Even though this post’s title is, ahem, slightly derogatory in nature towards the flavor of kale, rest assured that kale is actually, really, truly honestly something that I like to eat. I love it sauteed with a little garlic and olive oil. Toast it off in the oven for some yummy kale chips. Toss it in any great chili or stew for extra veggie power – I get it. Kale is awesome, and I definitely am a kale lover, but I can’t say that I’ve ever been a fan of it in smoothies.
Cause y’all? That slightly bitter dark-green flavor that I devour in savory dishes just gets a little nightmare-ish when it comes to smoothies. I get it. Bitter and dark green just aren’t the adjectives I look for when I think of a great morning smoothie either.
BUT HARK! I bring forth from the depths of my blender something I think we can all enjoy!
I remember when I first heard of smoothies with spinach it was back in the olden days of 2009. I thought people were crazy and, while that is true – people ARE crazy – I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor of my first spinach smoothie. It was super scary for me to step out into the spinach smoothie world, but ever since that first sip there was no turning back.
And then people started drinking kale smoothies and I got way more scared this time around. And yet. I still tried to make a kale smoothie and tried to drink it up right nice-like and promptly choked on it.
See, spinach is super tender and blends really easily. Kale takes a little time. It takes a little TLC. It’s not one to just let itself be blended into oblivion without putting up a fight. With that, I must tell you that in addition to not tasting like bitter dirt, this smoothie has worked in literally every blender option that I’ve tried, none of which is a Vitamix or Blentec. Trust me, I have nothing against those companies; I would actually really love to own one of those blender options, but let’s be honest: momma’s not spending hundreds of dollars on a blender. Nope.
So what’s the TLC for kale that requires no blender-with-a-hemi, you ask? Y’all, it’s so easy – you freeze the kale!!!
Here’s what I do in 8 easy numbered steps:
- Get home from the store.
- Take the kale out of the bag.
- Wash the kale.
- Remove the kale from the stems.
- Stuff the kale in a huge gallon-size Ziploc bag.
- Stick the bag in the freezer.
- After the kale has frozen, manhandle the bag to break up the kale into itty bitty pieces.
- Blend as desired.
I have discovered that freezing the kale does a few things for the smoothie making process: it takes away the bitterness and the smelliness, it helps keep the smoothie cold, and it keeps us from having to spend our lives chopping away at kale to get it into the blender. When I make this I literally add 2 cups of frozen kale, which ends up being about 1/2 of a standard bunch.
And y’all? In case you didn’t know that’s a TON of kale to be putting in a smoothie. I know it’s a little scary. But you should know that I genuinely will not eat something that tastes gross. So let’s all freeze some kale and get our health on with a great smoothie, mmmmK?
STRAWBERRY PINEAPPLE KALE SMOOTHIE
Makes 1 smoothie
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup slightly thawed frozen strawberries
- 1 cup fully frozen pineapple
- 2 cups frozen crushed kale (per the directions above)
- 1/4 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon stevia (if desired)
Throw it all in a blender and blend. Be advised that, depending on the blender, it may take a few tries for the mixture to really get going, but once it starts to blend smoothly just let it go until the kale is completely blended in. Serve cold!
***Note: I know that the strawberries & pineapple certainly help mask the kale flavor, but I have also done this with just an apple and avocado, or one that just had mango in it and the kale flavor was nonexistent there as well!***
Thank you for the suggestion! I’m choking down my smoothie now and it’s a challenge- which is why I am searching the web looking for advice.
Ha! Yes, the pineapple helps mask it really well – there’s no way I’d do kale in smoothies without it!
Amazing! I just tried this recipe as a way to use up kale I got in a produce box. I am not a kale fan and didn’t reeeaaaallly believe that this would be tasty, but my husband and I both went back for seconds of this. This is magic.
I’m so glad you guys liked it! The pineapple is magical like that 😉
Last week, during a visit with my daughter, she turned me on to the benefits of Kale. Since then, I have added it to every smoothie I make.
I use at least 1 full cup of chopped kale
I use 1/2 cup frozen Triple Berry blend (Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries)
I mix in 1/2 cup Almond Milk, 1/2 cup of 100% Juice (Grape, Cran-Grape, Cran-Mango, etc…)
I also use 1 scoop of Whey Protein Powder
I will occasionally add a raw egg to the mix
This Smoothie is delicious and filling.
made this smoothie this morning and it is absolutely fabulous!!!! I always keep my veggies and fruits frozen and chop them up really good and you never need ice! thank you thank you thank you this is a really good smoothie!
I’m so glad you liked it April!!!
I have never tried freezing kale, but what a great idea. That would help with buying larger quantities of kale and keeping it around longer too. Thank you for the information and recipe. We will give it a try tomorrow!
Thanks Kary! I hope you love it!
