Pasta with Kale, Kalamata Olives, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Garlic & Feta
Updated March 26, 2019
Pasta with Kale, Kalamata Olives, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Garlic, & Feta. Whew, I am out of breath. I know, that is a really long name for a pasta dish, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t leave out any of the key ingredients. ALL of the ingredients in this pasta dish are stars!
This recipe comes from my fabulous sister-in-law, Whitney. When we went to California, she made us this dish and I immediately fell in love. We’ve been making it on a regular basis ever since. Whitney calls it “crazy spaghetti” and I think I know why because it is CRAZY good! Oh, and probably because Pasta with Kale, Kalamata Olives, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Garlic, & Feta is too long to say! Maybe I should stick with crazy spaghetti too!
I could eat this pasta dish every night. It is simple to make and the flavors are outstanding. You might question all of the flavors together, but after one bite, I guarantee you will be hooked like a worm on a fishing pole.The flavors work together in the most amazing way. The slightly bitter kale, sweet dried cranberries, salty kalamata olives and feta cheese mixed in with pasta just works! And don’t skip the toasted garlic on top, even if you claim to be a garlic hater, give the toasted garlic a chance in this dish. It’s awesome!
Go crazy tonight and make “crazy spaghetti” aka Pasta with Kale, Kalamata Olives, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Garlic, & Feta. This pasta dish is a staple in our home. We hope you like it as much as we do. Thanks Whit for sharing your c-c-crazzzzy good recipe!
Pasta with Kale, Kalamata Olives, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Garlic, & Feta
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 head garlic cloves peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise
- 1 medium red onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 large bunch of kale stems removed and leaves coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound spaghetti or other pasta we use whole wheat
- 1/2 cup Kalamata olives cut into slivers-pits removed
- 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- 1. Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until it shimmers, then cook garlic, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer garlic with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Cook onion in the remaining oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add dried cranberries and cook until plumped, about 1 minute.
- 2. Add kale leaves into onion mixture with water and ¾ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cook, covered, over medium-high heat until almost tender, about 5 minutes.
- 3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a pasta pot of boiling salted water until aldente. Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water and drain pasta.
- 4. Toss pasta with kale, kalamata olives, and ½ cup pasta water. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle feta cheese and garlic chips over the pasta dish and serve warm.
Have you tried this recipe?
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If you like this Pasta with Kale, Kalamata Olives, Dried Cranberries, Toasted Garlic, & Feta recipe, you might also like:
- Sweet Potato Cream Pasta with Crispy Kale from How Sweet It Is
- Lemony Kale Pasta from Annie Eats
- Whole Wheat Pasta with Fried Kale, Tomato Sauce, & Goat Cheese from Kalyn’s Kitchen
- Quinoa Salad with Sweet Potatoes, Kale, & Dried Cranberries from Two Peas and Their Pod
Loventhis flavor combo. I always have these ingredients on hand which is even better!
I’m obsessed with kale. Looks like a nice, hearty dish.
oh wow – i’ve never tried a combo like this. but i love everything you put in here! will have to try it!
I love the flavor combination in this pasta Maria – I think I could eat this every day too!
This was great! I swapped the cranberries for sun-dried tomatoes and it was still awesome! Also, great tip on setting aside the cup of pasta water…that really added a nice additional salty (but not overbearingly so) flavor.
Oh, I can totally imagine how delicious this would be. Thanks for sharing!
This pasta was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!! I made this for my brother and sister-in-law. Not only did she want the recipe immediately, but I had to make a second batch to have in the house for myself during the week. Thanks for sharing!
This was seriously the best pasta ever. I made a seperate dish for the hubby who does NOT like fruit in his food and he actually said he would eat it with fruit in it next time! Thanks for the great combinations mixed with inexpensive ingredients!
Pinned this a long time ago and finally tried it for the first time tonight. It was an automatic hit and instantly earned a place on our regular roster. What a great combo!
We loved this dish! SO GOOD! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Yummy! The garlic chips make this dish sings and the dried cranberries sweeten it just right. Thank you for sharing. I added butter beans for more protein. This will be a staple for our family!
Wow! We had this last night and I have already sent 4 people the recipe link because I loved it that much. I am with you. I could eat it every night too. Thanks for a great recipe!
Well, I appreciate your efforts in creating this post however I believe you should take the time and elaborate 🙂 Great blog indeed.
It was tasy, but needed some zest. Perhaps a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.