From the roundup: 24 Thanksgiving Dinner Recipes Classic Enough to Please Every Table
Creamed kale is the side dish I pull out when I need something green that can actually survive a holiday buffet. Spinach turns into a puddle the second it sits, but blanched kale holds its shape and keeps the sauce thick and glossy even after 20 minutes on the table. That matters a lot when you’re juggling six other dishes and can’t babysit a pan.
The active work here is about 15 minutes: blanching the kale, squeezing it dry, and building a quick cream sauce with toasted garlic and sharp white cheddar. The rest is just stirring and tasting. Total time is closer to 35 minutes, and most of that is the sauce thickening on its own while you get everything else on the table.
The toasted garlic is worth mentioning because it does something a little different than raw or sauteed garlic. Sliced thin and cooked in butter until pale gold, it turns mellow and nutty without any sharpness. It’s the detail that makes people ask what’s in this.
Why you will love this
- Kale holds its texture and color far longer than spinach, so it doesn’t go limp or watery if dinner runs late.
- Toasted garlic cooked in butter until pale gold gives the sauce a nutty depth you don’t get from just mincing garlic into cream.
- Sharp white cheddar melts into the sauce smoothly when you add it a handful at a time, so there’s no clumping.
- Ready in 35 minutes, which fits into a packed cooking schedule without taking over a burner for an hour.
- Substantial enough to work as the main vegetarian option at the table, not just a token green side.
Tips for success
- Squeeze the blanched kale harder than you think you need to. Work in small handfuls over the sink and press until each one feels nearly dry. Wet kale is the main reason cream sauces go thin on this dish.
- Watch the garlic during those 3 to 4 minutes in the butter. Sliced garlic goes from toasted to bitter fast, especially toward the end. Pull it off the heat the second it turns pale gold.
- Add the cheddar off a full boil. Reduce the heat to low before you start adding cheese, and go one handful at a time. Dumping it all in at once over high heat is how you end up with a grainy sauce.
- Taste for salt after the cheese goes in, not before. White cheddar adds its own saltiness, and the blanching water seasons the kale too, so the final amount you need is usually less than you’d expect.
If the sauce turns out too thin
- The most common cause is kale that wasn’t squeezed dry enough. Even a little extra moisture will loosen a cream sauce noticeably.
- If it looks thin after adding the kale, turn the heat up slightly and stir for another 2 to 3 minutes uncovered. It will tighten back up.
- Make sure the sauce was thick enough to coat the back of a spoon before you added the kale. If it wasn’t, give it another minute or two before folding the greens in.
Substitutions
Lacinato kale and curly kale both work here. Lacinato is a little more tender and has a milder flavor, while curly kale holds its texture slightly better after blanching. Either one is fine. If you want to swap the white cheddar, Gruyere melts just as smoothly and gives the sauce a more mellow, slightly nutty flavor. Fontina works too. Avoid pre-shredded cheese if you can, since the coating on it slows melting and can make the sauce gritty.
To make this gluten-free, skip the flour and whisk 1 tablespoon of cornstarch into the milk before adding it to the pan. For a lighter sauce, replace half the heavy cream with whole milk, though the sauce will be a little thinner and may need an extra minute or two to thicken.
Make-ahead and storage
You can blanch, squeeze dry, and chop the kale up to 2 days ahead. Store it in a sealed container in the fridge. Shredding the cheese ahead of time also helps, since it’s one less thing to do when the sauce is ready and waiting. The cream sauce itself doesn’t hold as well made ahead, so I’d build that fresh and just fold the prepped kale in.
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat slowly in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring in a splash of cream or milk to loosen the sauce back up. Don’t rush it with high heat or the sauce can break. This dish doesn’t freeze well: the cream sauce separates on thawing and doesn’t come back together cleanly.
Creamed Kale with Toasted Garlic and White Cheddar
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a full boil. Add the chopped kale and blanch for exactly 2 minutes. The color will turn a bright, vivid green. Drain immediately into a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
- Working in small handfuls, squeeze the blanched kale firmly over the sink to remove as much water as possible. This step matters. Wet kale will water down your sauce and prevent it from coating the greens properly. Squeeze until each handful feels almost dry, then set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes. You want the garlic to turn pale golden and smell nutty, not brown or bitter. Watch it closely because sliced garlic moves from toasted to burnt quickly.
- Sprinkle the flour over the toasted garlic and stir to coat everything. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, to cook out the raw flour taste. Pour in the heavy cream and milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking as you go to break up any lumps. Raise the heat slightly and stir until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the shredded white cheddar a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until fully melted and smooth. Season with black pepper, nutmeg if using, and taste for salt.
- Add the squeezed kale to the skillet and fold it into the sauce with a wooden spoon until every piece is well coated. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes more over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the kale is heated through and the sauce has settled into a thick, glossy coating. Serve hot.
Notes
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