Use it Up! 21 Ways to Use Up a Bunch of Greens

Have a bunch of greens starting to go wilty? Never fear! Here are 21 fantastic ideas for using up your spinach, arugula, kale, or whatever green you have on hand, from sheet pan pizza to frittata to soups.

By
Summer Miller
Summer Miller
Summer Miller
Summer has worked in food media for the past 12 years as a recipe developer, recipe tester, food journalist, essayist, cookbook author, and public speaker. Her work has appeared in Eating Well, Saveur, Bon Appétit, Grit and Edible Communities publications among others. She started working with Simply Recipes in 2017. Her book, New Prairie Kitchen, won the Nebraska Book Award for non-fiction in 2016 and Epicurious noted it as a “Need to Read” cookbook.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
and
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves is a food and beverage writer.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Updated March 15, 2022
10 Ways To Use a Bunch of Greens

We’ve all done it. We’ve loaded up on beautiful greens at the farmers' market or picked up that super-sized bin of spinach at the grocery store. This was the week you were going to eat green smoothies every day for breakfast, but then you remembered how much you like muffins, so you ate those instead.

Waste not, want not, love! I’m here for you. Here are a bunch recipes to use up that bag of spinach or box of greens, saving you from accidental fridge-created lettuce soup!

Keep in mind that greens are incredibly versatile. If a recipe calls for Swiss chard, feel free to substitute spinach. If it calls for spinach, see how baby kale works! You can swap out just about any kind of green for the specific ones called for in these recipes. Now, let’s get our green on!

  • Spinach Frittata

    Spinach Frittata
    Elise Bauer

    The fresh, earthy taste of spinach is a great choice for the egg-heavy frittata, but arugula or wilted kale would also work. If you’re feeling crazy, add some diced ham as well.

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  • Chicken with Goat Cheese and Arugula

    Chicken Goat Cheese Arugula
    Elise Bauer

    If you’re short on time and need dinner in a hurry, layer a chicken breast pounded thin with arugula and goat cheese. You don’t have arugula? Swap out spinach! It only takes 30 minutes start to finish.

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  • Italian Skillet Chicken with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Onions

    Alison Bickle

    With this Italian-inspired dinner, you will not only use up some of that spinach lingering in the fridge, but also only one pan to cook your whole meal.

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  • Kale Salad With Balsamic Dressing

    kale salad
    Elise Bauer

    Dress this raw kale salad with a vinaigrette a half hour to an hour before serving, and the dressing will tenderize the tough kale leaves. Waiting to eat it is the hardest part of this super simple salad that's accompanied by dried cranberries, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese.

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    Continue to 5 of 21 below.

  • Easy Sautéed Spinach

    Sauteed Spinach Recipe
    Elise Bauer

    If you’re staring down a nearly empty pantry and a nearly empty fridge, this dish is perfect. All you need is garlic, salt, olive oil, and spinach. Make it a meal by adding some chili flakes and a squeeze of lemon, and stir it into a bowl of pasta dressed with more olive oil.

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  • Arugula Salad with Beets and Goat Cheese

    Arugula Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Walnuts
    Elise Bauer

    Spicy arugula tastes lovely with the earthy, robust flavor of cooked beets. Toss in some goat cheese and walnuts to round out this simple salad.

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  • Cream of Spinach Soup

    Cream of Spinach Soup
    Elise Bauer

    Spinach soup can be served cold or hot. Garnish with freshly chopped chives and a dollop of sour cream.

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  • Roasted Kale and Butternut Squash Pasta

    Overhead view of oven roasted kale and squash pasta in a bowl.

    Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas

    Roasted butternut squash and kale become a sweet and savory topping for penne pasta. A sprinkling of goat cheese adds a bit of tang.

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    Continue to 9 of 21 below.

  • Make-Ahead Feta and Spinach Breakfast Wraps

    Feta Spinach Wrap
    Sally Vargas

    We're big fans of hot breakfasts. Having a healthy wrap to make ahead and heat up in the morning is a great way to start the day.

