This magical recipe from Joshua McFadden’s cookbook Six Seasons transforms stiff, hearty greens into a luscious, velvety kale pasta sauce with just six ingredients. All you need is a blender and a pot of boiling water to get started.
I tend to be a skeptic when it comes to simple dishes like this. When I first attempted the recipe, I felt an urge to adapt the ingredient list, adding a pop of flavor here and there. But I resisted; I wanted to taste the pasta as written, as intended.
I’m thrilled I did, because I was pleasantly surprised by how much delicious, complex flavor came through with such a short list of ingredients: garlic, olive oil, kale, pasta, and parmigiano-reggiano cheese. I won’t be mad if you play around, but it’s plenty delicious as is!
A Luxurious Sauce That Comes Together In a Snap
- Blanching and blending hearty kale with pasta water yields a luxuriously smooth vegetal sauce in less than 30 minutes.
- Sizzling garlic in oil offers an aromatic, almost toasty flavor to the kale sauce.
- A handful of grated cheese melts into the sauce to provide a salty flavor and creamy texture.
Key Ingredients
- Garlic: Garlic and kale are a match made in heaven, and the softened, golden-hued garlic provides a nice contrast to the earthy kale.
- Extra-virgin olive oil: You don’t need to use your fanciest oil here, but I’d recommend using a good olive oil — something you’d enjoy dipping a piece of bread into or using in a salad dressing.
- Kale: McFadden is particularly fond of lacinato (or dinosaur kale), but I regularly use curly kale and it’s delicious too.
How to Make This Recipe
Prep the kale – Remove any thick ribs and stems from the kale. With lacinato kale, I remove the full rib (or stem) in the center of the leaf. With curly kale, I usually just remove the thickest part of the stem.
Make the garlic oil –
Heat olive oil and garlic until the garlic begins to sizzle, then cook on low heat until soft, light golden, and aromatic. Set aside to cool.
Boil the kale – Meanwhile, boil the kale in a big pot of salted water until tender (but not mushy). Remove and transfer to a large blender cup or stand blender.
In the same water you used to boil the kale, add the pasta. Cook until al dente and make sure to reserve some pasta water for the sauce!
Blend the sauce – Blend the garlic, olive oil, and kale into a thick, smooth puree. This may take a few minutes so have some patience here. If you need a little pasta water to smooth out the sauce, feel free to add that in.
Toss the pasta with the sauce and half of the cheese, and loosen with pasta water as needed to form a clingy, saucy consistency that’s not too thick or dry.
Serve – Season the sauce, then divide pasta amongst serving bowls and top with more cheese and a big glug of olive oil.
TIP: Season aggressively! It may seem silly to list such mundane ingredients as salt and pepper, but they’re pivotal in a dish with so few ingredients. If you feel like the pasta sauce doesn’t have enough flavor, check to see if it needs more salt, or a bit of peppery flavor from freshly ground black pepper.
Dress it Up
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the oil when sauteeing the garlic for a spicy kick.
- Blend an anchovy or two or a spoonful of nutritional yeast into the kale sauce for even more salty, umami flavor.
- Garnish the pasta with chopped toasted nuts, like walnuts or pine nuts, for additional toasted nuttiness.
- Serve this pasta alongside roasted beets with herby yogurt, shrimp cacciatore, or roasted squash and lentils.
Recipe FAQs
The pasta sauce requires some pasta water, so I’d recommend prepping just the puree ahead of time. Make the garlic oil, blanch the kale, then blend into a chunky puree.
Just before serving, cook the pasta. Finish making the pasta sauce with the reserved pasta water and finish the dish as instructed.
You can always make more pasta with the leftovers, but here are some other ideas: drizzle the sauce on roasted vegetables, mix with yogurt for a fun dip, or serve with a buttermilk roast chicken!
Did you try this recipe?
I would love to hear your feedback! Be sure to rate the recipe and leave a comment below.
Kale Pasta Sauce (Joshua McFadden’s Recipe)
Equipment
- Stand blender, or immersion blender with a large heat-safe cup
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 bunch kale, about 10 – 12 ounces, any variety works here | thick ribs/tough stems removed**
- 8 ounces dried pasta, such as rigatoni or pappardelle
- ¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Instructions
- Set a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil.
- Prepare the garlic oil: Add 2 cloves garlic and ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil to a small skillet. Place over medium heat, and saute until the garlic begins to sizzle. Immediately reduce the heat to low, and cook until garlic is light golden, soft, and aromatic (about 5 – 7 minutes). Smash the garlic with the back of a wooden spoon to infuse as much flavor as possible into the oil, then remove from the heat. Transfer garlic and oil to the base of a stand blender (or a large heat-safe blender cup). Set aside.
- Cook the kale: Once the water is boiling, generously season with salt. Add kale leaves and boil until tender but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Use tongs to remove kale from the pot (they will be wet, that's okay!) and carefully transfer to the blender cup/base. Don't dump the water in the pot!
- Cook the pasta: Bring the pot of water back to a boil, then add 8 ounces dried pasta and cook until al dente, per package directions.Transfer 1 cup of the pasta water to a heatproof measuring cup.Drain the pasta, then transfer back to the pot.
