19 Best Kale Recipes and Ideas (2024)

Hearty, verdant kale is a leafy green we can never get enough of, and we've gathered many ways you can enjoy it. There are delicious kale salad recipes, of course — for example, a crunchy root vegetable salad from chef Marcus Samuelsson and a kale Caesar salad with light and crispy fried chickpeas from F&W Culinary Director at Large Justin Chapple. You can also turn kale into pesto, fold it into macaroni and cheese, and include it in pakoras. Read on for some of our favorite ways to use kale, including kale soup recipes, a kale fried rice, and more.

01of 19

Chickpeas and Kale in Spicy Pomodoro Sauce

Chef Missy Robbins of Brooklyn's Lilia restaurant swaps chickpeas for pasta in her riff on spicy pomodoro. She finishes the dish with a shower of fresh herbs and salty pecorino cheese.

Get the Recipe

02of 19

Kale-and-Shiitake Fried Rice

This comforting, vegetable-packed rice is infused with ginger. It's best made with day-old rice to absorb all the flavorings.

Get the Recipe

03of 19

Chow Fun with Roast Pork and Kale-Tomato Salad

Chow fun noodles are the base for this unconventional dish, from chef Sheldon Simeon, that's topped with roast pork and a tangy kale salad and served with a buttery broth.

Get the Recipe

04of 19

Sweet Brown Rice Risotto with Kale and Cremini

"Despite its name, sweet brown rice isn't sweet," says chef Marco Canora of Hearth in New York City. Instead, this short-grain glutinous rice resembles whole-grain sushi rice. Here, Canora uses it to make a hearty vegetarian risotto packed with cremini mushrooms, Tuscan kale, onion, thyme, and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Get the Recipe

05of 19

Squash-and-Kale Toasts

Chef Steven Satterfield of Miller Union in Atlanta is a huge fan of kale — especially when it's combined with sweet roasted squash. Look for Tuscan kale (also called Lacinato or Dinosaur kale) when possible; it's tender and tasty. You can eat these toasts as an afternoon snack or serve them to guests during co*cktail hour.

Get the Recipe

06of 19

Kale Caesar with Fried Chickpeas

This tangy Caesar salad from F&W's Justin Chapple is topped with light, airy, and super-crunchy pan-fried chickpeas.

Get the Recipe

07of 19

Pork-and-Kale Soup with Sizzling Puffed Rice

"I love food that makes noise," says chef Edward Lee. When F&W challenged the Top Chef Season 9 contestant to make a fast dish with pork, kale, and white wine, he created a deeply flavorful soup, then added crumbled crispy rice cakes that crackle as they hit the broth.

Get the Recipe

08of 19

Kale Rice Bowl

In this simple rice bowl, Kay Chun combines pork and kale with an abundance of fresh herbs for a dish that's both hearty and delightfully fresh-tasting.

Get the Recipe

09of 19

Kimchi-and-Kale Fried Rice

When chef Rachel Yang finishes a long shift at her Seattle restaurant Joule, this fried rice is her go-to quick snack. It's a great use for all of that leftover takeout rice and relies mostly on pantry staples, as long as you have gochujang, a Korean chile paste, in your pantry.

Get the Recipe

10of 19

Cabbage-and-Kale Soup with Farro

"I love a really flavorful pot of greens," says chef Melissa Perello. For this kale-and-cabbage soup, she uses just a little bit of pancetta and a Parmesan-cheese rind to give the broth a rich flavor. "It's definitely the kind of dish that tastes even better the next day," she says. There's nothing better than a dish that keeps on giving.

Get the Recipe

11of 19

Kale Salad with Root Vegetables and Apple

This refreshing, super-healthy salad is one of chef Marcus Samuelsson's favorite ways to showcase kale; massaging the leaves with vinegar, salt, and olive oil makes them tender and sweet.

Get the Recipe

12of 19

Kale-Basil Pesto

This fall-forward pesto bolsters traditional basil with Lacinato kale for extra heartiness. Winemaker Clare Carver recommends choosing a mild, smooth extra-virgin olive oil here for a buttery richness that complements the toasted walnuts and balances the fresh garlic.

Get the Recipe

13of 19

Buttermilk Macaroni and Cheese with Baby Kale

A quick sauté renders baby kale leaves perfectly tender, allowing them to almost melt into the buttermilk-enriched béchamel in chef and cookbook author Alexander Smalls' riff on mac and cheese. For a smooth sauce, make sure all of the dairy is at room temperature.

Get the Recipe

14of 19

Roasted Butternut Squash with Chorizo-Spiced Kale

With its earthy sweetness and dense texture, butternut squash makes a hearty vegetable steak. At Chaval in Portland, Maine, chef Damian Sansonetti highlights its complexity with his chorizo spice mix. He blooms the blend of cumin, Pimentón, and coriander in oil to release its aroma, which provides a smoky foundation for the kale that tops this shoulder-season dish.

Get the Recipe

15of 19

Baby Kale Stir-Fried with Oyster Sauce

"This recipe is my supermarket take on stir-fried water spinach, a go-to vegetable for everyday Viet meals," Andrea Nguyen writes. "Prewashed greens don't release much liquid, which can dilute flavors and turn a stir-fry sizzle into a fizzle."

Get the Recipe

16of 19

Ribollita

Chef Adam Leonti's ribollita recipe is packed with Yukon Gold Potatoes, cannellini beans, kale, and more.

Get the Recipe

17of 19

Sausage, Kale, and Potato Skillet Supper

"The brilliant thing about this recipe is that you can cook it all in one skillet," Klancy Miller writes. "The key is adding each ingredient at the right time so that everything cooks without burning."

Get the Recipe

18of 19

Chicken Tortellini Soup with Kale

Fresh ingredients team up with store-bought shortcuts to get this comforting dinner on the table in just over 30 minutes.

Get the Recipe

19of 19

Kale-and-Corn Pakoras

A combination of chickpea and rice flours yields a batter that makes these pakoras fry up light, lacy, and extra crunchy. Sweet summer corn and peppers join with hearty kale to give these vegetarian fritters extra heft.

Get the Recipe