I didn’t find out about National Kale Day until after the fact, but seeing pictures of delicious kale recipes all day made me really crave kale bad. What’s the fastest, easiest fix? Garlic Parmesan Kale Pasta! This one is SO easy and SO satisfying, guys!
See this recipe used in my weekly meal prep.
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Use Whole Wheat Pasta for Extra “Nutty” Flavor
Whole wheat pasta with kale may sound like the most boring, torturous diet meal of all time, but when you lace them with garlic, parmesan, and a little butter, they take on a whole new personality. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes if you’re feeling sassy and it’s like pasta heaven.
Sometimes whole wheat angel hair is hard to find, though, in which case you can just use regular. Either way, I do suggest using angel hair pasta rather than other shapes because I find that the thin texture really balances the mouthfeel of the dish.
Use a Different Vegetable
Not a fan of kale? No problem! I use this pasta-butter-Parmesan combo with all sorts of other vegetables. Spinach is great, but so is broccoli (see Bowties and Broccoli), or sautéed mushrooms. If you have leftover roasted vegetables, toss them in there. :)
How to Serve Garlic Parmesan Kale Pasta
This Garlic Parmesan Kale Pasta recipe makes four side dish-sized servings, but you can bulk it up and make it a meal by adding a chopped hard-boiled egg or a fried egg, adding some chopped fresh tomatoes (or sun-dried), or even crumbling some bacon over top. I also love topping it with my Garlic Marinated Chicken, cut into strips. This is just a starting point and it can go in about a million different directions. Have fun with it!
Garlic Parmesan Kale Pasta
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 bunch 1/2 lb kale ($1.69)
- 1/2 lb angel hair pasta* ($0.50)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.26)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.27)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.41)
- Pinch salt and pepper ($0.05)
- Pinch red pepper flakes (optional) ($0.03)
Instructions
- Pull the kale leaves from the woody stems and tear them into small 1 to 2-inch pieces. Rinse the torn kale well in a colander under cool, running water and allow it to drain.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Break the pasta in half, add it to the boiling water, and cook until al dente (about 7 minutes). Drain the pasta in a colander.
- While the pasta is cooking, add the olive oil, butter, and minced garlic to another large pot or skillet. Cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Add the kale and continue to sauté until the kale has wilted and has turned a deep green color (about 5-7 minutes). Turn the heat off.
- Add the drained pasta to the pot with the sautéed kale. Toss the pasta and kale together. Allow them to cool to the point that steam is no longer rising from the pot. You want the pasta warm, but not hot enough to melt the Parmesan.
- Season the pasta and kale with salt and freshly cracked pepper to your liking. Add the grated Parmesan cheese and toss to coat. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes over top if desired.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Garlic Parmesan Kale Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Pull the leaves from the woody stems of one bunch of kale (about 1/2 lb.). Tear the leaves into 1 to 2-inch pieces as you go. You can also use bagged, pre-chopped kale, if desired.
Place the kale in a colander and rinse well with cool running water. Allow the kale to drain.
Begin cooking 1/2 pound angel hair pasta according to the package directions. You’ll want to get the pasta going first because the rest of the dish will be finished cooking in the time that it takes the pasta to boil. Breaking the pasta in half before boiling makes it MUCH easier to mix in with other ingredients when it’s slightly shorter (it still looks just like long pasta once mixed).
Add 2 Tbsp butter, 2 Tbsp oil, and 2 cloves minced garlic to a large pot or skillet. I like to us a pot with tall sides so that the kale doesn’t spill out as I try to stir it. Sauté the garlic over medium heat for a couple minutes, or just until it becomes soft and really fragrant (it should smell like the best garlic bread you’ve ever laid your nostrils on).
Add the kale and continue to sauté until the kale wilts down and is a really beautiful deep jade green. When I first put the kale in the pot it pretty much filled it up to the top, but it wilts down pretty quickly. This was after about 5 minutes. Turn the heat off after it’s wilted.
