Easy Southern Collard Greens with Bacon
Easy Southern collard greens with bacon are a delicious and easy, classic Southern side dish made using fresh collard greens, onions, garlic, and bacon fat.
Collard greens are a staple at several holiday dinners in our family. I grew up in the South and developed a love of vegetables cooked in bacon fat. My grandmother cooked almost everything in fatback. Her green beans and creamed corn were TO. DIE. FOR.
My mom grew up in Chicago and had a much healthier approach to cooking veggies. She didn’t use animal fat too often in food preparation. I’ve taken a more middle-of-the-road approach to my own cooking methods and try to stick to mostly olive oil in my food prep these days. However, there are certain recipes that I can’t skip the bacon grease, it just wouldn’t be the same. Greens are no exception.
Have you ever tried Bacon Fat Roasted Brussels Sprouts with a balsamic glaze?! Pure heaven. I call it veggie candy.
This easy southern-style collard greens recipe is easy to make, and the greens are a perfect side to serve with ham or pork.
Tips For Making Southern Collard Greens with Bacon
This recipe is easy to make, the collards just need time and patience to simmer on the stove. If you don’t keep rendered bacon fat on hand for recipes, I recommend cooking a pound of bacon in the oven to keep things simple. Less mess is always best! Cook at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10-15 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the bacon, so reference the package for instructions.
I line a baking sheet with foil and drain off grease, through a strainer, after the bacon cools into a small bowl. You can add some of the crispy cooked bacon to the collards after they finish cooking, if desired, or serve on the side. For convenience, I’ll occasionally use a 32 oz bag of chopped or shredded collards for this recipe. It’s a great time saver, but you will need to pick through the bag and remove any hard stems.
I hope you’ll try these delicious and easy southern-style collard greens! This recipe was my mother-in-law’s favorite. She always requested that I make them for holiday meals.
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Southern Collard Greens with Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 lb bacon
- 3 tbsp reserved bacon fat
- 1 vidalia onion finely chopped
- 10 cups fresh collard greens rinsed and chopped (hard stems removed)- you can also use a 32 oz bag of chopped or shredded collards for convienence
- 2 large garlic cloves smashed
- 1 quart +2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar or a little more to taste
- 1 tsp Tabasco sauce you can use green Tabasco to add the flavor without the heat
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp seasoned salt I use Lawry's
- fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and cook the bacon for about 10-15 minutes. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the bacon, so reference the package for instructions. Reserve 3 tbsp of fat for the greens.
- Heat the bacon fat in a large stock pot over medium heat until melted. Add onions and sauté until lightly browned.
- Add greens and all other ingredients, turn the heat to high, and bring the pot to a full boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for about an hour or until greens are nice and tender.
Notes
Nutrition
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