Learn how to cook collard greens the Southern way with this easy, step-by-step recipe. Fresh collard greens are slowly simmered with smoked ham hocks and chicken broth until tender, flavorful, and perfectly seasoned.
If you've never made collard greens from scratch, I'll show you how to properly clean and prep the greens, remove the tough stems, season the pot likker, and cook them until tender without turning them mushy.
"Katie, girl, this was my 1st time ever cooking greens myself. I was afraid I'd mess it up because my granny always made them too salty and somehow watery... ?! Like, what the heck did she do?? These were the BEST greens I've had in my life and I've had some good greens (not hers, obviously. You are my new favorite person and I wish you all the health, wealth and happiness that this year will bring !"
★★★★★- Tiffany
Jump to:
- A Note from my Kitchen
- Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- How to Cook Collard Greens
- Watch how to Make Southern Greens
- How do you clean collard greens?
- How to Clean Collard Greens Before Cooking
- What is the best smoked meat for making collards?
- How to Make Collard Greens Less Bitter
- Can you freeze collards?
- More Southern Dishes
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
🔍 Quick Look: How to Cook Collard Greens
⏱️ Prep Time: 20 minutes
🍲 Cook Time: About 1 hour
🔥 Cooking Method: Stovetop
🥬 Main Ingredients: Fresh collard greens, smoked ham hocks, chicken broth
🧼 How to Clean: Soak, swish to loosen sand and dirt, then rinse each leaf thoroughly
🔪 Prep Tip: Remove the thick center stems before slicing
🥓 Best Smoked Meat: Ham hocks, smoked turkey, or bacon
🌿 How to Reduce Bitterness: Remove the tough stems, cook until tender, and add a splash of vinegar if needed
❤️ You'll Know They're Done When: The greens are tender and no longer tough or chewy
A Note from my Kitchen
Collard Greens can be a little tricky.
If you don't wash them correctly, they can have sand hidden in them. There is nothing more awful than taking a bite of collards and chewing grits of sand.
If you don't cook them long enough, they are crunchy and tough. If you don't season them properly, they are bitter and earthy.
HOWEVER!!! If you don't make these mistakes, they are a delicious Southern side dish that just warms your belly with comfort. Serve these greens with vinegar or hot sauce and a side of cornbread; and you can have a delicious meal all on its own!
Keep reading below and I will share the tips and tricks on how to cook collard greens as good as any real country cooking home cook can in the South! Enjoy! Xoxo -Katie.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
To make tasty collards, you will need the following ingredients:
- chicken broth- Chicken broth adds additional flavor, but you can substitute with water.
- smoked ham hocks- You can substitute smoked turkey legs or wings, or smoked turkey neck bones, or bacon. If you are cooking with bacon, chop bacon, then cook bacon. Do not remove the grease. Then add broth.
- collard greens- I prefer fresh bunches of collard greens instead of the pre-cut bags. Bagged collards are convenient, but they often contain more of the thick center stems, which can stay tough and bitter. Fresh bunches also make it easier to inspect and thooroghly clean each leaf.
- hot sauce- This is optional. It adds a little extra flavor.
(*Full recipe with ingredient measurements is located at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.)
How to Cook Collard Greens
Follow these steps to cook flavorful Southern collard greens.
- Make your broth with your choice of smoked meat. The broth is the key to making tender, flavorful collards. While the broth is cooking, work on cleaning and prepping the collards.
- Wash your collards thoroughly.
- Remove the stem that runs down the center of the collard green leaf. This part is tough, bitter, and not tasty. The smaller, tender, young leaves won't need stripping. Then cut your leaves into strips. (pictured above)
- Once the broth is ready, add the collards in big batches. You won't be able to put them all in at once. Add a big batch, cover them, and cook about 2 minutes. Remove the lid and mix the collards around. This will make room for you to add another batch. Keep doing this until you fill the pot. Three pounds sounds like a lot of collard greens, but they cook down considerably once they wilt. Once they are all in, cook them covered for an hour at low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Do a taste test to see if they are completely done after an hour. If they are not completely tender and flavorful, cook them another 15 minutes. An hour usually does it. Most of the liquid will be sopped up by the collards. Any extra is the tasty pot likker that is delicious to dip cornbread in!
- The smoked ham hocks have flavorful meat. You can add the ham meat back into the collards. To do so, remove skin and fat. Then dice the meat and mix in the collards. This is optional.
Watch how to Make Southern Greens
How do you clean collard greens?
Collards grow best in sandy soil. Therefore, they often have hidden sand and dirt caked on their stems. Rinsing them off usually isn't enough to remove all the sand.
Follow these steps to clean collard greens:
- Fill your kitchen sink with water and let the collards soak in it for about 10 minutes.
- Swish them up and down and side to side to try to loosen any lingering dirt.
- Then rinse them off individually to double check for any remaining sand.
