Parmesan Marsala Sauteed Kale

A few simple ingredients take Parmesan Marsala Sauteed Kale to the next level. Kale sautés in a Marsala wine and Parmesan mixture with a little bit of cream for a flavorful, ultra satisfying side dish.

I can’t remember a time in which I’ve been SO EXCITED to talk about a leafy green vegetable. Kale is one of those foods I want to high-five myself after eating because ‘Yes! That was healthy.’ Typically I keep it simple with kale – sauté with a little garlic and olive oil and call it good – but adding a few ingredients transformed a pretty good side into an OMG GREAT side that was too good not to share. This kale will be in both my regular dinner side dish rotation and my holiday menus, and it’s not off the table that it could make an appearance as a part of my lunches, too.

Surely these photos don’t do this Parmesan Marsala Sauteed Kale justice. I’m well aware they just look like kale…in a bowl. But what these photos don’t convey is the bold Marsala flavor absorbed by the kale, made velvety smooth by a hint of cream and grated Parmesan cheese. Top it all off with crunchy almond pieces (optional) and you have yourself a crave-worthy, healthy side dish. To be honest, every time I’ve made it I’ve wolfed it down before even glancing at the main dish.

You know the drill if you’ve cooked with kale before, but the size of the bunch is deceptive. It looks huge! But kale reduces significantly as it cooks, so a skillet will be able to handle a whole bunch. Just add the kale in 3-4 batches, filling up the skillet initially but adding more as the kale wilts down and room opens up.

While there’s a bit of cream involved, the sauce won’t be creamy. In fact, there’s really no sauce here at all, rather a highly flavored cooking liquid that gets absorbed by the kale as it sautés. The taste of Marsala shines through prominently, with the two tablespoons of cream and three tablespoons of Parmesan cheese mixing and melting into the liquid to round out the flavor. I have to resist the urge to drink the leftover cooking liquid straight up.

Every time I’ve made this Parmesan Marsala Sauteed Kale, Brian and I have polished off the entire recipe as a side dish to dinner. I realize our voracity for kale might be greater than average, so in the recipe card below I have the serving size listed as 2-4 side dishes, but that may vary depending on your crowd. See the notes below the recipe for a tip on how to prep the kale, and a few substitutions I’ve made in case you run out of something or want to use up ingredients you have on hand. There’s some wiggle room here!

Here are more side dish vegetables you’ll enjoy:

• Spiced Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Honey Sesame Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Spicy Stovetop Asparagus

Parmesan Marsala Sauteed Kale

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

14 mins

Total time

24 mins

 

Author: My Sequined Life

Recipe type: Side Dish

Yield: 2-4

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of kale, stems removed and sliced into pieces
• 3 tbsp olive oil, plus more if needed
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper
• 3/4 cup Marsala cooking wine
• 2 tbsp heavy cream
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Rinse and prep kale. Add 3 tbsp olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium to medium-high heat.
2. When the oil is hot, add minced garlic and saute for 2 minutes, or until garlic is turning golden.
3. Add as much kale as can fit in the skillet comfortably. Stir the kale around as it wilts. When more room frees up in the skillet, add additional kale in batches, adding a little drizzle of olive oil additionally if needed. Continue until all kale is in the skillet.
4. Season kale with salt and pepper.
5. Once all of the kale is in the process of wilting, add Marsala to the skillet and stir, scraping up any bits of garlic that may be stuck to the bottom of the skillet. Let kale cook for 3-4 minutes as the Marsala begins to reduce.
6. Reduce heat to low and add the cream and Parmesan cheese. Stir. Let kale cook for an additional 5-6 minutes (or longer) to absorb the flavor, stirring occasionally, until all kale is soft and wilted.
7. Serve as it is, or with almonds sprinkled over top (optional).

Notes

To prep the kale: You'll want to discard (or use in some other way) the thick, center stem from each leaf of kale. To streamline this process, I gather all of the leaves towards each other to one side, making it easy to slice away the stem. Then I give the leaves a few slices and they're ready to use.

Substitutions: In a pinch I've subbed in some sherry cooking wine when I didn't have a full 3/4 cup of Marsala. I've also used half-and-half instead of cream on occasion. Great either way!

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