Dump And Start Instant Pot Collard Greens

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Collard Greens are a classic Southern recipe that is a weekly staple for many families. Not only are they so darn tasty, but collards are also packed full of nutrients. Yeap, Instant Pot Collard Greens is a side dish to write home about.

Being such a nutritious food that is so affordable to make, you’ll understand why they’re found at so many holiday feasts and weeknight dinner tables in the south.

Traditionally, Collard Greens take hours on the stovetop, in a dutch oven or simmering in a cast-iron skillet. But with this Dump and Start Collard Greens Instant Pot recipe, you can enjoy the savory down-home flavor of Collard Greens in way less time and with virtually no effort!

Tools You Need 

• An awesome Instant Pot.
• A sharp knife.
• A cutting board.
• Measuring cups and measuring teaspoons.
• Handy mixing bowls.
• The best ever sea salt flakes
• Meal prep glass containers for storing your food.

How to Make Instant Pot Collard Greens

Get the complete ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below.

1. Add the broth, seasoning, onion, garlic cloves and smoked turkey leg to the Instant Pot.
2. Top with the Collard Greens, remembering to push them down to fit in the pot by using the end of a spatula.
3. Lock the Instant Pot lid, turn the valve to the sealing position, and cook on Pressure Cook (or Manual) on High Pressure for 27 minutes.
4. When the Pressure Cooker Collard Greens are done, perform a quick pressure release (QPR) and open the lid.
5. Remove the turkey leg, the meat should fall off the bone and be easy to shred. Return the shredded meat to the instant pot insert.
6. Season with salt, if desired, and serve.

Expert Tips

• Make sure to press or squeeze down your Collard Greens with the end of your spatula so they can wilt down as they cook.
• If you don’t have smoked meat, but still want that smoked meat flavor, try adding in some Smoked Paprika instead.
• Don’t overfill your Instant Pot with the Greens as they won’t have enough room to cook correctly.
• Make sure to scrape the pieces off the bottom of your insert before cooking everything else to avoid setting off the BURN notice.
• Cook time does not include the time it takes to come up to pressure or for pressure to release.

Delicious Variations

• This classic southern dish is usually made with some bacon (bacon fat included), a ham hock or some country ham. For a healthier take, I use a smoked turkey leg instead….it’s just as delish.
• If the smell of Collard Greens isn’t ‘for you’, or you don’t have any on hand, you can easily swap them out for other greens. Try using turnip greens, mustard greens or kale.
• Also, since we are varying a bit from the authentic style recipe, you can use grapeseed oil, canola oil or peanut oil for healthier variations.
• For even more Creole flavor, slowly add more of my homemade Creole Seasoning. But be light with it, as it packs a punch.
• Like some extra heat? Add a dash of hot sauce.

Storage

Guys, you know I’m all about easy meals, side dishes and I’m big on meal prepping. I loooooove making extra batches of sides and dishes I know my family enjoys so we can have them again later.

• Storage –
• You can easily freeze leftover to devour again later. Once you’ve cooked your greens, pour them into a colander to drain completely. You may want to save the liquid for other recipes though, it’s too flavorful to waste! Once drained, you can store your greens in airtight containers or storage bags. Make sure to squeeze out any excess air before freezing. 

FAQs

How Do You Wash Collard Greens?

Make sure you don’t forget to wash your greens before making this recipe. Just follow these easy steps:

• Place the greens in a bowl of cold water inside the sink.
• Swirl the leaves around vigorously; you’ll see bits of grit coming off the leaves.
• Dump the water out and refill your bowl and continue circling the leaves around until you no longer have grit coming off the leaves into the water.

Should I Use Fresh or Bagged Greens?

Want to know the difference between fresh and bagged collard greens? Folks, there really isn’t a difference, except time and money.

Fresh greens will need to be washed (as detailed above), cut and trimmed before they’re ready to be used. Bagged greens are generally already cut and just need a quick wash or rinse off before use, so a few dollars more but can save you a lot of time and energy.

How Long Can You Cook These For?

Depending on the texture that you like your Collard Greens, you may need to adjust the length of time you set your Instant Pot.

To avoid overcooking and letting your Greens become a mush mess, start out by setting the pot for 27 mins initially. If you like more silky textured greens, you can increase your time slowly up to about 35 minutes. I wouldn’t increase more than that. 

You don’t want to cook them less than the 27 mins recommended because you want to make sure the turkey leg meat is fall off the bone tender and easy to shred.

Pot Likker / Pot Liquor Broth

There are quite a lot of searches for the phrase Black Folks Collard Greens, the research of which led me to the idea of collard greens being simmered in rich and tasty Pot Likker (aka pot liquor). This delicious liquid broth includes ingredients like onions, garlic, smoked meat like ham or turkey and chicken broth and a bit of heat. I tend to use leftover liquid for cooking greens but also for cooking rice in.

Other Ways To Cook Collard Greens

Traditionally, an authentic Southern Style Collard Greens recipe is cooked on the stovetop. It can be simmered in a deep dish pot, cooked in a Dutch Oven or in a Cast Iron Skillet. While these simmering, slow-cooked versions bring delicious flavor like our Pressure Cooker version, they take MUCH longer to cook.

Serving Suggestions

This awesome dish goes with just about anything in the South. Here are just a few suggestions:

• Creole Shrimp.
• Smothered Pork Chops.
• Instant Pot Cornbread.
• Instant Pot Pulled Pork.

More Southern Side Dish Recipes

• Hoppin John.
• Southern Style Candied Yams.
• Easy Southern Grape Salad.
• Southern Yellow Squash Casserole.
• Scalloped Corn.
• Corn Pudding Caserole.

More Instant Pot Recipes

• Instant Pot Broccoli.
• White Chicken Chili.
• Zuppa Toscana.
• Amazing Pot Roast.

Weight Watchers Points

There are 3 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.

Thank you for reading my Collard Greens Instant Pot recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue to slice, dice and dream up affordable Air Fryer recipes, Instant Pot Recipes, Southern Recipes and more. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog.

Originally published Feb 2020. This has been updated

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