Kale Dip
Kale has become one of my favorite vegetables over the last couple of years. I throw it in all kinds of things, from soups and smoothies to egg casseroles and curries. The other day I was in the mood for some spinach dip and veggies but realized I didn’t have any frozen spinach. I decided to try using kale. Fabulous!
Cooked kale has a very similar taste to cooked spinach. Its texture is slightly tougher, but I like that. The steamed kale worked perfectly in this dip and I am sure no one would ever guess that it was Kale and not Spinach.
The nutritional benefits of kale and spinach are very similar. I read an article from the Huffington Post that compared the two and was surprised that kale actually has a slight nutritional edge over spinach.
I keep both around but I like that kale stays fresh in the fridge longer than spinach. I usually use kale in cooking and save the spinach for fresh salads and smoothies.
This dip is simple to make, I used the Knorr Vegetable Soup packet (following the directions on the back for Spinach Dip) to make it and subbed out steamed kale for the spinach. Mmm, Mmm, Good!
- 1 1.4 ounce package of Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix
- 4-5 cups fresh chopped kale
- 1 cup Mayonaise
- 1 16 ounce package sour cream
- 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 8 ounce can chopped water chestnuts (optional)
- Steam kale until tender (salt it while it cooks) If you do not have a steamer, just put it in a large saute pan with a few tbsp of water and stir it around until it becomes tender...you may need to add a little more water as needed.
- While kale is cooling, combine all other ingredients and mix well.
- Add chopped kale to mixture when it is cool.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve or at least 2 hours.
- Serve with your favorite dippers. We love veggies or naan bread.
Enjoy!
Keep it Real!!!
Maria
My husband accidentally bought the steamable kale instead of spinach because he was only looking at the picture on the bag 🤦♀️. He loves the spinach dip on the back of Lipton box so I decided to see if there was a difference between kale and spinach made in this dip. BUT I only had about 2 tablespoons of sour cream. So I added that plus about a half cup of mayonnaise with a 15 oz carton of ricotta cheese. I added a few tablespoons of milk and a teaspoon (I guess because I just eyeballed it) to make it more like dip. It came out great. The kale is stronger than spinach but the ricotta cheese really holds it up well. I did steam the kale per the package and added 2 minutes and drained well. I actually don’t think you would know the difference and possibly think it is better tasting. Thanks for the idea!!
Hi, Dawn. Glad to hear it all worked out and this recipe helped. Good to know that ricotta cheese works and tastes good with kale.