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Bacon Kale Spaghetti is a seriously quick and easy pasta night made with garden ingredients! In the time it takes to cook the pasta, a simple kale sauce is made with sautéd crispy bacon, garlic, Parmesan cheese, basil, and the starchy pasta cooking water. So simple, yet incredibly delicious! A light summer favorite you'll want to make again and again! Ready in just 25 minutes!
Kale just needs bacon, it's a bit too healthy without it! A bit of the bacon fat is kept in the skillet to form the sauce, giving you a silky rich pasta coating that is simple and delicious!
Our garden is full of kale right now, and we've been adding it to meals every chance we get!
I've chopped and bagged a bunch of kale and mixed herbs for the freezer to add a handful of nutrition to Pasta Fagioli Soup, pastas like Italian Sausage Bolognese, or Homemade Pizza in the winter!
If you've got kale, try these Parmesan Kale Chips, Kale Apple Slaw, Sweet Potato Corn Chowder, or Garden BLT's with Pesto Aioli.
Ingredients
- Spaghetti - I like to use the basic spaghetti for this bacon kale pasta because the bacon rich sauce just coats every strand. But, you could really use any pasta shape you like. Linguine or angel hair would be similar. A short pasta like penne or bowtie would be different but also good. Don't drain the cooking water! Saving some of the salty starchy cooking liquid to add to the bacon and kale will form the sauce that brings the whole dish together!
- Bacon - This kale basil bacon pasta really gets it's flavor from the bacon, AND the bacon fat! After cooking the bacon until crisp, you can discard some, but not all of the fat. The remainder is kept to saute the kale, imparting its salty rich flavor. This bacon fat then becomes the sauce with a bit of the starchy pasta cooking liquid.
- Kale - Six leaves of kale may seem like a lot, but it really cooks down when chopped. A super healthy ingredient, easy to grow in the garden, and when cooked has a mild flavor that is easy to add a bit of nutrition to many different meals.
- Garlic - This super simple kale sauce pasta counts on every ingredient packing the flavor! Use fresh garlic, mince it yourself, a quick sauté in bacon fat, and it's delicious!
- Salt and Pepper - Always an important ingredient, although remember the bacon brings a lot of salt to this dish. Do remember to salt the cooking water before adding the pasta, about ½ teaspoon. This seasons the pasta itself, and that golden seasoned liquid is then used to make the kale pasta sauce.
- Parmesan Cheese - I like to use a microplane and grate a fresh block of Parmesan so it easily melts in and becomes part of the sauce. You don't need to go super high end when buying Parmesan cheese, but I do think buying a block and grating it yourself is the best quality and often similar in price to the pre-shredded packages. Lasts longer too!
- Basil - This super simple kale bacon pasta is only a few ingredients so that final sprinkle of fresh basil really adds a bright freshness to the earthy sautéd bacon and kale. Fresh basil is really the best, but you could make this dish without it, or garnish with chopped parsley or chives. Buying a little basil plant for a few dollars to grow in a windowsill can cost the same as buying one packet of fresh herbs in the winter! A great way to always have fresh basil on hand!
Substitutions
- This bacon kale pasta is a simple template that could be easily altered with different vegetables or proteins. You could substitute or add other greens like spinach or Swiss chard.
- Change up the basil and add fresh thyme or rosemary for an all new flavor. You could add in additional veggies to saute before the kale such as zucchini or mushrooms. Sun-dried tomato or fresh or frozen peas could be thrown in with the garlic.
- The bacon could even be subbed with a half pound of ground Italian sausage. Use the same method and saute the kale in some of the remaining fat from the sausage.
- You could also add grilled or Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breast sliced over the top in addition to the bacon.
- Make it your own, really any veggies could work, just keep in mind how long each ingredient needs to cook.
Instructions
Step 1 - Prepare your ingredients.
Run your knife along the stem of the kale to slice the leaves from the stem.
You'll have a large pile of leaves that seems unmanageable and falling off your counter.
Wad them up into a tight pile and hold that pile with your left hand while slicing through it with your knife in your right hand.
Chop if fairly small so it will blend in with the strands of spaghetti.
Step 2 - In the time it takes to cook the pasta, the sauce can be made in a separate large skillet. Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water, about 10 minutes.
Save about 2 cups of the starchy salted cooking liquid before draining the pasta! This will be used to form the sauce.
Saute the sliced bacon in a skillet large enough to toss with the pasta in the end. About 8 to 10 minutes. Stir often.
