Kale Recipes That Aren't Salads

It can be so much easier to stick to a healthy, well-balanced diet when you find recipes you love! Trying new meals or cooking ingredients in new ways keeps it interesting, and can make your meal plans fit with your lifestyle so much easier. 

So, today we wanted to share a couple of meal ideas using one common ingredient: kale. If you’ve seen our Chilli Kale Toast recipe, you’ll know that kale is packed with nutrients! One serve of kale can provide your daily requirement of vitamin C, as well as providing an abundance of vitamin A and K. There’s a few good reasons to add it to your plate! 

Because we know that eating a dish the same way every day can be a bit boring, we’ve put together a couple of kale recipes that aren’t just salads. 

These are a few new ways you can try kale:

Sweet Potato & Kale Hash

Ingredients (makes 2 serves):

• 2 tbsp coconut oil


• 1½ sweet potatoes


• 3 cups baby kale


• 2 eggs


• 1 tsp minced garlic


• 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes, optional


• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Method
:

1. Peel and cut the sweet potato into 1cm cubes.

2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick fry pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant, stirring frequently.

3. Add the sweet potato and cook for 10-15 minutes or until just tender, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the kale and cook for a further 5-7 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally.

5. Transfer the sweet potato and kale to a plate (temporarily).

6. Reheat the pan over medium heat. Crack the eggs gently into the pan, cook for 3-5 minutes or until the white is cooked through.

7. Add the sweet potato and kale mixture back to the pan. Season with salt and pepper, if desired and sprinkle with chilli flakes, if using.

8. To serve, place the sweet potato and kale hash on a serving plate. 

Kale Pesto

Ingredients (makes approx. 1 cup; 8 servings of 2 tbsp each):

• 2 cups torn kale (no stems) and parsley, combined

• ½ cup olive oil

• ¼ tsp salt (more to taste)

• 1 clove garlic

• juice of one lemon

• ¼ to ½ cup raw almonds

Method:

1. Place the kale, olive oil, salt, garlic and lemon juice in a food processor and process until smooth. 

2. Add the almonds to the mixture and process until the almonds are ground and the pesto is processed to the desired consistency. 

Kale pesto can be used in lots of different ways! Try it as a spread on crackers, add it to toast and serve with poached eggs or spread it on salad sandwiches and wraps. 

Kale, Pineapple, Avocado and Coconut Smoothie

Ingredients (serves 2):

• ½ ripe avocado, pitted, peeled

• ½ cup coarsely chopped kale

• ½ cup frozen pineapple chunks

• ¼ cup coarsely chopped coconut meat

• 1 cup coconut water or iced green tea

• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

• 1 tbsp matcha (green tea powder)

• 1 tbsp light agave nectar

• Pinch of sea salt

Method:

1. Place all ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. 

2. To serve, pour the smoothie into a glass. 

We have a lot of love for kale, whether it's served on toast, in a pokè bowl or even added to a spicy black bean burger. Whether you love to eat kale or you've never tried it, you should definitely give these recipe ideas a try! We'd love to see some photos of the finished dish, so make sure you tag @sweat!