How to Clean Collard Greens Before Cooking
Collard greens generally take about 1 hour on the stove over low heat. After an hour, taste the greens. If they're still tough or haven't developed enough flavor, cover and cook for another 15 minutes, then check again.
What is the best smoked meat for making collards?
I like to use smoked ham hocks for making Southern collard greens. Once the greens are finished cooking, remove the ham hocks, pull off any tender meat, discard the skin and fat, and stir the meat back into the greens.
Smoked turkey legs or wings, smoked turkey neck bones, and bacon also give a rich, tasty flavor.
My mom likes to use bacon. Cut bacon into pieces, cook the bacon, and then add the chicken broth. Do not remove the grease. This is what flavors the broth.
How to Make Collard Greens Less Bitter
Removing the thick center stems and slowly cooking the collards greens in smoked meat helps reduce the natural bitterness. You can also add a splash of vinegar, which brightens the flavor and helps balance any remaining bitterness.
I prefer to let everyone add vinegar to taste when serving. Apple cider vinegar is traditional, but white vinegar and hot sauce are also delicious with the collard greens.
Therefore, when I cook collards, I set out a variety of vinegars and hot sauces. My Pickled hot peppers and Hot Jalapeno Relish are amazing on collards if you like things really spicy!
Can you freeze collards?
Collards are easy to freeze. I often double the batch and freeze half.
To freeze, place cooked collard greens in a sealed airtight container. Freeze up to 3 months. To serve, defrost and reheat on the stovetop or microwave.
When you make this Southern greens recipe, tell me what you think in the comment section! I would love to hear back! My readers will too.
📖 Recipe
How to Cook Collard Greens (Southern Recipe)
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ pounds smoked ham hocks you can substitute smoked turkey legs or wings, smoked turkey neck bones, or bacon
- 3 pounds collard greens
- 2 tablespoon hot sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, bring chicken broth and smoked meat to a boil. (If using bacon, chop bacon, then cook bacon. Do not remove the grease. Then add broth.) Cover and cook on medium heat for 1 hour.6 cups chicken broth, 1 ½ pounds smoked ham hocks
- Fill your kitchen sink with water and let the collards soak in it for about 10 minutes. Swish them up and down and side to side to try to loosen any lingering dirt. Then rinse them off individually to double check for any remaining sand.3 pounds collard greens
- Remove the stem that runs down the center of the collard green leaf. The smaller, tender, young leaves won't need stripping. Then cut your leaves into strips.
- Once the broth is ready, add the collards in big batches. You won't be able to put them all in at once. Add a big batch, cover them, and cook about 2 minutes. Remove the lid and mix the collards around. This will make room for you to add another batch. Keep doing this until you fill the pot. Three pounds sounds like a lot of collard greens, but they cook down considerably once they wilt.
- Once they are all in add the hot sauce and mix. cook them covered for an hour at low heat, stirring occasionally. Do a taste test to see if they are completely done after an hour. If they are not completely tender and flavorful, cook them another 15 minutes. An hour usually does it, but sometimes it takes a little longer. Most of the liquid will be sopped up by the collards. Any broth left over is the pot likker which is delicious with corn bread.2 tablespoon hot sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with apple cider vinegar, vinegar, or hot sauce.salt and pepper to taste
Donald Booth says
It's a keeper
P. Oates says
Great recipe, it tastes great if you add red pepper flakes, I use about half a teaspoon or less. And then grate a small amount of fresh nutmeg into the liquid. Nutmeg really enhances the flavor of any cooked greens.
Michaela Rylaarsdam says
This recipe was BOMB dot com I fed it to my European husband who loved them, my Hispanic nanny who grabbed seconds and myself. Best greens I’ve ever had and this was my first time making them. I did keep my stems by chopping them up into very small pieces to keep the nutrients and flavor. I also did Turkey tails instead of ham hocks (I saw those were mentioned more in the comments on TikTok on some other videos ) anyways thank you!!
Bobbie Quinn says
Great job 👏🏾 Good Cooking 🥘 🙏🏾🙏🏾❤️
Loretta says
I made a pound (for 2 people)of mixed tough greens, using this recipe. I didn't have any meat, but I had ham base, so I added two teaspoons of that and a tablespoon of bacon grease. I used sriracha for the hot sauce. Despite missing a key ingredient, best greens I've ever made.
Sherry SB says
Excellent step by step recipes !! is there a Video just a thought there is on YouTube cleaning greens Thanks for sharing. I also Love the Cornbread Recipe On the big bag of Tubrose Cornmeal, just add an egg it makes a small skillet
Tiffany Anderson says
Katie, girl, this was my 1st time ever cooking greens myself. I was afraid I'd mess it up because my granny always made them too salty and somehow watery... ?! Like, what the heck did she do?? These were the BEST greens I've had in my life and I've had some good greens (not hers, obviously. You are my new favorite person and I wish you all the health, wealth and happiness that this year will bring !