I’ve come to love kale in all kinds of different dishes…everything from plain kale chips to soups to smoothies to frittatas. And it’s a fairly reasonable veggie so far as price. But occasionally I find a great deal and want to stock up but know I don’t go through it very fast. What about freezing kale for later?
Of course, all you have to do is google it and voila, lots of options on how to do it. I chose one (this one), grabbed my kale and went to work.
Kale warnings
Loose bunches of kale get a frequent misting in the produce department. This article outlines all the reasons but beware. Where the kale leaves are bunched together is particularly susceptible to growing mold or simply rotting.
My beautiful LARGE bunch of kale this week, ended up getting half of it trashed the day after I bought it because of this. I took lots of pictures, and I’m sure Sprouts will give me more kale to replace it which meant I REALLY needed to get this kale taken care of quickly. I’ll pull the leaves apart and look more carefully next time as well.
To blanch or not to blanch
This article includes directions for both, but I decided to go with the method that ends up lasting longer in the freezer…just in case I forget it’s in there or if the fresh is so cheap I can’t pass it up.
First wash your kale thoroughly and remove the thick stems and any discolored leaves. Tear remaining leaves into 2- or 3-inch pieces…the size you would normally use in your cooking.
Two and a half minutes or so in boiling water, then the same in an ice bath and you’re done. I scooped mine out onto paper towels to get a little more of the water off just so when I use it, I won’t be adding a bunch of extra liquid to my dish.
Measure your kale before freezing
I checked the recipes I normally add kale to and found sometimes I use ½ cup, sometimes a full cup. I decided I’d just freeze my greens in half cup increments to make it easy. My 5 REALLY large curly green kale leaves ended up giving me a total of 4 ½ cup mounds. I put those on a baking sheet and stuck ‘em in the freezer.
After a few hours (they were probably done much earlier), I pulled ‘em out of the freezer and off the baking sheet and popped ‘em into a freezer bag marked with ½ cup kale so I will remember. They came off the sheet pretty well, but I think next time I’ll put them on wax paper just to be sure.
Easier AND faster cooking coming up!
Not only have I saved my kale from going to waste or molding or whatever, I’ve also saved myself the washing and tearing time the next time I want to add kale into whatever I’m cooking. These mounds will defrost super quickly whether in a soup or just set up for a bit before adding to a frittata or casserole.
Saving time AND money? Count me in every time. What do you like kale in? Let me know in the comments below!
Want more of frugal freezing? Try these posts!
What a great idea! Going to try this also. I am so glad I read your article on freezing eggs. Now that they are so expensive, that one was really helpful too. Thank you Mellie!
Absolutely! We’ve got to conserve every little bit we can on every line item of the budget. Vote with your $$$ and take advantage of every tip and trick you can come up with!