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    Home » Recipes » Pressure cooker

    Pressure Cooker Kale with Garlic and Lemon

    Published: Jan 26, 2016 · Modified: Apr 26, 2017 by Mike Vrobel · This post may contain affiliate links · 33 Comments

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    Pressure Cooker Kale with Garlic and Lemon
    Pressure Cooker Kale with Garlic and Lemon
    A few years ago, kale was everywhere. Kale chips, kale smoothies, kale salad… But kale’s time as the “it vegetable” seems to have passed. We’ve moved on - brussels sprouts seem like they’re having their moment in the sun - and kale is now just another green vegetable.

    I was into Kale before it was cool, thanks to my CSA. 3That’s right, I’m a vegetable hipster. I need a carefully groomed mustache now. Back before Kale was hip, I’d get big bunches in my CSA box and wonder what to do with it. My best answer? Braised kale. 4OK, my second best answer after Kale chips. We still love kale chips.

    Recipe: Pressure Cooker Kale with Garlic and Lemon

    Equipment

    • 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot Duo electric PC)
    • Lemon squeezer (Optional, but I juice citrus almost every day)
    Print
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    Pressure Cooker Kale with Garlic and Lemon


    5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

    5 from 15 reviews

    • Author: Mike Vrobel
    • Total Time: 15 minutes
    • Yield: 4-6 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Pressure Cooker Kale with Garlic and Lemon recipe - kale from your pressure cooker, quick and easy.


    Ingredients

    Scale
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 3 cloves garlic, slivered
    • 1 pound kale, cleaned and stems trimmed
    • ½ cup water
    • ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
    • Juice squeezed from ½ a lemon
    • Fresh ground black pepper

    Instructions

    1. Lightly sauté the garlic, then add the kale: Pour the oil into the bottom of the pressure cooker pot, stir in the garlic, and set the pot over medium heat (stovetop PC) or sauté mode (electric PC). Heat the oil until you just smell the garlic - we want it to bubble around the edges, but not brown - about 2 minutes. Stir a big handful of the kale into the garlic and oil, then start packing in the rest of the kale. 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.
    2. Pressure cook the kale: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker, bring it up to high pressure, and cook at high pressure for 5 minutes (for either electric or stovetop PC). Quick release the pressure. Remove the lid carefully - the steam is hot enough to scald.
    3. Season and serve: Squeeze the lemon over the kale, then 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.
    • Prep Time: 10 minutes
    • Cook Time: 5 minutes
    • Category: Pressure Cooker
    • Cuisine: American

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    Ready for kale
    Ready for kale

    Stirring in the kale
    Stirring in the kale

    Five minutes
    Five minutes
     

    Notes

    • I love my CSA, and I love farmers markets. But…as you can see in the pictures, I’m not against buying a bag of pre-cut, pre-washed kale at my local grocery store.
    • I have two pressure cookers for recipes just like this - a quick side dish when my main pressure cooker is busy.

     

    Serve!
    Serve!

    What do you think?

    Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.

    Related Posts

    Pressure Cooker Roasted Sweet Potato Puree
    Pressure Cooker Beets with Blue Cheese
    My Pressure Cooker Recipe Index

     

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    Comments

    1. Michelle says

      January 19, 2020 at 3:05 pm

      First time I ever cooked kale and it was amazing. I usually only eat it raw in salads but this recipe definitely made a convert out of me!!

      Reply
    2. Ellen Lawler says

      November 03, 2019 at 7:53 am

      Very good and easy recipe for a vegetable I eat periodically only because everyone says it’s “good for you.”

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        November 03, 2019 at 9:39 am

        Ha! Thank you.

