How Long Does Kale Last?
Fresh kale can last in the refrigerator for up to 5 days if stored properly. It should be wrapped in a dry paper towel or a damp cloth and placed in a plastic bag before being stored in the refrigerator to help maintain its freshness. Kale can also be stored in a plastic bag in the freezer for up to 6 months, though it may lose some of its texture and color after being frozen and thawed.
Placed in its best condition for the longest shelf life of cabbage, cabbage can be kept up to one week as long as it is not removed from its fridge or allowed to heat up. A much better choice than just leaving kale on your countertop, opting to store kale in a cooler prolongs its actual shelf-life by over ten-fold. Properly canned cabbage will last for around one year, and it should be stored in a cool, dark area. When storing cooked cabbage, it is important to allow the leaves to dry before placing them in the refrigerator.
| Storage Places | Shelf Life |
| Fridge | 5-7 days |
| Freezer | 1-2 months |
| Room Temperature | 2 hours |
Just be sure to store your baggies of stored kale in the refrigerator at all times, so that they stay fresh longer. For the rolled kale, both the opened and the unopened ones, they too last for around 3-4 hours at room temperature. Depending on which other ingredients you are using, like pork or chicken, the kale that is prepared might not last more than one hour.
If outside temperatures are in the high 90s, then cooked kale will last for only about one hour if left outside. Cooked kale lasts about 3 to 5 days when stored in a refrigerator in a sealed container or a plastic zip-lock bag in a 40-degree F. or cooler. Prewashed cabbage stored in the bag keeps best for 10 days if not opened, and for 4-5 days once you open the bag.
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Fresh, unwashed kale stored in a plastic bag with room to breathe will last for up to one week in the refrigerator. All of the moisture causes leaves to spoil if you keep fresh kale in the refrigerator. One of the biggest reasons why fresh kale goes bad when stored in the refrigerator is water pooling in the bag.
If you only need part of the kale in a bag, just pull out what you need and put the rest back in the fridge. Once you have finished prepping all your kale, seal the bag and store in your crisper drawer in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Now that it is dried, keep your kale in your crisper drawer of the fridge, because keeping it in the dry part of the refrigerator causes it to dehydrate and become stale too soon.
Kale is a highly susceptible green, and it will last longer if you wait to wash it, leave the leaves attached to the stalk, and store it in a cooler section of your refrigerator, such as your crisper drawer. The best part of Kale is it is an intensely potent green, very cheap, and actually keeps up to one week in your refrigerator when prepared properly. Kale is one of the most hearty greens out there, and may seem like it will last forever in the fridge, but in reality, it will only keep fresh about a week.
In the freezer, chopped cabbage, when kept frozen, stays nice and crisp for about 2 or 3 weeks before it may completely spoil. If you purchase fresh cabbage from the store and choose to keep it in your fridge, you can rest assured it will last about two weeks before starting to go bad. If you grow kale in your own garden and choose to keep it in the ground and harvest it when needed, it may last weeks outdoors.
If you have to store your kale chips much longer, you can freeze the kale juice, which lasts 4-8 weeks. If you are not going to eat your kale in one week, do not sweat it: You can freeze kale leaves for later to use in green smoothies. If you do not want to eat lots of kale all at once, you can crush the leaves of one cabbage into 1 serving-size bundles, put them on a baking tray, and freeze for about 2 hours, or until firm.
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For serving kale as a standalone side, try freezing the leaves without blanching them first, before freezing larger batches. When freezing kale like this, you can take out a handful to make smoothies, or spoon out larger amounts to make side dishes. If you decide that you would like to keep the kale frozen and consume it another time, you can do that with ease. Wholehearted Pro Tip Once you have flash frozen your kale, you can easily chop up any leftover kale in chunks that are just the size you would like to keep.
Wrap a pile of the whole leaves in a layer of paper towels, then store them in a plastic bag from your grocery store, or a zipper-lock plastic bag, inside the crisper drawer in the fridge. Whenever you need cabbage, just open up a bag, pull out all the amount you need, and seal the bag, keeping your cabbage fresh until you next want to use it.
Check the dates printed on the package to get an accurate idea of how long you will be able to store a specific kale bag that you purchased. The shelf life of kale, as most other fresh vegetables, may not have a “sell-by” date, “use-by” date, or “best by” date, so in most cases, you will need to stick to your purchase date. Kale purchased at a local farmers market is likely to have a much longer shelf life than bags purchased at a supermarket.
If you are one for the freshest leafy greens, you are better off buying loose kale, which is kale in its naturally fresh, unwashed, and not a bagged bunch of kale. You can harvest your kale throughout it is lifespan following our guide on picking your kale to ensure that it continues to grow.
If you want your kale completely uncooked, the cooking process called blanching may be skipped, although it will reduce the amount of time that your kale remains shelf-stable. Keep in mind, if you chose to skip the blanching process to use the completely uncooked leaves of your kale, the likelihood is the greens will not be safe to eat for up to eight months. This exceptionally short window may be extended by using either cooking or refrigeration, which both will slow microbial colonization, and also inhibit enzymatic activity by fresh, unpreserved kale leaves themselves.
Is kale still good after 2 weeks?
Fresh kale lasts 5 to 7 days, while cooked kale lasts only four days. The leaves of expired kale have a wilted soggy, and slimy texture. It can also show black, white, yellow, or rust-colored spots of decaying, indicating the kale has expired and is unable to eat. A sulfur-like odor also shows that the kale has spoiled.
How long does kale last in the fridge?
Kale should be cleaned, dried, and divided into portions before being lightly wrapped in fresh paper towels. It should be kept in the refrigerator’s crisper drawer in a zip-top bag or other airtight container. The kale may stay fresh for up to 6 days if you store it properly.
How to know if kale is bad?
Kale should smell earthy and “green” when it is fresh. As the kale becomes older, it starts to smell like rotten eggs. If the kale has an odd scent, it is deteriorated and should not be eaten. A fungal infection may also be indicated by some black patches on the leaves and black, white, or rust-colored dots.