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    Home » Recipes » Sides

    Southern Instant Pot Collard Greens

    Published: Feb 27, 2018 · Modified: Jan 24, 2020 by Alyssa · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    Instant Pot collard greens are a Southern-inspired side dish made much quicker in an electric pressure cooker. These Southern greens have a ton of flavor from bacon and ham, and you'll want to drizzle the cooking liquid on everything!

    A serving bowl of collard greens.

    Now I don't like to keep secrets from you, but I've been playing with an Instant Pot for awhile now behind the blog scenes. I'm not an 'early adopter' by nature, so it took months of seeing Instant Pot recipe after Instant Pot recipe on social media before I worked up the courage to dive on in myself.

    After studying the user manual and the work process flow chart (not super helpful) and watching a few YouTube set-up tutorials (much more helpful!), I crossed my fingers and pressure cooked for the first time ever.

    Succ-ess. Remind me again what I was nervous about? Though it obviously didn't come as a surprise, I was still wowed at how quickly a big chuck roast became perfectly shreddable. Just an hour of cooking time! While my slow cooker is definitely not going anywhere, the same chuck roast I use in this slow cooker shredded beef takes eight-ish hours on high heat in the slow cooker. Hello, time saver Instant Pot.

    Saving the day when you forget to start cooking dinner at breakfast and still want to eat dinner that night. 🙂

    Tongs lifting collard greens out of the Instant Pot.

    With this idea in mind, I wanted to see about adapting other longer cooking favorites, starting with this Southern Instant Pot collard greens.

    Now I'm probably taking advantage of how prevalent Southern greens are on the menu at restaurants all over Nashville and Asheville (another city we visit frequently). I certainly didn't eat them when I lived up north or out west. But they're my favorite side dish to order alongside hot chicken, BBQ, or any other Southern-inspired dish.

    Tender collard or turnip greens are cooked with a bit of meat, sometimes bacon and/or country ham (more on country ham later), in an AMAZING savory cooking liquid. This cooking liquid is called 'pot liquor', which sounds intimidating but is actually a combination of water/broth, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and spices.

    I'm willing to bet that even the leafy green vegetable haters in your life wouldn't be able to pass up these Southern Instant Pot collard greens.

    A serving bowl full of Southern collard greens with an Instant Pot in the background.

    This recipe is adapted from the Southern greens side dish at The Loveless Cafe, which were probably the first Southern greens I'd ever eaten. It was to my surprise when I went on their website in the hopes of learning if they use collard or turnip greens that, upon clicking their picture, the full recipe appeared.

    I made a few changes, notably using the Instant Pot for five minutes of cooking time instead of simmering on the stovetop for hours. I also used much less liquid, and went with collard greens instead of turnip greens. Either would work, however collard greens are easier to find in the grocery store (at least in my experience).

    Southern Instant Pot collard greens recipe notes:
    • What's country ham? Believe me, I had to Google because I had no clue. It's a salt-cured ham that I found uncooked, cut into small slices, and vacuum-sealed. Once removed from the package, I roughly chopped it as I did with the uncooked bacon slices. The chopped country ham should be relatively similar in thickness to the bacon, so I cooked them together on the saute function.
    • I got my country ham at my usual grocery store, though that may be because I live in country ham territory. If you can't find it, double the bacon and omit the country ham.
    • You can use turnip greens if you prefer, or even kale (though I haven't tested it with kale update: it works great with kale).
    And a few Instant Pot notes...
    • This Southern Instant Pot collard greens recipe was made and tested with the 6-quart Instant Pot (affiliate link).
    • Be sure to deglaze the pan with a bit of the broth after sautéing the bacon/country ham/onion mixture, as written in the recipe below. The stuck on bits will come up from the bottom of the pot very easily. This helps to prevent the "burn" message you might have read about, which displays when the food at the bottom of the pot is too hot/overcooked.
    A serving bowl of collard greens.

    Southern Instant Pot Collard Greens

    4.67 from 259 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Side Dish
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 16 minutes
    Total Time: 31 minutes
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 89kcal
    Author: Alyssa

    Ingredients

    • 2 teaspoon olive oil
    • 2 slices uncooked bacon chopped
    • 4 oz country ham sliced and chopped
    • 1 small onion chopped
    • ¾ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
    • ⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
    • 2 tablespoon brown sugar
    • ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
    • 16 oz collard greens roughly chopped
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Rinse collard greens very well. Remove the thick center stem and roughly chop them into large bite-sized pieces.
    • Add olive oil to the Instant Pot. Press the "Saute" button, leaving the lid off.
    • Once the oil has heated, add the chopped bacon and country ham. Saute for 4-5 minutes, and then add the chopped onion. Stir everything around periodically (there still may be sticking to the bottom of the pot).
    • Once the bacon and country ham has cooked and the onion has become golden, deglaze the pot with about one-third cup of the chicken broth (amount doesn't need to be precise). Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the stuck-on bits from the bottom of the pot and stir.
    • Add the rest of the chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes and stir to combine.
    • Add the chopped collard greens to the Instant Pot and pack them in well. Press the "Keep Warm/Cancel" button to shut off the Saute function. You want to allow for adequate space in the Instant Pot before cooking with pressure, so I paused for a minute or two at this point to allow for some of the collard greens to reduce in size before proceeding. Packed in, aim for the Instant Pot to be about two-thirds full.
    • Close and lock lid. Ensure the pressure release valve is set to "sealing". 
    • Press the "Manual" button. Then using the down button, reduce the cooking time to 5 minutes.
    • The Instant Pot will take a few minutes to pressurize, during which you may hear a little hissing noise once it's almost there. Then "5" minutes will appear on the display, which will count down until it's done.
    • At this point you can allow the Instant Pot to naturally pressure release, or do the quick release. Do whichever one you're comfortable with. Natural pressure release for this recipe took about 20 minutes for me, and I didn't find the greens to be mushy or overdone at all.
    • Once the pressure is released, carefully remove the lid and stir everything up. Serve while warm.