By now your pasta has finished cooking and you can let it drain in a colander. Let it cool for just a minute., then add it to the pot with the kale and toss them together. Let them rest for a few minutes here until it cools to the point where no steam is coming off of the pasta. You want the pasta to be warm, but not so hot that the Parmesan melts into it and disappears. Use this time to season the pasta and kale with salt and pepper. I just sprinkle some on as if it was my dinner plate, give it a toss, taste, then add more if needed.
Finally, add the grated parmesan and toss to coat. You can add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the Garlic Parmesan Kale Pasta if you want a little kick, too.
I went ahead and made the Garlic Parmesan Kale Pasta into a meal by topping it with a fried egg because that’s how I roll. A diced hard boiled egg would also be awesome. And maybe some sriracha.
Delicious! I followed the recipe as written with 2 exceptions. I added a few chopped sun dried tomatoes and a little bit of pasta water. Great weeknight meal!
Delicious
Hi. I realize how much I do not like Kale however my husband does. Did not like this recepie. It was very dry even after I took some of the reviews to alter – Added fresh lemon, white wine, some more butter etc. I would probably make this with spinach to give it another chance but it needs some liquid or something to have the pasta moist.
Tks Jo
I added diced tomato, used spinach and topped off with warmed cooked shrimp! You can always add some of the pasta water to thin it out!
excellent! just the method I was looking for. Yumm!
BTW I found a bag of shredded kale in a bag at the super market. That’s why I brnyutrf into cooking kale. I’ll add it to my rotation vegetable list.
Iโve made this twice now. Easy and yummy
Wanted to like it. Pasta ends up being dry because the kale takes all the oil/moisture. I don’t feel satiated after eating it because it feels incomplete, even with a protein added (I did chicken). Like it desperately needs a sauce or something. Hmm.
I added sardines but the dish was a bit bland and oily overall. I’ll take some tips from other commenters next time and try adding one or two of the following to add depth and brighten it up: white wine, lemon, toasted nuts, artichokes, cherry tomatoes, shrimp, more garlic.
That was delicious! I added shrimp just because it needed to be cooked! With lotsa garlic and lemon and parsley
Thank you!
Very good and very easy! The instructions say seven minutes for angel-hair pasta. Thatโs way too long. Try 2-3.
Next time I would add some tomatoes or white beans into this.
I tossed in thinly sliced sunchokes with the garlic. Truly a great meal
And topped with pinenuts
This was very good. I used Barilla protein pasta and I found this dish to be very delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Great recipe …….made this last Thursday and probably tonight……
Iโm sorry I really wanted to love this but it came out very bland for me :/ the only good thing was the kale and I think itโs because it soaked up all the garlic, butter and oil, and left my pasta noodles tasteless ๐ any tips would be appreciated! btw I did follow the ingredient quantities.
Your prices for this recipe are so terribly outdated you should simply remove them.
Just sitting down to eat a bowl of this after a long fall hike! Quick, easy, and yummy! I also added in some chopped walnuts and sprinkled in a little sage while sautรฉing the kale. All good! Thanks for the recipe!
This is literally one of my favorite things to eat in life. It’s soooo easy and soooo delicious! My kids love it too!
Such an awesome, easy recipe. I added some Italian sausage and increased the amount of everything to make it a whole meal. Delicious!
This recipe is SO delicious compared to how easy and fast it is. I made it yesterday because I was sick and happened to have all the ingredients on hand. If I can make two recommendations it is to have less kale in the pan so it gets more crispy than wilted, and to add a squeeze of lemon. Serve with the squeezed lemon slice in the bowl for added aroma.
Very good with some nutritional yeast. Will be making again.
Can add toasted nuts.
This is a delicious recipe.
I used green garlic, and finished with the juice of one lemon and *chefโs kiss*
It was honestly ok- a meal that can be thrown in the rotation if we get kale and do not feel like making caldo verde. One thing we will be trying next time is using grapeseed oil to get a light char on the kale and add a little lemon juice or zest to brighten the dish.
