As summer winds down into fall, our garden is bursting with hearty fresh kale! An easy vegetable to grow, we're harvesting by the armful! Fresh kale is so versatile, from salads to soups to pastas, it can be eaten cooked or raw, and can be the star ingredient or blended in unnoticeable! From the garden to your kitchen, here are lots of ways to use your garden (or farmer's market) kale harvest!
If you're a gardener, grow kale! It's easy to grow, produces a lot, and is a healthy addition that can be harvested one leaf at a time as you need it! It also lasts in the garden well into the fall. It's usually the last vegetable standing when the first snow falls!
Kale can be frozen and preserved for winter, tossed into smoothies with our Smoothie Bucket method, and blends easily into red marinara sauces.
- While not in the recipe, I often mince or puree a leave or two and add to Mom's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce, Grandpa's Spaghetti & Meatballs, or these Stuffed Shells with Sausage and Spinach Sauce.
- Kale adds nutrition that the non-kale lovers won't even notice! It adds texture to soups and you can sneak a bit into Pasta Fagioli Soup or Zucchini Corn Chowder.
- Kale is a work-horse in our summer vegetable garden! Check out these Ways to Use Garden Tomatoes, 8 Ways to Use Garden Green Beans, and Ways to Use Garden Fresh Zucchini too!
Browse all our Garden Recipes for lots of inspiration for you veggie harvests and farmer's market hauls! As garden season winds down, check out these 50 Fall Dinner Recipes!
14 Ways to Use Garden Kale
1
Kale Apple Slaw Salad with Honey Apple Cider Vinaigrette
This Kale Apple Slaw Salad is the perfect autumn harvest coleslaw! Fresh cabbage and kale from the garden pair with red onion, almonds and raisins with a sweet and tangy Honey Apple Cider Vinaigrette. This healthy No Mayo kale crunch salad is perfect for the Thanksgiving table, a superfood lunch, or an easy fall side dish.
Kale Apple Slaw Salad Recipe
2
Bacon Kale Spaghetti
Bacon Kale Spaghetti is a seriously quick and easy pasta night made with garden ingredients! In the time it takes to cook the pasta, a simple kale sauce is made with sautéd crispy bacon, garlic, Parmesan cheese, basil, and the starchy pasta cooking water. So simple, yet incredibly delicious! A light summer favorite you'll want to make again and again!
Bacon Kale Spaghetti Recipe
3
How to Freeze Mixed Fresh Herbs and Garden Greens
Preserve your harvest by learning how to freeze mixed fresh herbs and garden greens for the winter months ahead! Find out what herbs you can include, and what you should leave out, so you can stash your freezer with a nutritious and flavorful Italian-inspired herb mix that can be used in lots of recipes.
How to Freezer Herbs and Greens Recipe
4
Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sage Cream Sauce, Sausage and Kale
This Creamy Butternut Squash Ravioli with Sausage and Kale is the perfect comfort dish for fall! This easy weeknight dinner uses store-bought cheese ravioli, with lots of veggies coated in a rustic sage cream sauce. On the table in 35 minutes!
Butternut Squash Ravioli Recipe
5
Creamy Sausage Potato Soup with Kale
Cozy up to a bowl of Creamy Sausage Potato Soup with Kale! This easy one-pot soup comes together on the stovetop with hearty potatoes, white beans, garlic, herbs and a touch of cream!
Creamy Sausage Potato Soup Recipe
6
Garden Pesto for the Freezer
Pesto is a summer classic when basil is bursting from the garden! This recipe will help you stretch that basil and make use of lots of extra garden greens like kale, arugula, spinach, Swiss chard or herbs. Stock your freezer with those little green jars with lots of simple weeknight dinner ideas to use them all year!
Garden Pesto Recipe
7
Garden Tomato White Bean Cassoulet with Sausage
Garden Tomato White Bean Cassoulet with Italian Sausage is inspired by the classic French dish, while using lots of fresh tomatoes, bell pepper, kale and herbs from the end-of-season garden harvest. Italian sausage links are seared with the veggies, then simmered with white beans in a rich tomato broth, for a cozy bowl to mop up with lots of crusty bread!
White Bean Cassoulet Recipe
8
Parmesan Kale Chips
Parmesan Kale Chips make the perfect can't-eat-just-one salty snack or easy side dish! Super healthy, kid-friendly, and topped with Parmesan cheese, it's the best way to eat this superfood! Plus gluten free, kale chips are ready in under 10 minutes!
Parmesan Kale Chips Recipe
9
Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup with Ground Beef
Italian flavored Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup with Ground Beef is the perfect cozy winter meal! It's full of hearty beef, white beans, kale, garlic, and cheese tortellini in a richly seasoned tomato broth. This easy one-pot soup is a family favorite!
Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup Recipe
10
Kale White Bean Salad
Kale White Bean Salad is the perfect rustic side dish for your garden kale! Healthy and hearty white beans and kale are balanced with cozy homemade croutons, crispy bacon and Parmesan cheese for a simple salad that goes from weeknights to holidays! Kale fans will love this easy, earthy, and delicious salad!
Kale White Bean Salad Recipe
11
Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Gnocchi Soup
Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Gnocchi Soup is a cozy and hearty winter comfort food! It's prepped in the crockpot in less than 10 minutes, and is filled with tender chicken, pillowy gnocchi, white beans, sun-dried tomatoes and kale in a herby broth with a touch of cream.
Tuscan Chicken Gnocchi Soup Recipe
12
Sweet Potato Corn Chowder
This easy one-pot Sweet Potato Corn Chowder is a creamy, hearty, and "loaded with good stuff" soup! Bacon, kale, red bell pepper, and corn combine with tender sweet potatoes for a healthy and colorful twist on potato soup!
Sweet Potato Corn Chowder Recipe
13
Sausage Gnocchi Soup with White Beans
Warm up with a cozy bowl of Sausage Gnocchi Soup with White Beans this season! Rustic and comforting, it's made with flavorful sausage, lots of veggies, white beans, and pillowy soft gnocchi in a rich herby broth. Easy and quick cooking, this one-pot soup is ready in 45 minutes!
Sausage Gnocchi Soup Recipe
14
Garden Harvest Tater Tot Casserole
As the summer garden winds down, this Garden Harvest Tater Tot Casserole is the perfect fall dinner for using your end-of-season veggies! This childhood favorite is made completely from scratch with garden carrots, green beans, lots of fresh herbs and greens, and no condensed soup. Hearty and comforting, we make this recipe again and again!
Tater Tot Casserole Recipe
15
Italian Sausage Bolognese
Italian Sausage Bolognese is a hearty comforting pasta sauce, made super healthy with tons of hidden veggies! The veggie base of the sauce is pulsed in a food processor for a flavor packed, nutrient dense dinner the whole family will love! As familiar as spaghetti, yet a totally new hearty marinara sauce, kid-friendly too!
Italian Sausage Bolognese Recipe
16
One Pot Beef and Bowtie Pasta
One Pot Beef and Bowtie Pasta is that super simple, weeknight pasta that everybody loves! It starts with a pound of ground beef, a good amount of veggies blended right in like kale, onions and garlic, and finished with a creamy tomato sauce, bursting with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese!
One-Pot Beef and Bowtie Pasta Recipe
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