Browned Butter Kale, Rice and Parmesan Recipe - My Natural Family (2024)

This is my new favorite kale rice recipe. I don't understand why it is so good to combine kale and rice with butter and Parmesan cheese - but it is crave-able and I've made it multiple times in the last month or so.

I came up with this recipe mostly by accident. I've been trying to eat a lot less meat lately and I searched on Pinterest and found a few recipes sort of like this and I thought I would experiment to come up with a version I would like. So I sent my husband to Costco to buy kale. He couldn't find any kale so he bought the Sweet Kale Salad Kit. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to some cooked kale for dinner.

Well, my 12-year-old daughter suggested we use the salad in place of kale in the recipe. I was dubious but decided to give it a try - if nothing else because I figured if it would get my daughter to eat a bunch of green vegetables it was worth a try.

So we made it - actually, I should say she mostly made it. It was so, so, good. Now my daughter makes it all the time, like even for lunch. Sometimes she will cook just the kale salad in the butter and oil and that's it. I like it so much I made it for my Christmas dinner this year.

The Ingredients

The title pretty much says what is in it. It only has a few, simple ingredients and only takes about 10 minutes to make, assuming you have the rice already cooked (which I pretty much always have some sweet brown rice in the freezer).

• Butter and avocado oil - I start with the butter so it is nice and browned but then add the avocado oil later so it will stop browning. It's totally fine to skip the butter or use ghee * instead. It just won't have the browned butter flavor.
• Kale - As I mentioned above, the Eat Smart Sweet Kale Salad is my favorite. But regular kale works excellent too. I usually save a lot of money by buying the regular kale instead of the premium baby kale. I actually think it tastes better in a recipe you are going to cook. I totally spring for the baby kale on my salads though . . .
• Rice - my absolute favorite variety is sweet brown rice since it is slightly chewy and sticky and just has a great flavor. But your favorite rice will work too. For one thing, sweet brown rice can be hard to find. I buy it at a local Bosch Kitchen Store but I'm sure not every city has one of those . . . I almost always have some 8-ounce freezer containers * with brown rice in my freezer so I just unthaw those a bit.
• Parmesan cheese - I sometimes forgot to add it or don't feel like eating it and this dish tastes fine without it. But adding it just makes it better. I personally tend to use Romano cheese from Costco since it is made with sheep's milk and my body seems to like it better than cow's milk cheese.

How to make

1. Brown some butter in a skillet.
2. Add some kale and seasonings then cook until it is soft and a little crunchy.
3. Add your favorite type of rice and some Parmesan cheese and stir until it is mixed.
4. Serve with a little extra Parmesan cheese on top if you want.

It's seriously that simple.

How to serve

I often eat it for my main course, along with some butternut squash soup, a salad, and maybe a quick bread from my freezer, like pumpkin bread, banana bread, zucchini bread, or cornbread. I'm sure it would be great as a side dish as well.

How to store

I actually never have leftovers of this. I really think it is one of those dishes that is best fresh. But it should store fine in your fridge for about three days. I freeze lots of things but not this (other than the rice and grated cheese ahead of time) because it would just ruin the texture to freeze it.

I would love to know if you try this recipe and get addicted to it as I am. Please comment below and let me know!

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