Crockpot Collard Greens

The best Southern greens are cooked low and slow, and these crockpot collard greens make them just as easy as they are delicious. Seasoned with bits of country ham this classic collard greens recipe takes minimal effort, but delivers maximum flavor!

If you grew up in the South, you know there are certain dishes that are rites of passage.

Learning to make them is a time honored tradition, and done only by watching your Mom or Grandma adding ingredients- ‘eye-ballin’ everything until it ‘looks just right’.

That’s how I learned to make the best collard greens when I was younger.

After years of making them, I finally measured everything out and discovered that slow cooking them in my crockpot yielded delicious results- with ease.

These crockpot collard greens take a classic Southern recipe and make them practically effortless!

Ingredients Needed

To make a batch of crockpot collard greens, you’ll need:

• Ham – 8-10 ounces of country ham bits & pieces. These will infuse the greens with smoky, salty flavor as they render down during cooking. These can usually be found in clear, unrefrigerated packaging near the meat section.
• Aromatics – A large yellow onion, diced and freshly minced garlic cloves infuse the greens with great flavor. Do not use white or red onion.
• Greens – A whole pound of fresh whole collard greens- NOT the prepackaged kind in a bag.
• Seasonings – A mixture of seasoned salt & crushed red pepper flakes are all that’s needed to doctor up this dish. You can increase the amount of red pepper flakes for more heat or leave it out entirely, if preferred.
• Broth – Chicken broth, you can use store bought or homemade. If salt’s a concern, use a low sodium variety.
• Vinegar – A splash of Apple cider vinegar is added after cooking to help cut the bitterness of the greens, as well as give them a delicious tang. You can add more to taste, but it’s best to do that to individual servings rather than the whole pot.
• Sugar – If you still find slow cooked collard greens bitter, a bit of sugar can be stirred in.

How To Make

Slow cooking is the perfect method for rendering down collard greens into something that’s truly delectable.

It’s also super easy with minimal effort required.

Start by adding all of the ingredients EXCEPT the apple cider vinegar and sugar to the bowl of your crockpot.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

They will need to be stirred occasionally, but not too often.

I recommend stirring them once at the half way mark, and then a final time about an 30 minutes to an hour before the 8 hour mark.

Just remember every time you open the lid on your slow cooker, you release all the trapped heat that’s doing the cooking. If you open it too often, they won’t be done in the recommended time.

Add the vinegar and sugar to the cooked greens, stirring to evenly combine.

Taste the greens, although make sure to blow on them to cool them first as they’re going to be hot.

Adjust any seasonings to your tastes.

Ladle the greens into bowls or onto plates, and enjoy!

What To Serve Collard Greens With

Collard greens can be their own meal or main dish here in the South.

You’ll often find them paired with homemade corn bread to sop up the juices.

That golden liquid is delicious & you won’t want to miss a drop.

Hot sauce is another popular option to serve with them as a garnish.

If making it a meal, they’re a scrumptious side dish that pairs well with smothered pork chops, barbecue ribs, smoked chicken, and especially this southern Hoppin John (black eyed peas) recipe.

Do You Need To Wash Greens Before Cooking?

Yes!

Collard greens, and other ‘greens’ have fibrous stems and veiny leaves- all of which have crevices that love to hide grit and dirt.

Before cooking with them you’ll want to wash them well to make sure it’s all been removed.

There’s nothing worse than cooking all day, only to dive into a bowl of good greens and taste grit between your teeth.

The best way to clean your fresh greens is to soak them first.

Add the greens to a large dish or mixing bowl, then cover them with water.

We actually have a large plastic tub we typically do this in since it’s a little more than the length of the greens.

Let them soak for 5 minutes.

The soaking will loosen any hidden dirt, which will sink to the bottom of your dish.

Remove the leaves from the water bath, and run them under clean water to wash away any remaining grit.

Transfer them to a layer of paper towels to drain away excess water.

Then you’re ready to prepare them as instructed.

How To Shuck Collard Greens

I know you’re probably tempted to just cut the leaves away from the green’s thick stems, but don’t do it.

You waste time, and lose tasty bits of good for you greens that way.

There’s a much easier, time honored tradition you should be using instead.

Shuck your fresh collard greens.

It may sound strange, but trust me- it works!

To shuck them, simply hold the stem in one hand and close your other hand around the base of the leaves.

Lightly pull, sliding the closed hand all the way to the end, and the leaves should tear right off the steam into your hand.

Transfer the leaves to a bowl, and discard the stems.

Can You Over Cook Collard Greens?

Collard greens are known for taking a long time to cook, at least enough to break down and soften into something truly delicious.

This makes them ideal for slow cooking.

As long as there’s enough liquid in your crockpot, it’s virtually impossible to over cook them.

Can I Use Other Meats?

While I don’t recommend alternative meats to the traditional ham, you can use other kinds of ham.

Ham hocks are always a popular choice.

You could also use a ham bone with meat still left on it.

This is great for leftover ham bones from Thanksgiving & Christmas hams.

If not planning to make your collard greens right away, you can freeze the cooled bone in a freezer safe ziplocking bag until you’re ready to use it.

These can be added to the pot at the beginning with all the other ingredients.

If your bone’s still frozen it make take your greens an extra 1-2 hours to cook down.

When done cooking, use tongs to remove the hot bone from the crockpot.

Pull off any chunks of meat, adding them back to the crockpot- then discard the bone.

TIPS & TRICKS

• If watching salt intake, use low sodium chicken broth.
• You’ll want to check 1-2 times during the cooking process to gauge the level of liquid in the crock to make sure it’s enough. Don’t over do it though, because each time you open the lid the crockpot basically has to start over building heat back up.
• It’s ok to adjust the amount of apple cider vinegar you use. You can start with less, taste, and then add more; however, don’t skip it altogether. A little vinegar naturally enhances their taste.
• If you find the greens bitter, you can add a splash of lemon juice and a bit more salt and/or sugar.

Other Easy Southern Crockpot Recipes

A good greens recipe is a must have for any Southern cook worth their salt.

These crockpot collard greens taste just like your mama made them, but with hardly any effort on your part.

Serve them as a side dish at simple suppers where they’ll steal the show, or even on your holiday table where they pair perfectly with both ham & turkey.

You can never go wrong when a bowl of good old fashioned greens is on the menu!

Looking for other easy Southern style crockpot recipes?

Try these favorites:

• Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese
• Chicken Mull
• Crockpot Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing
• Slow Cooker Ham & White Bean Soup
• Crockpot Chicken Sausage & Rice
• Slow Cooker Homemade Cream Style Corn

If you’ve tried these CROCKPOT COLLARD GREENS, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!