Quick Collard Greens
These collard greens are quickly cooked in olive oil and finished with a squeeze of lemon juice. You're going to love these healthy, bacon-free collards!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 9, 2024
I’m having a moment with cooked greens. I know, this is thrilling news, right? I’ve put cooked kale in my mashed potatoes, and now I’m sautéing collard greens for every dinner.
These collards are a little garlicky, a little lemony, and seriously irresistible. They’re the perfect quick and healthy side dish, and they’re exactly what I’m craving as we get a taste of spring weather.
You might associate collard greens with West African cuisine (I put collards in my peanut soup). Maybe you have tried Southern collard greens, which are slow-cooked with bacon or the like. Southern-style collard greens were inherited from Africa, and so were Brazilian collard greens, called “couve à mineira.”
I cooked these collards greens in the Brazilian style—quickly in hot oil, with some garlic and chili flakes. In Brazil, these collards frequently accompany the national dish, called “feijoada,” which is a rich black bean stew cooked with pork, and rice on the side. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, take note that these collard greens would go great with black beans and rice.
Now that our brief history lesson is complete, want to learn how to make this delicious side dish?
How to Cook Brazilian Collard Greens
My friend Matt introduced me to this cooking style years ago. I think it makes the best collard greens! Here’s how to do it:
- Cut the thick central ribs out of the collard greens, and stack the leaves on top of one another. Starting at one end, roll them up into a cigar-liked shape, then slice across the roll to make skinny rolls of collard strips. Use a sharp chef’s knife for this, and make your slices as thin as possible—ideally about 1/8-inch wide. Give the collards a few extra chops to break them apart.
- Warm a large, heavy-bottom skillet (cast iron is great) over medium-high heat. Add a generous drizzle of olive oil (the oil will later help your body absorb the nutrients in the greens). Then add the greens and some salt. Give the greens a good stir so they’re all lightly shimmering from the oil and turning darker green.
- Let the greens cook against the pan in 30-second intervals, stirring in between. Thanks to the hot oil in the hot pan, some of the collards will eventually develop crisp, browned edges—these taste so good!
- Once you see a little browning action, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. I suggest adding the garlic at this point, rather than before, because otherwise it’ll burn by the time your collards are done.
- Transfer the collards to plates so they stop cooking. Serve with a wedge of lemon, and you’re done.
Watch How to Make Quick Collard Greens
How to Serve Brazilian Collard Greens
Honestly, the flavors in these collard greens would go well with almost any hearty main dish. Here are some ideas:
- Thanks to the lemon and garlic, these greens taste Mediterranean. Serve them with pasta, lasagna, or other Italian/Greek entrées. Here’s a simple spaghetti dish with these collards.
- As I mentioned, these collard greens go great with cooked black beans and rice.
- Take inspiration from West African cuisine and add chopped peanuts.
Change It Up
Kale is a great substitute for the collard greens, if you can’t find collards or have an extra bunch of kale.
These quick-cooked collard greens are also surprisingly fantastic with Asian flavors. If you’ve ever made my kale fried rice, you might appreciate this idea because kale and collards are similar greens.
For an Asian spin, you can simply reduce the salt (we’re adding salty sauce later) and substitute 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger for the garlic. Once the collards are done cooking, add a drizzle of store-bought teriyaki sauce to the pan, or add 1 teaspoon tamari or other soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil. (Skip the lemon.) So good.
Looking for more simple, healthy side dishes? Here are a few of my favorites:
- Greek Broccoli Salad
- Celery Salad with Dates, Almonds and Parmesan
- Gaby’s Cucumber Salad
- Parmesan Roasted Broccoli with Balsamic Drizzle
Please let me know how these collards turn out for you in the comments! Cooked greens can be surprisingly addictive.
Quick Collard Greens
These collard greens are quickly cooked in olive oil and finished with a squeeze of lemon juice. You’re going to love these healthy, vegetarian collards! Recipe yields 2 side servings. To make multiples, simply repeat the ingredients and instructions below (cook each batch separately for best results).
