Creamed Kale
Updated Oct 14, 2025
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This creamed kale is a creamy, comforting green side made with just a handful of ingredients. With blanched kale folded into a silky cream sauce and finished with Parmesan and just a touch of heat from red pepper flakes, you can be in creamed kale heaven in about 20 minutes. Pair with roast chicken, a juicy steak, or serve at the holidays for a rich green side dish that is eye-rollingly good.
If you love the idea of creamed spinach but wish it had a little more oomph, this creamed kale is for you. It’s just blanched kale simmered in a luscious cream sauce seasoned simply with salt, red pepper flakes, and freshly grated Parmesan. With only 4 ingredients and about 20 minutes from start to finish, it’s a comforting side that feels special without a lot of fuss.
Try creamed kale as a side dish with Ribeye Steaks seared in a pan, Beef Tenderloin Roast, Crispy Skinned Salmon, simply Baked Chicken Thighs, or Roast Chicken with Orange Honey-Mustard Glaze.
What's In This Post?
Creamed Kale: Total comfort food, a cousin of creamed spinach, but with a little more substance and texture.
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Ingredients
- Kale – You can use curly kale, lacinato kale (aka dinosaur kale), or baby kale in this recipe. Preferably use fresh kale, not frozen.
- Heavy cream, light cream, or half-and-half – You can decide how decadent you want to be, with heavy cream resulting in the richest dish and half-and-half the lightest.
- Pinch red pepper flakes – Add just a touch of heat to balance out the richness.
- Finely grated Parmesan cheese – This is worth buying freshly grated Parmesan for (or grating it yourself!).
How to Make Creamed Kale
- Blanch the kale: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Roughly chop the kale leaves. Add them to the boiling water and boil for 5 minutes, until the kale is fairly tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Then, use your hands to squeeze the kale and dry it as much as you can.
- Make the cream sauce. Place the cream in the pot. Simmer until reduced by about half, about 4 minutes. Season the sauce.
- Add the kale: Stir often until the cream sauce is further reduced and coats the kale for about 3 minutes.
- Stir in the Parmesan.
- Serve.
FAQs
Kale has similar nutritional perks to spinach and holds up to heat with more presence than spinach. It is rich in vitamins C and K and boasts an ample amount of antioxidants and beta-carotene (via Healthline). However, there is a generous amount of cream and some Parmesan cheese in this creamed kale recipe, so if you are looking for a healthy kale recipe, you may want to replace half of the cream or half-and-half with whole milk. Or, consider Sautéed Kale instead!
Yes, but there are a few things to keep in mind. 1) Skip the blanching step, as frozen kale is already blanched. 2) Defrost it thoroughly. 3) Squeeze out any excess liquid once the kale is defrosted. If there is still water in the kale, it will make the sauce watery. Note that frozen kale may result in a softer, mushier texture than fresh, so keep that in mind.
This recipe is gluten-free! It’s also vegetarian but definitely not vegan.
Variations and Tips
- Make sure to remove the tough stems from the kale before chopping.
- If you find the texture of kale to be a bit too rough, try baby kale. It is less rugged than more mature kale but still has a nice texture and doesn’t wilt down to almost nothing as fast in cooked recipes.
- If you want to saute 1/2 cup of chopped onions in a bit of melted butter in the pot before adding the cream, go for it. A little onion adds nice flavor to the creamed kale.
- Also try sautéing 1 teaspoon minced garlic in butter before adding the cream and cooked kale to the pot.
- Add a 1/4 teaspoon of grated nutmeg to the dish instead of the crushed red pepper flakes.
- If you want a lighter dish with less fat, replace half of the dairy with whole milk.
Make Ahead and Storage
Creamed kale can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should be reheated in a pot over low heat, stirring often, until warm throughout. If it’s very thick, you might want to add some milk or additional cream or half-and-half to loosen it up. You can also warm leftovers in the microwave; just give the kale a stir every 30 seconds until it is evenly heated throughout.
If you are planning to make the dish ahead of time, my suggestion is to blanch the kale, chop it, and squeeze it dry 2 days in advance. Then, I would make the creamed kale sauce just before serving. Or you can make the whole thing a couple of hours early, leave it at room temp, and then reheat it over medium heat just before serving. This will offer the best texture for the kale and the sauce.
What to Serve With Creamed Kale
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Creamed Kale
Ingredients
- 1 pound kale
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream (or light cream or half-and-half)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Trim the tough middle rib from the leaves of kale and roughly chop the leaves. Rinse them in a colander. Add them to the boiling water and boil for 5 minutes, until the kale is fairly tender. Drain in the colander, rinse with cold water, then use your hands to squeeze the kale and dry as you can.
- Place the cream or half-and-half in the pot you used to cook the kale. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, and then lower the heat to medium and continue to simmer until reduced by about half, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and the red pepper flakes. Add the blanched kale and simmer, stirring often, until the cream sauce is further reduced and coats the kale, about 3 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan until the cheese is melted and everything is well blended.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and serve hot.
Notes
- If you find the texture of kale to be a bit too rough, try baby kale. It is less rugged than more mature kale but still has a nice texture and doesn’t wilt down to nothing as fast in cooked recipes.
- If you want a lighter dish with less fat, replace half of the dairy with whole milk.
- Creamed kale can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Reheat it in a pot over low heat, stirring often, until warm throughout. If it’s very thick, you might want to add some milk or additional cream or half-and-half to loosen it up.
- You can also warm leftovers in the microwave; just give the kale a stir every 30 seconds until it is evenly warmed throughout.
This recipe tastes great, and it finally got my husband to admit he likes Kale!
Love this so much!
Delicious and EASY! Keto.Thank you!
so yummy- heartier and i think even better than creamed spinach!
thanks!