What do you do with kale stems after you've torn off the tasty leaves? Do you throw them away? Compost them? EAT them??
I've been throwing a few stems into my morning smoothies; doesn't add much taste but if I go a little overboard I'm left with a thick, in not a good kind of way, smoothie. Just a little fyi.
It was my sister who saved me from kale stem smoothie overload. Thanks sis! I don't know if this is anything like the sweet kale stems she had at a local restaurant but I'm excited to start experimenting with those hard, woody, only edible after your Vitamix attacks them, stalks.
They're like a mix between green beans and asparagus. Once they're cooked they still have a little crunch, like a properly cooked vegetable should have. Like kale, they're a little bit bitter but take well to different flavours.
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I like the sweet and spicy combination with the slightly bitter stems.
Have you cooked with kale stems before? I'd love to know if you have and what you made! 
If you make this Sweet and Spicy Sauteed Kale Stems, make sure to snap a pic and tag @theendlessmeal on Instagram so I can like and comment on your photos. I love seeing TEM recipes you create.
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 10-12 kale stems, picked clean of the leaves and chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons onion, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon sriracha
- ⅛ teaspoon chili flakes
- Sea salt, to taste
- Heat the oil in a medium sized frying pan over medium high heat. Add the kale stems and onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes, or until the kale stems have softened but still have a little crunch. Remove from the heat and stir through the soy sauce, honey or maple syrup, sriracha, chili flakes and season to taste with sea salt.
- Serve immediately.
Kristen Stevens
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Hi, I’m Kristen! 
Awesome recipe! I was getting tired of throwing away perfectly good stems. Who knew fried kale is delicious?
I felt the same way!
well i stir-fry my kale with it stems just chopped up (little oil in the frying pan)
with some onion & garlic
added some red pepper flakes , italian seasoning, white pepper and black pepper
give it a try 🙂
Italian seasoning sounds like a great addition!
This is a great recipe. I’ll be making it for the second time today.
I find kale gets bitter in my fridge so I take it off the stem in great big pieces and freeze it In a zip lock bag. Then after my piece of bacon is cooked I grab a hand full and fry over a low heat till crispy, like kake chips. Once that is out of the pan I then cook my 2 eggs. Yum!
What a great idea to freeze kale! I always take it off the stem right away too, but more out of convenience for me to quickly grab some during the week. I’m going to try putting it in the freezer if I don’t think I’ll be able to eat it before it goes yellow. Thank you so much for the tip!
Would this work with collard green stems, too?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. Definitely worth a try though. If it turns out with collard greens let me know, I’d love to hear!
Made this with collard green stems and it came out awesome! So delicious. Going to try the glaze on brussel sprouts. 🙂
I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe. Great idea to try it on Brussels!
This is *brilliant*! I’m forever throwing those away and now I can enjoy them!
Genius! I eat a lot of kale and toss the stems in the compost. I need to try this with my next bunch.
Wow, this is brilliant! I’ve just been throwing them in the bin and feeling wasteful. This’ll be a great way to use up my stems and save on buying other green sides!
Love this. I always just compost my stems, but it’s nice to be able to consume them especially since I get so much of it in my winter csa. Thanks!