Collard Greens Recipe (Meatless)

A heaped bowl of collard greens with a serving fork lifting some of the leaves, with a plate of white rice and a dish of red pepper flakes nearby.

Collard Greens Recipe (Meatless)

These braised collard greens simmer low and slow in a savory pot likker until they're meltingly tender. Soy sauce, smoked paprika, and molasses give them the depth you'd usually get from smoked turkey, with no meat in the pot.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword collard greens, collard greens recipe meatless

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 20

Servings people

Calories 141kcal

Author Tanya Harris

Equipment

Dutch Oven

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion chopped
1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon seasoned salt plus more to taste
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups vegetable broth plus more as needed
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons molasses
1 pound collard greens trimmed weight, about 1 large bunch, tough stems removed, thoroughly washed and chopped
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon liquid smoke optional

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and red bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the garlic, smoked paprika, seasoned salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds.
Pour in the vegetable broth, soy sauce, and molasses, scraping up any browned bits.
Add the collard greens to the pot. Bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the greens reach your preferred tenderness, about 45-90 minutes. Stir occasionally and check the liquid. Add more broth if desired, in ½ cup increments.
Stir in the apple cider vinegar and the liquid smoke, if using. Taste the greens and broth, then adjust the seasoned salt, pepper, or vinegar as needed.
Serve warm with plenty of pot likker spooned over each portion.

Notes

On the collard greens. The 1 pound in this recipe is the trimmed weight, after the stems come off. That was about 1 large bunch for me. A bag of pre-cut collards works too if you'd rather skip the prep.
Taste before you add more salt. The soy sauce is already salting the pot, so I adjust the seasoned salt at the end, not the beginning.
If your collards taste bitter. Add a little more molasses, or a pinch of brown sugar. The apple cider vinegar at the end helps with this too.
Substitutions. Brown sugar works in place of molasses. Chicken broth works in place of vegetable broth, but then the dish is no longer meatless.
Liquid smoke is optional. Add it if you want these closer to the traditional smoked turkey version.
Storage. Keep the greens in their pot likker in the fridge for 3 to 4 days, or freeze for about 3 months. Reheat until they reach 165°F.

Nutrition