Super Simple Garden Recipes: Cheesy Greens
BUG gardener (and Ayurvedic coach, among her many skills and titles!) Brandy Berlin, often shared about her go-to cheesy greens recipes as we planted, tended, and harvested together throughout the 2025 growing season. So, now we’re sharing it with you!
As the seasons shift from summer to fall and winter, cool season preferring kale, chard, collards, spinach, tatsoi, mustards, mizuna, and Yukina savoy still hanging out in our gardens give us a bit more sweetness in flavor with colder temps.
It can be challenging for many bellies, though, to digest these greens, especially raw during this seasonal shift. Gone (until next summer) are the welcome cooling salads of hot days, like BUG Gardener Christine’s Kale Caesar salad. Brandy’s recipe here is a great reminder to keep on including those nutritious greens in our meals, and they can be delicious, too! We find ourselves cutting them up into tiny pieces and sneaking them into casseroles and soups to get those nutrients in our bodies, but picky eaters might even enjoy them as the star of a meal, as in this recipe!
Cheesy Greens Skillet
Serves: 2–3
Time: 10–15 minutes
Vibe: Simple, earthy, and adaptable — comfort meets nourishment.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon good oil (ghee!, olive, avocado, or sesame all work beautifully)
A few twists of black pepper, or any spice blend that floats your boat — try cumin, turmeric, smoked paprika, chili flakes, or garam masala for variation
4–6 cups greens, chopped (kale, collards, chard, mustard greens, spinach — or a mix). Brandy even uses lettuce!
A splash of tamari or coconut aminos (about 1–2 teaspoons)
Nutritional yeast, to taste (start with 2–3 tablespoons)
Optional Add-Ins:
A squeeze of lemon or lime or drizzle of apple cider vinegar for added brightness
Toasted seeds or nuts for crunch
A dollop of tahini or avocado for extra creaminess. Or plain yogurt. Yum!
Cooked lentils or chickpeas to make it a full meal
Photo: BUG Gardener, Karen Miller, washes and preps freshly harvested bok choy from her garden.
Instructions:
Warm the oil.
Heat your skillet over medium heat. Add your oil and spices. Let them simmer and bloom for about 30 seconds — this helps release their medicine.Add the greens.
Pile them in, even if it seems like too much — they’ll cook down. Stir gently as they wilt, adding more greens as space opens up.Splash and simmer.
When the greens start to soften and deepen in color, add your tamari. Let everything cook together for another 1–2 minutes.Remove from heat and make it cheesy.
Take the skillet off the heat and stir in your nutritional yeast. Start small and taste as you go — the more you add, the cheesier it gets. Adjust salt or spice if needed.Serve it up.
Spoon it warm over rice, toast, in a wrap or with roasted veggies. Or just eat straight from the skillet.
Check out additional information about Brandy’s yoga and reiki offerings, as well as FREE Ayurvedic resources!
