I’ve been still struggling to recover from a recent cold and all I want is to have delicious warm soups. Then I remember that I have this really good Kale Soup recipe post that I haven’t been able to share this summer due to all the BBQ and Ice Cream recipes I posted. Now it seems like a perfect time to share this post as this is a quick, delicious, and nutritious soup!
I saw my friend Patty’s Kale Soup post on her blog Patty’s Food back in May and I was really excited to try this recipe. Kale is a green, leafy vegetable that is part of the cabbage family. Kale provides iron, magnesium, fiber and is loaded with vitamins A and C. I like to make a soup with it or bake it into kale chips.
Speaking of which, my friend Divya from Flavor Fiesta made a really cute video on how to make chipotle-flavored kale chips that I love below.
Back to the Kale Soup, this is a really easy and appetizing soup that I hope you will give it a try. With the leftover Crème Fraîche (the white cream on top of the soup – I bought it at Trader Joe’s.), I baked something with it to be shared on the next post. Have a great week everyone, and stay well!
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.

Kale Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 Yukon gold potatoes
- ½ onion
- 6 cups baby kale (lightly packed)
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cups chicken stock/broth (use vegetable stock for vegetarian)
For Garnish
- 6 Tbsp crème fraîche (or sour cream)
- mint leaves
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Rinse the kale in running water and drain it well. Remove the thick stems. Minced the garlic. Peel and dice the potatoes and onion.
- In a heavy bottom pot (I use a Dutch oven), heat the butter over medium heat.
- Add the garlic, onions, and potatoes to the pot and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir and cook for several minutes.
- Add the chicken broth and bring it to boil.
- With a fine-mesh skimmer, skim off the fat and scum from the surface until it's clean. It's an important step for a refined taste.
- Gently simmer with the lid on for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes become tender.
- Add the baby kale and cook without the lid for about 2-3 minutes or until tender.
- Transfer the soup into a blender and pulverize. Remove the little circle part of your blender top and put a towel over the entire lid of the blender, covering the hole. This will allow the steam to escape so the top won’t pop off.
- Pour the soup back into the soup pan. Adjust the seasoning based on yuur preference and serve into bowls. Garnish with the Crème Fraîche and mint leaves.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container or the pot and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
This recipe comes in handy when I have a bunch of Kale that I don’t know what to do. Thanks a lot for creating and sharing another great recipe. May I know if the butter can be substituted with olive oil?
Hi Joan! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
The butter adds creamy flavor to the soup, so we recommend it. Olive oil would be okay, but you might notice the olive oil taste in the soup.
We hope this helps!
Lot’s of people posting good wishes, not much about the actual taste of this recipe…I added apples to offset the possible kale bitterness….
Delicious & a great way to get rid of that huge bunch of kale I got at the farmers’ market.
Hi James! Those comments came from the group of wonderful bloggers, checking other bloggers’ sites and saying hello. When I posted this recipe (2012, that was my blog was 1 years old), I used to be more active in the food blogging community, so I used to get more food blogger visitors than regular readers. Now it’s been opposite, and I don’t have much time to socialize and got too busy creating contents. 😀
Sorry I digressed. I love your tip of adding apples! Thank you very much for sharing!
Do you know what I can use to subsititue for the potatoes? I am carb and sugar free. I don’t see sweet potatoes working well 🙂
Hi Nasia! Potatoes are included for more of the texture – the starchy texture gives some thick soup base. If you don’t need that, you can make it without it. 🙂
Hi Nami- I made this last night and my soup tasted kind of sour. Is it supposed to taste a bit sour? Please advise 🙂 Thanks for posting the recipe by the way..
Cheers,
AiLing
Hi AiLing! Thanks for trying this recipe! Sour? I wouldn’t say this soup has any hint of “sour”…. Did you use sour cream? It has a bit of tangy flavor but I wouldn’t call this sour though….
Hi Nami! I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for a while and finally got a chance to try it out tonight! It was so yummy! I added a bit of lime juice in the end too. Can’t wait to try other recipes of yours. Love your pics on Instagram 🙂
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and I’m so glad to hear you liked it! Thank you for following my Instagram too. xo