How Much Oxalate Is in Kale (Simmered or steamed)?
mg oxalate
per serving
Serving: 1/2 cup cooked (65 g)
Verdict: 🟢 Safe
Per 100g: 5 mg
Data: Harvard T.H. Chan SPH (2024)
The bottom line for Kale (Simmered or steamed): Safe (🟢), with 3 mg oxalate per serving — comfortably below the 25 mg safe cutoff. There's no need to limit it. Just keep your usual kidney stone basics in place: water throughout the day and calcium-rich foods at meals.
Putting Kale (Simmered or steamed) in context: it lands well below the category average of 27 mg. In the database, 80% of vegetables (219 of 271) fall in the 🟢 Safe group (under 25 mg oxalate/serving). The typical vegetables here averages 27 mg oxalate per serving, so Kale (Simmered or steamed) runs 89% below that baseline. That places it among the lower-oxalate options in its category. Why this matters: the gap between two Safe foods can be wide — one may hold 5 mg oxalate while another sits at 24 mg. The lower one leaves more room in your day. See all vegetables rated Safe for a full side-by-side.
Why does oxalate per 100g matter?
The per-100g number lets you compare foods on an equal-weight basis, regardless of serving size. It's useful when two foods have very different typical serving sizes, or when you eat more or less than a standard serving. For context, Kale (Simmered or steamed) measures 3 mg per 1/2 cup cooked, rated Safe.
How accurate is the oxalate measurement?
Harvard's 2024 analysis used ion chromatography — the gold standard for oxalate measurement. These are direct lab values, not estimates or database calculations. Variability exists between samples, but this is the most reliable reference available. For Kale (Simmered or steamed), the measured oxalate value is 3 mg per 1/2 cup cooked (Safe).
How does this compare to other foods?
Anything under 25 mg per serving is Safe; 25-99 mg is Caution; 100 mg or more is Avoid. The category pages on OxalateWatch list foods side by side, so you can see where this one ranks. Kale (Simmered or steamed) comes in at 3 mg oxalate per 1/2 cup cooked (Safe) in the measured database.