If you want to make a recipe that will turn ‘kale no’ into ‘KALE YEAH’ – here it is.

Kale ready to be cooked

This is the perfect balance of healthy kale hiding in creamy cheesy perfection, finished with a crispy topping. This has become a holiday family meal favorite- and that’s saying somethings with all those kale haters out there 😉

Bacon fat is an amazing addition but not necessary for this recipe.  And as with all my recipes there’s room for making them different each time, or just to make them your own. Sometimes I’ll add in the bacon, or if my family ate all the bacon, I’ll just use the bacon fat to sauté the leeks and onions… a bit of pancetta or even smoked ham would be delicious too. If you like it spicy, add in the hot pepper flakes or even some dashes of hot sauce. If you don’t use bacon fat, taste test and add salt as needed.

I love kale and have many recipes and articles devoted to this favorite of fall veggies. You can use multiple kinds of kale in this recipe and even add in some collards because of the steaming and baking. A favorite combo is about half curly kale and half perennial kale, as the perennial kale I grow has slightly thicker but very tender leaves. I also really like collard greens (up to half) in this recipe.

Gardener in a hat eating just harvested kale in the fall

I’m usually attempting to keep my family recipes on the healthy side and have tried to get less fat with this one too. But when I tried making this with milk instead of half and half, the fat ratio must not have been quite high enough because you’ll get the ‘curdling’ for lack of a better word in the dish rather than a nice thick creamy cheese sauce. That said, this recipe uses roughly half the cream and cheese of other recipes I perused while perfecting this one… so be warned, while creamy, this is still a kale forward recipe!

I love kale so much I have another blog devoted to this veggie, Read KALE YEAH! for all the details on growing and eating the best kale!

I love the flavor leeks add to this, but shallots, onions or even more garlic to onion ratio is all delicious. Also, this is definitely a recipe you can (and should) taste test before baking to make sure it’s got enough of everything!

A Note on Au Gratin VS Gratin:

‘Au Gratin’ refers to a specific dish made with sliced potatoes and a creamy sauce. But ‘Gratin’ is a general technique where you bake or broil a dish with a creamy cheesy sauce topped with something to crisp it up on top, usually breadcrumbs. The ‘insides’ don’t matter for a gratin- it’s all about the sauce and crispy topping.

Prepared kale gratin ready to bake in the oven

I like this kale gratin in a 9X13 pan so there’s lots of crispy tops and edges to enjoy.

Kale Gratin Recipe

The ingredients for making Kale gratin

Ingredients

  • ½ lb. bacon (optional)
  • ¼ cup bacon fat and/or butter
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • Up to 1 lb. kale (up to half collards) shredded/chopped into bite size pieces (8 cups of pieces)
  • 2 cups total: chopped leeks, onion + garlic
    (I like mostly leeks, 1 small onion or shallots and a few cloves of garlic- but use what you have!)
  • ¼ cup flour (GF subs *pretty* well)
  • Salt + pepper to taste (depending on if using bacon fat or other oil)
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • 1-2 tsp pepper flakes (optional)
  • 1 cup half and half
  • 6 oz shredded gruyere cheese
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
The creamy kale mixture being spread into the baking dish

Instructions

Grease a 9×13 pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Cook bacon if using in recipe, or just save bacon fat from last batch to use.

In a large stock pot, heat 2 tablespoons of fat of your choice until shimmering. Sauté leeks/onions/shallots mixture for a few minutes, then add garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add the kale shreds a few handfuls at a time, replacing lid to keep water content inside the pot. You can add a few spoons of water as you go, essentially steaming them for roughly 10 minutes. Remove the kale mixture from the pot.

Add the remaining ¼ cup of fat and add ¼ cup of flour and cook for 5-7 minutes until browned and thickened. Add the rest of the spices and stir until combined. Slowly add the half and half and let simmer and thicken for a few minutes. Add 3 oz gruyere and stir until just melted, then add the kale and onion mixture back into the pot until well combined. Spoon into the greased baking dish, leaving peaks of kale to get crispy.

close up of the kale gratin after baking

Mix the remaining 1 oz of gruyere and panko together with the rest of the olive oil and sprinkle on top.

Bake Kale Gratin at 350 for 40-45 minutes until golden brown on top.
Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

This goes really well with Turkey, Ham, Pork and stuffed squash with wild rice…

Cheers to Hearty Holiday Eating!

Dig In,
Michelle