Sauteed kale with butter and garlic is wonderful as a side dish, or you can top it with a couple of eggs for a quick, filling lunch. Ready in 20 minutes, this easy weeknight side dish pairs well with meat, poultry, and fish.
Unlike tender spinach leaves, kale has a coarse texture and a slightly bitter flavor. It needs a little help to make it more palatable, and this recipe is an excellent way to do that! The kale is cooked in garlic-infused butter until just tender, then seasoned with salt, pepper, and a splash of lemon juice. Easy and delicious!
Ingredients
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
- Butter: It greatly enhances the flavor of the kale and helps mask its bitterness. You can use olive oil if you wish, but I think kale tastes best when cooked in butter.
- Minced garlic: Mince it yourself, or use the stuff that comes in a jar. Mincing it yourself is fresher and tastier.
- Chopped kale: You can chop it yourself or do the lazy thing and get it bagged and pre-washed.
- Lemon juice: It's best to use freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Variations
- You can use red or white wine vinegar instead of lemon juice.
- When the kale is ready, turn off the heat and sprinkle it with grated Parmesan.
- Sprinkle the finished dish with cooked, crumbled bacon.
- Top the finished dish with more butter, as shown in the image below.
Instructions
The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
Briefly cook garlic in butter. You want it golden but not burnt, so keep an eye on it.
Add the kale. You'll need to add it gradually in a few batches.
Cook the kale until it just starts to wilt. Stir in salt, pepper, and lemon juice, then serve.
Great side dish. I put this on top of home made chili. It made a balanced meal. Looking forward to making an egg and topping the next kale dish soon. I have a big bag of prewashed kale that stayed fresh for a week.
Moonlit Wings
Read more comments
Great side dish. I put this on top of home made chili. It made a balanced meal. Looking forward to making an egg and topping the next kale dish soon. I have a big bag of prewashed kale that stayed fresh for a week.Recipe Tips
- Avoid overcooking the kale. You want it to have some "bite," just like al-dente pasta. You don't want it mushy and limp.
- The reason for adding the kale in batches is that, much like spinach, it has a lot of volume when raw, but when it's cooked and wilted, it loses a lot of its volume, as shown in the images below.
Recipe FAQs
I find that cooking it in generous amounts of butter, garlic, and salt greatly reduces its natural bitterness. The butter slightly caramelizes as it cooks, imparting a sweet flavor to the dish. The lemon juice also helps cut into the kale's bitterness and brightens the dish.
Not exactly. Both are green leafy vegetables, but kale comes from the brassica family (like broccoli), while spinach comes from the beet family (surprising, I know). Kale is coarser and has more bitterness to it, while spinach is milder. This sauteed spinach recipe has an entirely different flavor profile than sauteed kale.
I enjoy kale when I add flavorful ingredients such as olive oil, butter, bacon, or cheese. Sauteing it in butter, as we do here, is great, but I also like to make it into kale fritters. Kale chips are truly great - they're probably my favorite way to enjoy this leafy vegetable.
You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them covered in the microwave.
Serving Suggestions
Sauteed kale makes a wonderful side dish for any meat, poultry, or fish entree. I often serve it with one of the following:
- Baked pork chops
- London broil
- Braised boneless short ribs
- Slow cooker beef ribs
- Baked salmon
- Baked cod
- Baked scallops
Sometimes, I make an Asian-style bowl (as shown in the photo below) with kale, fried eggs, and Gochujang (a spicy Korean paste). I drizzle the bowl with sesame oil and sprinkle it with sesame seeds. It's delicious!
Recipe Card
Easy 20-Minute Sauteed Kale
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon garlic - minced
- 8 ounces kale leaves
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ¼ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice - freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook it for 30 seconds. You want it golden but not burnt, so keep an eye on it.
- Add the kale in batches. Stir-fry until the kale is tender and slightly wilted, for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the salt, black pepper, and lemon juice.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Avoid overcooking the kale. You want it to have some "bite," just like al-dente pasta. You don't want it mushy and limp.
- The reason for adding the kale in batches is that, much like spinach, it has a lot of volume when raw, but when it's cooked and wilted, it loses a lot of its volume.
- Two great additions: when the dish is done, turn off the heat and sprinkle it with grated Parmesan or bacon bits.
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat them covered in the microwave.
Nutrition per Serving
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Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
Moonlit Wings says
Great side dish. I put this on top of home made chili. It made a balanced meal. Looking forward to making an egg and topping the next kale dish soon. I have a big bag of prewashed kale that stayed fresh for a week.
Vered DeLeeuw says
I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for sharing your delicious meals.