How to Freeze Kale: A Step by Step Guide

Kale is a go-to ingredient for smoothies, soups, stews, and dishes like kale pesto. This super-food is easy to grow and can even replace spinach in many recipes. If you have an overabundance of kale from your garden or the grocery store, you may want to learn how to freeze kale so you can enjoy it for months to come. Here are step-by-step instructions for freezing this delicious green.

Freezing your kale harvest for later use — Both lacinato kale (at left) and Russian kale (at right) are great for freezing.

Homegrown kale harvests

Let’s take a brief – but very important – detour before we talk about how to freeze kale. If you’ve grown this leafy veggie that’s high in Vitamin C and calcium in your home garden, the first step in properly preparing the leaves for freezing is knowing when to make the harvest. (If you don’t grow your own yet, here’s a great article on how to get started growing kale.) You can skip the next paragraph if your kale came from the grocery store, farmer’s market, or CSA box.

Whether you’re growing lacinato kale (also known as dinosaur kale), curly kale, or Russian kale in your garden, the optimum time for harvesting is first thing in the morning. At that time, the leaves are filled with moisture. Their high moisture content means a crispier texture and better freezing. Snap or cut the leaves off the plants, leaving the growing point intact so the plants can continue to grow new leaves. If you can’t start the freezing process until later in the day, put the cut ends of the harvested stems in a glass of water and put them in the fridge until you’re ready to get started.

When and how to pick kale from the garden — Use your hand to snap off individual kale leaves or cut them off with a pair of pruners. Harvest in the morning for maximum moisture content.

A step by step guide on how to freeze kale

Now to the fun part! Thankfully, kale freezes beautifully and retains its flavor and nutritional content even after it’s frozen, thanks to a technique known as blanching. Blanching is the process of dunking the kale into boiling water for two minutes, followed quickly thereafter by an ice water bath. Let me explain all the steps involved in learning how to freeze kale to set you up for success.

Step 1: Prepare kale for freezing

First, you’ll want to get your kale leaves ready for the freezing process. Since the stem and midrib (or main leaf vein) of kale are often thick and tough, you’ll start by removing them. Here’s how.

Processing kale leaves before freezing — Use your fingertips to easily strip kale leaves from their tough stems and midribs before use.

How to remove the midrib

Removing the stems and midribs of kale leaves is an essential step in processing them for freezing. If you’re working with baby kale, it’s not necessary to remove the midrib. But for mature leaves, you’ll want to complete this step.

Grab the base of the stem in your non-dominant hand. Then use the thumb, forefinger, and middle finger of your dominant hand to strip the leaf blades off of the midrib by pulling your hands apart from each other in opposite directions. The succulent leaves are now separated from the tough stems and midrib. It only takes about a second to strip a kale leaf from its stem using this method.

How to remove the stems from kale leaves — Removing the stem and midrib from kale leaves is a quick job once you have the proper technique down.

Chopping the kale for freezing

After removing the midrib, it’s time to chop the kale. I use a large Santoku knife to coarsely chop the leaves into bite-sized pieces. I typically do this step before washing the kale because once they are cut into smaller pieces, you can fit a lot more kale leaves into the sink for washing. Whole leaves take up a lot more room.

Preparing vegetables for the freezing process — I use a large knife to coarsely chop the kale before washing it.

Washing kale for freezing

Next, it’s time to remove any dirt, grit, or other debris from the leaves. You can place them in a strainer and wash them under cold, running water, but I find it’s more effective to plunge the cut leaves into a sink or large stock pot filled with cold water. Slosh them around a bit using your hands then let them sit for a few minutes. All the dirt will settle to the bottom of the sink or pot. Lift the clean leaves out of the pot and dump out or drain the dirty water. Now it’s time to blanch the kale leaves.

Washing kale prior to freezing it — Wash the chopped kale in a sink or pot of water, agitating it a bit to dislodge any soil particles.

Step 2: How to freeze kale by blanching

The most critical step in learning how to freeze kale is blanching. Without it, frozen kale does not retain its bright green color. It turns black and mushy in the freezer. The quick cooking process in boiling water locks in the flavor and renders it almost as nutritionally dense as fresh kale.

Preparing the blanching water

To blanch kale, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once it’s reached a full boil, plunge handfuls of the cut kale into the boiling water, keeping the heat turned on high.

