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!
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. 🙂
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.
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 kaleupdate: 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.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 slices uncooked bacon chopped
- 4 oz country ham sliced and chopped
- 1 small onion chopped
- 3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 16 oz collard greens roughly chopped
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
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
Kate Smith says
This recipe is the closest to how my grandmother made them. Delicious! One thing though, she always took the time to take the thick stems out before cooking them. It makes them even better.
Alyssa says
Great tip – thank you for sharing, Kate!
Jenn Rogers says
My husband & I have made your greens recipe several times. It is hands down the BEST collard greens Ever! He said this is better than his grandmother’s, and that is saying a Lot! We added several dashes of Frank’s Hot Sauce to ours before sealing the lid on the Insta Pot. It kicks it up a notch with a bang!
Alyssa says
Thank you so much for the nice comment, Jenn! I’m so glad you and your husband love them. I love some Frank’s so I’ll have to give that a try next time.
Kathy says
I do not like collard greens but these were delicious and so easy and quick.
Alyssa says
I’m so happy you gave them a try!
Maureen says
These are delicious and such a snap to make. My five-year-old said they were his favorite part of dinner! Thanks for the great recipe.
Alyssa says
You’re so welcome, Maureen. I’m really glad you like them!
A W says
This was waaaaaay too much apple cider vinegar for a pressure cooker recipe because it doesn’t evaporate like in an open pot on the stove. I cut it to about 2 tsp. Otherwise, great recipe, but my greens were ruined by the ACV.
Alyssa says
Sorry this recipe wasn’t to your liking! Hopefully you can tweak it to be more to your tastes.
Kathy Phillips says
If you ever find a recipe has to much ACV taste just counter with sugar and salt. Your taste buds will then get more of a balanced taste.
John says
Absolutely delicious.
Alyssa says
So glad you loved them!
Peggy Kosman says
Ive been looking for the perfect collard green recipe for years & finally found it. I use the end of a briskets from a piece we smoked & it was the fatty ends that were gonna get thrown out. These collards are delish!!
Alyssa says
That sounds delicious, Peggy! So glad you like them. 🙂
Ashley says
Fantastic! I am from Tennessee and my Husband is from North Carolina so collard greens and black eyed peas on New Years Day are a must. Having a late start on my day (fun night at home) and needing all the luck this new year can bring, I searched for an Instant Pot recipe and I am so glad I found yours! Happy New Year and may 2022 bring you all of the wealth and luck as well!
Alyssa says
Happy New Year to you and your family also, Ashley – so glad you like them! 🙂
Kelly says
LOVED IT. I didn’t use brown sugar but cut the amt in half and used white sugar instead. I couldn’t get the country ham on sale so I used hickory smoked chopped ham!! I also added 3-4 cloves of pressed garlic and added it in with the onions. This turned out phenomenal!!!!
My neighbor from NY even told me he loved it!!!
Alyssa says
So happy you like these greens, Kelly, and could make them your own with a few tweaks! 🙂
George Money says
I used the recipe many times and love it.
Alyssa says
Happy you like it, George!