Collard Greens Greens in the Crockpot are a classic Southern dish that's packed with flavor from ham or bacon. The slow cooking produces tender, juicy, smoky flavored collards.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
Collard greens can be cooked in a variety of ways, but one of the easiest and most delicious methods is to cook them in a slow cooker. The slow cooker method allows the greens to cook slowly and evenly, resulting in a tender greens. The addition of ham or bacon adds a smoky richness that is hard to resist.
Collard greens in the crockpot are hearty and flavorful. They can be made ahead of time, making them a great choice for busy weeknights or weekend gatherings.
What Are Collard Greens?
Collard greens are a leafy green vegetable that is native to Africa. They are a good source of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as fiber. Collard greens can be cooked in a variety of ways, but they are most commonly braised or stewed.
Jump to:
- Why You Will Love This Recipe
- What Are Collard Greens?
- Crock pot Collard Greens Ingredients
- Buying Collard Greens
- Tips for Cleaning Collard Greens
- Making Collard Greens Greens in the Crockpot
- Crockpot Collard Greens Serving Suggestions
- Related Recipes
- Substitutions and Variations
- Equipment
- Storage and Reheating
- Top Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Food Safety
- Some Other Recipes We Are Sure You Will Love
- 📖 Recipe
- Connect with Smells Like Delish!
Crock pot Collard Greens Ingredients
This collard greens crockpot recipe is super easy to make, and flexible. You can use any diced bacon, a package of diced ham, ham leftover from our Double Smoked Ham recipe, or even make them meatless!
- Collards - Fresh, but even frozen collards will work!
- Onion - Diced.
- Ham - Or, Diced bacon.
- Apple cider vinegar - Gives these slow cooker collard greens their 'zing'.
- Garlic - Fresh minced cloves, or garlic powder.
- Red pepper flakes - Optional, give collards a bit of extra flavor.
- Black Pepper - To taste.
- Salt - To taste.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Buying Collard Greens
When buying collard greens, look for dark green, crisp leaves. They're ubiquitous in Southern grocery stores, but now that I am living in the Pacific Northwest, I really had to hunt to find fresh collards.
Good collards should have thick, dark green leaves, and firm stalks. Don't buy them if there's yellowing or if they are a bit droopy.
Tips for Cleaning Collard Greens
Cleaning collard greens is much like cleaning romaine, kale, or Swiss chard. Grown in a loose, sandy soil, fresh bundles of collard greens will need to be rinsed in cold water to clear away any residual dirt.
- Trim the stems and any discolored leaves off first.
- Rinse the collards in cold water in your sink, making sure any nooks or folds get rinsed also, so that any dirt or sand is rinsed away.
- To clear out some of the stem, fold each collard leaf in half lengthwise at the main stem vein. Use a sharp knife and trim the woody stem on an angle so when the collar leaf opens it has a V cut where stem used to be.
- Roll the collard leave up lengthwise and cut into 1 to 2" slices so you end up with strips of collard greens. Cut those into smaller portions also.
Making Collard Greens Greens in the Crockpot
You will need several pounds of collard greens as they cook up to a lot less. Not quite like how spinach collapses, but a full Crockpot of fresh collard greens cook down to about a quarter of a pot cooked!
Prepare The Collard Greens
- Thoroughly wash the collard greens, discarding any blemished leaf portions, and trimming the bottom of the stems.
- If desired, you can fold each leaf and cut the lower portion of the thick stem out. It's optional, as the stem does cook up tender also.
- Chop the collard greens up roughly by rolling and then cutting slices, then cut into 1 ½" to 2" pieces.
Saute Ham or Bacon
- Cut the ham, or bacon, into about ½" dice.
- Brown lightly in a skillet with the onion and the garlic.
Slow Cook Collard Greens
- Add the collards to the Crockpot (or a Dutch oven). Top them with the browned ham or bacon, and the onion, and garlic.
- Top the greens with the ham or bacon, it will help weigh them down in the pot. Set the slow cooker on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.
PRO TIP: If you don't have a slow cooker, you can make this Crockpot collard greens recipe on the stovetop. Just simmer the collard greens, ham, onion, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large pot for 2-3 hours, or until the collard greens are tender.
Seasoning Adjustments
Now is the time to adjust the seasonings for your collards in the Crockpot (or Dutch oven). The salt should be about right, but if too salty due to the ham, add a little water to dilute the 'pot likker' (the slang term for the collard greens juices in the cooking pot).
