A great, kind-of-healthy side dish for your holiday meal. Caramelized onions tossed with kale and parmesan cheese. So easy!
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Thanksgiving for two: Kale and caramelized onion sauté
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
A great, kind-of-healthy side dish for your holiday meal. Caramelized onions tossed with kale and parmesan cheese. So easy!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 bunch of kale, tough stems removed and leaves torn or chopped roughly
- 1 oz parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add 1 large thinly sliced onion. Add ¼ teaspoon salt and toss to combine. Let onions cook for 3-5 minutes, until they are soft.
- Reduce heat to low and continue cooking onions, stirring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes until onions are golden brown, soft and caramelized. Adjust the heat as needed so the onions don't burn.
- Add 1 bunch kale and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt to pan and toss to combine. The onions will want to clump up, so take some time to ensure everything is mixed well. Increase heat to medium-high and let everything cook for 3-5 minutes or until kale is cooked down and soft, but a little crisp at the edges.
- Turn off the heat and add 1oz grated parmesan. Toss to combine. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and additional parmesan if desired!
Notes
- If you made this turkey and want to use those onions, start by letting the onions cook over high heat for 2-3 minutes to reduce the juices. Then reduce to low and continue cooking to caramelize as usual. Since the onions got a head start in the oven, this will likely only take about 10 minutes. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe as described.
This might be a bold statement, but I think this is my FAVORITE dish out of all my Thanksgiving food this year?!
Kale? With onions?
What. Is. Happening.
I'll tell you what's happening. First, we start with my garlic and herb turkey that is roasted on a bed of thinly sliced onions. Those onions (that roast with turkey juices!!) we then caramelize until super golden and jammy and toss with hearty kale and freshly grated parmesan cheese.
HOLY MOLY.
You guys know I love kale (and I've got more ideas below!), so it's not surprising that it made it's way to this menu. I actually REALLY love kale or any kind of greens-heavy dish on Thanksgiving because I think we need that balance.
I wouldn't even call this a healthy dish (I maybe neglected to mention the amount of butter mixed in with those turkey juices before), but having something hearty and vegetable-forward like this is perfect next to creamy mashed potatoes and crispy brussels sprouts.
Those onions!
I can't even begin to tell you how delicious they are.
This is also my little trick when I roast a chicken. I love putting it on a bed of onions so they soak in those juices. Often when I'm roasting chicken, I'll throw the onions back in the oven while the chicken is resting and let them get super jammy. I then serve them with the chicken or save them and use them in salads, sautés or anything else that needs some sweet, chicken-y flavor.
And now we have turkey onions!
But, I promise you can still make this dish without the turkey component (the main recipe above assumes you're not making the turkey actually!). You just want to caramelize the onions low and slow until they get sweet and jammy. If you want to add a little extra flavor, add a splash of chicken stock. Not necessary though.
Kale on Thanksgiving?
We've already discussed this at length, but yes! I love greens on the Thanksgiving table and this year is no different.
Mixing this hearty green with soft, sweet caramelized onions and then salty, nutty cheese is a total game-changer for a classic Thanksgiving meal, but I'm totally here for it.
Have I sold you on kale yet?
Here are a few more dishes to try this holiday season:
- These caesar creamed greens are SO good.
- For a quick side dish, try my simple 10-minute sautéd kale. YES.
- Honestly, I'd happily pile my Thanksgiving plate with a kale caeser salad.
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