Cannellini beans, bacon, and caramelized onions give collard greens a richer flavor. Such a treat! Add some sour cream and/or Parmesan cheese before serving.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs 25 mins |
| Total Time: | 2 hrs 35 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon, coarsely chopped
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic, or to taste
- 5 cups collard greens, stems and center ribs discarded and leaves chopped
- ¾ cup water, or as needed
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Place the bacon in a large, deep pan with a lid, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon pieces from the pan, and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, and stir the sliced onion into the hot bacon fat. Cook and stir the onion until it begins to brown, scraping the bits off the bottom of the pan, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook and stir 4 more minutes. Return the bacon to the pan, stir in the collard greens, and toss gently until the greens are wilted, about 3 minutes.
- Pour in the water to almost cover the collard greens, and stir in the brown sugar, vinegar, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer the collard greens until very tender, 1 to 2 hours.
- About 1/2 hour before serving, stir the cannellini beans into the collard greens, and return to a simmer.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 163 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 25 g |
| Cholesterol | 7 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Sodium | 387 mg |
| Sugars | 5 g |
| Fat | 4 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I love this recipe and have made it several times, and I think it’s a good recipe to make for people that think they don’t like collards but want to give them a try. I prefer pinto beans or black eyed peas to cannelinis. You can make it vegetarian by using olive oil for sauteing the onions and then adding liquid smoke, bacos, or bacon seasoning at the end, for flavor. It’s great with cornbread!
These taste great! I did not have any sugar on hand, brown or otherwise, so substituted one small gala apple diced. It worked out beautifully. The apple added an unexpected but delightful flavor to the dish while not overwhelming the more traditional flavors. If you are used having sugar on a regular basis, you may wish to use two.
I didn’t know what to expect not being from the south or having eaten collards. I made with chicken broth. I didn’t have bacon but I’m sure it’s great with this. The small amount of vinegar and sugar have it a unique flavor- my kids thought they were smelling Chinese food lol. Served with sour cream
I found a turnip plant beside the road and used this recipe to cook the greens. Wow! Even my anti-greens/anti-turnip hubs liked the slightly sweet, zingy flavor. There were no leftovers!
I don’t eat pork, made it omitting the bacon. I liked it, husband didn’t love it. I would make it again.
very good. I used ketchup instead of the brown sugar and vinegar and had pinto beans on hand so used those as well. Didn’t have bacon but had pulled pork fat saved in freezer. Super lucky as I have Fresh collards from the garden. Vegetable broth my daughter had made for me instead of water. Garlic from the garden. Will make again.
Loved it! I just need to add more collard greens next time. Thank you!
Stuck to the recipe, except garbanzos replaced white beans. Used collards growing next to rental cottage in Georgetown Florida. Yum!
Stuck to the recipe, except garbanzos replaced white beans. Used collards growing next to rental cottage in Georgetown Florida. Yum!
I made some changes, I cooked onion and garlic separately because of a food allergy. my husband incorporated them into his part of the recipe. it was a definite keeper. I added a can of tomatoes and used broth instead of water. had never had collards before but I liked these
Good dish but the flavors didn’t work for me. I found the cider vinegar and brown sugar not desirable and will stick with greens that have chicken broth and spice.
I loved this. I had some pork sausages that needed to be used so I substituted them for the bacon and it still tasted so very good. I’ll definitely make this again. Thank you. 🙂 I changed my rating from 4-5 because I ‘have to’ have this so often since I found this recipe. 🙂
Fantastic. Great sweet-spicy flavor. I made it per the recipe other than using vegetable broth instead of water. Simmered for about an hour and they were soft perfection.
I’ve made this several times and love it. I’ve never made it with the beans, just collards. I used chicken broth instead of water. One teaspoon of red pepper flakes was a little spicy for me (perhaps because I didn’t add the beans). I cut the red pepper flakes in 1/2. Best collards ever!! Someone was right when they said “the longer you cook them, the better they are”. Don’t skimp on the cooking time.
Excellent! Used chicken broth in place of water. Pinto beans since thats what I had. Delish. Fyi, Used half of large bag of the fresh collards from sams.
This will go on my list of regulars! It was delicious. The only change I made was using less bacon than recipe called for & it took more water to nearly cover the greens. It is a great combination of flavors.
Love, love, LOVE IT! Just make sure you make time to do this right. If it’s rushed you have a chewy, unsatisfying dish.
My 14 year old said ” why can’t I stop eating this?!” Only change – chicken broth intead of water. I did let simmer for 4 hours, while I cooked rest of meal.
delicious. added a bit more apple cider vinegar and brown sugar than originally called for, but very good collards recipe.
I love this recipe! The only changes I made was instead of bacon I put a ham hock in the greens as they cooked. Then I shredded the ham and added it to the greens. I also used chicken broth instead of water. This is one of my favorite recipes!
Everyone in my family loved it. Even my 8 & 10 year old boys! I took the recommendation of others and used chicken broth instead of water and extra bacon.