How to Make Kale Last Long & Taste Great

Kale definitely had its moment a few years ago, and for good reason: it’s a great source of fiber, iron (more than beef), and vitamins A, K and C, and it has more calcium per calorie than milk — and that’s not all! So we know we should eat lots of it but, as with anything, it doesn’t matter how healthy it is if you don’t know how to make it taste good — and kale can be tricky.

Sidenote: Kale isn’t on the EWG Dirty Dozen list, but it’s not on the Clean 15 either, so I usually try to buy organic. Scroll to the bottom of this post for info on the different kinds of kale.

My favorite uses

Because kale is sturdier than spinach and other greens, it holds up much better in soups/stews and other cooked dishes. And when tossed in dressing, like in my Tangy Kale & Cabbage Slaw recipe, it actually tastes better over time because it softens and absorbs the flavor, whereas other salad greens will get wilted and slimy. So if there’s a dish that you want to make ahead, kale is definitely a good choice.

On the flip side, raw kale can be much more intense in things like smoothies because it’s so tough — it doesn’t blend as well and can taste bitter. But don’t worry, there’s an easy way to make raw kale softer and tastier — stay tuned through step 3!

Step 1: Prepare it well

I hate wasting food so I’ve been on a quest to figure out the best ways to store produce, and this method for kale has been one of my biggest successes so far! (Also see my post on How to Keep Herbs Fresh).

The key is to tackle it right when you get home from the store — but if you’re like me, you need a nap after grocery shopping so let’s say within a day of buying it.

Thanks to Ross’ mom for sending us this OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner!

Step 2: Store it (for up to two weeks!)

I used to leave kale bunched in the produce bag and it would start to turn yellow about a week later 🙁 But storing it this way makes it last twice as long! So I promise it’s worth the effort — plus it’s so much easier to grab some for a quick meal when it’s already prepared.

Once rinsed, dried and chopped, store kale in the fridge in a large plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, like so:

Step 3: Give it a quick massage

This is the trick to softening kale (if this sounds absurd to you, stay with me).

You’ll see that massaging kale breaks it down almost as if you’ve cooked it. The massage technique is really only necessary for eating raw kale (e.g., in a salad) — if you plan to sauté or cook it another way, you can skip this step.

Types of kale

The most commons kinds are curly (shown in this post) and lacinato, a.k.a. Tuscan or dinosaur, which is actually an Italian heirloom. I like them equally but they have very different textures so definitely experiment to see which you prefer in different types of dishes. The prep and storage methods I’ve explained here work for all kinds of kale. And as mentioned above, I try to buy organic kale when possible because of pesticide use. See my post on organic produce for more info.