- Depending on your taste, you may like your 'mess of greens' with a little more red pepper flakes, black pepper, or even with the apple cider vinegar (it's delicious!).
Crockpot Collard Greens Serving Suggestions
Serve these slow cooked collard greens with a side of cornbread, some Smoked Baked Beans, and Smoked Brisket Flat, for a great weekend grill.
The liquid in the Crockpot or Dutch oven is called 'pot likker', or collard broth. It's often served with the collards, and cornbread is broken into the broth for moisture and flavor.
Try our Cracker Barrel Cornbread Muffins as a side to soak up the pot 'likker' as well as our Texas Cowboy Beans to make this a complete, hearty meal.
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Related Recipes
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few really delicious variations or substitutions when making this collard greens Crockpot recipe.
- If you don't have ham or ham hocks on hand, you can also use bacon, or a beef polish, or kielbasa sausage. The sausage will add a similar savory smoked flavor to the collards and their pot liquor (country style is pot likker) also.
- Smoked turkey legs are another great option!
- You can also add other vegetables to the slow cooker, such as potatoes, or diced turnips.
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Below are some of my favorite pieces of equipment that I use when making this Crockpot collard greens recipe.
Storage and Reheating
- Store leftover collard greens in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- You can also freeze collard greens for up to 2 months. To do this, place the collard greens in a freezer-safe bag or container and freeze.
- To reheat collard greens, you can do so on the stovetop or microwave.
Top Tips
- This collard greens crockpot recipe Great way to use leftover ham. If you prefer less meat, just brown up some bacon with the onions instead.
- You CAN make these slow cooker collard greens meatless. If you need a bit of smoke flavor, use Liquid Smoke.
- If using the stovetop Dutch oven method, be sure check to make sure the collards don't simmer dry. Add a little extra water if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Vinegar helps to tenderize the collard greens. You only need about 1 tablespoon per lb of raw collard greens.
Yes, Freezing collard greens is easy. Wash thoroughly and cut off woody stems. Water blanch collards 3 minutes and all other greens 2 minutes. Cool, drain and package, leaving ½-inch headspace. Seal and freeze. You can add frozen collards in crock pot also.
There are carbs in collard greens, but a lot less than other vegetables. One cup of raw collards as 11.5 calories, 2 grams of Carbohydrates, and 1.4 grams of fiber. This means the net carbs are just .6 grams per cup.
The leaves of collard greens are larger, thicker, and paddle shaped, while mustard greens are thinner and ruffled. Mustard greens require less cooking time, and they cook up much more deflated, like spinach.
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove.
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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📖 Recipe
Collard Greens Greens in the Crockpot
Ingredients
- 8 oz ham or bacon, diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 lbs collards fresh
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash the collards, discarding any blemished leaf portions, and trimming the bottom of the stems.
- If desired, you can fold each leaf and cut the lower portion of the thick stem (spine) out. It's optional, as the stem does cook up tender also.
- Chop the collard greens up roughly by rolling and then cutting slices, then cut into 1 ½" to 2" pieces.
- Cut the ham, or bacon, into about ½" dice. Brown lightly in a skillet with the onion and the garlic.8 oz ham, 1 medium onion, 2 cloves garlic
- Add the collards to the Crockpot (or a Dutch oven). Top them with the browned ham or bacon, and the onion, and garlic, black pepper, and optional red pepper flakes. If you like vinegar also, add it now.3 lbs collards, ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, ½ teaspoon black pepper, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Top the greens with the ham or bacon, it will help weigh them down in the pot. Set the slow cooker on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.PRO TIP: If you don't have a slow cooker, you can make this Crockpot collard greens recipe on the stovetop. Just simmer the collard greens, ham, onion, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large pot for 2-3 hours, or until the collard greens are tender.
- Depending on your taste, you may like your 'mess of greens' with a little more red pepper flakes, black pepper, or even with the apple cider vinegar (it's delicious!).½ teaspoon salt
Notes
- This collard greens crockpot recipe great way to use leftover ham. If you prefer less meat, just brown up some bacon with the onions instead.
- You CAN make these slow cooker collard greens meatless. If you need a bit of smoke flavor, use Liquid Smoke.
- If using the stovetop Dutch oven method, be sure check to make sure the collards don't simmer dry. Add a little extra water if needed.
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