This super easy and delicious collard greens with bacon is a slightly lighter version than many collard greens recipes and it tastes so good. It's an amazing southern side dish that can be paired with almost anything that you're planning for dinner.
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We love vegetables! And even our kids have always been pretty adventurous, willing to try anything at least once. But these collard greens are in demand.
Slow cooked until tender, collard greens with bacon is sure to be a new family favorite in your household as well. With just a few ingredients that truly compliment each other, all of the wonderful flavors shine through with this simple side dish.
This staple Southern side dish deserves to be on your dinner plate more often!
Personal story disclaimer - hit the 'Recipe' tab in the menu above if needed (but I promise to keep it short!). 🙂 Ed and I have been married for many years, and this dish is one of our tales.
For many of our early years, he would tell me how much I would love collard greens (as I had never tried them). He is a fan of fried chicken, especially leftover cold fried chicken, as it was a favorite in his childhood. He has also traveled a lot more than I have, having been in the ARMY and stationed in many places throughout the US.
So, during his time in Ft. Benning, Georgia, he was introduced to collard greens with his fried chicken (we are both originally from Oregon). Now it is a staple, and we have collard greens with many of our dinners. It is even requested by our daughter as well, she just loves her collards!
🥘 Ingredients
Just a few pantry staple spices, broth, bacon, onion, and greens. You don't need much to get this flavorful dish started.
- 4 slices Bacon (thick cut smoked bacon is best, cut into chunks)
- 1 Yellow Onion (small, finely chopped or minced)
- 1 tablespoon Garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- ½ teaspoon each, Salt & Pepper (to taste)
- 32 ounces Chicken Broth (or water)
- 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 pound Collard Greens (washed and cut)
Turkey neck, ham hock, salt pork, or hog jowl are additional protein alternatives to use with your collard greens. These are all great traditional options, just be sure to remove them before serving.
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🔪 How To Make Collard Greens With Bacon
Our collard greens with bacon are really easy to make. Clean your collard greens and grab a big pot or Dutch oven to get started.
- Crisp the bacon. Start with a large pot, add some bacon and cook it on medium-high heat for 8-10 minutes, or until it is just about to get crispy.
- Saute onion. Add the finely chopped or diced onion (I *used to* blitz mine in the Nutribullet, so that our little one wouldn't complain about chunky onions) and saute for an additional 3-4 minutes.
Season & Simmer
- Season. Once the onions have cooked for a few minutes, add the minced garlic, salt, pepper, and some red pepper flakes for seasoning.
- Bring to a boil. Then add the broth, apple cider, and collard greens and allow it to cook at medium-high heat until it starts to boil.
- Simmer until tender. Reduce heat and simmer for about two hours, stirring occasionally, or until the collard greens have reached your preferred level of tenderness.
- Serve. Remove from heat when done and serve immediately.
We love to serve collard greens with fried chicken and mac n cheese. It's a tasty side to serve with so many dishes, especially BBQ mains. Enjoy!
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💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Fresh collard greens are best, even though the packaged and cut greens are convenient.
- To cut your collard leaves, stack 2-4 so that they are lined up and you can easily follow along the stem. Cut along the stem on both sides, remove, and repeat until all of the collard greens are trimmed. Slice each leaf in half, stack, and cut into 1-2-inch squares.
- Increase the 'heat' by adding more crushed red bell pepper flakes if you want spicy collard greens.
😋 More Great Recipes
- Southern Fried Corn
- Chocolate Revel Bars
- Southern Coleslaw
- Black Eyed Peas With Collards
- Stuffed Green Peppers
- Classic Lasagna
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📖 Recipe Card
Collard Greens with Bacon
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon (smoked is best, cut into chunks)
- 1 yellow onion (small, finely chopped or minced)
- 1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
- ½ teaspoon each, salt & pepper (to taste)
- 32 oz chicken broth (1 32-ounce carton, or 4 cups)
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 lbs collard greens (washed and cut)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven at medium-high heat, cook bacon for 8-10 minutes or until it is just about to get crispy. Add chopped onion and saute for 3-4 minutes more, or until tender, opaque, and fragrant.
- Add the minced garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes for seasoning then add broth, apple cider vinegar, and collard greens. Stir and continue to cook on medium-high until a slow boil is achieved, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours.
- Stir occasionally while the greens are simmering. Cook until the collard greens are nice and tender (or to your preferred tenderness).
- Remove from heat when done and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Asummercat says
Fantastic recipe! Next time I’ll reduce the red pepper flakes to 3/4 tsp. Thank you for sharing!
Kathy says
Very good! I added extra bacon grease I had left over. Keeper!