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Spaghetti Aglio e Olio With Lots of Kale

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Alex Lau

You will think this pasta recipe calls for an absurd amount of kale, but it will shrink a ton when cooked.

Ingredients

4 Servings

Kosher salt

3

large or 4 smaller bunches kale, any type (about 1½ pounds)

5

garlic cloves

¼

cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Freshly ground black pepper

12

ounces spaghetti, thick spaghetti, bucatini, or other long strand pasta

Parmesan and crushed red pepper flakes (for serving)

Flaky sea salt

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, strip kale leaves from ribs and stems, then tear leaves crosswise into 2"–3" pieces. Cook kale in boiling water until bright green and slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer kale to a colander and rinse under cold water, tossing; squeeze out excess liquid from leaves. Keep water at a boil (you’ll use it for the pasta).

    Step 2

    Whack garlic with the side of a chef’s knife to crush; peel off skins. Heat ¼ cup oil in a large heavy pot over medium. Cook garlic, stirring occasionally, until sizzling, about 3 minutes. Season very generously with black pepper and cook, smashing with a wooden spoon, until cloves break into rough pieces, soften, and look golden. Add kale to pot and cook, stirring often, until darkened in color and very tender, about 8 minutes (garlic will break into even smaller pieces). Season with kosher salt and pepper.

    Step 3

    Meanwhile, cook pasta, stirring occasionally, until very al dente (2–3 minutes less than package directions).

    Step 4

    Using tongs, add pasta to kale; splash in about 1 cup pasta cooking liquid. Cook, tossing and adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed, until sauce lightly coats pasta, about 2 minutes.

    Step 5

    Serve pasta topped with Parmesan, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and more black pepper.

Nutrition Per Serving

Calories (kcal) 520 Fat (g) 17 Saturated Fat (g) 2 Cholesterol (mg) 0 Carbohydrates (g) 77 Dietary Fiber (g) 6 Total Sugars (g) 7 Protein (g) 18 Sodium (mg) 130
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  • I thought this was super bland- am I missing something? Even added truffle oil and still barely had any flavor.

    • JB

    • Brooklyn

    • 3/17/2022

  • This recipe has become a staple in my house. Depending on my mood (and stress levels), this sometimes shows up as frequently as once per week. I have taken to adding crushed Calabrian pepper flakes when I am sauteing the garlic and it comes out with such a beautiful flavor - highly recommend!

    • Anonymous

    • Boulder, CO

    • 11/10/2021

  • I probably make this at least once a month, so good. I don't bother with blanching the kale, but I do saute red onion with the garlic. I also highly recommend grating the parm over the pan before adding pasta water so that it melds better. Finally, top with a squeeze of lemon juice and some zest in addition to more parm, pepper, and flaky sea salt.

    • Caro

    • Brooklyn, NY

    • 3/23/2021

  • I think this was bland and missing something...

    • Anonymous

    • Bethesda, MD

    • 2/8/2021

  • I'm usually reluctant to try a simple recipe because I've found I just cannot make it benissimo like Italians can. As a result, I've developed a bad habit of adding extra seasonings to make it tasty. For this recipe, I added a tiny bit of fish sauce (sorry) and chicken stock as well as fresh French beans and red peppers. On my next attempt, I'd like to sprinkle thinly sliced grilled bacon or salami. I know it changes the whole vibe of the original simplicity but I'm not confident enough to make it tasty with just garlic, salt and pepper. I'd love to know the secret for it. I'm super grateful for this recipe, though, because Kale is one of the ingredients everyone in the family can eat and everyone liked the dish.

    • Midori

    • 2/6/2021

  • One of my favorite ways to use kale. To make things even easier, I skip the blanching step: Just sauté the kale in the garlic and oil. Once the pasta and pasta water go in, it’ll wilt down perfectly. Also, for true indulgence, substitute some of the oil with unsalted butter. Because, why not?!

    • Jen

    • NYC, NY

    • 1/24/2021

  • Success with the teens and parents!, We used 24 oz of chopped kale (1.5 lbs) and one pound of spaghetti and it dissapeared (14 yr old and 16 yr old and papi 50, Oma 84) I used more garlic chilli flakes and parmesan oil to keep it flavorful.

    • Stefan long

    • Portland OR

    • 1/7/2021

  • I enjoyed reading everyone review. Thanks for all the different suggestions, kale is my favorite veggie. I will try this recipe soon❤️

    • Anonymous

    • Nanakuli, Hawaii

    • 11/24/2020

  • My Italian family has been preparing this pasta forever. The original recipe is basically oil, garlic and pasta plus seasoning and Parmesan. At some point, my father decided to add fresh, sliced mushrooms when sautéing the garlic. The added flavor exuded by the mushrooms is wonderful and we throw in an entire chopped bunch of Italian parsley towards the end before tossing with the pasta and pasta water. This was always my parents go-to meal when returning from a trip.

    • Barbara Poer

    • Pasadena, CA

    • 11/23/2020

  • I was hesitant to try this recipe because looking at the ingredients I thought it would taste too bland. I had some kale in the refrigerator, so I finally decided to try this recipe. If you cook the kale right, it adds a surprisingly nice flavor to the pasta. I added the chili flakes to the oil first so that the oil would have the flavor. There isn't much sauce but for some reason this recipe works. It's an easy recipe that makes you feel healthy even though you just ate pasta.

    • Anonymous

    • Nashville, TN

    • 8/3/2020

  • This is a great simple recipe that my husband and I love and I think you could use frozen kale- my garden has a ton of kale in it and I was happy to use a lb of fresh but the first step of blanching the kale is what I do before freezing it. I will definitely make with my thawed frozen kale...

    • erockett

    • Catskills, NY

    • 7/18/2020

  • This doesn't work with frozen kale :'). My bad.

    • Anonymous

    • The land where they only sell frozen kale

    • 6/21/2020

  • I was looking for a simple way to use up a bunch of my kale and this hit the spot!

    • Anonymous

    • Denver, CO

    • 5/15/2020

  • I'm not a fan of kale and this recipe made it edible,well actually, delicious! Quick and easy.

    • Anonymous

    • Florida

    • 5/3/2020

  • I am so glad I made this recipe! Added mushrooms and shredded pork tenderloin because we had some extras in the fridge (doing that COVID-fridge-cleanout). Didn't have any parm but the recipe is flavorful and exciting on its own. Had to add a substantial amount of cooking time at the end because our "very al dente" pasta took a long time to finish cooking. --In the end, it. was. amazing. 100% here for Carla. 100% here for this recipe.

    • Oakland, CA

    • 4/29/2020