Instant Pot Braised Kale and Pancetta. Pork and greens with an Italian twist in my pressure cooker.
It’s dangerous when I go to the grocery store hungry. A whole lot of stuff winds up in my cart that wouldn’t otherwise. In this case, that was a good thing. I saw a bag of pre-cut kale in the produce section, which got me thinking. Then I saw a package of diced pancetta in the deli, so I grabbed it, and looped back to grab the bag of kale. Greens with a hint of pork, here we come!
As an aside - am I the only one who feels like a failure when I have to double back in the grocery store because I missed something? My dream is a perfect path through the store, working from the entrance to the checkout line, getting exactly what I need in one pass. (What’s that? I may need to dream bigger? Hey, I need to celebrate the little victories in life.)
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This recipe is a variation on my Pressure Cooker Kale with Garlic and Lemon, and an Italian version of my Instant Pot Turnip Greens with Ham. I served it as a green side dish with Instant Pot Meatballs with Tomato Sauce and pasta. (Yes, I have two Instant Pots in case I need to make a side dish. Not counting the big 8-quart pressure cooker I keep in the basement for extra-large batches of chili or broth. But I’m off on a tangent again, sorry.)
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🥫Ingredients
- Pancetta
- Garlic
- Kale
- Fine sea salt
See recipe card for quantities.
🥘 Substitutions
Any type of kale will work in this recipe. Tuscan kale (aka Lacinato kale or dinosaur kale) is traditional Italian kale, and fits the theme best. But, I usually use leafy kale, because that's what comes pre-cut and pre-washed in bags at my grocery store.
If you don’t have Kale, mustard greens make a good substitute.
My local grocery store carries 4-ounce packages of diced pancetta, so that’s what I include here - one packages worth. If you can’t find pancetta, bacon makes a good substitute. It’s the same cut of pork but it’s not as “Authentic Italian”, because of the smoky flavor…but I don’t mind a little hint of smoke with my kale.
The garlic clove is optional - I love garlic with my kale, but you can skip it.
If you want to add a little heat to the kale, add ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes with the garlic clove.
For a vegetarian version, skip the pancetta, and use Sauté mode to sauté a small minced onion in 2 tablespoons of olive oil before adding the smashed garlic and kale. Or, see my Pressure Cooker Kale with Garlic and Lemon recipe.
🛠 Equipment
📏Scaling
The only problem with doubling or halving this recipe is that kale is bulky at first. You can double this recipe in a 6-quart pressure cooker (by doubling the ingredients), or halve it in a 3-quart pressure cooker (by halving the ingredients), but you may have to spend more time sautéing the kale to get it all packed in to the pressure cooker.
💡Tips and Tricks
- Most of the time, I cheat with this recipe and buy bags of pre-cut, pre-washed kale at my local grocery store. The exception is during the summer, when local Farmers Markets and CSAs are overflowing with kale. Then I make sure to buy fresh.
- If you have fresh kale, remove the ribs from the center by running a knife down each side of the rib to remove the leaves from the rib. Then chop the leaves into roughly bite-sized pieces.
Instant Pot Braised Kale and Pancetta
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Instant Pot Braised Kale and Pancetta. Pork and greens with an Italian twist in my pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces diced pancetta
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed
- 12- to 16 ounces kale, cleaned, stems trimmed, and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pancetta, then add the garlic and kale: Spread the diced pancetta in the bottom of a room temperature Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, and set the pot to sauté mode adjusted to medium. (Use medium heat on other PCs). Heat the pancetta, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the smashed garlic clove and let it cook for 1 minute with the pancetta. Stir big handfuls of the kale into the pot, coating them with the pancetta and its fat. Keep adding handfuls of kale once the kale in the pot wilts enough to let it fit in. Don't worry about the max fill line on the cooker - it will wilt quickly - but you need to pack it in enough to close the lid. Sprinkle the kale with the salt, then pour the water over the top of everything.
- Pressure cook the kale for 5 minutes with a Quick Release: Lock the lid on the cooker. Pressure cook for 5 minutes at high pressure in both electric and stovetop PCs. (Use "manual" or Pressure Cook mode in an Instant Pot.) Quick release the pressure. Remove the lid carefully - the steam is hot enough to scald.
- Serve: Stir in the fresh ground pepper. Scoop the kale out of the pot with a slotted spoon or tongs, leaving as much liquid behind as possible. Serve and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
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☃️ Storage
After cooking, you can store any leftover kale in the refrigerator for a couple of days before it gets too soggy. (Braised kale is soggy to begin with, so it's not like it will get worse).
🤝 Related Posts
Pressure Cooker Kale with Garlic and Lemon
Pressure Cooker Chinese Kale
Pressure Cooker Collard Greens with Bacon
My other Instant Pot and Pressure Cooker Recipes
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