How well would this freeze I make my husband tv dinners that he takes to work. That way he gets to choose from a variety of meals
This one might get a tad dry if frozen and then thawed because there’s not really any “sauce” per se, but I haven’t actually tested it.
SO GOOD! ย Iโve made this recipe twice now, and I want to make it all of the time. ย Your instructions are very clear, and the recipe is very simple to make. ย Thank you!ย
Now I understand why this dish is so popular on tiktok! This was SO good and so easy! I made less for just one serving and added some zucchini too. 11/10
Could u substitute zoodles for the pasta
I haven’t really ever cooked with zoodles, so unfortunately I can’t offer any advice there.
This was so good, thank you!!!
I love this. So easy to make and satisfying. You can modify to your liking. I prepared as written except I had larger noodles on hand. So good ๐
I doubled the kale and oil and garlic and ate with rice instead of pasta. Very very tasty.
So easy to make and SO DAMN GOOD!
Delicious! ย I sautรฉ some sliced mushrooms with the garlic/butter/olive oil before adding the kale
I would love to make this for dinner or lunch for my husband the only thing is that neither my son or husband are big fan of kale but both of them love spinach
could you substitute the kale for spinach instead
You definitely can but the texture will be different. ย Sautรฉed spinach has less body than kale and also you would not cook the spinach as long.
how about baby kale?
Love this!
I made it tonight for dinner and added a couple of things I had in my pantry. I added julienne sun dried tomatoes packed in oil. I use the oil from the tomatoes to cook all the ingredients. I also added toasted pine nuts at the end. To make it a complete dinner, I served it will pan seared salmon on top. ย My husband loved it.ย
I have both sun dried tomatoes and pine nuts and was thinking the same thing! I am on a low cholesterol diet so will probably use less butter and add some olive oil.ย
White wine and or pasta broth can be added if cutting butter or olive oil. Pasta broth will slow the saute process as you will have to wait for pasta to finish but since you want pasta to cool slightly before adding P cheese to increase flavor that will work. I eat for several days and mw reheat so I use liquids of pasta broth and or wine, or chicken broth into large pot after I drain pasta then hest until blended before removing from heat and dumping pasta and kale into pot to mix. A little wetter it refrigerates well. Before I eat I add toasted nuts and fresh grated p cheese.
So delicious and simple!
I substituted black soybean spaghetti instead of using whole wheat because that’s what I had on hand, and I love this recipe! It’s simple, quick, and delicious. I’m not much of a cook, so I was a little nervous to cook this, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover how easy it was. Now I have some yummy leftovers to enjoy with my family.
Oh and I also used grated cheddar instead of parmesan (because that’s what I had.)
So easy and delicious. The egg on top made it a great meal.ย
Add some cooked chickPeas. Massaging kale can make it more tasty to newbies., garlic olive oil & lemon is a tasty option.
Quick, easy and tasty! I used non dairy parmesan.
Good pantry staple!!!! used it during the COVID quarantine!! added chicken and egg + sriracha (Beth was right, this is AMAZING add on )
Ok this is bomb on its own, HOWEVER, i pulled a Beth and topped it with a fried egg and some sriracha and hoooooooly cow. Fantastic, filling, CHEAP meal!!
Delish! I ate this three nights in a row this week and didnโt get tired of it at all. I know Iโm late to the game but Iโm falling in love with kale. I used whole what pasta per Bethโs suggestion and topped with some medium sautรฉed shrimp (Beth noted that the recipe is flexible and you can get creative) . Definitely a โgo toโ meal!ย
Yum! Happy to hear it Barbara!
Can you substitute the Kale with Spinach?
Yes most definitely!
For some reason I’ve never been able to enjoy simple pasta without a heavy sauce before. This is the recipe that finally made it a reality for me! I made it a meal by adding a juicy steak on the side (a treat meal, obviously). It was so delicious and easy to make. Pepper and parmesan and olive oil are perfect together.