    Notes

    For a time-saving shortcut, you can use bagged collard greens.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 89kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 377mg | Potassium: 99mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 0.4mg
    Tried this Recipe?Tag @mysequinedlife - I love to see what you're making!

    Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.

    Food Safety and Nutrition Disclaimer
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    Comments

    1. Triscelyn L McDonald says

      January 26, 2023 at 9:08 am

      5 stars
      This was one of the best meals I ever cooked.I made mac & cheese and air fryer breaded pork chops. My 6'4" 16 year-old was so excited to eat it. He took the leftovers for lunch. I cannot imagine a better recipe. Thanks for sharing it.

      Reply
    2. KatieM says

      January 15, 2023 at 10:35 am

      5 stars
      This is such a great recipe! I make collard greens infrequently enough that I hadn't had a chance to try your recipe until last night. In fact, I make them so infrequently that I inadvertently used someone else's recipe multiple times (that I didn't enjoy, but kept stumbling across it when I did a search, so ended up having unsatisfying collard greens three times in a row). I finally remembered I didn't like that other recipe so tracked yours down when I did a search including bacon. Honest to goodness the best greens I've ever had and so easy to make! The biggest pain in the whole recipe is washing the collard greens, and that's saying something! Next time I'll double the amount of greens I throw in because we ate them up too quickly and I was looking forward to leftovers. 🙂

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        January 18, 2023 at 8:08 am

        I'm happy you found your way here, Katie! Thanks for letting me know how it went - so glad your family loves it!

        Reply
    3. Jill Callahan says

      January 07, 2023 at 8:08 pm

      4 stars
      I’ve made these three times now. After the first time, I skipped the brown sugar completely. It was just too sweet for me and my boys. Making them again tomorrow but using some smoked pork chops and ham hocks. They are so easy and so fast but taste like they’ve been cooking all day. Love them!

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        January 07, 2023 at 8:45 pm

        So glad you could make them your own, Jill! Thanks for letting me know your experience. 🙂

        Reply
    4. Andrea Johnson says

      January 01, 2023 at 12:13 pm

      5 stars
      I made this recipe last year for New Year’s… And had it saved in my phone to use again this year… Ended up killing my phone so I had to find it again, and I was in a panic because I couldn’t find it at first…. I just doubled the recipe last year and used extra bacon because I didn’t have the ham so this year I made sure to get the ham… I’m so excited to try it… Dinner is in two hours, so they are on warm…

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        January 05, 2023 at 9:52 pm

        I hope you enjoyed - so glad you liked it!

        Reply
    5. Ashley says

      December 31, 2022 at 5:39 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely the best greens and so quick. My whole family loves it!!!

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        January 05, 2023 at 9:52 pm

        I'm so happy to hear that!

        Reply
    6. David Smart says

      December 28, 2022 at 3:51 pm

      I use smoke turkey leg and red pepper flakes
      So good.

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        December 30, 2022 at 4:17 pm

        That sounds delicious!

        Reply
    7. Juliana says

      November 29, 2022 at 12:15 pm

      5 stars
      I used sausage in my pot and went to 8 minutes cause I had double collards
      Husband loves it

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        November 30, 2022 at 8:12 am

        Yum! So glad to hear it's a hit. 🙂

        Reply
    8. Mama M says

      November 23, 2022 at 7:32 am

      Can I substitute smoked turkey wings for the ham and bacon?

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        November 23, 2022 at 8:08 am

        While I haven't had the opportunity to try out this recipe with smoked turkey wings myself, several readers have commented that they have and they enjoyed it. Please be careful to remove all bone pieces.

        Reply
    9. Charles says

      September 27, 2022 at 6:25 pm

      I am hooked on Instant Pot cooking and this is one of my favorite recipes to make for friends and family. I get tons of compliments. Now, I am the official family designee for collards at family dinners. I substituted diced ham for the hammocks. You can find the diced ham near the prepackaged deli meat. This recipe is a 'shonuff" crowd pleaser.

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        September 29, 2022 at 9:55 pm

        This makes me so happy to hear! I'm really glad these greens are a hit with you and your family and friends, Charles. Great tip about the ham. Thanks for letting me know how it went!

        Reply
    10. Cristy Q. says

      August 29, 2022 at 12:04 pm

      If I use 2 bags of greens, do I double the time?

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        August 30, 2022 at 10:31 pm

        You should be just fine with keeping the time the same.

        Reply
    11. Bebe says

      July 24, 2022 at 4:19 pm

      5 stars
      Made these today with the greens I had on hand (chard, cabbage, baby kale/spinach blend). This will be my new go to for greens. Excellent recipe!! I had no ham so just used the bacon, added some orange bell pepper and 1/2 a tamed Serrano pepper to the onion. Also used seasoned rice vinegar as that’s what I had, so omitted the sugar. Fresh, light, tender but not mushy greens. 103’ here today so IP is the way to go!

      Reply
      • Alyssa says

        July 27, 2022 at 1:43 pm

        I'm so happy you're a fan, Bebe! 🙂 Those modifications sound delicious to use what you had on hand. And I definitely agree with how great the IP is in this hot weather!

        Reply
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