This easy sautéed kale recipe is healthy, delicious, and versatile. Serve it as a side dish, or add it to grain bowls, pastas, frittatas, and more!
If you’ve never cooked sautéed kale before, now’s the time to try it! It’s a versatile side dish, just as at home alongside a bowl of soup as it is next to a pile of pasta, but it’s also a fantastic cooking component. My recipe calls for 6 ingredients (3 of which are olive oil, salt, and pepper), and it cooks up in under 5 minutes. Because it’s so simple, it’s one of my go-to additions to clear-out-the-fridge frittatas, quick weeknight pastas, improvised grain bowls, and more. As an added bonus, it’s jam-packed with nutrients, and it tastes delicious. Kale may not be as cool as it was 5 years ago, but this sautéed kale recipe will always be a mainstay in my kitchen.
Sautéed Kale Recipe Ingredients
We’ll use 6 simple ingredients in this easy sautéed kale recipe:
- Kale! I love tender lacinato kale, but another variety, such as curly kale, will work here too. Before you cook it, wash and dry the kale and remove any tough stems. Then, tear or chop the leaves into bite-sized pieces.
- Extra-virgin olive oil – It adds rich flavor and helps the kale soften as it cooks.
- Garlic – It amps up the flavor in this simple dish.
- Lemon juice – It makes the hearty kale nice and bright.
- And sea salt and fresh black pepper – To make all the flavors pop!
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, chopped kale, salt, and pepper, and cook, tossing, until the kale wilts. Remove from the heat, and squeeze a little lemon juice over the kale. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
That’s it! Change up the seasoning by sprinkling crushed red pepper flakes or everything bagel seasoning over the cooked kale. Enjoy!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Sautéed Kale Serving Suggestions
On its own, this sautéed kale recipe is a healthy, delicious side dish that pairs well with nearly any protein, pasta, or soup. However, it’s also a versatile cooking component! Here are a few of my favorite ways to use it:
- In a frittata. Make a very-veggie frittata with sautéed kale and whatever other vegetables or herbs you like. It’s yummy in these mini frittata muffins too!
- In pasta. Toss it with your favorite noodles, marinara sauce, and Parmesan or vegan Parmesan cheese. You could also stir it into pesto pasta or spaghetti aglio e olio. Not in the mood for pasta? It’s delicious with spaghetti squash and sweet potato noodles too!
- In a grain bowl. Add it to this buddha bowl or this veggie bowl, or make your own bowl with the sautéed kale, a grain like quinoa, farro, or brown rice, and a protein like baked tofu, tempeh, lentils, or roasted chickpeas. Top it off with a flavorful sauce like tahini sauce, peanut sauce, chipotle sauce, or cilantro lime dressing.
- In tacos or quesadillas. Give a green boost to vegetarian tacos or quesadillas by tucking in a few leaves of sautéed kale.
- On pizza. Trust me, it’s delicious!
How do you like to use sautéed kale? Let me know in the comments!
More Favorite Kale Recipes
Love kale? Try one of these delicious recipes next:
- Kale Salad with Carrot-Ginger Dressing
- Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Kale
- Roasted Delicata Squash with Apples and Sage
- Many-Veggie Vegetable Soup
- Wild Rice Soup
- Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Best Vegetarian Lasagna
Sautéed Kale
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale, lacinato or curly kale
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Lemon wedge, for squeezing
Instructions
- Remove and discard the coarse parts of the kale stems. Chop or tear the leaves.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the kale leaves, garlic, pinches of salt, and several grinds of pepper. Sauté for 2 to 4 minutes, tossing (I like to use tongs for this), until the kale has wilted down.
- Turn off the heat, squeeze a little lemon juice over the kale, and toss. Season to taste and serve.
I just found this recipe I’m on a leafy green kick lol. Collard greens I had to cook for a whole hour but they were nice and tender. I tried curly Leaf kale and that had to cook for almost a half an hour to get that tender. Is this kind of kale tender that it can cook that quickly? It sounds yummy!
Hi Diane, we make this with curly kale or lacinato kale. It wilts, but it’s probably not as soft as the collards or kale you cook for 30 minutes or more. We like it with some texture though.
Use Red Russion kale very tender, cooks quickly.
This recipe actually makes kale craveable! It’s so easy and so delicious. I did make a couple of minor modifications. Instead of throwing away the kale stems, I slice them into small rounds and place them in the pan about a minute before adding the leaves. Cooked that way, the stems are delicious and there’s no waste. I also doubled the amount of garlic since we weren’t going to be out in public. So delicious! 😋
I’m so glad you loved the recipe, Luisa! Great suggestion to use the kale stems.
Awesome! I decided it was time to leave a review because I love all of the recipes of yours that I’ve tried. I have a bunch on rotation and weekly standbys. This is so easy. Your instructions are always clear. And it’s SO yummy! Thank you!
While I usually make your recipes when I’m trying to be extra healthy, I couldn’t help pouring in a little bit of white wine when there were only a couple of minutes left to cook it. The combination of that with the lemon juice is so nice!
I loved the flavor and how easy it was to make but mine came out tough. Did I do something wrong?
Hi Dianne, if it’s tough, it could cook a little longer – or you might like a more tender green like swiss chard better.
After rinsing in cold water, massage the kale with some kosher salt prior to cooking, it will help with the toughness
Yum! This is a terrific recipe. I have made cooked kale before, but didn’t save a recipe. This one is easy and tasty.
I’m so glad you loved it!
I wanted a fast and simple way to cook kale: this is great. Clear and straightforward.
Wow! Thank you so much! I’m gonna add this to my go to every day veggies for some yum.
Hi Jessy, so glad you liked the recipe!
How long does it keep in the ridge?
Hi Jes, I’d keep it for 4-5 days.
I had no idea perfect kale was so easy! Loved the texture and flavor .
Hi Kristen, I’m so glad you loved it!
I used baby kale because that’s what I had on hand. It was simple and delicious!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Yes I made it and yes it was really good. Great. Thanks! ❤✌?
I’m so glad you loved it!
followed the recipe exactly, using the bottom half of a frittata p;an, added 4 beaten eggs, flipped it all over after a few minutes, and …best vegetable frittata ever. So easy!
Thank you!
Great food with amazing
Sautéed kale is my 6 year olds favorite side dish right now!