Cheesy Creamed Kale

5 from 8 votes

Imagine your favorite restaurant that serves spinach dip as an appetizer and then imagine it as a side dish but with kale... you honestly can't go wrong!

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Author: Gaby Dalkin

Ingredients

3 lbs kale (roughly 3 to 5 large bunches), stems removed and leaves roughly chopped into 1 inch pieces
¾ cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 lemon, zested and juiced
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temp
8 ounces grated fontina cheese (white cheddar also delish)
½ cup heavy cream

Instructions

In a large bowl, add the kale and ½ cup of olive oil and season with salt. Massage the kale for 2-3 minutes so it starts to soften.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a very large pot or Dutch oven. Add the kale in batches, stirring to wilt until all the kale has been added. Cover the pot and cook on medium-low, stirring every few minutes, until the kale is soft, about 20-30 minutes. Add the balsamic and stir to combine. If the kale starts to brown, reduce heat to low and continue to cook.
While the kale is cooking, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the panko bread crumbs and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Stir and sauté until the bread crumbs are golden-brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and remove from the heat.
Add the cream cheese in small pieces and into the kale, while still over low heat. Stir the cream cheese until it's melted into the kale. Add the fontina, lemon juice and heavy cream and combine for about 1 minute until the fontina is melted. Transfer the kale mixture to a serving bowl and sprinkle the toasted panko over the top to serve.

Notes

Prep Ahead Instructions: This is an amazing recipe that you can prep ahead. The entire kale recipe could be made a day or two ahead of your dinner party and then re-heated over low heat on the day of your event. The panko needs to be made day of, and preferably just before serving so it's a little warm and still quite crispy!

You can also make this with spinach, or half spinach and half kale. You can even throw in some Swiss chard. Bottom line… it’s great with any hearty leafy green.

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