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch (about 10 ounces) collard greens
- 1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional, scale back or omit if sensitive to spice)
- A couple lemon wedges, for serving
Instructions
- To prepare the collards: Cut out the thick center rib out of each collard green. Stack the rib-less greens and roll them up into a cigar-like shape. Slice over the “cigar” as thinly as possible (⅛″ to ¼″) to make long strands. Shake up the greens and give them a few chops so the strands aren’t so long.
- Heat a large, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, then add the olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add all of the collard greens and the salt.
- Stir until all of the greens are lightly coated in oil, then let them cook for about 30 seconds before stirring again. Continue stirring in 30-second intervals until the greens are wilted, dark green, and some are starting to turn brown on the edges (this is delicious). This will take between 3 to 6 minutes.
- Once the collards are just about done, add the garlic and red pepper flakes (if using). Stir to break up the garlic and cook until it’s fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Immediately divide the cooked collards onto plates, and serve with a lemon wedge each.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my lemony collard greens pasta.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This looks delightful! I’m newly converted to frozen green veg: our large grocery store here has frozen collards, turnip greens, kale, and spinach, which can be a great way to reliably and easily have tons of greens, I eat way more than I would otherwise. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing, Bridget!
I love collards but don’t have the time to cook, so this was great. I recently found a brand online called Rosey Bloom’s collard greens and they’re phenomenal! I literally ordered a few jars and ate two without even hitting them up. Absolutely delicious, fully seasoned, and quick. They even have vegetarian option!
All I can say is Wow. I flash cook freeze my produce and into plastic bags. Frozen vegetables sound like a nice twist to prepare quick all the way around.
I haven’t prepared with Cookie Kate though I’m ready to get down and dirty and prepare her Quick collards. Her whole food cooking sounds filling and paired with a protein meat, fish or poultry sounds like the perfect sit-down meal!
Here we go. Thanks for the tip
Hey Kate! I’ve been making my collards like this for years and had no idea they were “a thing”. They are SO delicious – not the soggy, over cooked “southern” variety. I do add a smidge of honey when I make mine and a little bit of Vegeta in place of the salt, since it’s pretty high in sodium. I would urge all your many fans to try cooking their collards this way. Super easy and by far my all-time favourite veggie!!
It’s a thing and I’m all about it! Thank you for your review, Rose.
Easy and yummy – just purchased your cookbook
Thank you for your support, Debbi!
Thanks, thought I would share that I grew Portuguese kale last year and it is very similar to collards. Super easy to grow and pest free. I have never tried the Asian flavor but I will! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Is your cookbook / recipes all plant based?
Thanks,
Lynda
Hi Lynda! All of my recipes (in my book/blog) are vegetarian, since I’m a vegetarian. Many are vegan as well. Whenever possible, in both the book and blog, I try to offer vegan substitutions in the recipe notes. Hope this answers your question!
First time ever trying collard greens. This was delicious!! I followed the recipe except left off the red pepper flakes. It was good with and without a splash of lemon. Yum!
Thank you for sharing, Susan!
Hey Kate,
I just made this yesterday for dinner, have collar just about once a week and sometimes add kale which is so delicious. Always trying your recipes. Keep up the good work
Veganroro
Thank you, Rogenia! Thanks for trying it right away.
Just made this recipe today because I got collard greens in my weekly produce delivery. They were delicious (and my boyfriend agreed)! Your method of cutting the strips really thin is what takes this recipe to the next level. I’ve made collard greens before just by tearing the leaves into pieces and they were too chewy.
I’m glad you liked this version!
I bought prewashed and precut collards at our local grocery store. I think I would have liked the recipe better if I’d cut the greens in small strips as stated in the recipe. I had to cut out some of the tough spines and tore the leaves a bit smaller and the greens were still a bit tough. We did like the flavor though and will try cutting smaller next time.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Susan!
First time I have ever made collard greens..they turned out awesome,the recipe was easy and everyone loved them. I can also see how I can add my own spin,this basic recipe is simple and tastes great!
Happy to hear that, Kat! Thanks for sharing.
Give me ALL the garlicky greens!