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  • Shrimp, Lemon, Spinach Linguine

    Shrimp Lemon Linguine
    Elise Bauer

    You have to love pasta dishes that come together quickly. Spinach, arugula, baby kale, or Swiss chard would all work well in this quick and easy weeknight meal.

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  • Spinach & Artichoke Sheet Pan Pizza

    Spinach-Artichoke Sheet Pan Pizza
    Coco Morante

    Sheet pan pizza is a great way to feed a family or a crowd. Use store-bought pizza dough or homemade. Either will create a pizza you’ll want to make again and again.

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  • Quinoa Bowls with Sweet Potatoes, Black Beans, and Spinach

    Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowl - Bowl with sweet potatoes, black beans, quinoa, and spinach
    Alison Bickle

    We love this recipe because a little work goes a long way. Make it on a Sunday and eat healthy, nutrition-packed leftovers for lunch all week!

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    Continue to 13 of 21 below.

  • Sautéed Greens With Pine Nuts and Raisins

    Sauteed Greens with pine nuts and raisins
    Elise Bauer

    What's great about this recipe is that it uses up whatever greens you happen to have—kale, collard greens, mustard or turnip greens, or spinach. What makes it even greater is that it takes just 10 minutes to cook.

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  • Crispy Curried Chicken Thighs With Wilted Greens

    Crispy Curried Chicken Thighs With Wilted Greens
    Sabrina Modelle

    Reach into the crisper to see what needs to be used up: baby arugula, kale, escarole, baby spinach, or even romaine can work in this crispy curried chicken recipe. Consider mixing it up and adding two or more types of greens.

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  • Colcannon

    Colcannon Irish Potatoes with Melted Butted in Serving Dish
    Elise Bauer

    This Irish mashed potatoes dish often shows up on St. Patrick's Day menus, but it works any time of year. Wilt kale, cabbage, chard, or another leafy green into the potatoes.

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  • Arugula, Mozzarella, Tomato on Focaccia

    Arugula, Mozzarella, Tomato on Focaccia
    Elise Bauer

    If you have leftover arugula, this is exactly what you want to do with the greens. The tomatoes and onions are marinated for 30 minutes before becoming sandwich filling along with peppery arugula and mozzarella.

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    Continue to 17 of 21 below.

  • Scrambled Eggs With Kale and Mozarella

    scrambled eggs with kale and mozzarella
    Elise Bauer

    Looking for a way to add healthy greens to breakfast? This simple scrambled egg dish does just that, and it's flavored with Italian seasoning and mozzarella, making them not your run of the mill scrambled eggs.

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  • Kale Pesto

    kale pesto
    Elise Bauer

    The strong flavor of kale is tempered by the addition of lemon zest and lemon juice in this pesto that you can use anywhere you'd use traditional basil pesto. Bonus—kale pesto won't brown like basil pesto. It stays vibrantly green for days in the fridge.

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  • Greens, Eggs, and Ham, Grilled Cheese Sandwich

    Greens Eggs Ham Sandwich

    Ue up that last handful of baby spinach or young chard in this grilled cheese sandwich inspired by Dr. Seuss. We're sure that you will like greens, eggs, and ham (with a little melty gruyere cheese added in).

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  • Green Goddess Mac and Cheese

    Green Goddess Mac Cheese
    Elise Bauer

    A riff on the Green Goddess salad dressing popular in the 1970s, this mac and cheese uses up two kinds of greens: leafy baby spinach and the bunch of fresh parsley that you bought for some other recipe that called for just a bit. Go all in and use handfuls of that parsley here. It's absolutely delicious.

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    Continue to 21 of 21 below.

  • Italian Wedding Soup

    Easy Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
    Sheryl Julian

    You can use escarole, Swiss chard, or kale in this Italian wedding soup, perfectly seasoned and made with pork and beef meatballs, pasta, and chicken stock.

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