When the bacon is crispy, remove 2 Tablespoons of the fat to a bowl and discard. Remove the bacon to a bowl.
Saute the kale in the remaining bacon fat, about 3 minutes.
Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook another minute.
Using a measuring cup, ladle out about 2 cups of the starchy cooking pasta water. Adding it to a glass pyrex measuring cup works well.
Add ½ cup of the starchy water to the kale. This will simmer and combine with the bacon fat, kale and garlic to form a silky sauce.
Step 3 - Toss everything together. You may add up to 2 cups of the starchy cooking pasta water, a little at a time, as you toss the kale and bacon pasta together.
Add back the bacon and continue to cook on low heat.
Add in the drained pasta, Parmesan and continue adding more of the pasta cooking water as you toss the pasta over low heat until well combined.
Step 4 - Garnish with more Parmesan cheese and fresh basil. As the pasta sits, it will dry.
You can keep adding a bit more pasta water and give it another toss if heading back to get a second helping!
Chef Tip: The pasta cooking water is the key to this kale and bacon spaghetti sauce! Don't pour that liquid gold down the drain!
Make sure to reserve at least 2 cups before draining your pasta. Combined with the extra bacon fat, this pasta with kale sauce is rich and tasty!
Storage
- Storage - Store any leftover bacon kale pasta in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Simply microwave to reheat.
- Freezer Tips - I like to buy bacon and freeze it when it's on sale, a handy item to have on hand! You can also chop and bag kale and other greens to freeze so this meal can always be in your back pocket for those busy weeknights!
What to Serve with Bacon Kale Spaghetti
Bacon Kale Spaghetti can be a simple vegetarian main course served with a big Italian Mixed Greens Salad, or part of a larger menu for a bigger group. Try serving it with:
- White Bean Bruschetta
- Bruschetta with Cherry Tomatoes
- Panzanella Bread Salad
- Tomato Feta White Bean Salad with Arugula
- Broccoli Salad
- You can also add sliced Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Breast over the top!
More Favorite Weeknight Dinners
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Bacon Kale Spaghetti
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Print Pin RateIngredients
- 1 pound spaghetti reserve 2 cups of the starchy cooking water before draining!
- 6 strips bacon sliced
- 6 leaves kale stems removed and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 grinds fresh black pepper
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated, plus more for serving
- fresh basil for serving
Instructions
- Prepare your ingredients. Cut the bacon into slices and chop the garlic. Shred the Parmesan cheese. Wash the kale and slice the leaves off the stem with a knife. Discard the stem and wad the kale leaves into a tight pile to thinly slice.
- Cook the pasta in salted (½ teaspoon) boiling water, about 10 minutes. BEFORE DRAINING, use a ladle or measuring cup to pull out 2 cups of the starchy cooking liquid. Ladling into a glass pyrex measuring cup works great!
- When you begin heating the pasta water to boil, start making the sauce. In a large skillet or Dutch oven, over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes, and remove it to a bowl. Discard about 2 Tablespoons of the bacon fat, leaving the rest in the skillet to saute the kale and form the sauce.
- Add the kale to the remaining bacon fat and saute about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook another minute.
- Lower the temperature to medium low and add ½ cup of the hot starchy pasta water to the kale and garlic (you can pull the water out even if the pasta isn't finished cooking). Stir and simmer, the starchy water will combine and reduce with the bacon fat.
- Add back the bacon and the drained pasta and begin tossing with tongs. Little by little, add in the Parmesan cheese and more of the starchy cooking liquid as you continue tossing. You may add up to 2 cups of the pasta cooking water.
- Allow the pasta to stay on the heat another minute or so while tossing, and keep adding the starchy pasta water if it seems too dry. If you sit down to eat and then go back for seconds, you may want to add another ½ cup of the pasta water and toss well, it will dry as it sits. The pasta water, bacon fat and the melting Parmesan is what makes "the sauce."
- Garnish with more Parmesan and fresh basil.
Notes
- Important! Make sure to reserve 2 cups of the starchy cooking liquid before draining the pasta. This is what forms the sauce!
- Don't discard all the bacon fat, just about 2 Tablespoons. Keep the rest to make the sauce! Don't pour your discarded bacon fat down the drain, not good for drains! Let it cool and pour it in the trash, or you can even save it in the fridge and fry eggs in it!
Trish Shecterle says
LOVE this recipe….easy, full of flavor and not a lot of ingredients. And…..there’s BACON…. (And Kale to alleviate all guilt!!)
😍😍😍