My only question… Why did you cross out Sriracha as a garnish option? I eat Sriracha with almost anything, so I added a spoonful and mixed it into the pasta and it was delicious!
LOL, I’m not sure why that last part was crossed out! My only guess is that over the years moving the website from system to system some extra code got added in somehow?
I love to make this dish. I often add half a can of chopped or mashed anchovies with its oil to the butter and garlic before adding the kale. Just a note to also keep a little of the pasta water to add back in if needed. It’s an eady and quick meal. It can also be made with any extra greens you might have like the dark lettuce leaves. or skip the greens and add chopped cherry or sun-dried tomatoes.
Inexpensive, quick, nutritious and tasty! What more could you want?
Recipe is good but how in the heck is this the cost?
Ingredient costs can vary a lot from day to day and location to location, so it’s really meant to be an example of how different ingredients can affect the total cost of your recipes more or less. I use the method used by commercial food service operations, which calculates only the cost of the amount of the ingredient used. Here is a tutorial on how to calculate recipe costs. I encourage you to give it a try at home at least once because it can be very insightful!
This is so simple as so good! I’m just starting to try things beyond spinach, and I have resisted kale for years because when I was a waitress 15 years ago we would always use kale as a garnish on every plate. No one would ever dream of eating it! Even though I haven’t tried a raw kale salad, I really love it sauteed! This is so delicious. I topped it with some homemade turkey meatballs.
I’m so glad you’ve found a way to love kale! :D
Hands down the best pasta dish Iโve ever made! Recipe is easy to follow too. All the flavors came out so well. I added finely diced onions with the garlic for the flavor. I also added pieces of turkey sausage coz I like a little meat here and there…but on the whole, this recipe is a keeper!
I just love this dish. I added ย jalapeรฑo , red onions ย and yellow sweet onion dice up and cherry tomatoes cut half. ย
Make this with zucchini noodles and it’s madly good without the carbs. Thanks for a great, delicious dish.
I made this just as you instructed, with home grown kale. I for some reason had no garlic, so used red onions instead. It is spectacular. I am eating it right now!
super yummy! added some sliced almonds and a few more cloves of garlic and omitted the butter and just added 2 more tablespoon of olive oil.
I only had a 5oz package of baby kale so I added a can of artichokes. I also added some lemon juice and extra parmesan on top. Turned out great!
Kale is so easy to grow yourself, the bugs hate it and just knowing no pesticides are being used is good by me.
Very good! Light yet filling. If that makes sense. ย We added toasted pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes. ย Was delish
Okay. The ONLY thing I altered is I used lots of roasted garlic. I am so enamored that I am freezing this stuff — it’s Lent — and believe me there is no sacrifice here.
Oh, until recently I only knew of two ways to make spaghetti, with or without red sauce. Always ate just buttered noodles. No more. Basil pesto pasta, this and . . . Thank you SO much.
This was great!!
We added artichoke hearts, the fried egg, and we mixed in a little ricotta cheeseย
Wow! This dish was amazing. The red pepper flakes added a perfect touch of heat. I didnโt put ย in any butter, but subbed with a bit more olive oil, still tasted great.ย
This is delicious. Does any one know how many calories it is.
The calories would depend on the food that you’re using; there are so many variations of pasta, oils, butter, Etc. For instance if you’re using pasta, look at the Box and go by the servings. Calories will also differ depending on what type of oil you are using, and even what type of butter you are using. Look at your containers and add up your calories and make sure you’re only eating the amount of serving. Or use an app on your phone to bring it all together.
I made a variation of this with orzo cooked in chicken broth, then sauteed in some orange bell pepper and onion, plus some purple cabbage and a few grape tomatoes just until they burst. Used a bit of the reserved chicken broth from the orzo to finish wilting the kale so it didn’t dry out. It made for a colorful, veggieful dish. Like a more Italian take on veggie fried rice, I guess. Thanks for helping me figure out what to do with my big bundle of kale!
