Easy Low-Fat Italian Kale and Bean Skillet! Whether you’re a busy parent juggling schedules or just someone who loves a quick and delicious meal, this dish is sure to become a staple in your kitchen.
If you’re on the hunt for a delightful, nutritious dish that’s as easy to whip up as it is satisfying to eat, look no further than this Easy Low-Fat Italian Kale and Bean Skillet! Bursting with flavor thanks to a simple yet zesty broth, this hearty meal combines the earthy richness of kale with the protein-packed goodness of beans, making it the perfect choice for a wholesome weeknight dinner.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
Looking for a quick dinner solution that’s both healthy and delicious? This Easy Low-Fat Italian Kale and Bean Skillet is your answer! It’s a fast and easy dish that will have you savoring every bite while keeping your waistline in check.
You’ve got to give this one a try—your taste buds (and your busy schedule) will thank you!
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Easy Low-Fat Kale and Bean Skillet is easy to make, low-fat, and hearty to eat. The broth is flavorful yet made with simple ingredients. It is sure to become a family favorite for a quick weeknight meal.
- Low-Fat Dish Expectations: This dish was designed to be low in fat. Because it is low in fat, you are not going to experience that endorphin rush associated with eating high-fat foods when eating this dish. It is very tasty for what it is, and that is a low-fat dish. We just want to make sure that our Readers recognize this when contemplating making this recipe. If you wish to make it more indulgent, add the Vegan Parmesan Cheese on individual servings. The vegan parmesan cheese totally takes it over the top.
- Flour (of choice): You can pretty much use just about any flour you wish to thicken the broth with the understanding that the flavor may change slightly based upon the flour used. When adding the flour, it will appear that you are pushing flour coated onions/garlic around in the skillet. It is important to stir the flour and onions together to cook the flour to remove the flour flavor from the broth. Cooking the flour achieves this. Once you add the liquids, it is important to scrape the bottom of the skillet with a silicone or wooden spatula to pull of any flour that may have stuck to the bottom of the skillet.
- Amount of Flour: Use 2 Tablespoons if you want a nice sauce thickness, use 3 Tablespoons if you want more of a stew-like consistency.
- Cannellini Bean Substitutions: We used cannellini beans; however, feel free to use your favorite white bean.
- How to Massage the Curly Kale: Massaging kale is a way often that can soften and improve the texture of kale leaves. First chop the kale into small pieces. The pieces should be about ½ inch in size.
- First, strip the kale from the stems. Discard the stems/stalks. The stems are thick and tough, which can ruin the mouthfeel of the dish.
- Next thoroughly rinse and spin dry (or pat dry) the stripped leaves.
- Then, lay the strips of kale onto a cutting board and chop into bitesize pieces.
- Next grab handfuls of the chopped kale and squeeze them in your hands and release, do this several times to break the kale down. Then add in Step 5 per recipe instructions.
- Why Massaging the Kale Works:
- Massaging Breaks Down the Plant Cellulose: Massaging causes the cellulose fibers in kale to break down, making the leaves more tender and easier to chew as well as improving the mouthfeel.
- Massaging Helps Release the Kale’s Flavor: The massage process releases flavor compounds from the kale leaves, enhancing its taste.
- It Helps Reduce Some of the Kale’s Bitterness: Kale can be slightly bitter, but massaging helps to reduce this bitterness.
- It Helps Improve the Digestibility: By breaking down the cellulose fibers, massaging can make kale easier to digest.
- Enhances Appearance: Massaging kale makes the leaves appear more vibrant and greener.
- Curly Kale Substitutions: You can substitute the fresh or frozen spinach, baby spinach or baby kale or other greens with understanding that the flavor and cooking times may be impacted by substitution choices.
- Greens: Greens such as spinach and kale are natural spice/herb neutralizers. A soup/stew/dish can taste perfectly seasoned before adding the greens, then once the greens are added, the flavor mellows requiring more seasoning.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered container.
This dish can be frozen.
Pantry Products:
- Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large skillet
If you try this comforting dish, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Easy Low-Fat Italian Kale and Bean Skillet
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 45 Minutes
- Yield: 5 Cups 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian Inspired
- Diet: Vegan
Description
If you’re on the hunt for a delightful, nutritious dish that’s as easy to whip up as it is satisfying to eat, look no further than this Easy Low-Fat Italian Kale and Bean Skillet!
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 to 3 Tablespoons flour (of choice)
- 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
Other Ingredients:
- 2 – [ 15.5 oz. can ] cannellini beans, drained and rinsed *
- 3 cups packed, small chopped and massaged curly kale *
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Italian Seasoning (+/-)
- ¼ to 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt (+/-) *
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
Finishing Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
Optional Toppings and/or Serving Ideas:
- Crusty bread, naan, or pita
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese *
Instructions
- In a large skillet, add the finely diced onions, sauté over medium-high heat for 7 to 10 minutes or until the onions are perfectly tender, add a splash of water, if needed to avoid burning.
- Then lower the heat to medium, add the minced garlic, sauté, stir constantly for one minute.
- Next add the flour and stir constantly for several minutes to cook the flour.
- Then add all the remaining Base Ingredients and the Spice/Herb Ingredients to the skillet, stir to incorporate, bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately lower to a simmer. Simmer for several minutes.
- Add the chopped and massaged kale, stir well to incorporate, simmer for 5 to 9 minutes (or until it reaches the desired tenderness) to soften the kale.
- Add the cannellini beans, stir to incorporate, simmer for 3 minutes to thoroughly heat through.
- Finish with the red wine vinegar, stir well, simmer for several more minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Servings: 4 (5 cups)
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