Braised Sweet and Sour Kale is a delicious, healthy, and easy kale side dish, packed with superfood nutrients. Fresh cranberries and crunchy almonds provide the perfect contrast in texture and flavor to this healthy sweet-savory side dish. If you love Chick-fil-A's kale crunch salad, you're going to love this braised kale version!
This braised kale recipe is so scrumptious that it will have you craving your greens. It's also easy to prepare, so you can whip up a fast, healthy dinner on busy weeknights. The flavor profile of this kale side dish reminds me of my beloved Chick-fil-A kale crunch salad. It's my all-time favorite fast food side salad! I love the contrasting flavors and textures that you get in this dish. It goes beautifully alongside just about any main dish including grilled pork tenderloin, salmon, or steak.
Recipe Ingredients
- Kale greens- I love to save time and buy the bag of pre-cut kale, but make sure that you remove all of the hard stems. Hard stems can ruin the texture of the dish, so rip those leaves right off of them! On the flip side, buying it whole and chopping it yourself will save you some money. Convenience isn't cheap.
- Extra virgin olive oil- good-quality olive oil recommended
- Fresh garlic- the garlic adds incredible flavor to this dish
- Apple cider vinegar
- Sugar- you can also use coconut sugar
- Chicken broth- you can also use chicken stock or chicken bone broth
- Dried cranberries- dried cherries also work great for this recipe
- Sliced almonds- toasted in a dry skillet
- Salt and pepper- season to taste with salt and pepper
Recipe Directions
- In a large stockpot or dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add garlic and cook until it begins to turn a light golden color.
- Stir in broth, sugar, and cider vinegar and bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
- Add kale greens and stir. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove lid and add dried cranberries. Cook another 10 minutes or so until kale is softened and liquid has been reduced. Toss with almonds and serve.
Recipe Tip
This recipe calls for toasted almonds. It's super easy to toast almonds quickly in a skillet. Just add the almonds to a dry skillet (do not add oil) and toast them over medium heat until fragrant, shaking the pan frequently so the nuts do not burn. This usually takes about 3-5 minutes. As soon as the nuts are lightly golden, remove them from the heat to cool.
More Delicious Kale Recipes
Tropical Blueberry Kale Smoothie
Kale Superfood Salad with Wild Blueberry Vinaigrette
Braised Sweet and Sour Kale
Ingredients
- 1 lb chopped kale greens hard stems removed
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar
- 14.5 oz can chicken broth
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds toasted
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large stockpot or dutch oven, heat olive oil on medium heat.
- Add garlic and cook until it begins to turn a light golden color.
- Stir in broth, sugar and cider vinegar and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Add kale greens and stir. Cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. R
- Remove lid and add dried cranberries.
- Cook another 10 minutes or so until kale is softened and liquid has been reduced.
- Toss with almonds, season with salt and pepper, and serve.
Nutrition
- Mocha Protein Shake - March 15, 2023
- San Marzano Pizza Sauce - March 13, 2023
- Whipped Feta Dip with Roasted Tomatoes and Olives - March 6, 2023
Shari - Simply Shari's Gluten Free
I think I could actually handle kale made this way. Nuts and cranberries...yummy!