Quickly sautéed hardy greens are a staple side dish for busy nights. But when you have 20 more minutes to spare, cook down piles of greens with well-browned onions, LOTS of garlic, and a handful of Parm to render them into something special. Don’t even think about skimping on the garlic; using a halved head adds a lot to the dish, but because the cloves mostly stay contained, it won’t be overwhelming. Promise.
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What you’ll need
Dutch Oven
$133 $80 At Amazon
Microplane Grater
$18 At Amazon
Cutting Board
$10 At IKEA
Recipe information
Yield
4 Servings
Ingredients
⅓
1
1
2
2
Preparation
Step 1
Heat ⅓ cup oil in a medium Dutch oven over medium. Arrange garlic halves, cut side down, in pot and scatter onion around; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring onion occasionally but keeping garlic cut side down, until onion is deep golden, 6–8 minutes.
Step 2
Add kale to pot by the handful, stirring and letting it wilt slightly before adding more; season generously with salt. Cook, stirring often, until all of the kale is deep green and just wilted, about 3 minutes. Add 1½ cups water, cover pot partially with a lid, and cook until liquid is reduced by half and kale is tender, 12–15 minutes.
Step 3
Add Parmesan to braised kale and cook, stirring, until cheese is melted and incorporated (sauce will thicken slightly), about 5 minutes. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
We recommended squeezing out the tender garlic cloves from the skins and mashing into the broth, or spreading them onto toast with an extra drizzle of olive oil. Discard skins.
How would you rate Garlic-and-Parmesan-Braised Greens?
Leave a Review
Reviews (28)
Back to TopOmg these were SO good. My husband and I ate them all in one sitting. We’ll definitely make it again.
Anonymous
8/15/2021
Fantastic departure from my usual fast collard greens--sautéed in red peppers and onions, with cajun seasoning and dash of vinegar--subbed parmesan for nutritional yeast and water for chicken broth, will definitely be part of my weekly rotation!
JD Lauren
San Diego, CA
8/24/2021
Loved this recipe. Really a great way to use up hardy greens from my vegetable garden and the CSA. The garlic is key! I served the dish with vegan sausage to make it into a complete dinner.
Erin Ries
Telluride, CO
8/26/2021
I want to love this recipe and Im sure I would have if I had not followed the directions to salt every time you put a handful in (or mayve I read that wrong). It is so salty I almost can't eat it and there goes my kale.
rebecca
NYC
9/1/2021
Maybe a silly question but what do I do with the garlic? Leave it in peel and all? Do I squeeze it out like roasted garlic or just take the two halves out??
Steve
Oregon
9/2/2021
As some of the other reviewers noted, it isn’t clear what to do with the garlic… before adding the parm, I pulled out the two garlic halves, then popped about half of the cloves back in and gave em a little smooshing. Other than the confusion about the garlic, I’d give this recipe an 11/10. It was so tasty, so easy, and I can’t begin to describe what a relief it is that this recipe has such a short ingredients list! Thanks, Chris :)
Leigh
Baltimore, MD
9/9/2021
I liked this recipe a lot, but it took way longer than 15 minutes to cook down the liquid into a flavorful broth. The parmesan didn't do a lot to thicken the broth, either. Ended up simmering for about an hour and a half, and the kale was overcooked for my taste but still tasty. I would use collards next time since they take to braising much better. As others said, squeeze the garlic out of the skins and mash them into the greens—key to the recipe! Also recommend adding a splash of wine before the water for some acid, or squeezing lemon at the end.
lasagnaqueen
Portland, Oregon
9/15/2021