Sautéed kale with garlic

5 from 7 votes

Sautéed kale is a terrific, nutrient-dense, and easy side dish. It's vegan & gluten-free. Plus, it goes well with almost any main course.

Depending on the size of your kale bunch & appetites, this can serve 2 to 4 people.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: easy side dish, greens recipe, vegetable side dish

Servings: people

Calories: 23kcal

Author: Cadry Nelson

Ingredients

½ teaspoon avocado oil or your preferred cooking oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 bunch curly kale leaves coarsely chopped with ribs removed**
1 to 2 Tablespoons water Plus an extra splash, if needed
⅛ teaspoon Better Than Bouillon, no chicken base optional
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Bring a skillet or pot to a medium heat with oil. Add garlic & sauté until fragrant, about a minute or so.
Add chopped kale, 1 to 2 Tablespoons of water (depending on the size of the bunch), Better Than Bouillon (if using), and a pinch of salt. Continue cooking the kale, stirring occasionally, until it is wilted and soft.
For bright green steamed kale, cook for 2 or 3 minutes. For softer kale that's deeper in color, turn the heat to low & cover with a lid. Cook for about 10 minutes, until all of the liquid cooks off.
Taste for salt and add more, if needed.

Notes

Curly kale can be replaced with any kind of kale that you enjoy.

Although kale stems can be eaten, I prefer this dish without them. While you're washing the kale, pull the leaves off of the stems with your hands. Then chop the leaves. You don't need to dry off the kale before using it in this dish. It will add extra moisture.

If your bunch of kale is on the large side, you'll want to use 2 Tablespoons of water. If it's small, you can use just 1. If you can't decide, err on the side of more. As it's cooking, if it looks like the kale is too dry or not softening enough, add another splash of water.

Instead of water + bouillon, you can use vegetable broth or just plain water without the bouillon.

Nutrition