This classic southern side dish is even better when it's made in the crock pot!
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❤️ Why you'll love it
- Greens go great with any main dish (especially soul food)
- No need to sweat over the stove all day with this slow cooker method
- An easy side dish to make in big batches for big families
If you grew up enjoying Southern-style collard greens with crisp, juicy bacon pieces, you're in luck.
In this recipe, I share the best way to clean and cook your fresh collard greens for an end result that'll make Southern home cooks everywhere proud! Or jealous... it kinda depends.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Tear clean collard greens and place in the slow cooker.
- Mix the crushed red pepper, chicken stock, reserved bacon drippings, and vinegar.
- Add the onions and garlic and pour the chicken stock mixture over the top.
- Cook on low for 10 hours. Add bacon just before serving.
🥫 Storage
Feel free to double this easy collard greens recipe and enjoy 'em all week long! Leftovers keep just fine.
All you have to do is scoop any extra greens into an airtight container. Don't use a slotted spoon because you'll want to store all of the braising liquid (or "pot likker") too.
Kept in the fridge, leftover Southern style collard greens will last for up to five days. Heat them back up over the stove or in the microwave until warm.
I don't recommend freezing collard greens. Though they'll be safe to eat for six months to a year, they lose texture and tend to get mushy after thawing.
📖 Variations
- Ham hocks are a popular addition to savory collard greens. Cook them in the crockpot with the rest of the ingredients, chopping the meat and removing the bones before serving.
- Smoked turkey is another flavoring possibility.
- Can't find fresh collards at the grocery store? Opt for turnip greens, mustard greens, or even some kale.
- If you're out of chicken broth, use vegetable broth instead. (Don't go for beef stock, though—it has too strong of a flavor.)
- You don't need to buy a whole new bottle of apple cider vinegar if you already have white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar in your pantry.
- Prefer spicy collard greens? Add more red pepper flakes to taste, or bump it up another notch by stirring in some jalapenos or hot sauce.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Pot liquor is the liquid that cooks the collard greens, and it provides a ton of flavor. You can taste test it before starting the crock pot—season it well because it will season your greens!
- Fresh greens from a farmer's market taste great but don't skip the cleaning steps. The leaves tend to hold onto a lot of sand and grit.
- If you don't have a plug for your sink, wash the greens in a large pot and colander, instead.
- Some people like to dry their green leaves on a paper towel, but you don't have to since we're tossing 'em right into liquid, anyway.
- Buy pre-diced onion and a bag of washed-and-cut greens from the produce section to reduce prep time.
- If your collard leaves aren't tearing easily, you can use a sharp knife to carefully remove the tough stems—whatever is faster and easier for you.
- An easy way to remove tough stems from greens is to hold a leaf by the end of the stem with one hand and slide your other hand down the stem, tearing away the leaf.
- Don't worry if your pot of greens looks too full at first—they'll simmer way down, eventually. You'll need more fresh greens than you think.
👩🍳 FAQs
Collard greens are large, leafy veggies with a woody stem running through each. Their taste falls somewhere in between cabbage and kale. Though there are many different ways to consume them, most people agree that leafy greens are best simmered for a long time with, of course, bacon!
It's all about the flavoring and simmering. This Southern collard greens recipe uses a tried-and-true blend of flavorful ingredients (like salted meat!) as well as a low-and-slow cook time. The result? Ultra-tender greens with a perfect, mild flavor.
No, it's not true Southern cooking without it! Okay, you actually can cook without bacon, but you will lose flavor. Replace the bacon grease with butter or olive oil and be sure to swap out the chicken broth, too.
📚 Related recipes
- With fatty bacon and sauteed onions, Southern Fried Cabbage is a super easy recipe that's always crisp, flavorful, and satisfying!
- Steakhouse Creamed Spinach is a delicious way to get the family to eat more greens—plus, it only takes twenty minutes to make!
- Looking for more of my favorite Southern recipes? KFC Copycat Coleslaw is easy to make and tastes perfect with any main dish!
