Vegan Kale Sauce with Rigatoni will make you fall in love with kale! It’s creamy, packed with flavor, and loaded with nutrients. Best of all this vibrant green pasta comes together in under 20 minutes and can easily be made gluten-free.

Spring is just around the corner and though we wake up to frost most mornings, I’m itching to start digging around in the garden and serve up all things green. Kale is the one leafy green that you can rely on during the hunger gap here on the Peninsula. It grows stubbornly and prolifically. So, I have embraced my inner kale lover and am sharing the greenest vegan kale pasta sauce around. It’s incredibly flavorful, with few ingredients, and goes from stove to table in about 20 minutes.

This quick and uncomplicated recipe is on the All Start Team in our household. Which means it’s made the short list of recipes in our pasta rotation. It’s my first choice when cooking an impromptu dinner for friends or coworkers. Half the fun is seeing people light up at the stunning green color and cheerfully downing an entire head of kale.

Vegan Kale Sauce with Rigatoni on a table

Vegan Kale Sauce is pretty straightforward. But there are a few things to keep in mind which maximize the overall flavor with minimal effort.

Best kale to use:

Lacinato kale (aka dinosaur kale due to the bumpy texture of the leaves which look like reptile skin) is a common variety that is easy to work with and makes the greenest sauce. It’s less bitter than curly kale so go with this variety first.
Curly kale has tightly curled, almost unruly, leaves. It’s also a common variety but can be a bit challenging to work with. The leaves are bright green and taste slightly peppery and bitter. This is a good second choice.
Red Russian kale, with its red stems, is often found in farmers’ markets and natural grocery stores. The large ruffly leaves look a bit like arugula and taste mild (for kale) with peppery notes. If you can’t find lacinato or curly kale, try this variety.

How to salt pasta water:

Salting your pasta water is the easiest way to add a subtle salty flavor layer to any pasta dish. This recipe uses the salty pasta water as an ingredient so it’s important to know how much salt to add.

You may have heard the rule of thumb: Add enough salt to the cooking liquid so that it tastes like the sea. Preferring a more specific ratio, I add 1 tablespoon of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt to 1 quart of water. This recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of salt added to 3 quarts of water.

I once tried eyeballing the amount of salt when cooking dinner for an important client’s family and *way* oversalted the pasta water. They were very gracious and ate the mouth-puckering pasta. But I was mortified as they kept refilling their water glasses. Lesson learned and I keep my measuring spoons handy!

How to flatten and peel garlic:

Pressing and peeling whole garlic cloves might be the niftiest kitchen trick. Place your garlic cloves on a cutting board and use the flat side of a chef’s knife to press each one very flat. The clove will split open and spread out, releasing the outer skin. The skin is then easily peeled away. This allows the hot oil to cook the inside and the outside of each clove with less risk of burning, as with minced garlic.

Sauté your red pepper flakes:

Even if you’re sensitive to spice, feel safe using ½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes. The peppery bite mellows as it sautés with the garlic. Once the garlic is golden brown, sprinkle in the red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute to let it bloom and infuse with the olive oil.

FAQ

How is this recipe vegan?

Traditional pasta sauces often use dairy-based cheese. Nutritional yeast, with its nutty cheesy taste, is the perfect ingredient for cheesy flavor without dairy. It’s often fortified with vitamin B12 which is an essential nutrient in a vegan diet.

It’s delicious topped with store-bought or homemade vegan parmesan cheese.

What blender should I use?

A cup-style blender, like a Nutribullet, does a great job of liquifying the sauce without losing too much sauce which can cling to the container and lid. A Vitamix or similar style will work but be prepared to stop and scrape down the sides of the container and lid as the sauce sprays the inside.

How do I store and reheat leftovers?

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. The pasta will absorb much of the kale sauce and begin to dry out as it sits. So, keep some extra pasta water, on hand, to perk up the sauce. Pour a little over the pasta and reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave, stirring as you go. Add enough water to achieve a creamy texture.

Can I make this recipe gluten-free?

Yes! All the ingredients in the vegan kale sauce are naturally gluten-free. Simply use your favorite gluten-free rigatoni (or similarly shaped) pasta.

Here’s everything you need to make this recipe:

ingredients for vegan kale sauce with pasta

Ingredients / makes 2 cups of kale sauce

3 quarts (2839 ml) of water salted with
3 tablespoons of kosher salt
1 pound (454 g) of uncooked rigatoni (mezzi)
½ lb (227 g) of lacinato kale (about 1 large bunch) thick ribs removed
1 tablespoon of olive oil
6 garlic cloves, pressed flat with the side of a knife and outer skins removed
½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
¼ cup (20 g) of nutritional yeast
Shredded parmesan cheese for serving (optional)

Instructions

1.Boil the pasta water- Fill a 4-6 qt. cooking pot with 3 quarts of water. Sprinkle in 3 tablespoons of kosher salt and bring to a boil.

2. Sauté the garlic-Meanwhile, pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. When a splash of water creates a sizzle add the garlic. Sauté until it’s golden brown and just starts to look crispy but not burnt, 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle in the red pepper flakes and cook for one minute more to let the flavors bloom. Slide the pan off the heat.

3. Cook the pasta and kale together- Tumble the pasta into the boiling water and give it a stir. Lay the kale on top, gently pushing the leaves down so that the water covers them.

4. Blend the kale sauce- After 5 minutes, use tongs to pluck the kale leaves out of the pot and transfer them to a blender. Some pasta water will cling to the kale and that’s okay. Add the cooked garlic mixture, nutritional yeast, and ¼ cup of the salty pasta water. Blend at high speed until completely smooth, 1-3 minutes, scraping down the sides as you go. If you have a cup-style blender like a Nutribullet, use that.

5. Drain the pasta, reserving some cooking liquid- When the pasta is al dente (cooked to barely firm), drain it, reserving a cup of the pasta water. This is for thinning the pasta sauce, if needed. Transfer the pasta back to the warm pot with the heat off.

6. Mix the kale sauce and pasta together- Pour the kale sauce over the pasta and mix until all the pasta is evenly coated. In a minute or two, it will absorb into the pasta and become thick and creamy. Use the reserve pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, to thin the sauce if needed.

7. Garnish with shredded parmesan cheese and serve straight away!

Vegan Kale Sauce with Rigatoni for dinner

More recipes with kale that are anything but boring:

Massaged Kale Salad

Vegan Minestrone Soup

Crispy Cheesy Kale Chips

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Peanut Stew

I sure hope you love this vibrant, flavorful dish as much as I do. Who knows, it may make your All Star Team too!

The inspiration for this recipe came from Joshua McFadden of Portland Oregon’s Cookbook “Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables”.

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Yield: 4 Servings

Author: Carol Clayton