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.
Julea says
I substituted Brown Lacanto sweetener instead of brown sugar and it was wonderful! I will make this over and over.
Alyssa says
Thanks for letting me know how it went! So glad you liked. 🙂
bestcider says
I am rating before tasting but it all looks good. New to instant pot, new to mustard greens. If I make 2 portions instead of 8 does the time in the instant pot get reduced from the 5 min setting? I plan to do the sauteing on the stove in a nonstick pan then add that bacon/onion/broth mixture to the IP followed by the greens. I wondered if greens need the full 5 minutes of pressure cooking to be less tough or if it is a factor of quantity….
Alyssa says
Hi there, the Instant Pot definitely took me some getting used to! Something to consider when scaling Instant Pot recipes up or down is the amount of liquid. For a 6-quart Instant Pot, it’s recommended to cook with at least one cup of liquid. This prevents a “burn” message, and the liquid is necessary in order to create enough pressure for the Instant Pot to function. The full recipe here uses just over one cup of liquid, so I would not recommend scaling it down or adjusting the time. It does look like a lot of greens at first, but they cook down and shrink by the end. Leftover greens also refrigerate and reheat well, in case that is a concern. I hope that’s helpful!
bestcider says
very helpful. I had no idea about the min liquid thing in an instant pot. I have made very little in it so far. I will follow your recipe but will need more greens now LOL.
Tryorr says
Such an easy fast cook recipe to go off of..we like greens “spicer”. This was the perfect guide. I just did more of both meats and franks hot sauce..we love slow cooked collard greens but my mad craving was too much to wait for the slow cooker version the next day. I’d recommend if you think abt fast cooking expectations.
Alyssa says
So happy you were able to tweak the recipe and make it your own! Thanks for letting me know how it went. 🙂
Deborah Muller says
Was really tired of my usual green vegetable rotation of asparagus, spinich, brocolli, and arugula (all which I love) so thought I’d make something different to go w/ a pork loin I had. This was PHENOMENAL! I love collarded greens and this was the easiest thing ever with the perfect consistency. Tender yet still some snap. Great flavor…i added a smidge more vinegar b/c I like these tangy. I thought my kids would inhale it…but one thought I kept saying coleslaw so wouldn’t touch it. No matter, way more for me! Will definitely make it again.
Alyssa says
I’m so glad you liked it, Deborah! Thanks for letting me know how it went. 🙂
Audrey says
Perfect recipe! Just the right amount of pot liquor, not too sweet, not too salty, perfect texture. I just made these using leftover Christmas ham along with black eyed peas and jalapeño cornbread drop biscuits for our New Year’s Day meal. I’m lucky that my kids like greens, but they ate more of these than any others I’ve made!
Alyssa says
That sounds like a delicious meal, Audrey. So glad you liked it!
J.L. says
This is my second time making it I’m not doing pork anymore so I swapped out turkey neck bones sauteing them first then all the seasoning then the college maybe a pinch more vinegar but girl my grandmother would love these greens
Alyssa says
Thanks for letting me know how it went! So glad you like them. 🙂
Laura says
I’m so impressed with this recipe. Flavours were delicious and texture was ON POINT! My husband has had a LOT of collards in his lifetime and he said hands down these were the best. Nice vinegary freshness that cuts through the porky taste and again, great texture. Im not a fan of when the collards don’t break down easily when you chew them, so these were great without being overly wilted.
Only modification I used was that I bought off cuts of country ham instead of slices. It was cheeper and still did the trick!
Will be making many times over. Thanks!!
Alyssa says
I’m so glad you like it, Laura! Great tip about the off-cuts of country ham.
Pam says
I’ve been cooking collard greens all my life, and this recipe is the best! We made it on New Year’s day, and they were delicious and perfectly cooked. We didn’t need to add salt or hot sauce at the table. I did not have country ham, so I used some leftover ham from Christmas and it worked fine. I also increased the pepper flakes just a bit. Will definitely make these again!
Alyssa says
So glad you like them, Pam! 🙂
Marilyn says
I always have a hard time getting collards cooked right on the stove, but these were perfectly seasoned and cooked. My husband thought they were too tangy, though. So I would go low on the vinegar until they’re cooked, like someone else suggested.
Alyssa says
I’m so glad you liked them, Marilyn, and can tweak them to your liking! 🙂
Kim Strickland says
The BEST Collars Greens ever made! Thanks so much for this recipe….
Alyssa says
You’re welcome, Kim! Happy you like them.
Victor says
Can i substitute mustard greens?
Alyssa says
Hi Victor, I think that would work just fine.
Abigail Machson-Carter says
These are flavorful but to my palate sickly sweet as a dessert. I would at least halve the sugar and vinegar if I made this again!
Frances says
Excellent recipe–did a couple modifications for what had on hand, and other recipes that I have done before-cut back on cider vinegar to just two tabs, and had in freezer just 2 ounces chopped “smithfield anytime ham.” skipped the sugar, added 3 cloves garlic. Used one cup onion. Love making these in pressure cooker, really like collards to be tender. Very flavorful and we enjoyed it a lot with some Pressure cooker cooked Dominican beans.
Alyssa says
I’m so glad you can tweak it to make this recipe your own – thank you for letting me know how it went! It sounds like a delicious pairing with those beans. 🙂
Gabby says
These are so delicious! But I was wondering if I could add neck bones or if anyone has tried?
Alyssa says
Hi Gabby, I haven’t personally added turkey necks (I tried to find them at the advice of a reader but the store was out on that trip – I need to try again!) but a few readers have done it. There are a lot of comments to scroll through but there are some from Frederick and Benita re: necks. Here is a snippet: “I sauted olive oil, small pat of butter, onions and smoked turkey neck pieces until onions were tender. Removed turkey, added broth, seasonings (tablespoon of ACV, sea salt, ground black pepper, brown sugar), added greens and placed turkey necks on top. Your time was perfect, I used quick release-yummo!”
Brandi Ryman says
i definitely would NOT use neckbones. when they cook down they fall apart into dozens of tiny little bones that blend in with your greens. I know from experience. but ham hocks work well.
Marsha says
This is my go-to recipe, the greens are absolutely delicious! I didn’t think my collards amounted to a pound so I added in the greens from my beets. Not wanting to waste the stems (beets & collards), I finely chopped those and since they are tougher than the leaves, I first microwaved them for 3 minutes before adding to the IP to cook with the greens. DELICIOUS!!!
Alyssa says
So happy you like them, Marsha! Great tips – thanks for sharing! 🙂
Sherry G says
These were very good…and very easy! I did increase the cooking time to 10 minutes because the pot was pretty full and used NR for about 20 minutes. They were delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
Alyssa says
You’re very welcome, Sherry! Thanks for sharing your experience. 🙂
Robin says
Hubby & I are low carb & high fat, and we loved these, with a couple of changes, these fit in perfectly with our way of eating! I did not have any ham, so I used 1/3 of a pound of bacon (the fattiest end) and replaced the brown sugar with Lakanto Gold, and added 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke.
Alyssa says
I’m so glad you liked them Robin. 🙂 Thank you for sharing your modifications for making them low carb/high fat!