ย I made this tonight. Delicious and easy! I added some sun-dried tomatoes to the olive oil mixture. Also, I think some chopped toasted walnuts would be good in here. This recipe is a keeper!ย
$1.69 for some kale?? Where do YOU live? (And how soon can I move there).
This was when I was in New Orleans. :) Even Whole Foods there often had kale bunches on sale for $1.99
In 1995 kale was not sold in major grocery stores in Missouri. The only place you could see it was as decoration surrounding other vegetables.It was considered a less than desirable veggie to eat and you could get it “for free”if you shopped at that grocer. It has been amazing to see it skyrocket to top vegan nutritious veggie and everyone trying out new recipes .
how many calories is it per serving? :)ย
This is seriously one of the best pasta dishes Iโve ever made. I added an egg for some creaminess. My boyfriend and I absolutely love this!ย
What’s with the breaking of pasta in half? Sounds delicious otherwise.
I find it a lot easier to incorporate other ingredients when it’s broken in half. Otherwise when I try to stir the kale it, the pasta clumps in the center and all the kale stays on the outside of the dish. Personal preference though, leave it whole if you prefer.
Love this recipe. Made it a meal by adding bacon chopped and fried egg on the top! Delish!
This garlic parmesan kale paste looks delicious. i would try preparing it this weekend.
I made this with olive oil and a vegan parmesan cheese blend (found here https://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-vegan-parmesan-cheese/ ) to cut out the dairy, but otherwise followed the recipe. It was really tasty and really simple! Will definitely remember this next time I have kale I need to use. :D
Do you know the calories on this dish as a whole?
I made it with garlic powder instead of garlic cloves and it is splendid!!
Made the dish a bit larger and no egg cos I’m a veg. More used the idea and it’s turned out ace. With any dish you make, you taste you adjust until it’s right. I needed to make use of two bunches of kale and actually used noodles I made and fresh parmesan and tomato a bit of lemon and everyone’s happy. Thanks for the idea, I’ll make again soon
My first time eating kale and so I wondered about the smell, so after I googled the smell issue I googled this recipe, cooked it tonight, added diced roma tomatoes, and served it along with garlic bread, and it was absolutely delish! Thanks for the recipe!
Absolutely delicious! Very pleasantly surprised, especially as my kale-hating husband raved about it. I was more generous with the cheese (Grana Padano) and added semi-dried tomatoes in with the kale. It was enough to feed a family of 4 with 2 hungry boys. Will be making this again. Thank you for a great recipe.
Made this tonight & my sister absolutely loved it. It was my first time eating kale and whole wheat pasta. SO yummy. I even threw grilled chicken breast on the plate.IMG_9347.PNG
So so delicious! I just made this for lunch. I used whole wheat linguine, seasoned the kale with lemon pepper, and topped the pasta with chopped walnuts and cranberries. I could easily see myself making a big batch and having it for lunch all week. Thanks for the inspiration!!
My roommate and I truly enjoyed this dish and we ate the whole pan! The kale still had a little too much bite for my taste though, but it was probably a bit undercooked?
Yes, you can cook it longer and it will get more tender. :)
I know this is an older recipe, but just wanted to chime in that it is (still) delicious! I love how quick and simple it is (especially with pre-chopped, bagged kale, which where I live is cheaper than buying bunches). Definitely best with fried egg and red pepper flakes on top :).
This is fantastic.
Seriously. We did a poached egg with some bacon lardons on top and it was heaven at our house for dinner last night.
Made this last night and absolutely loved it! We love kale anyway and I’m glad to find another way to use it. Used regular angel hair instead of whole wheat and it was still delish! Definitely adding this to my meal rotations!
SO AMAZING! I was reluctant to try kale, but it is delicious cooked up like this.
