Crockpot Collard Greens

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These crockpot collard greens are a delicious side that rounds out any Southern meal. Serve with mac and cheese, fried chicken, or your favorite BBQ!

When we lived in Texas we ate a lot of barbecue. I’m one of those people who judges a BBQ joint by how good their sides are rather than the meat.

Whether it was Southern green beans or collard greens, I wanted them to be flavorful and tender, and you could always tell if a restaurant skimped on a long cook time.

Hearty greens benefit from a low and slow cook to tenderize the leaves. Collards are some of the heartiest of greens, so using the slow cooker is a must when preparing them!

This simple recipe for slow cooked collards is my favorite way to enjoy these greens. Serve with your holiday turkey, weeknight macaroni and cheese, or add some cooked black eyed peas for a one-pot meal!

Ingredients for slow cooker collards

Full list of ingredients including quantities is located in the recipe card.

You’ll need:

Ham hock – If you don’t have a ham hock available, you can use smoked turkey wings. Diced cooked bacon or chopped smoked ham will do in a pinch.

Collards – Look for fresh collard greens that are deep in color with firm leaves. Make sure to wash them well, as tiny bugs love to hide on the leaves.

Onion – White, yellow, or sweet

Brown sugar – Adding a small amount of sugar helps to balance the flavor of the collards.

Cider vinegar – Vinegar helps to reduce the bitterness in the collards.

Chicken broth – Instead of water, broth adds flavor and salt to the collards. Both chicken and turkey broth or stock are great. Sometimes I used smoked turkey stock that I make and freeze after Thanksgiving; it adds a great flavor!

Salt and pepper – Add to taste, as the broth and ham hock both already have salt they are contributing to the dish.

Hot sauce – This is optional, but I love to add a bit of hot sauce to the collards for an undercurrent of heat.

How to make this recipe

Set the ham hock in the bottom of your slow cooker.

To prepare the collards, wash them well, rinsing off any debris or dirt.

Lay a collard leaf flat and slice down both sides of the center stem, removing the leaves into two pieces. Repeat with all the leaves and discard the stem.

Stack the leaves and slice again down the middle, then cut into bite-size pieces.

Add the collards to the slow cooker on top of the ham hock. Add in the rest of the ingredients on top.

Place on the lid and set the slow cooker to Low for 8 hours, or cook on High for 4 hours. You can stir the collards every couple of hours if you like, but it’s not necessary.

When the time is just about up, remove the ham hock from the slow cooker. Pull off any meat and cut or shred into small pieces, then add the meat back into the collards.

Taste the collards, making sure the greens are tender, and add any additional seasoning as needed, then serve.

Recipe tips

Ham hocks generally do not have a lot of meat on them, so if you want an extra meaty dish, use 2 ham hocks instead of 1. 

You can use this same recipe to prepare other hearty greens like mustard greens, beet greens, or kale.

If you’d like to make this recipe without meat but want the signature smoky flavor, add a few dashes of liquid smoke, which is vegan.

While the collards do require a little prep work, I don’t recommend swapping in precut fresh collards. Commercially packaged chopped collards and kale tend to still have the center stem on the pieces. These stems are quite tough and fibrous, so you don’t really want to eat them!

Frozen collards can be used in this recipe, because they have been blanched prior to freezing, softening any stems a bit. Make sure to thaw completely and drain. An easy way to do this is to poke a couple of small holes in the bag and then squeeze out the excess liquid when it thaws.

Crushed red pepper flakes can be used in place of the hot sauce.

Don’t forget about the pot broth! It’s delicious eaten with the collards, spooned over your favorite beans, or eaten with a big slice of cornbread.

These crockpot collard greens are a wonderful side for any of your favorite meals!