie, your post is kind of inspirational for someone who wants to do detox but don’t really know to setup a menu for it.
I searched kale images and this is how i know your blog.
thanks, cheers
Leo
Since discovering your blog a few weeks ago we’ve enjoyed the lacinato kale salad 2-3 times a week. Thank you for this great resource!!!
My husband loves the dressing alone & drizzles it on bread. We also love the avacado tahini dip.
Yaay! I’m so glad that you discovered my blog and that you also found a recipe that you’re enjoying. That is by far my FAVORITE salad and gets made a bit too much in my house 🙂 Great idea about using the dressing as a dip for bread. I’m also happy to hear that you love the avocado-tahini dip. That’s another family fave!
xoxo, Jacquelyn
love seeing all the green! I want to try your mean green juice…you had me “without a juicer”… love the roundup since it gives me wonderful reminders of all the recipes of yours I still want to make!!!!
Kale with squash or Kale and garlic and olive oil sounds amazingly delicious to me 🙂
Portuguese kale soup, kaldo verde. just potato soup with kale. A flavor like your mashed potato kale recipe. Add linguica or even codfish, Anything goes in this simple soup.
Love the sound of that soup Clinton! I will have to look for a recipe and give it a try. 🙂
So much kale, so little time! just kidding. 🙂 These all look great.
I’m going to have to try that kale salad w/ the cranberries that you posted on instagram today — looks delicious.
I love kale in soupsssss. That’s my absolute favorite way to eat kale, because it makes it soft and not chewy at all. I also love it juiced. I think we use the same mean green recipe, though we have a juicer at work, so it’s very easy (except to clean!).
Yes, try that one. You can use half curly kale and half lacinato kale! I actually prefer it with some curly kale in there! I think I’m going to put kale in my Italian wedding soup next time! Thanks for the soup tip! xoxo, Jackie
Just here to say that your lacinato kale salad is still my favorite, we had it this week as a side to some pizza – yum!
Glad you love that one girl! It’s my fave as well 🙂
Wow, I’m amazed with all the ways you incorporated kale into recipes! It’s impressive, and it even looks delicious. After all this Halloween candy, I agree, I need a detox too, and it will start with kale.
I’m a bit kale obsessed, so that’s why you see so many recipes on the blog! 😉