Natural form

Curly kale stems showing their distinctive ruffled edges and deep blue-green color.

Shows the plant's identifying physical traits — leaf shape, color, and stem structure — so a reader can recognize kale at a glance.

Produce

Kale

Sturdy, nutritious greens for salads, soups, and crisping

Robust and slightly bitter, kale holds up to a long braise, massages into a hearty salad, and bakes into crisp chips. Strip the tough stems first. Keep it cold and dry.

Kale is the sturdy, hard-working green — robust, slightly bitter, and packed with nutrients, holding its texture where tender greens collapse. It braises for ages without turning to mush, massages into a salad that won't wilt by lunchtime, and bakes into crackly chips. The tough central rib is the only catch: strip it out, and kale rewards you with deep flavor and serious staying power.

Measured in: g
Storage: Refrigerate
Shelf life: 7 days

Find it in

Produce

Types & varieties

Curly kale

Frilly, peppery, sturdy; the common supermarket kale

Lacinato (Tuscan/dinosaur)

Dark, bumpy, flatter leaves; sweeter, great for salads

Red Russian

Tender, flat, purple-stemmed; milder

Baby kale

Young and tender; eat raw, no need to massage

How to choose

Want firm, vibrant leaves with no yellowing, browning, or wilting, and crisp, moist-cut stems. Smaller leaves are more tender and less bitter. A blast of frost actually sweetens kale, so winter bunches are often the best.

How to store and prep

Kale (col rizada) is a fairly recent, patchily-stocked arrival in Spanish stores — the traditional local sturdy greens are grelos and berza (col gallega). Store unwashed in the crisper, loosely bagged, for up to a week. The thick central rib is tough and fibrous — fold each leaf and slice or tear the leafy part away from the stem (or strip it by hand). Save the stems for stock or slice thin and cook a little longer.

Refrigerate dry for up to a week
Always remove the tough central rib
Slice thin for salads, tear for cooking

Massage it raw

Raw kale is tough and bitter, but a few minutes of massaging with a little oil, salt, and acid breaks down the cell walls — the leaves darken, soften, shrink, and turn sweeter and silkier. It's the single trick that makes raw kale salads genuinely good, and unlike tender greens, massaged kale holds up dressed for hours, even overnight.

Common uses

Massaged kale CaesarKale chipsZuppa toscana and minestroneSautéed with garlic and chiliGreen smoothiesRibollitaColcannonGrain bowls

Tips & pitfalls

Massage with oil, salt, and lemon for tender, non-bitter raw salads
For chips, dry the leaves completely, oil lightly, and bake low so they crisp not burn
Add hearty kale early to soups and braises — it can take the heat
A splash of acid at the end balances the bitterness
Don't bin the stems — finely sliced, they cook up fine

Nutrition

35kcal

Energy

146 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 27%Carbs 41%Fat 31%

Protein

2.9g

6% DV

Carbs

4.4g

2% DV

Fat

1.5g

2% DV

Fiber

4.1g

15% DV

Sugars

of which

Sodium

53mg

2% DV

Notable micronutrients

Vitamin K325% DV

Vitamin C104% DV

Vitamin A27% DV

Riboflavin (B2)27% DV

Calcium20% DV

Folate16% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · Kale, raw

View on FDC →

In the shops

Matched grocery products

Kale Km0 CampNatur
CAMPNATUR · kg · Bonpreu
€1.65

Good to know

Peak season: Fall through winter; sweeter after frost
Flavor: Earthy, mineral, slightly bitter; mellows with cooking and massage
Origin: Eastern Mediterranean/Asia Minor; an ancient brassica
Nutrition: ~49 kcal/100g; very high vitamins K, A, C; calcium, antioxidants
How to buy: Firm, deeply colored leaves; moist stems; no yellowing or wilting

Substitutes