I too find it difficult to get kale down in a smoothie, but this sounds promising. Can’t wait to try. Thank you for sharing!
I hope it makes a big difference for you Jorasche!
I was so glad to find this! Bought some kale yesterday and tried my first green smoothie. Mine was fine and delicious, but I know I’ll never use up all the organic kale before it goes bad.
I’m glad to see I don’t really have to blanch it, like all the other websites say, because that’s just too much work. But I’m too poor to keep letting nice organic veggies go bad in my ‘fridge!
One tip for you folks having trouble getting your kale to blend – this is how I started. Always start with your kale and your liquid, and blend them up all by themselves, before you add anything else. Worked for me. Maybe my blender is really awesome. I don’t know, it was a gift. But the kale got to the size of flakes of pepper which was plenty good enough for me.
I use banana, blueberries, kale, milk, and yougurt, and it’s yum! Not yum enough for my 2 year old though so I may toss some maple syrup in there. . worth it to get her eating green veggies!
Really great idea about freezing the kale….something I have never thought of before. I like to eat produce as fresh as possible though is this is the only downside I can see about doing this. Great article though, I like reading about new techniques. If anyone is interested in some recipes and the like please check out the small website I have created: juiceandsmoothieworld.com
Cheers!
Thanks for the tips on kale! I tried a kale smoothie with beet and some fruit and could not for the life of me get the kale to blend it seemed so chuncky. i was not about to dump it and powered through its chunky texture. i will be trying this when I get home
I really think freezing it helps kind of break down and make the kale leaf more brittle, which helps it blend better. I hope it helps!
Great idea. I’m just getting into the kale smoothie thing and have heard a lot of negatives. I can’t wait to try this! I was wondering though, we have rice milk in our house instead of almond milk. Is rice milk an ok substitution for the almond milk in this recipe?
Hey Sherry! You could use any milk you like! I just like the texture of the almond milk compared to cow’s milk; I’m sure that the rice milk would be very similar!
Thanks for the great recipe!! I have always wanted to find an easy and tasty way to make Kale and so far I had only discovered that sauteing it in butter and bacon didn’t even help. Freezing and tearing the Kale worked great and the smoothie came out so well. I’ll admit I was a little skeptical, but you’re right, you can’t even taste the kale. Honestly, It doesn’t really taste like much (no super distinct tastes), but it comes out with a nice texture and maybe I’ll experiment with other ingredients to up the taste factor. Thank you!
I’m so glad this worked for you! And if you come up with something outstanding in the flavor department I’d love to hear it 🙂
I’m actually growing kale in my neighbor’s garden. Right now, it’s this beautiful, perfect, 3-inch size perfectly tender baby kale. 60 feet of this stuff, and all I can think of is, I wish I could keep it this way all year!! Thanks for the tip!! I was in the process of making my first strawberry kale smoothie when I found your recipe, and most importantly, your tip!! I love kale in everything else but the smoothies, but I’m not up to making a juice today, so, smoothie it is.
Lucky girl with all that yummy baby kale! I hope you enjoy!
I buy a big bag of frozen chopped kale from costco. Cheaper than our local grocery stores fresh kale, and keeps longer! Wonderful in smoothies!
That’s such a great tip Kate! We don’t have CostCo here but maybe Sam’s has it too? I’ll have to look into that!
Heather, I found your blog the other night and thanks to you, I’m now sipping on my very first kale smoothie. I am blown away by how yummy it is! Since I didn’t have almond milk, I had to sub in vanilla soymilk but otherwise I followed the recipe. Took the suggestion of freezing the kale. Wow! I wish I’d discovered this magical stuff sooner! Thank you for the recipe! Now I know what to do with kale other than steam it or make it into kale chips. Yay! I also love the title of the post.
Hey Annabelle! I’m so glad you liked it; the great thing is that you can always make your own combinations, and the frozen kale works great in almost any combination 🙂
Genius! Thank you so much!!
Thank you for the tip! I put a banana, almonds and raisins in mine to ad some sweet taste 🙂
My recipe here on my blog Initials LA:
https://initialsla.com/francais-samedi-gourmand-milk-shake-californien/
xx
Laura
I love the addition of almonds and raisins! So filling and good for you 🙂
Thanks for the tip! I’ve abandoned putting kale in my smoothies because I can’t stand the feeling of the little “frills” going down my throat – you’re right, it’s very hard to blend. Wonder what I can substitute for the yogurt (I’m vegan)…
Hmmm…you could maybe use coconut milk yogurt, or even silken tofu? And to be honest you could leave the yogurt out and just add a touch more almond milk to get the consistency you prefer!
Thank you so much because I tried drying Kale in the oven and crumbling it and it smells so bad I cannot stand it. I will try freezing, I need this superfood.
Is it essential that the pineapple be frozen? Also does not adding yogurt effect how good/bad this will taste? I can’t eat dairy.