Made this last night for me & fiance– LOVED it. I totally overuse spinach, and had a big thing of baby kale, so this was perfect. We used spaghetti and LOTS of red pepper flakes, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and the addition of a quickly sunnysided egg to each of our portions at the end was awesome. A great combination of flavors. I have to make myself wait a few days before we have this again! thank you :)
Made it tonight with spagettini and flakes of Parmesan cheese. It’s delicious:)
I recently tried this recipe and for a person like me that hardly eats any kind of green vegetable it was BEYOND delicious. I did add a couple more tablespoons of butter cause the pot I was using wasn’t my preferred type of pot and I didn’t want the kale burning, but it only added to the flavor along with some added parmesan each serving. I highly recommend this to those who are pasta lovers, but need some veggies in their diet.
Just made this. Added bacon cause the boyfriend won’t believe it’s food without meat.
Used flat egg pasta.
Was delicious.
Another winner!!! I couldn’t find my Parmesan cheese so I thru in some feta….outstanding! Even the kids loved it!
Sensational! I blanch the Kale first in a colander several times to soften it – its hard to get baby Kale in Sydney – the Kale I’ve found here is pretty tough, but I love the taste of Kale so all good! Try Kale Pesto – I made it with Macadamia Nuts, Fresh Lemon Juice, Extra Garlic and Olive Oil, Parmesan Cheese – Yummmmm – you can eat it as a dip too with lovely fresh raw veggies.
I’m going to make this, and add pancetta. I can’t wait!
Another preschooler-pleaser!
Made this last night and the husband ate two bowls and my three-year old ate her whole serving! I gave her the choice of this or the creamy spinach pasta recipe and she picked this one and was well-pleased.
Seriously, lady, you are my new go-to source for healthy, quick, and cheap meals.
You’re amazing, we love you!
This was an instant hit with my family. Even better was that it inspired me to modify a recipe of my own by adding kale to my family’s italian style spaghetti carbonara. That version is hot spaghetti ( or similar noodle) is tossed into eggs beaten with pramesan cheese then cooked with bacon pieces. I haven’t had leftovers even with the kale added in.
I bet soba noodles would be really tasty in this recipe since they have such a nutty flavor. You could even make this recipe have more of an East Asian flavor by using sesame oil instead of olive oil and by adding chopped ginger to the pan when sauteeing the garlic!
Excellent idea! I love it!
Yum! Just made this tonight and it turned out really well. I added in some mushrooms with the garlic, then topped it with some cherry tomatoes. I also squeezed a little bit of lemon juice on the kale afterwards. Delish! Next time I might take up the suggestion someone made on adding white beans. Or one day I’ll have to be brave enough to try this egg on the pasta thing…seems weird but you haven’t led me astray before :)
Thanks for the recipe!
Also, I added the red pepper flakes with the garlic to better infuse this flavor in the olive oil, and the salt to the kale upon adding the latter to the pan. I find that seasoning while cooking (particularly in this case) just brings out the flavor far more (and seasons more evenly). Plus — and I’m sure Vincent will agree with this — salting pasta after the fact is justโฆ weird. And it’s not done in Italian cooking. Ever.
Great dish, but I agree with Vincent. Breaking pasta in half is sacrilege. Tossing quickly and thoroughly is simple enough and makes for a much nicer presentation in the end.
This was DELICIOUS! We had this tonight with the white bean salad, your bread twists. and of course for our carnivores we had to add a grilled chop. I am SO full! Everything was delicious! We’ve eat from your recipes for the entire month and not had even ONE meal we didn’t like and will be repeating!
Does this recipe still taste the same if I don’t use Parmesan? I don’t have any, and my mother is lactose-intolerant.
Parmesan is one of the main flavors in this recipe, so it will definitely taste different. That being said, garlic sauteed kale and pasta would probably still taste pretty good. :)
Good recipe althoughโฆ.Italians never break pasta in halfโฆโฆ.everโฆโฆnot even onceโฆ..don’t even think about itโฆโฆโฆ.Guy Fieri will visit you in the midle of the nightโฆ…
Nooo! I don’t want that! ;)
This was so good! Thanks for the recipe, I’m making it again next week.