:) :)
Looks so healthy Collard Greens.
Thank you!
Tried these today without the red pepper flakes and drizzled red wine reduction over the top. Will definitely make this again!
Great to hear, Barbara!
Great didh and recipe. Interesting content. Hope you share more with us.
Thanks for your review!
Holy Hannah! I like collard greens! I’ve tried a few times before but I just couldn’t get onboard. I saw your recipe and it looked so yummy I figured it was worth a shot. And it’s absolutely delicious. Anytime I find a new veggie I can add to the dinner rotation it’s a huge victory. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
You’re welcome! I’m glad this one was perfect for you.
The Quick Collard Greens recipe was perfect! So tasty and delicious. This is a recipe I will make again and again. Thank you so much, Kate!
You’re welcome, Mary! Thanks for your review.
I made this tonight with jambalaya and it was a HUGE hit and so easy! My 10 year old devoured hers before my husband got to the table and asked if she could have his. She eyed them until he finally sat down and ate them himself. Both my kids, my husband and I all finished our greens before touching our other food. This will be a new staple in our house … except that I’ll make a triple batch! Thanks for helping us diversify our vegetable repertoire!
You’re welcome, Rina!
My veggie delivery sends me SO many collard greens (and chard too) so I’m always looking for things to do with them. This is my new favorite way to cook them. Garlicky and delicious. I squeezed the lemon into the pan so every bite was lemony too. Thanks for a great recipe!
You’re welcome, Stephanie!
I made it as shown in the recipe, and it was tender and delicious. A far cry from the cooked to death bitterness of the traditional Southern style. The oil saute method you show is much better. We use the same technique for other bitter cruciferous greens such as rapini.
Thanks for sharing, Jon!
Made this.
Easy.
Delicious.
Healthy.
Thanks…
You’re welcome, Fay!
Just made collard greens for thr 1st time. Thanks for the recipe. Served it with some left over basmati rice. Just learning to cook and eat this way.
You’re welcome, Scott!
Excellent. I’d never cooked collards and associated them with southern, boil-until-they-are-dead cooking. I was so wrong. This recipe was easy and delicious. Who could ask for more? Oh. Yes. I did ask for more.
Good! I’m really glad you liked this recipe, Carol.
This turned out terrific. Collard greens are very hard to find in the store–maybe if people knew how good they are, there would be more of a demand for them, and more stores would stock them.
Mine needed to cook longer–in the time the recipe said, they were tasty but tough. I added some water, covered the pot, and let them steam another 15 minutes on low heat, and they were perfect.
Thanks for sharing, Jemima!
This is also how I do my spinach. I planted collards for the first time this year and I cannot get enough of them either. I’ve been doing them just the way that you said and I love them .
Great idea! Thanks for sharing, Judy.
One of the things I learned many years ago about the stems of greens is to remove the tough rib but then cut them an saute them with onions and garlic before adding the rest of the leaves. This way you get more out of the veggie, including all those nutrients that are absorbed as the plant grows. And they’re delicious!
I left out the red pepper flakes, and I added the garlic earlier. It was delicious!
Are 10 oz of greens the weight before you cut off the stems or what you are actually preparing to cook? Thank you.
We have been eating this almost every week for months now. I never could have imagined myself enjoying collards, but this recipe opened my eyes. Fantastic!
Thank you for your review, Lindsay!
Delicious recipe! Not soggy and mushy like some. I also like to add some crumbled, cooked bacon to it and skip the salt.
Yes. Thanks for the recipe..
I love greens of all kinds with…….. So, I started with your recipe but then went a little crazy with some stuff I had: turnip (chunked), radish (4 thin sliced), ham (about 1/4# slice home-cooked), Soul Food seasoning (1/2 teaspoon), butter (1 tablespoon), 1/2 large sweet onion sliced / sliced again; I chopped up the stalks (1/8″ and 1/4″ chunks); sauteed the ham, onion, stalk chunks, radish, turnip till just starting to brown, then added the garlic and leaves (sliced per your instructions, but a bit wider), turned down to very low and just allowed to steam for about 10 minutes. To me (and probably me only) it was very tasty, delightfully colorful and crunchy; and the best part is that it’s nutritious, and noting was wasted. :)
Thank you for sharing your approach, Daneil!