- Blend the sauce: Blend 1 bunch kale, oil, and garlic until it resembles a thick puree. Continue blending, adding about a tablespoon of pasta water at a time, until you achieve a uniform, silky texture. I used about ½ cup pasta water here. You may not need all of it.Note: Use caution with hot liquids in a stand blender. Prior to blending, remove the small cap from the blender's lid and cover the opening with a kitchen towel to safely release steam. Initiate the blending process at a low speed, slowly increasing the speed in stages to prevent splashing and to ensure a consistent puree.Don't rush this; you want a very smooth sauce.
- Finish the pasta: Season the kale puree with salt and black pepper. Add half of the kale puree and half of the ¾ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to the drained pasta and toss to coat. Continue adding more puree as needed until the pasta is nicely coated, saucy, and vibrant green.If needed, add a bit more reserved pasta water to thin out the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.Note: If your sauce feels way too loose, you can put the pot back on low heat, stirring continuously until it thickens.
- Serve: Divide the pasta into serving bowls, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and garnish with the remaining cheese.
Video
Notes
- Depending on the type of kale and how much pasta water you use, you may end up with some leftover sauce.
- Leftover sauce will last 2 – 3 days in the fridge stored in an airtight container. I don’t recommend reheating the sauce, but you can bring it to room temperature, then toss it with fresh, hot pasta.
- Here are some other ideas with the leftover sauce: drizzle the sauce on roasted vegetables, serve with grilled fish or chicken, or mix with yogurt for a fun dip.
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
This is such a great, easy dinner and I make this all the time. My three year old loves “green sauce”! Today I added shrimp, which I cooked in the cooking water after the kale and before the pasta. We ate most of it chilled since it’s so hot here right now, and it was excellent.
Katie, I’m so happy to hear this, especially that your three-year-old loves it too! I might just have to try it chilled, sounds amazing with the shrimp as well!
I had a big bag of kale that was about to go bad, and this recipe was absolutely perfect to make use of it! I used nutritional yeast instead of parm and added butter with the olive oil. Delicious and healthy!
So glad it worked with nutritional yeast – that sounds delicious!
Just some comments that I hope are helpful. I don’t have a weight scale to measure 1 lb of Kale. I took a guess and used 2 bunches of curly kale which was fine. The recipe is forgiving and easily adaptable by adding more liquid or by cooking longer to cook off some liquid, which I did. Mine ended up having a good viscosity. I doubt I’ll make this again though. It had a good/okay flavor (in large due to the cheese), but the green color was overwhelming. I’m a
long-time vegetarian yet it got in my way.
Hi Becky,
Thanks so much for taking the time to try the recipe! I think 2 bunches was definitely a good approximation; I’m sorry it wasn’t a win for you, but I totally get it. It definitely has a pretty green, verdant flavor and color which, if it’s not your thing, I could see it being less enjoyable. I appreciate your feedback!
Are you for real, Becky? The pictures clearly show a vibrant green sauce. I don’t know what you were expecting from this. Karishma‘s response to you is more kind than you deserve.
Also, Not-a-Pro-Tip: get a kitchen scale. They aren’t expensive. And maybe it will help you to actually make a recipe to rate, rather than eyeballing what you think is a recipe, then rating whatever you ended up making
SO good! I didn’t have a ton of kale, so I supplemented with some frozen spinach & peas, added a handful of toasted walnuts I had hanging around the kitchen to blend in with the sauce. Served with a pinch of red pepper flakes, cheese, and the rest of the toasted walnuts on top, and DANG. So versatile and definitely a keeper! (Also a great way to get a serving of greens in my kiddo. 😉)
Love that you were able to adapt it! I’ll need to try it with some frozen peas next time!
Thank you! Definitely found a keep recipe. loved it!
Wonderful, so happy you enjoyed!
Great recipe. Made it for my mum on a cold winter afternoon, she was happy. Recipe for keeps.
Hi Cessa, so glad you enjoyed!
This was SO good and easy. I skipped the cheese. It definitely didn’t need it but I added red pepper flakes and pistachios. Was also good with zucchini. Going to try it again with gnocchi and vegan chicken.
Ooh, I love the idea of adding pistachios!! Sounds delicious with gnocchi – hope you enjoy!
I can’t believe this is such a simple, yet delicious recipe! It’s a great one for digging in after a tough workout.
So glad you enjoyed!
Very good for a spring supper! I followed the directions but I topped the pasta with some sautéed diced prosciutto, pine nuts, more garlic and more parmesan. Very good!
Hi Jules,
That sounds like an amazing combo — I’ll have to try that some time! Thanks for your feedback and review 🙂
I really like this recipe, it’s so easy and is a fun way to get some veggies. I like to add nutritional yeast to it!
So happy to hear that!! I have to try it with nutritional yeast next time 🙂
It was incredible with gnocchi!
Hi Laura,
So glad you loved! I will need to try it with gnocchi some time 🙂
loved it. gluten free !
So glad you loved it and were able to make it gluten-free! 🙂