How to freeze kale step by step — Add handfuls of kale to a pot of boiling water to blanch them. This helps retain their green color and nutritional value.

How long to blanch kale for before freezing

Boil the kale for only two minutes. No more and no less. Then use tongs or a ladle strainer (my tool of choice) to remove the kale from the hot water. From there, it immediately goes into the ice-cold water of an ice bath.

How long should you blanch vegetables for before freezing them? — Blanch kale for only 2 minutes; no more, no less.

How to set up an ice water bath for freezing kale

Before you put the kale into the pot of boiling water for blanching, have your Ice water prepared in a large bowl and sitting at the ready, right next to the pot of blanching water. This bowl of ice water is an important part of the process, and you don’t want to be scrambling around to get it ready when that two-minute timer is ticking away. The ice water bath stops the cooking process immediately and cools the kale instantly, keeping flavor, texture, and color locked in.

Freezing kale step by step — Have your ice water bath prepared and at the ready. You’ll be surprised how quickly the two minutes pass.

I blanch multiple batches of kale in the same pot of boiling water, but I have to replace the ice water with every pot because the ice melts quickly. Have lots of ice on-hand so you can restock your ice bowl when needed.

Step 3: Draining and packing the kale

It only takes a minute or two for the blanched kale to cool in the ice bath. Once it’s cold, you’ll need to get rid of the excess water.

How to freeze kale at home — Move your blanched kale into an ice water bath to immediately stop the cooking process.

Squeeze out the water and lay out to dry

Remove the kale from the ice bath using your ladle strainer, tongs, or even your hands. Squeeze as much water out of the kale as possible. From there, the leaves can go into a salad spinner, or you can spread the blanched kale out on clean kitchen towels to absorb even more moisture. You can also pat it dry with a paper towel. It doesn’t have to be perfectly dry before freezing, but do try to get rid of as much moisture as possible.

Processing leafy greens for later use — Use your hands to squeeze out as much water as possible before laying the kale out on kitchen towels or using a salad spinner to remove even more water.

How to freeze kale on sheet pans

There are three ways to freeze kale. If you plan to use just a few handfuls of kale at a time and you’ll likely be eating your frozen kale within a month or two, opt for the baking sheet method. This is a great way to flash freeze kale.

Spread the blanched kale out on a sheet pan in a single layer. Put the pan in the freezer overnight. Once it’s frozen solid, break the kale apart with your hands and immediately put the chunks of frozen kale into freezer bags. This process keeps it from freezing into a solid chunk that you have to use all at once. Instead, you can just grab a handful of frozen kale out of a bag and then reseal it and put it back into the freezer. However, the sheet pan kale freezing method results in a greater chance of freezer burn, so plan to use all your frozen kale within 8 weeks.

Food preservation technique for leafy greens — After the kale drys out for a few minutes, it’s time to lay it out onto a baking sheet for freezing or pack it into zipper-top plastic bags.

How to freeze kale in freezer bags

The second method involves stuffing freezer bags with blanched kale without pre-freezing it first. It will freeze into a sold chunk of kale, which is fine for use in larger recipes but is less ideal for single-serving things like smoothies. Be sure to squeeze as much air out of the bags as possible before sealing and labeling them. I freeze kale this way for use in stir fries, soups, and side dishes.

Packing blanched greens into freezer bags — Pack the blanched kale into plastic freezer bags. This is the best method if you plan to use a large amount in a recipe.

How to freeze kale puree for smoothies

The last way to freeze kale is as a puree. After blanching and drying, put the kale into a blender or food processor to form a smooth puree. You can even juice your kale. From there, pour the puree (or juice) into silicone ice cube trays. Put the trays into the freezer overnight, then pop the frozen kale cubes out of the trays and put them into freezer bags. When you’re ready to make a smoothie, just pull a cube out of the bag, reseal it, and put it back into the fridge.

Preserving homegrown greens for winter use — Freezing kale is the best way to get fresh-from-the-garden flavor all winter long.

Oh, kale yeah!

Using frozen kale is a great way to add protein and vitamins to your diet. There are so many delicious kale recipes you can use it in. Though frozen kale won’t work in a salad, thawing it and tossing it into a stir fry or lasagna yields delicious results. Now that you know how to freeze kale, you’ll always have plenty on hand.

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