Hey Liv! It’s not essential, no, I just like the texture of the frozen pineapple because it makes it cold and thick. And the yogurt isn’t essential either – I just like the flavor/texture and added protein. You could use coconut milk yogurt or something if you want though!
Silken tofu works in place of yogurt and you still get the added protein.
Love this sounds delicious, thanks for sharing!
I adore this. The pictures have great quality and the directions make sense!
YAY! I hope you try it and like the smoothie!
Does freezing the kale lessen it’s nutritional value?
Hi Wendy! To be honest I don’t know the answer to this, but the way I see it (for me) is that any kale is better than no kale at all. I am sure that there are some nutrients that are lost in the freezing process, but I can’t be totally sure.
This is so brilliant and simple. Why, why, why haven’t’ I thought of it for myself? So much kale has gone bad in my fridge, when I could just freeze it for smoothies. Thank you. This tip is gold. ~Catherine
Thank you so much Catherine!!!
My mum uses a similar recipe, but with coconut milk & mango. It has made the difference in keeping her weight up as she undergoes radiation therapy.
I love the coconut and mango in there – that sounds like a vacation in a glass!
My husband and I are on a mission to eat healthy and get fit! I’m so happy I stumbled onto your blog because we weren’t sure about how to make kale smoothies taste good. But after reading your lovely post, I think we’ll actually enjoy the kale smoothies! Thanks!
Thank you so much Suzana! I hope you love these – they’re the best ones I’ve had, and we try to drink one a day if we can!
Would substituting the pineapple for some blueberries make the smoothie taste worse? I really don’t want to have another bad experience with a kale smoothie 🙁
Hey Alexis! I don’t think it would make it taste worse, but I just find that the pineapple’s sweetness and slightly acidity really help mask the bitterness of the kale. You could maybe do half and half? I have also used canned pineapple in juice (just drain off the juice) and it worked great too!
I hope that helps!
I never thought of freezing the kale! Great idea. I will be trying this. I love my kale smoothies–but i might have a son or two who still need some convincing. 🙂
ALoha!
Nate’s the same way, but he just is so turned off by the color that he won’t even try it. More kale for me!
Great idea, Heather!! I like kale in my smoothies too, just not a large amount of it because of the bitterness and “green-ness.” Your method sounds perfect-will definitely have to try. Thanks! 🙂
Freezing has NEVER occurred to me! I can do spinach but when I tried Kale my blender could not make it, well, blend. Chunky smoothie was gross. I have a ginormous bag of Kale in the fridge right now I cannot wait to try your freezing technique 🙂
Ugh, chunky smoothie IS gross. I hope you like this!
You are brilliant – what a great idea! Question: do you dry the kale before you stick it in the freezer bag or just sort of shake off the water?
I just kind of shake the water off. I figure it helps it break up a little more after freezing and a little extra water never hurt anyone!
I might actually have to try this. I have on the fence with kale, but I know how good it is for you, so I want to like it!
I was the same way, and I’m really glad that this method works for me. I have about 2 smoothies a day!
Love this! Your freezing tip is genius! We’re going to feature this on our Facebook page and link here so people can see how you made it, and your lovely photography. Please come LIKE us on Facebook for more recipes and tips on super healthy greens like kale, chard, beet, mustard, turnip, collard and other green leafies. https://www.facebook.com/Cut.n.Clean.Greens
–Your friendly Southern California farmers at Cut ‘N Clean Greens
I resisted the spinach smoothie thing for far too long. I won’t make the same mistake this time! Thanks for giving it a shot and reporting back 🙂
I tried kale once in my smoothie and I was with you. It was not the same as spinach. everyone was just sugar coating the truth! I’ll try your way of freezing it first and see what happens. 🙂
Haha! I love the title of this post and the pineapple in the smoothie! Sound pretty good to me!
Oh my goodness! I was JUST having a conversation last night about freezing spinach! I always use kale in my smoothies because I can’t handle even seeing one slimy piece of spinach! 🙂 hahaha and she said she froze her spinach- and my mind was kind of blown!
I’ve always been a “can’t freeze raw veggies” person- so I never thought of it! But in def going to go freeze both! Thank you!!
SPINACH DOESN’T TASTE BAD AT ALL IN A SMOOTHIE, YOU WON’T EVEN FIND OUT SPINACH IS IN WHEN YOU ADD FRUITS WHICH HAS MORE IN VITAMIN C AND A HALF OF A BANANA.. ADD MORE FRUITS IF YOU TASTE SPINACH. I ALWAYS PREFER RAW BETTER. BUT FOR KALE FREEZING COULD BE A GOOD OPTION AS IT IS BITTER.
I will have to try freezing my kale and using it, sounds great! I always use Spinach because it leaves no taste and does bland perfectly. Kale always left that weird taste and little bits. But Freezing it sounds like a perfect idea!