As a native Southerner, collard greens are life. And these one pot southern collard greens will make you feel like a Southerner too. They are so easy to make and are only 1 Freestyle point on Weight Watchers.
I love that you can use only one pot to make these, and can be a great side dish for your week day meals.
Even though New Years Day has come and gone, it doesn’t mean you can’t eat collard greens any time you want. And now you can.
These Southern collard greens are amazing, use bacon (hello bacon) and have the tang that I personally love when I get collard greens at restaurants.
Yes, I will buy collards anywhere that sells them cooked (this is basically true – I get them at our local taco place) because I love them so much.
I think that it was my love of collard greens that made me so scared to try to make them myself. But you know what? It’s not hard at all to make collards.
I bought the bag of greens that were already washed and chopped. That saved probably 2-3 hours of cleaning and chopping. Then, I cooked the bacon ahead of time and had it ready to add to this recipe.
If you are interested in additional side dishes, try this Instant Pot fluffy rice or this lemon Parmesan asparagus recipe.
Super easy to plan ahead and cook the bacon (because who doesn’t love bacon?).
What is your favorite side dish?

One Pot Southern Collard Greens
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 bag collard greens rinsed and chopped
- 6 strips bacon cooked and crumbled
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil, garlic and onion. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the collard greens and cook, stirring constantly, until they are wilted, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Lower the heat to a simmer and cook covered for about 2 hours or until the collards are soft. Adjust seasonings as the cooking continues.