        Reply
    3. Al says

      October 09, 2019 at 1:37 pm

      I cooked two strips of bacon on medium sauté until crisp and removed it. Then I sautéed one medium onion in the bacon grease until it began to soften and then added the garlic and sautéed for another 2 minutes. Then I added the kale and cooked uncover until it was wilted enough to get the lid on. Then I added 1 cup of no salt chicken broth, with the 1/2 teaspoon of salt added, to the Kale mixture. I cooked on high pressure for 3 minutes and did a quick release. I chopped the bacon into little bits to sprinkle on individual servings of the finished kale. The kale turned out perfectly. It was bright green and al dente, not mushy and drab green. This was easy and very good. I used an 8 qt. Instant Pot. Thank you for the recipe.

      Reply
    4. Linda Marcella says

      August 04, 2019 at 2:45 pm

      Great recipe. I cleaned up my garden today. The catapillars were making holes in all my brassica. I cut off all the damaged leaves of cabbage, brussels sprouts,, kale and collards. I cut out all the stems and sliced the leaves
      up. Gave it all a bath and then into the instantpot. I did 6 min and couldn’t believe how perfect it came out. Perfectly cooked. I’ll have enough for a couple of meals with ham or smoked hot dogs as well as a couple freezer bags of it for another couple meals. I’ll probably sauté some garlic in olive oil and too the thawed greens in it with some salt, pepper and a sprinkle of nutmeg. I love room temp meals on a hot day plus I feel I got something out of it before the catapillars ate it all! On my way to get some b.t. now so I will have a fall crop. Simple and perfect recipe.

      Reply
    5. Lynn D says

      May 23, 2019 at 9:49 pm

      Quick and easy.

      Reply
    6. Lynn says

      May 23, 2019 at 9:48 pm

      Easy, quick and delicious!

      Reply
      • Mike Vrobel says

        May 24, 2019 at 7:49 am

        Thanks!

        Reply
    7. Lynn_M says

      June 03, 2018 at 6:40 pm

      My favorite kale recipe. I sometimes cook it with chicken or turkey broth instead of water. The braised kale also tastes good mixed with wild rice which has been cooked in the Instant Pot.

      Reply
    8. Saif Mostaghim says

      February 15, 2018 at 9:04 pm

      Used standard 15 PSI pressure cooker. Came out really goo - edible for a change!

      Reply
    9. Ellen Lawler says

      November 01, 2017 at 7:34 pm

      This was very good and so easy!

      Reply
    10. Mich says

      September 14, 2017 at 7:20 pm

      Awesome and easy! This helped me use up my kale just before I thought it would get too old to use, thanks so much!

      Reply
    11. Maricruz Manning says

      May 03, 2017 at 10:03 pm

      I just made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious and easy!!

      Reply
    12. Kay says

      February 20, 2017 at 5:27 pm

      Very good, and couldn't be easier! Makes the kale perfectly tender.

      Reply
    13. Heather says

      January 27, 2016 at 6:59 pm

      Making this tonight, can't wait! Also I am an Instant Pothead such as yourself:)

      Reply
    14. Brenda Moore says

      January 26, 2016 at 6:02 pm

      Under instruction 2 you say to "bring it up to high pressure ". What setting is this - steam?

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        January 26, 2016 at 6:07 pm

        It depends on your pressure cooker. In an Instant Pot, this means use the "Manual" setting to tell it to cook at high pressure, and set the time for 5 minutes.

        See here for details: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/instant-pot-frequently-asked-questions/

        Reply
    15. Lynn says

      January 26, 2016 at 5:21 pm

      This sounds good! Have you used this process with any other greens? Escarole or spinach? And what is the texture of the kale... Thanks....Lynn. PS. Didn't rate it as I didn't make it

      Reply
      • Mike V says

        January 26, 2016 at 6:08 pm

        The same technique would work with heavy greens, like collards, but escarole and spinach are too leafy - they'd cook down to nothing. The kale has the texture of braised greens - again, think collard greens.

        Reply
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    Welcome to Dad Cooks Dinner!

    I'm Mike Vrobel, a dad who cooks dinner every night. I'm an enthusiastic home cook, and I write about pressure cooking, rotisserie grilling, and other food topics that grab my attention.

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