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Bon Appétit

Instant Pot Collard Greens

4.6

(38)

Instant pot collard greens with hot sauce
Photo by Emma Fishman, Food styling by Pearl Jones

You don’t need to add liquid to the pot before cooking—the collards will release plenty while they’re in there. You can reduce the braising liquid as much or as little as you want once they’re done. We like to serve the greens a little saucy, but you can simmer until the liquid is slightly reduced if that’s what you prefer.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    4–6 servings

Ingredients

3

Tbsp. grapeseed or extra-virgin olive oil

1

medium white onion, finely chopped

6

oz. slab bacon, cut into 1x¼" lardons

Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper

3

bunches collard greens (about 1¾ lb.)

1

fresh red chile (such as Fresno), cut into thin rounds, seeds removed if desired

Louisiana-style hot sauce (for serving)

Special Equipment

An Instant Pot or pressure cooker

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oil in Instant Pot on Sauté setting (or heat over medium-high if using another pressure cooker). Add onion and bacon, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and just beginning to brown and bacon has rendered some of its fat, 5–6 minutes.

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, cut collard leaves away from stems; discard stems. Cut leaves in half through the midline. Stack leaves and cut crosswise into 1"-thick strips. Add collards and chile to pot, season again with salt and pepper, and cook, tossing frequently, until collards are shiny and wilted, 3–4 minutes. Lock lid and cook on high pressure 12 minutes.

    Step 3

    Release pressure manually, then open lid and taste collards; adjust seasoning as needed. If there’s a lot of liquid in the pot, simmer on Sauté setting until reduced enough to lightly coat greens.

    Step 4

    Transfer collard greens to a platter. Season with hot sauce as desired.

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Reviews (38)

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  • Easy and delicious!

    • SDB

    • Winston-Salem, NC

    • 11/20/2023

  • This was wonderful! I just used regular bacon cut into large-ish pieces (instead of slab), and a bit of jalapeno instead of fresno, because that's what I had on hand. We served with chicken and dumplings and were all extremely happy about i!

    • Anonymous

    • 1/30/2022

  • Substitute bacon with turkey or portobello

    • Anonymous

    • Texas

    • 11/20/2021

  • This is best recipe for collards! Tastes like they've cooked for hours and they take no time to make. So tender and flavorful!

    • Bex

    • Knightdale, NC

    • 11/5/2021

  • My southern husband thinks these are exquisite! he could not stop raving. i knew he would want them with more liquid, so put put in a small amount of vegetable bouillon, two splashes vinegar, and garlic to the saute. used crushed red pepper since didn't have any good dried chilies at hand. phenomenal, thank you for this recipe.

    • alona

    • Chapel Hill, NC

    • 2/27/2021

  • Just fantastic! I didn't have bacon the first time I made this, so I used some ham. It tastes like your Grandma cooked them for half a day. Right on! Thank you.

    • Wendy

    • North Carolina

    • 1/26/2021

  • Absolutely amazing! The cook time was just perfect. I was worried about not adding liquid, but it came out perfect.

    • Jenn

    • North Carolina

    • 1/1/2021