Garlic Butter Kale Rice
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Garlic Butter Kale Rice is a great side that pairs rice with loads of kale – except you’d never know it! So tasty you’ll be eating it straight out of the pot.
How to Make Garlic Butter Kale Rice
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I love garlic and I’m currently totally in love with this Garlic Butter Kale Rice.
I’m always on the hunt for sides that combines a carb with vegetables so I can just make one dish to serve on the side of protein to complete a meal.
Added bonus: This one’s loaded with tons of kale – and even kale haters love it.
How to Prepare Kale
My trick is to marinate kale by drizzling it with a tiny bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, then leaving it just for 15 minutes while the rice cooks before tossing it into the saucepan while the rice is resting to warm the kale through and make it wilt.
The marinating time serves 2 purposes. It softens the kale to make it pleasant to eat (raw kale can be quite tough and chewy) as well as adding flavour. It always surprises me how far a tiny pinch of salt goes when marinating kale!
How to Make Garlic Butter Kale Rice
If you’re wondering is it OK to eat raw kale, the kale in this recipe is wilted into the rice. Combine the marinated kale with soft, fluffy, garlicky, buttery rice and you have a winner right there.
In fact, most people think the green “stuff” in this is spinach, not kale!
I like to cook the rice with chicken or vegetable broth to give it extra flavour. This rice is so incredibly tasty, you can – and WILL – eat it straight out of the pot!
It’s best served warm but also lovely at room temperature because the kale and rice is lovely and fluffy. Try serving this on the side at your next grill out!
- 5 Large handfuls chopped kale leaves Note 1
- 2 teaspoons Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons Butter, unsalted
- 2 Large garlic cloves crushed
- 1 cup White rice
- 1 3/4 cup Chicken or vegetable broth low sodium,
- Extra butter
- 2 tablespoons Roughly chopped almonds or pecans optional
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Place kale in a large bowl. Drizzle over oil and sprinkle with a small pinch of salt and pepper.
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Use hands to scrunch for 30 seconds then set aside until rice is cooked.
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Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant.
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Add rice and broth, cover with lid. Bring to gentle simmer then immediately turn heat down to low or medium low, so the liquid is simmering very gently.
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Cook for 12 - 15 minutes until all liquid is absorbed.
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Remove from heat, then quickly toss all the kale on top of the rice, then clamp lid back on.
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Rest for 10 minutes.
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Remove lid, stir wilted kale through rice.
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Adjust salt and pepper to taste and stir through extra butter if desired.
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Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with almonds or pecans, if using.
Hold a kale stalk by the stem, then run an enclosed fist up the stalk to rip the leaves off. Then chop into bite size pieces.
Repin this Fantastic Side Dish!
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Nagi
Nagi is the voice, cook and photographer behind RecipeTin Eats, [Australia’s top food blog]. She believes that anyone can make amazing food with everyday ingredients, even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. Nagi walked away from a corporate career to follow her passion for food. She truly believes that great food brings family and friends together, and more smiles into your life. She also firmly believes that whoever invented cheese deserves a Nobel Prize.
Under the Kale ingredients list, what does it mean to use 5 Tbsp Large handfuls chopped kale leaves? Is including the word Tablespoons a typo and it should just read 5 large handfuls chopped kale leaves? Thanks.
Correct – fixed thank you!