Love this recipe! Make it at least once every three weeks.
I’m so excited to make this for the All-American Eating Holiday (as an addition to Thanksgiving turkey and mashed potatoes).
I hope they are a hit, Birch!
Hi Kate! The firs time I tried such collared green in the Dominican buffet. I liked it a lot. Now I’m living too far from that place. I was lucky to found this recipe in internet.
Thank you! It’s easy and I like the result. I will do it again
You’re welcome, Dee dee! I am happy you love my take on them.
I’ve only had collard greens once before this and didn’t like them at all. I’m part of a winter CSA and dreaded getting the last week. Well, I finally made them tonight and they were so delicious! Only thing I did differently was I sauted up half a yellow onion before adding the greens and following the rest of the recipe as is.
I’m glad these ones were enjoyed, Lindsay! I appreciate your review.
This is so good! I was so shocked at how yummy it was, I’m about to make a second batch because I couldn’t stop eating it.
Delicious! I did the collard green with garlic and red pepper and lemon. my next batch (and I have plenty) I’ll try the ginger and then the other. Thank you Wendy
Thank you for sharing, Wendy!
Loved it! I usually use sauteed spinach or kale with my eggs in the morning and with salmon in the evenings. This was better, just sauteed a bit longer than kale. Bonus, collards are quarter the price!! My new staple, thanks!
Thank you for sharing, Dawn!
Purchased the best looking collards at Walmart yesterday. Found this recipe and made last evening. Delicious!!!! Will also use this recipe for other types of greens.
Thanks for sharing!
Wow, what a great tip on cutting up the collards. I didn’t do the entire recipe but used collards for soup. Rolling and cutting per you tip was such a rime saver and collards came out more consistent size wise.
Made this for our New Year lunch! VERY good and very easy. Thank you!
I’ve been meaning to thank you for sharing this method of preparing collard greens; it is so tasty and quick to prepare, especially if you take out the ribs and slice them in advance and store them tightly sealed in the fridge. It’s also nice to see a recipe without bacon, which just makes everything taste like bacon, not good if you are a vegetarian or even if you’re not, and you like the taste of greens.
Wow! I’m not usually a big fan of collards, but I force myself to eat them, since they’re so good for you. Your recipe made them sooo much better! I actually enjoyed them, and my husband did, too.
I love collard greens and this is a PERFECT recipe that comes together quickly while being savory and delicious. Thank you for sharing
You’re welcome! I’m happy you enjoyed them, Lily.
Delicious and so easy to make. I have never thought that I will buy sliced greens ever again but thanks to this recipe it become one of my favourite side dishes.
Super yummy and easy. Enjoyed it with black beans!
Sounds like a great combination!
This is my second time making it. I’ve never tasted any greens this good. Bonus! The hubby loves it too.
That is a bonus! Thanks for your review, T.R.
It took maybe 7 min to wash and de-vein the leaves, then roll & thinly slice. Then it took about as long to sauté in grape seed oil w a pinch salt. Midway through, i added garlic pepper and chili flakes. Cooked till they started to brown. Oh, delicious! My wife thought she was going to miss some vinegar or lemon, but didn’t have to add either of those. We ate the greens w black-eyed peas and pork chops. Thank you for this great recipe, Kate.
All three of my kids liked this,which is rare, but they like it extra brown and crispy. I was asked to make seconds.
Thank you for this recipe! These were the best greens my husband and I have ever tasted. I will be making these regularly!
These were scrumptious! So fresh and tasty; loved the flavors just as written. I’ve never cared much for the Southern style of collards. I got my first box of imperfect produce and it contained collards so I went looking for a recipe to try. Definitely a keeper!
Sounds super easy! Excited to try.
First time ever eating collard greens. this recipe was so easy and very good!
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad you tried this one.
This is the BEST BY FAR collard greens recipe I have ever eaten. My husband does not like collards and he like them! They were delicious!! Thank you.