Hey!
I made this yesterday evening myself. Followed exactly the recipe plus the fried egg. I added some fried bacon as well. That was DIVINE!
Thank you so much for the recipe :)
Loved this recipe. Added some sunflower seeds on top to give it a little crunch.
I love this recipe. Honestly I’ve been making this at least three times a week. I also add broccoli florets making it even more filling. Thanks for the recipe.
I didn’t want a full meal, so I tried making this without the pasta – just a big bowl of green. Turns out it’s amazing that way too.
Made this according to the recipe and it was very good, but next time I’m going to add roasted mushrooms!
I used whole grain orzo instead and that texture was perfect to mix with the kale! I highly recommend it! I also added some cherry tomatoes at the end of the saute-ing for color.
Easy weeknight dinner!
I cannot stop eating this.
Great recipe! I doubled it, added a half pound of Italian sausage and used Taylor Farms Baby Kale Medley. My whole family gobbled it up.
i made this last night. was super easy and delicious! I’ve tried a number of your recipes over the past month and every single one came out great!
This was excellent! I am bookmarking this recipe… I made a double batch so I have leftovers for lunches. It heats up beautifully!
Made this tonight because I had kale and needed to use it. I added freshly diced tomatoes and it was a hit!!! Thank you!!!
Ohh and we ate it with breaded pork chops soo yummy!!!
BREAKING THE PASTA IN HALF HELPS YOU MIX?! How did I live my whole life without knowing this?! Seriously you just changed my life with that one tip…I always get so frustrated when working with long pastas. Thank you thank you thank you!
Don’t worry, I JUST figured that out myself… I don’t even know where or how I figured it out. I must have seen it somewhere during my hours of recipe browsing online :P
Made this Friday night and have eaten it all weekend long. I’ll be buying more kale tonight so I can make more. It’s SOOOO delicious! (My boyfriend and I are garlic addicts so I pretty much tripled the garlic mwahaha).
I made this and added in cherry tomatoes and pumpkin seeds – this is SUPER good and totally part of our rotation now – thanks!
I know Kale and Spinach are not the same thing, but would this work okay with a bunch of spinach?
I don’t believe I’ve tasted kale before and I’m not sure if the flavors are similar.
The flavors are quite different, but spinach would be equally delicious in this. :) You can add almost anything to garlic, parmesan, and pasta and have it taste great!
This was great! Already had kale and all the other ingredients on hand. Added some chopped chicken sausage to the pasta while it was boiling.
Thanks for responding. I love you and your blog.
I have a ton of frozen kale… Would you cook it the same way?
Yes, it should work fine with frozen kale. Just sautee it up until it’s wilted and continue as usual. :)
I don’t know where you pull your awesome ideas from Beth. Love it!
This is exactly the kind of simple yet totally delicious pasta that I want to eat in fall! All dark greens, all the time. And I am definitely with you on the fried egg too.
oh yes! this is one of our favorites–we have it at least once a week. the whole wheat pasta does indeed balance the kale flavor beautifully, and the oily garlic seasons the whole dish. another nice topping is toasted walnuts.
Wow! During college, I would make this same recipe (minus the butter and parmasean) with extra garlic, red pepper flakes, and a squirt of sriracha!!! Better than the typical college ramen diet for sure!
We make something like this pretty often, but we start with a 2 or 3 pieces of bacon and saute the garlic (lots of garlic) in some of the fat. We also add in a can of cannelini beans when cooking the garlic. Yum! I think I know what we’re having for dinner tomorrow…
I love simple meals like this! Yum!
YUM! I can get a bunch of organic kale at my local grocer for 99 cents right now so I am so doing this! I normally wouldn’t go for a fried egg (unless it’s korean bi bim bap) but that looks so tasty!
This is so up my alley. Can’t wait to try it.
Yes! I had bought an abundance of Kale and had no idea what to do with it (except make salad, chips, and kale juice). But this, THIS is exactly what I was looking for!