- These slow-cooked, "smothered" Southern Green Beans are made with smoky bacon—plus, the recipe gives the option to add potatoes, too!
🍽️ Serve southern collard greens with bacon alongside...
- Balance out a delicious, juicy Fried Pork Chop and Gravy dinner by serving it with these yummy leafy greens.
- Easy Southern collard greens are begging you to pair them with an Easy Cornbread—it's classic Southern because there's no sugar added!
- Add some sweetness to your meal with Southern Candied Yams—they're easy, satisfying, and hearty!
- Finish off a Southern dinner with creamy and decadent Vintage Buttermilk Pie. Bonus: you probably have all the ingredients already!
🥄 Restless Chipotle recommends
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You'll need the following items to make this recipe successfully.
- You should always choose a slow cooker based on your family size so your foods cook properly. I find that for most families a 5 or 6 quart is right. This is my favorite and I've gifted each of my kids with one when they left for college, military or marriage.
- A cast iron skillet is a must in any southern kitchen! I usually stick with Lodge because it's almost indestructible.
📞 The last word
I love greens all year but I crave them in the spring. My parents always had a garden and in the early spring they'd thin out the rows of vegetables and we'd have collard greens, beet greens, turnip greens... you name it!
And you know, you can never get a recipe to taste the same way as mom's! These are delicious and are very close to what I grew up on.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Southern Collard Greens with Bacon
Print Pin Recipe SaveEquipment Needed
Ingredients
- 2 pounds collard greens, cleaned, remove center stems, cut leaves into chunks
- 6 ounces onion, about 1 cup chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon crushed red peppers, more to taste
- 2 tablespoons bacon drippings
- 4 c chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 pound bacon, cooked and reserve the drippings
- salt and pepper to taste
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Instructions
To Clean:
- It's easiest if you can find pre-washed greens but if you can't then follow the instructions below to clean all the grit out of them.
- Fill the sink or a dishpan with barely warm water. I prefer to use a dishpan.
- Push the collard greens under the water and move them around.
- Wash the greens, scrubbing between your hands.
- Let the water out of the sink or pour it out of the dishpan.
- Rinse under running water.
- Repeat this process until there is no sign of sand or grit in the sink.
To cook:
- Fry the bacon until it is crisp. Remove from the pan, reserving 2 tablespoons of drippings, and crumble it.
- Put in a ziploc bag or storage container, seal or cover, and refrigerate.
- Spray the slow cooker with no-stick cooking spray.
- Remove the leaves from the thick center stalks of the collards.
- Cut or tear into large pieces. 2 to 3 inches is about right.
- Add to the slow cooker.
- Add the chopped onion and minced garlic.
- Pour the chicken stock into a large mixing bowl and add the crushed red pepper, reserved bacon drippings, and vinegar.
- Whisk to mix and pour the mixture over the greens in the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 10 hours or until greens are tender.
- Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Give the bacon a few seconds in the microwave just to warm it up.
- Serve collard greens with crumbled bacon on top.
Notes
-
- Pot liquor is the liquid that cooks the collard greens, and it provides a ton of flavor. You can taste test it before starting the crock pot—season it well because it will season your greens!
- Fresh greens from a farmer's market taste great but don't skip the cleaning steps. The leaves tend to hold onto a lot of sand and grit.
-
- If you don't have a plug for your sink, wash the greens in a large pot and colander, instead.
-
- Some people like to dry their green leaves on a paper towel, but you don't have to since we're tossing 'em right into a liquid, anyway.
-
- Buy pre-diced onion and a bag of washed-and-cut greens from the produce section to reduce prep time.
-
- If your collard leaves aren't tearing easily, you can use a sharp knife to carefully remove the tough stems—whatever is faster and easier for you.
-
- An easy way to remove stems from greens is to hold a leaf by the end of the stem with one hand and slide your other hand down the stem, tearing away the leaf as you go.
-
- Don't worry if your pot of greens looks too full at first—they'll simmer way down, eventually. You'll need more fresh greens than you think.
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