Guide to Cooking with Greens
Dark leafy greens, such as kale, collards and chard, are nutrient powerhouses—rich in vitamins A, C and K. Look for greens in bunches in the produce section near lettuce; beets are sometimes sold with the greens still attached, but you can often find the greens sold separately as well. One pound of greens cooks down to about 1 cup, so plan accordingly.
Here are a few quick and easy greens-cooking suggestions to get you started:
- Blanch greens and sauté with a little garlic and olive oil.
- Add a splash of vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice to balance greens’ bitter flavor.
- Top greens with chopped toasted nuts or stir in dried fruit.
- Cook extra greens and store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days — you can reheat them later in the week for pasta dishes or toss them into a batch of soup.
- Read the rest of our Greens Cooking Guide for tips on preparing and cooking a variety of dark leafy greens.
Amount Needed: 1 pound
Prep: Strip leaves from stems; discard stems. Wash in several changes of water; drain. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
Cooking: Cook larger leaves, covered, in a wide pot of 2 cups lightly salted boiling water just until wilted, about 5 minutes. Drain and press out moisture. Small tender leaves can be steamed in a covered skillet with a little water until wilted. Be aware that beet greens, like beets, will bleed and discolor accompanying foods.
Yield: 2 servings, about 1/2 cup each
Per serving: 48 calories; 0 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 10 g carbohydrate; 5 g protein; 5 g fiber; 426 mg sodium.
Nutrition Bonus: 270% Daily Value vitamin A, 80% DV potassium, 70% DV vitamin C.
Amount Needed: 1 pound
Prep: Pull the leaf from the tough ribs and stems; discard stems. Wash in several changes of water; drain. Cut leaves into 1-inch pieces.
Cooking: Cook, covered, in 2 cups lightly salted boiling water until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and press out moisture.
Yield: 4 servings, about 1/2 cup each
Per serving: 34 calories; 0 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 6 g carbohydrate; 3 g protein; 4 g fiber; 21 mg sodium.
Nutrition Bonus: 210% Daily Value vitamin A, 40% DV vitamin C.
Amount Needed: 1 pound
Prep: Strip leaves from stems; discard stems. Wash in several changes of water; drain. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
Cooking: Cook large, tough leaves, covered, in 2 cups lightly salted boiling water until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and press out moisture. Small tender leaves can be steamed in a covered skillet with a little water until wilted.
Yield: 4 servings, about 1/2 cup each
Per serving: 3 calories; 0 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein; 2 g fiber; 27 mg sodium.
Nutrition Bonus: 320% Daily Value vitamin A, 80% DV vitamin C.
Amount Needed: 1 pound
Prep: Trim and discard long stems. Wash in several changes of water; drain. Bunch up leaves and cut into 1-inch pieces.
Cooking: Cook large, tough leaves, covered, in 2 cups lightly salted boiling water until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and press out moisture. Small tender leaves can be steamed in a covered skillet with a little water until wilted.
Yield: 4 servings, about 1/2 cup each
Per serving: 14 calories; 0 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 2 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein; 2 g fiber; 15 mg sodium.
Nutrition Bonus: 120% Daily Value vitamin A, 40% DV vitamin C.
Amount Needed: 1 pound
Prep: Trim stems. Wash leaves in several changes of water. Cut into 1-inch pieces.
Cooking: Cook large mature leaves, covered, in 2 cups lightly salted boiling water until tender, 10 to 12 minutes (add more water if needed). Small tender leaves can be steamed or stir-fried until wilted. Drain and press out moisture.
Yield: 2 servings, about 1/2 cup each
Per serving: 46 calories; 1 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 7 g carbohydrate; 6 g protein; 6 g fiber; 167 mg sodium.
Nutrition Bonus: 270% Daily Value vitamin A, 60% DV vitamin C, 67% DV folate, 55% DV potassium, 30% DV iron.
Amount Needed: 1 pound
Prep: Wash in several changes of water; drain. Strip large leaves from the edible stems. Pull strings from stems; cut stems crosswise into 1-inch lengths. Bunch up leaves and cut into 1-inch pieces.
Cooking: Cook in 2 cups lightly salted boiling water. Add stems first and cook for 5 minutes, then add leaves. Full-size leaves cook in about 10 minutes. Steam young leaves for 5 minutes. Drain and press out moisture.
Yield: 4 servings, about 1/2 cup each
Per serving: 21 calories; 0 g fat (0 g sat, 0 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 4 g carbohydrate; 2 g protein; 2 g fiber; 185 mg sodium.
Nutrition Bonus: 130% Daily Value vitamin A, 30% DV vitamin C, 15% DV iron.
10 comments
Leafy greens… Every spring I look forward to hunting down fresh cowslips (aka: marsh marigold – not English Cowslip)! If you know where to find them (they grow in clumps in swampy areas just after the snow melts) you can cook them just like the beet greens recipe. If you do find them & have determined that they in fact are cowslips, you will want to pick them before they flower as they tend to get bitter. When picked young, they have a taste resembling cooked spinach only better.
You need to make sure you boil it for at least 5 minutes because they are toxic if eaten raw.
We love swiss chard! Sauteed with garlic and sweet red peppers, sprinkled with lemon juice. Wonderful. We also like Kale – raw Kale salad with Braggs amino acids, olive oil, red cabbage…yum.
Blackened, roasted, in soups, we love our greens!! The best are the “charred” pieces from the hot oven…mmmmm!
This is great. I would be wonderful to have it all in one page or PDF so I could save it for future use?
i love the green stuff think about it the best stuff comes in green. collards, spinach, money
Don’t forget musard, turnip and kale!!
We looove love some kale around here. I just read a great article (can I link here?) detailed how to blanch and freeze kale and I love that idea! http://www.notmartha.org/archives/2009/06/12/how-to-blanch-and-freeze-kale/ (also..how cute are those orange bowls filled with kale?!)
GREENS ARE MY FAVORITE! especially spinach, kale and collard greens, which all taste fantastic in soups, stews and salads!
Hello bcteagirl. Thanks for your comment. If you click on ‘print this page’ button at the top, it will print this article as a pdf for you that you can use later. I used to just toss beet greens and eat the beets, but now I’ve discovered ways to cook and eat them – delicious! I look forward to experimenting more with greens.
I managed to convert my boyfriend’s whole family into kale eaters! We joined a CSA and his mother had never eaten kale because she didn’t know how to cook it. But I blanched it and then sauteed it in a little oil with some white onions, button muchrooms, lemon juice, and topped with a little parmesan. It was delicious! And any leftovers were thrown into an easy chicken noodle soup the next day! :)