Southern Instant Pot Collard Greens

The first collard greens I’ve dreamed about! These Southern collard greens are sinfully rich and delicious, packed with flavor, and made quick and easy in the Instant Pot. Take it from a Southerner, these are authentic and as good as it gets!

What Makes This Recipe So Good

• Take a trip through almost any town or city in the South and odds are good you’ll find a version of collard greens on several menus. They’re related to cabbage and turnip greens, and they’re a staple in Southern cooking dating back to the earliest enslaved people in the American colonies. Read a little more about the history of collard greens in America here. These leafy greens are absolutely delicious – rich and full of flavor on their own, but versatile enough to be prepared a number of ways.
• You’ve probably heard about kale being a superfood, but don’t sleep on collard greens! Raw greens aren’t as bitter as raw kale, and both veggies tout a hearty serving of essential vitamins and nutrients like potassium; vitamins A, B, C, and K; zinc; iron; and calcium.
• Collard greens are traditionally cooked low and slow, braised with ham hock over a couple of hours. With Instant Pot collard greens, you’ll get rich, tender, savory greens in less than 60 minutes. If you’re looking for a great traditional greens recipe, I highly recommend this one from Grandbaby Cakes.

Serve Them with…

Savory Southern Cornbread Stuffing

Instant Pot Pork Roast with Carrots, Potatoes, and Gravy

The Best EVER Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas

Pork and Beans

Chef’s Tips

• I recommend rinsing the greens before you chop and cook them. In fact, I actually recommend soaking the greens in cold or cool water for at least 10 minutes, and then rinsing them under running water. Whether you’re using bagged greens or not, you’ll typically see a good bit of dirt and grit come off the greens.
• Be sure to deglaze the Instant Pot after cooking the bacon and onions. “Deglazing” is just that step where you add the chicken broth and scrape up the browned bits of bacon and onion that might be stuck to the bottom of the pot. If you don’t scrape those up, you’ll likely get a “Burn” notice from your pressure cooker.
• The apple cider vinegar is an important ingredient, so don’t skip it. The acidity in the vinegar will cut down the bitterness from the greens, and it makes a big difference. If you don’t have ACV, white vinegar will work in its place.

More Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Love

• Instant Pot Chicken Breast
• Buttery Instant Pot Cabbage
• Fully-Loaded Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
• Instant Pot Corn on the Cob with Honey Butter
• Instant Pot Chicken Legs
• Moist & Buttery Instant Pot Cornbread

Hey – you’ve made it this far, so now we’re basically best friends! If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a quick review & star rating ★ below. Make sure you follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and Facebook, too!

5 from 1 vote

Southern Instant Pot Collard Greens

Prep:15 minutes minutes

Cook:45 minutes minutes

Total:1 hour hour

Rich, delicious, and full of flavor. These Southern-style collard greens are inspired by the authentic collard greens recipes of the South, with one key difference… the cook time!

• Pin

Print Save Saved! Click Here to Remove Ads

6 servings

Ingredients

• ▢ 5 slices bacon uncooked, sliced into ½-inch-long pieces
• ▢ 1 medium onion chopped
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 pound fresh collard greens rinsed, cut into 2-inch pieces
• ▢ 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth, low-sodium preferred
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper more or less to taste
• ▢ 1 pinch red pepper flakes plus more to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ hot sauce to taste

Equipment

• Instant Pot or similar pressure cooker
• rubber or silicone spatula

Instructions 

• Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode on high. Once Instant Pot has preheated, add sliced bacon and chopped onion to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until bacon begins to crisp and onion has softened, approximately 12 minutes.
  
• Add garlic cloves to sautéed bacon and onions. Stir well and cook just until garlic is fragrant, approximately 30 to 60 seconds.
• Add collard greens and chicken broth to Instant Pot. Continue in Sauté mode while stirring and scraping up any browned pieces of bacon or onion that may be stuck to bottom of Instant Pot. Cook just until greens begin to wilt, approximately 2 minutes.
  
• Add salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar, and hot sauce to Instant Pot. Stir to incorporate, then cancel Sauté mode and cover pressure cooker with lid.
• Lock lid on Instant Pot and set valve to Sealing position. Set Instant Pot to Manual High Pressure with 12-minute cook time. Instant Pot will come to pressure (5 to 10 minutes) and then 12-minute cook time will begin.
• When 12-minute cook time is up, carefully Quick Release pressure. Once steam has fully escaped, carefully remove lid from Instant Pot and set aside. Divide greens into portions and serve warm with additional hot sauce if desired.

Notes

• Whether you’re using bagged collard greens or not, I recommend you soak the greens in cold water for at least 10 minutes, then rinse them well to wash off any excess dirt. Blot them dry with a paper towel and then chop them into 2-inch pieces.
• Make it Paleo/Whole30: Use compliant bacon and hot sauce.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size: 1serving, Calories: 116kcal, Protein: 5g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 14mg, Sodium: 814mg, Potassium: 250mg, Total Carbs: 7g, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 1g, Net Carbs: 4g, Vitamin A: 3810IU, Vitamin C: 29mg, Calcium: 188mg, Iron: 1mg

Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.

 

Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.

 

To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

© Author: Cheryl Malik