Collard Greens With Bacon Recipe

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Make Southern Collard Greens with Bacon using this easy recipe. It’s the perfect way to cook fresh collard greens year-round without worrying about how you’ll access other smoked meats. Learn how to cook collard greens with thick cut bacon and get tips on how to use vinegar as well as prepare your collard greens so that they don’t taste bitter.

Why Make Collard Greens With Bacon

Collard greens are a classic Southern side dish that a lot of people love and enjoy!

That said, here are a few reasons why you should make these delicious collard greens as an easy side dish:

Easy access to bacon: collard greens with ham hocks and collard greens with smoked turkey (turkey neck or turkey leg) are delicious, but access to those meats can be limited to holidays like Thanksgiving. By cooking collard greens with bacon, you can get the smokey flavors that those other meats provide with an easy-to-find ingredient.
Mostly Dump and Go: collard greens take a while to cook, but that doesn’t mean they’re hard to make. This easy collard greens with bacon recipe is perfect for all levels of cooks.

Ingredients Needed

Collard Greens: I’m using chopped collard greens with the thick stem ends removed.
Butter: I use salted butter, but unsalted butter works too, especially if salting to taste is important to you
Onion: I used a yellow onion. You can dice it or thinly slice it
Bacon: I used thick-cut pork bacon that can be sliced or cubed.
Garlic Cloves: Fresh minced garlic works best, but jarred minced garlic is also a good option
Chicken Broth: low sodium broth works best for being able to salt the greens to taste
Red Pepper Flakes: I use this to add a little heat to the dish, but you can omit this or add more to taste if you like spicy collard greens.
Apple Cider Vinegar: vinegar helps to balance the bitter taste that collard greens sometimes have. So, be sure to include it.
Sea Salt: I’m using fine sea salt. You can add this taste at the end.
24 Herb & Spice Blend: this is one of my favorite spice blends because it is all-purpose and includes a wide range of spices black pepper, thyme, garlic, lemon, tarragon and more. For me, that means more flavor, without requiring an entire pantry of different spices.
Brown Sugar: I‘m using a keto-friendly brown sugar replacement because it tastes the same as regular brown sugar without the calories or carbs.
Chicken Broth Paste: this concentrated chicken broth paste is a great base for sauces and soups. Like the herb seasoning, I’m using it to add a lot of flavor without too many ingredients.

ingredients to make southern collard greens with bacon: brown sugar, butter, garlic, chicken broth paste, herb & spice blend, salt, red pepper flakes, collard greens, chicken broth, bacon, apple cider vinegar on separate bowls

How to Cook Collard Greens With Bacon

Sauté the onions and bacon: Melt butter in a pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and bacon pieces. Cook until the onions are translucent & the bacon is browned.
Add garlic & collard greens: Add garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant. Add the broth, vinegar, and collard greens. Stir and cook on medium until the leaves begin to wilt.
Turn the heat to low. Cover the fresh collards in the large pot and allow them to cook for 75 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients to the sauteed collard greens, stir, and serve.

step-by-step instructions for how to make Collard Greens with Bacon in a dutch oven.

Top Cooking Tips & FAQs

Buy the collard greens washed and packaged to save time: the hardest part about making collard greens is actually cleaning them. So, making collard greens with bacon with pre-washed greens saves a lot of prep time.
Save the seasonings until the end for bolder flavors: since collard greens with bacon take a long time to slow cook, I save many of my seasonings and spices until the end. This allows me to salt and season to taste, but also helps with keeping the flavor of the spices bold.
Be sure to remove the hard stem ends: like vinegar, removing the hard stem ends helps collard greens not taste bitter.
Optional: If you want a crunchy texture, you can add a few pieces of chopped crispy bacon on top of your tender collard greens before serving.
Optional: If you want a little heat, try adding some hot sauce to spice up the flavor of the greens.

Storage & Leftovers

If you have any leftovers of this southern collard greens recipe, the best way to store them is in an airtight container for next time (up to 5 days).

How do you get the bitterness out of collard greens?

Removing the stem ends with a sharp knife and adding apple cider vinegar to your collard greens help with getting rid of collard greens’ bitter taste. I also find that they become less bitter as they cook. So, be sure to cook them until tender using a slow method (like in this easy collard greens recipe or with crockpot collard greens) or fast one (like my pressure cooker collard greens).

What do collard greens pair well with?

Southern Collard Greens pair well with comfort food. Some traditional options might be macaroni and cheese and fall off the bone ribs. Lighter options include my keto cornbread, cauliflower mac and cheese, and baked bbq chicken wings.

What does adding vinegar to collard greens do?

Adding vinegar helps to remove some of the bitter taste from collard greens. As an acid, it also balances out some of the richness provided by the butter and bacon grease.

Can you overcook collards?

It is hard to overcook collard greens. The longer they cook, the softer they become.

What to add to greens to make them taste better?

Preparing your greens by removing the tough stems is the first step to how they taste. After that, making collard greens with bacon and vinegar helps. The bacon provides grease and a smokey flavor. The vinegar reduces the bitter taste. Besides that, collard greens are forgiving so adding any other spices and blends will help them taste great.

What if I cannot find fresh collard greens?

I’m using fresh collard greens. However, depending on where you live and the season, it may be difficult to purchase these. If that’s the case for you, you can use other fresh leafy greens (like mustard greens, turnip greens, and kale greens) as an alternative for your southern greens.

Collard Greens with Bacon in a large bowl

Recipes to Enjoy This With

More Southern-style collard greens

Here are some other tender greens recipes to try:

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