In this Bacon Corn and Kale Sauté; sweet corn, smoky bacon and bright and healthy-nutritious kale are cooked with onion and garlic. A delicious side that will round out any meal.
Spring is inching closer and closer which has me wanting to fill my fridge, my fruit bowl and my face with fresh fruits and veggies.
I was so excited, this week in Michigan we. experienced two seconds of spring. Temperatures reaching mid fifties – sun shining, snow melting and then BAM 4 to 5 inches fell on us. I just don’t get it. We were getting our groove on with melting the 630 inches of snow that have been hanging around for like EVER and well I’m just not happy about it. Not happy at all.
So I guess I’ll just eat spring until it decides to grace my doorstep.
I’m not kidding when I say… I love this flavor mix. We’ve got colorful veggies, healthy kale and yeah, you-know… bacon. This one-skillet side dish is extremely versatile. Like you could add diced potatoes, which would be awesome. But if I add potatoes I’d definitely have to add a fried or poached egg on top, so the yolk could run down and create a sauce all over the veggies. I’m getting off topic but seriously the options for this skillet sauté are endless.
Endless… just like this winter.
Sweet, smoky and chocked full of vitamin-rich kale. What’s not to love? Speaking of kale, I thought I would try two colors of kale because the purple is so pretty I couldn’t pass it up. However, it looks a little black in photos and I apologize for that… but I don’t apologize for how scrumptious and easy this skillet sauté is.
To prep the kale simply run your hand down the stem, like you would fresh rosemary or thyme. and then shred the leaves with your fingers. Rinse, pat dry and your good to go.
I sliced of the cheeks of half of a red bell pepper and dice it up.
Slice up 4 green onions, the white and dark green parts.
Grab a small-ish red onion and dice it up as well.
In a skillet {10 or 12 inch… a 12-inch-er would give you more room} add in the bacon and turn the heat to medium.
Cook the bacon until crispy, and then use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate.
Drain off all but a tablespoon of the bacon drippings and then add in the diced red onion. If you need to add a splash of olive oil.
Cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Adjust the heat so they don’t burn.
Add in the crushed garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute.
Drop in the diced red peppers…
The sweet corn and sliced green onions…
Add in a quarter teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes, more or less to taste.
Give it all a toss and cook until it’s heated through. Now this would be fab all by itself but kale would be so much better… for you/me/us.
Soooo I took two or three big handfuls and plopped them on top of the corn sauté.
Pressed it down with my wooden spoon and covered it with a lid so it would steam and wilt the kale.
Once the kale is soft enough to stir, go on and add the bacon right on in.
Taste and season with salt and black pepper AND serve.
This all comes together very quickly. I made it while my husband took our girls to softball practice and then easily reheated it in a skillet.
To go with it, I made broiled tilapia. and served it on top of a mound of this bacon, corn and kale sauté. But whether you serve it with grilled chicken, steak or by itself (or with potatoes and a fried egg on top!) I’m sure you’re going to love, love, LOVE this bacon, corn and kale sauté.
Enjoy! And if you give this bacon corn and kale sauté recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Bacon, Corn and Kale Sauté
Ingredients
- 4 slices thick-cut applewood bacon, sliced
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, squeezed through a garlic press
- 3 cups frozen sweet corn, thawed (or 3 ears of sweet corn cut off the cob)
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 4 green onions, sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 handfuls kale
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Add the diced bacon into a skillet and heat over medium. Stir occasionally until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Drain off all but a tablespoon of fat.
- Add the diced red onion to the skillet and cook until soft. About 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for one minute.
- Add in the diced red peppers, corn, sliced green onions and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir until heated through. Add handfuls of the torn kale, press it down with the back of a spoon and cover the pan with a lid for 5-8 minutes or until the kale is soft and wilted.
- Combine the bacon in with the corn and kale, taste and season with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
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That is my kind of skillet dish! Love the BACON. Great flavors. Hope your snow melts very, very soon.
How beautiful and bright!
Wow! this is gorgeous, so colorful.
Oh my goodness. this looks delish.
Yum! We’ve had a little bit of Spring here in Seattle too and I am ready to break out the grill, eat all kinds of fruit and now this saute. Looks scrumptious!
This is just the kind of food I like to eat! Colorful and with a bit of bacon 😉 Love!
Easy to prepare, colorful and delicious