Greens are healthy as-is, but these have a little bit of coconut milk and nutmeg to make these the best you may ever eat! These Creamy Vegan Greens are a holiday favorite at my house, but they are great anytime.
This post is sponsored by the Partnership for Food Safety Education, who reached out to me to share a few food safety tips with you. You can get more information at The Story of Your Dinner. As always, the opinions and recipe are all mine.
Make Your Creamy Greens the Best Ever!
It’s the time of the year that we pretty much eat ourselves silly until the New Year. Of course, we can choose foods that make us feel better instead of opting for instant gratification and a sugar hangover.
My Creamy Vegan Greens are healthy and taste decadent all at the same time. Take them along to any of the holiday parties you are attending to share the health with all your friends. Also keep them in mind for your New Year’s Day feast!
Food Safety Preparing Greens
You might think because you aren’t cooking any meat that you don’t have to think about food safety, but that’s just not true. Like other raw vegetables, greens should be rinsed before eating.
Always wash produce under running tap water even if you are not going to eat the rind or skin!
If you have children, you can print out placemats for your kids to learn all about hand washing and vegetable safety. It’s fun because there are quizzes and it’s perfect for coloring too!
Did You Know that You Need to Dry Greens?
I learned something new about cleaning greens, that they need to be dried after you rinse them before you cook with them.
You can use a clean paper towel like I did above, or use your handy-dandy salad spinner.
How to Remove Stems from Your Greens
After you dry them, fold in half and cut out the thick stem. Some people love them, and if you are one of them, please feel free to leave them in.
My picky eater will only eat these without the stems.
What Can I Do with the Leftover Kale Steams?
Be sure to save the kale and/or collard stems you remove! Then make Kale Stem Pesto from The CSA Cookbook.
It’s a great way to use every part of your greens, and it makes me feel very thrifty!
More Holiday Recipes
- Vegan Holiday Gingerbread Pear Crumble From OATrageous Oatmeals
- Gluten-free Vegan Pumpkin Pie with a Teff Flour Pecan Crust
- Holiday Sweet Potato Casserole
- Vegan Kale Stem Pasta Sauce

Creamy Greens
A fall or winter CSA is full of all kinds of greens and you are welcome to mix and match with what you have on hand. If you’re new to greens try kale, collards, or spinach because they are milder than some of the other varieties. I’m partnering with foodsafety.gov for this recipe so take note of all the safety tips in the recipe directions. You can use them in other dishes that you make too! gluten-free, soy-free, no oil added option*, dairy-free
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, *water sauté to make these oil-free
- 1 small onion, You will only use 1/2
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large bunch fresh greens like collards, kale, and/or spinach
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon tapioca or cornstarch, optional
Instructions
- Clean Up and Get Ready to CookMake sure to wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and running water before you begin and frequently throughout your cooking session. You can sing the Happy Birthday song about 2 times in 20 seconds to time yourself.
- Clean the surface you’ll be working on and your cutting board with hot water and soap.
- Prep the VegetablesFor the onion and the garlic: Remove the outer skin. Rub by hand or scrub with a clean brush while rinsing under running tap water.
- Chop half the onion to use in the next step. Mince the garlic.
- Thoroughly rinse the greens under running tap water and dry in a salad spinner or with clean paper towels. Remove the stems (save to use in this kale stem pesto recipe), and tear the leaves into smallish pieces. You should have 6 to 7 cups of prepared greens when you’re finished.
- Heat a soup pot over medium heat and add the oil if you are using it. Add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté a minute or two more.
- Add the greens about 2 cups at a time as they cook down. Once they have all been added and wilted, stir in the coconut milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more, until it’s piping hot and steaming.
- If you'd like to thicken the sauce, spoon out a tablespoon of liquid from the greens with a clean spoon and in a small cup, mix in the starch of your choice. Add the mixture back to the greens and cook until thickened.
- Enjoy your leftovers! Refrigerate them at 40ºF or below within two hours.
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 135Saturated Fat 6gSodium 234mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 3gSugar 1gProtein 4g
GiGi Eats says
Never thought to add coconut milk to my greens but now I am above and beyond curious!
Jennifer says
Hello! Do we not need to add more liquid than the 1/2c coconut milk?
Kathy Hester says
It depends if you want to add some extra water while you saute them before you add the coconut milk. You can add a few tablespoons if you feel the oil has cooked off and you need it. Or you can add the coconut milk while you are adding the greens. I like to use the oil, but it can vary depending on how thick the greens are as well.
Amber says
Should the coconut milk be from a can or a milk carton?
Kathy Hester says
I used the one in a can, but you can use . in a carton or any nondairy milk if that’s all you have on hand.
DC says
Hi Kathy, you mention if the sauce needs to be thicker to add the starch of your choice to a tbls of liquid removed from greens. Do you mean as in corn or potato starch? And if so how much? Sounds yummy!
Kathy Hester says
I usually use organic corn starch and you can start with a teaspoon or two and go from there.
Nancy says
You say that the greens must be dried after you rinse them, before you cook them. Why is that??
Kathy Hester says
Since this post was sponsored by the Partnership for Food Safety Education, they suggest that you dry your greens before cooking. I think this is an extra step to make sure any bacteria is removed from the greens.
Some bacteria can be cooked off, but some others are not.
Celeste says
I didn’t know greens need to be dried before cooking…do you know why that is? Thanks for the tasty recipe and all the info!
Dianne says
Thank you for the safety tips! I don’t think I ever dry my greens off before I cook them. Oops!
Becky Striepe says
Oh, what a great idea for making simple greens extra special, and I loved the food safety tips!
Cadry says
I adore collard greens. They may well be my favorite greens. But I never make them with coconut milk. That’s changing now! Thanks for the useful tips!
Sarah De la Cruz says
Oh wow, these greens look so yummy! I tend to throw kale into soups, but I will give them a try as their own star of the show! Love those cute placemats too—I will definitely print them out for my kids!!! Fun!
Marge Teilhaber says
Those placemats are fabulous but does anyone have anything larger than 8 x 11 paper or a printer that can accommodate the larger paper? I suppose save them to a flash drive and go to Staples. Great recipe, Kathy. Can’t wait to try it!
Joyce Nichols says
Rather than the milk, I used frozen cauliflower that I microwaved and blended for the cream sauce. Very satisfying dish for winter.
Elaine says
What is the equivalent measurement for a bunch of greens, if you are buying them in a package or container? Esp for spinach or baby kale. Thank you!
Kathy Hester says
There’s a lot of wiggle room, but you are looing for about 6 cups of ready to go in the pan greens (cleaned).