Southern Collard Greens Recipe

This Southern Collard Greens recipe is a classic, easy side dish! Flavored with smoky bacon and sweet onion, the greens are a crowd-pleasing option for your next Sunday supper or holiday meal. Pair them with cornbread and black-eyed peas for a lucky New Year, or offer them alongside roast chicken, buttermilk fried chicken, pot roast, or pulled pork at your next Sunday supper!

Collard Greens with Bacon

Southerners love their greens — from turnip greens and mustard greens to kale and collards! While every home cook has her favorite version, this Southern collard greens recipe is definitely one of the best. It stays true to the classic flavors, ingredients, and preparation, as the tough greens are slowly braised in a rich pot liquor (or “pot likker”) that’s flavored with smoky meat. We love bacon, but a smoked ham hock is also a great option!

What are collard greens?

Collard greens are a type of leafy green vegetable that’s a staple in Southern cooking. The plant has dark green leaves and tough stems, and is included in the same family as kale, turnip greens, and mustard greens.

How to Get the Bitterness Out of Collard Greens

Cooking the collard greens slowly over low heat until they’re incredibly tender takes some of the bitterness out of the vegetable. Adding salt, acid (in this case, vinegar), and a touch of sugar also helps to eliminate that bitter taste, giving the dish a more balanced, complex flavor.

Are collard greens healthy?

Yes! This plant is loaded with nutrients, so feel free to dig in. A bowlful of collards is good for the body and good for the soul!

Collard Greens Nutrition

Collard greens contain a lot of vitamin K, and are also rich sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, and manganese. The plant includes calcium and vitamin B6, and a 100-gram serving of collard greens has just 33 calories (source).

Best of all, they taste delicious when simmered low and slow with bacon, onion, and garlic! We enjoy the greens with barbecue, pork, or chicken year-round, but we also love them on New Year’s Day as a traditional “lucky” food for prosperity in the year ahead.

Ingredients

This is just an overview of the ingredients that you’ll need for a Southern collard greens recipe. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.

• Hickory smoked bacon: lends a rich, smoky flavor to the pot. You can substitute with a smoked ham hock or other smoked meat if you prefer.
• Onion and garlic: aromatics that add great savory flavor to the dish.
• Chicken broth: the liquid that braises the greens. Use a low-sodium chicken broth if you are sensitive to salt, since the bacon will add some sodium to the pot as well.
• Collard greens: trimmed and washed. Remove the tough stems.
• Apple cider vinegar: for a touch of bright acidity.
• Sugar, kosher salt, and black pepper: to enhance the other flavors in the dish.

How to Cook Collard Greens

These Southern style collard greens are so simple to prepare, and then the stovetop does the work!

1. Cook the bacon in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat for 10-12 minutes (or until almost crisp).
2. Add the onion, and sauté until translucent, about 7-8 more minutes.
3. Stir in the garlic, and sauté for 1 more minute.
4. Add chicken broth, collard greens, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper.
5. Simmer the pot uncovered over low heat for about 90 minutes, or until the collards reach the desired level of tenderness.

What to Serve with Southern Collard Greens

This easy collard greens recipe pairs nicely with just about any Southern feast! Here are a few main dish options to get you started:

• Beans (such as Lima Beans, Black-Eyed Peas, Ranch Style Beans, or Baked Beans)
• Chicken (like Fried Chicken, Chicken Tenders, Potato Chip Chicken Strips, Pecan-Crusted Chicken, Rosemary Oven Roasted Chicken, Crispy Roast Chicken with Vegetables)
• Barbecue (like Baby Back Ribs, Beef BBQ, Pulled BBQ Chicken, Pulled Pork, and Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork)
• Pork (like Dutch Oven Pork Roast with Gravy, Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Pork Schnitzel, Red Beans & Rice, Grilled BBQ Pork Chops, and Baby Back Ribs)
• Turkey (like Smoked Turkey Breast, Maple-Glazed Roasted Turkey Breast, and Slow Cooker Turkey Breast)
• Seafood (such as Shrimp and Grits, Crab Cakes, and Shrimp Creole)
• Fried Favorites (such as Fried Chicken, Fried Catfish, Oven-Fried Fish, Fried Oysters, or Fried Shrimp)

Make Ahead

Prepare these collard greens at least 1-2 days in advance. Keep them in the refrigerator and just reheat over low heat on the stovetop when you’re ready to serve them!

Storage

Leftover cooked collards will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. You can also freeze the collard greens with the pot liquor in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat gently on the stovetop.

Recipe Variations

• Instead of a bacon, add flavor to the collards with a different smoked meat, such as a smoked ham hock, ham bone, smoked sausage, smoked turkey wings, or smoked pork neck bones.
• Give the greens even more smoky flavor by adding a dash of smoked paprika to the broth.
• Brown sugar is a fine substitute for the white sugar.
• Herbs: add some fresh (or dried) herbs to the pot of beans, such as thyme, oregano, or rosemary.
• Instead of vinegar, add a squeeze of lemon juice to the pot for an acidic touch.

Tips for the Best Southern Collard Greens Recipe

• Buy pre-washed and pre-chopped collard greens for a shortcut. If you choose to wash and chop your own greens, be sure that you rinse them really well to get out any sand or sediment in the leaves. I prefer to remove the tough stems, too.
• Add vinegar. The apple cider vinegar gives the dish a nice “tang,” and it helps to cut the bitterness of the greens. It also balances out the salty, savory flavors in the recipe.
• Adjust the total cooking time to suit you preferences. An hour might be sufficient if you like slightly more crisp greens, while a full 2 hours might be necessary for really tender, broken-down collards. That’s the beauty of using a Dutch oven (rather than a slow cooker or Instant pot) — you have full control and can easily take them off of the heat when necessary.
• For a spicy “kick,” garnish the greens with crushed red pepper flakes or hot sauce.

More Classic Southern Side Dish Recipes to Try

• Old-Fashioned Corn Sticks
• Cheese Grits
• Creamy Baked Mac and Cheese
• Southern Squash Casserole
• Skillet Cornbread
• Easy Cheesy Broccoli Rice Casserole
• Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
• Grandma’s Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits
• Okra and Tomatoes
• Coleslaw
• Easy Pasta Salad
• Homemade Baked Beans with Bacon
• Charleston Red Rice
• Southern Style Green Beans
• Vinegar Coleslaw
• Fried Okra
• Broccoli and Cheese

This recipe was originally published in January, 2019. The photos were updated in December, 2021.