Lemony Collard Greens Pasta
Super quick, bold and bright pasta dish tossed with thinly sliced and sautรฉed collard greens, lemon juice, pine nuts and spices.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 22, 2024
Last weekend, I stopped by Native Roots Market for some groceries, hoping to find some inspiration while I was there. Some beautiful, local collard greens from my friends at Peach Crest Farm caught my eye. It seems strange that after living in the borderline-Southern state of Oklahoma my whole life, Iโd never tried collard greens. Iโve been trying to branch out and try different kinds of produce, so into the basket went the collard greens.
At home, I tore off a little piece and nibbled on it, raw. Nothing special, tasted sort of like kale. Later, I recalled some collard wraps Iโve seen in blogland and tried using blanched collard leaves as wraps for the last of my lentil curry. The taste wasnโt worth the effort.
Then I recalled my friend Matt telling me how great collard greens are when theyโre sliced super thin, so I got to googling. I googled my way past all the slow-cooked, bacon-heavy Paula Deen recipes and found a tutorial for Brazilian collard greens.
The idea is to slice the greens as thin as possible, and sautรฉ them for just a few minutes, until theyโre dark green and fragrant. The technical term for this slicing technique is chiffonade. I tried cooking up one big leaf in this manner for โdessertโ and hello, lover! Iโm smitten with collard greens. This lively spaghetti dish came to me as I twirled my fork in those spicy, skinny greens and fortunately, it is just as good in reality as it was in my head.
I donโt know whether to call this recipe Southern due to the collard greens, or Brazilian because of the method, or Italian since itโs a pasta dish. Southern-Brazilian-Italian fusion, anyone? Never mind. Whatever you want to call this dish, itโs spicy and bright, with bold lemon flavor, and comes together in a flash! The one-to-one ratio of whole wheat spaghettini to produce is just the way I like my pasta. I hope youโll give collard greens another chance with this lemony pasta recipe.
Lemony Collard Greens Pasta
Super quick, bold and bright pasta dish tossed with thinly sliced and sautรฉed collard greens, lemon juice, pine nuts and spices.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of fresh collard greens (about 8 to 10 ounces or 10 big leaves)
- 5 to 8 ounces thin spaghetti or โspaghettiniโ (whole wheat or gluten-free if desired)
- 3 tablespoons pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (the good stuff)
- 2 small cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Fine salt, as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ounce Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler
- ยฝ or more of a lemon, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Bring a big pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to directions. Reserve about ยฝ cup pasta cooking water, then drain the noodles and return them to the pot.
- Cut out the center rib of each collard green. Stack a few greens at a time and roll them up into a cigar-like shape. Slice across the roll as thinly as possible (โ to ยผ inch). Shake up the greens and give them a few chops so the strands arenโt so long.
- Heat a heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium heat and toast the pine nuts until they start to turn golden and fragrant, while stirring frequently (donโt step away from the stove, as they burn quickly). Pour them out of the skillet and save for later. Let the skillet cool for a few minutes off the heat.
- Return the skillet to medium heat and pour in the olive oil. Sprinkle in a pinch of red pepper flakes and the garlic and stir. Once the oil is hot enough to shimmer, toss in all of your collard greens. Sprinkle the greens with a pinch of salt. Stirring often (try not to let them clump), sautรฉ the greens until theyโre wilted and dark green, about three minutes.
- Remove the pan from heat. Scoop the greens into the pasta pot and toss with another drizzle of olive oil, adding just a splash of pasta cooking water if necessary to loosen the mixture. Taste, and add more salt for extra flavor, plus some black pepper. Divide onto plates, top with pine nuts and Parmesan shavings and serve with two big lemon wedges per person.
Notes
- Serves two.
- Although I havenโt tried it, I think walnuts would make a fine substitute for the pine nuts.
- Vegans, you can totally skip the cheese. Itโs still great without it.
- Use a cheese plane or vegetable peeler to create Parmesan shavings. Iโm over grated Parmesan; shavings are the way to go!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This recipe is fantastic!
I typically sautรฉ or steam collard greens and then mix vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil in a 3:3:2 ratio and add to greensfor a light sauce. I think itโs a Korean-inspired recipe.
Delicious โ thank you! I substituted slivered almonds for the pine nuts, and they worked fine, too.
Thank you for sharing, Vicki!
Iโm really looking forward to making this, and just put collard greens on my grocery list! Iโm mostly vegan but cheat occasionally with parmesan lol. My very easy pasta is a hit every time I make it, and it takes about 7 minutes. Massage baby spinach with a little olive oil and lemon and place in pasta bowl. Then place pasta on top. If you want, add (any left over grilled or roasted veggies or none),halved cherry tomatoes, quick squeeze of lemon, drizzle with evoo, and top with shaved parmesan. Looks really pretty and tastes great! Use spices, salt and pepper to taste.
Thank you for sharing, Stace!
This is delicious. The idea to chiffonade the collards is brilliant!
I zested my lemon and tossed it in with the pasta. I used walnuts instead of pine nuts. Thanks
Youโre welcome, D! Iโm happy you enjoyed it.
Fantastic recipe. I was looking for something to do with collard greens I got in my CSA share that did not involve cooking them to death in bacon. Stumbled upon this and decided to give it a try. Healthy, easy, filling, and quick to prep. And, mostly importantly, delicious!
Iโm glad you loved it, Sarah!
I just made this for dinner using collatd greens from our garden. My husband raved about it. Each piece (garlic, lemon juice, etc.) added a specific element. Iโm looking forward to making this often this summer. I also used slivered almonds instead of pine nuts and it turned out great!
SoโฆI donโt fully understand the phenomenon of folks rating a recipe before making and tasting it.
On another note: I have been making this recipe for several years and love it, as is. It was my introduction to eating collard greens and it is now on regular rotation. I love the lemon & red-pepper-flake flavor combination, with the toasted pine nuts, and also, yes, with the collard greens! Kudos to Kate for this fantastic creation.
Hi Kate! Could I still make this recipe omitting the pine nuts due to a tree nut allergy or would an important ingredient then be missing? I know your recipes often note how to adapt for various situations but didnโt see that here so was unsure. Thank you for your help!
Hi Alyssa! I haveโt tried it with an alternative, sorry.
Wow! Didnโt expect such a delicious result. It is awesome.
Great to hear, Immanuel!
I had never tasted collards before age 18 when I married into a Black family. Now I grow collards. And I invited those same relatives over to try collards in this new way. Well received.
I love to hear that, Juli! Thank you for you review.
i loved this recipe too much and my wife enjoyed it too. ty Kathryne
Absolutely DELICIOUS!! I needed a Collard Greens recipe that did not include stewing with pork and took a chance on this one. SO GOOD! I added shredded rotisserie chicken for protein (will try flaked, cooked salmon next time too) but otherwise followed the recipe. Will definitely make it again. YUM!
The dish was dry and plain but I think we didnโt have enough greens and olive oil for our amount of pasta. I would mix in some pesto for depth or add lemon before serving next time.
This is a wonderful recipe โ easy, delicious, healthy! It is my go-to for collards from my CSA share.
My farm share sent me collard greens (normally I can pick, but was overseas and the website didnโt let me log in to edit my shipment) and I had no idea what to do with them. I was looking for a healthy preparation and stumbled upon this. INCREDIBLE! I made it exactly as described. I appreciated your comment about not walking away from the stove while toasting pine nuts. It hurts me to think of how many times I have burned those little tidbits ($$$ in the garbage). Every bite of this dish was so delicious, now I will seek out this vegetable just so I can make it again. Husband and I enjoyed it as a side dish to grilled Kurobata pork chops โ great combo!