Creamy Kale Pasta is a quick, easy, and nourishing vegetarian meal that comes together in less than 30 minutes. Toss your favorite pasta shape with garlicky kale, lemon zest, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and the easiest cream sauce for a truly delicious dinner.
Cozy, carby, and nourishing
Listen, I don't like to play favorites, but this Creamy Kale Pasta might be my favorite pasta recipe in the HNL archives. I mean, honestly, what's not to love?
Loads of nourishing kale simmered down to tender and sweet in a cozy cream sauce. Plus, pungent garlic, spicy red pepper flakes, umami Parm, and bright lemon up in there. And those fresh little twists of trofie pasta? Oh yes.
And if you're like, Hey Nutrition Lady, is a cream sauce even healthy? Let me remind you that we need the fat in that cream sauce to help us absorb the fat-soluble nutrients in the kale. Also, it's delicious, and it brings me joy, and joy is nourishing, too.
You'll find tons of easy and healthy recipes with kale in the archives, but truly, the pasta recipes are among my favorites. I especially love this kale and cottage cheese lasagna as well.
Let's make Creamy Kale Pasta together!
Ok friend, let me show you how to make this gloriously cozy pasta dish. If you prefer to skip straight to the recipe card, just use the "jump-to-recipe" button, and it'll take you right there. Otherwise, join me for a visual walkthrough.
Step 1: prepare your ingredients
This recipe comes together FAST, so you'll want to get all of your chopping and mincing and grating out of the way first.
De-stem the kale and slice it into ribbons, crush the garlic, and grate the cheese. Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package directions until it’s al dente, reserving a cup of the cooking water.
Step 2: sauté the kale
Step 3: add the cream
Step 4: add the pasta
Step 5: serve!
👩🏻🍳 Tip! This pasta dish is best enjoyed fresh, but if you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight storage container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
To reheat the pasta, add a splash of water or broth to loosen up the sauce before microwaving or reheating on the stove.
Creamy Kale Pasta
Ingredients
- 14 oz fresh pasta shapes I use Trofie, but you can use your favourite.
- 1 medium bunch Tuscan kale de-stemmed and sliced into ribbons
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- ½ cup grated Parmesan Or Parmesan-type cheese
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by washing, de-stemming, and slicing your kale into ribbons. Crush the garlic, grate the parmesan, and have everything lined up and ready to go because this comes together fast.1 medium bunch Tuscan kale, 2 cloves garlic, ½ cup grated Parmesan
- Set a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Salt well, and add your pasta shapes to it. Fresh pasta takes only a few minutes to cook, but if you're using dried you will need to plan for 8-12 minutes of cooking time.14 oz fresh pasta shapes
- When the pasta is al dente, scoop out 1 cup of pasta water and reserve for later. Then, drain the pasta and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter, olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Allow this to cook for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic has just barely started to brown.1 Tablespoon butter, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, Pinch red pepper flakes
- Add the kale ribbons to the garlic butter, and sauté, stirring frequently, until the kale begins to soften - about 2-3 minutes.1 medium bunch Tuscan kale
- Pour the heavy cream into the kale, and stir to combine well. Reduce the heat to medium, and let the kale simmer in the cream for 2-3 minutes.1 ¼ cups heavy cream
- Add the cooked pasta to the kale mixture, along with the lemon zest and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine well.Zest of 1 lemon, ½ cup grated Parmesan
- Add a bit of pasta water, splash by splash, to loosen the sauce up until it has reached the desired consistency. I find that 2-3 Tablespoons is usually enough.
- Serve hot, with extra Parmesan and red pepper flakes for garnish.
Notes
- Nutrition values are an estimate only
- If you're using dried pasta rather than fresh, reduce the amount to 10 ounces before cooking.
- Don't forget to save your pasta water! We used it for loosing up the cream sauce, and since the pasta water is salted it adds flavor as well.
Meredith says
I just made this with chickpea pasta and it was divine. Thank you for this yum recipe!
Katie Trant says
Yum! Love chickpea pasta and the extra boost of protein it brings!
Jack says
As a kale skeptic, I was a bit nervous to try this. But the cream sauce made it perfect!
I'm going to have to try the fried halloumi next time.
Katie Trant says
Definitely try the halloumi, Jack! It's so good!