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.
Loved it! I am trying to go a little more vegan but cheated this. I also added smoked bacon and onions with the garlic. Served on a bed of basil flavored quinoa and black beans. The greens were the star of the plate!
Great change up from the greasy ham or bacon version. Was very good and so simple. will make again.
Receipe was great! This was my first time making collard greens. Thank you!
super quick, easy and TASTY! i generally cringe at the thought of collards: overcooked, heavy and time consuming..this was opposite and delightful, thank you!
Wonderful to hear this one was perfect for you, Annie! I appreciate your review.
I made this as you recommended in a cast iron skillet but I used avocado oil instead of olive oil. I think this let me cook it at a bit of a higher temp and it got nicely browned with a bit of crunch to it which I really liked. It is much better than the typical soggy collards. I will definitely make it again, and I will try it with kale too. Thanks!
I’m happy you liked it! It works well with kale. I appreciate you taking the time to review.
It was delicious! I tasted it before adding the lemon and decided I didn’t even need it. Very good recipe!
I’ve never cooked collard greens before this and was surprised how delicious it was with just a little bit of oil and salt. Thank you for providing the recipe.
I added a very thinly sliced onion with the collards and they were absolutely delicious! My husband likes greens cooked Southern style, but is otherwise very picky about them. I didn’t know if he’d even eat these, but when he finished the bowl and said, “you can make this again!” I knew I had a hit. Thank you for the great idea.
Easy, quick,and very tasty! Thank you
Hi Cookie or Kate
I made your dish with a few minor variations. Awesome!!
My first time ever cooking this delicious and nutritious green because I guess I was scared .
Thank you so much!!
Your easy intro and recipe has initiated me into a whole new world of green.
Thank you!!
Brazilian collards was wonderful! I have never been overly fond of southern cooked collards with vinegar and fastback. My son’s garden had a huge collard just ready to eat. So I picked it, stripped out the vein, washed it. Then tried your recipe. It was yummy. I’m converted to a collard lover!!! Thank you.
You’re welcome, Ginny! I’m happy to hear it. I appreciate your review.
Love this recipe, easy, your instructions and photos made this simple and easy to make. Thanks. I was tired of Kale. Bought fresh greens at grocery store (a little shocked at the expense). Thought Collards would be too strong/bitter and didn’t like typical boil to death recipes. But this method was perfect. The little bit of browning and the red pepper flakes make this wonderful. I did find after fry pan cooking they were little too chewy, tough. My fry pan was getting too burnt so put the greens into glass bowl, plastic wrap sealed and into microwave just a few seconds to get steam up, let sit a few minutes and they were perfect. It did however make them less brilliant green but still not over cooked. I put them on plain chopped up spaghetti, nothing else, heated in microwave for breakfast the next day! Yummy. Look forward to trying more recipes on your site.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Linda! I’m happy you liked this method.
Very good taste was amazing
I made these today. Holy crap, are they incredible!
We had a bunch of collard greens in our last grocery order and I have never cooked them! Your recipe was great. I ended up adding some beet greens,left over diced potatoes, and cabbage to a quick stir fry and changed it up with some lemon pepper instead of lemon. Superb! Thank you!
I never thought I would seek out collard greens. Received some in an organic vegetable delivery and had no idea what to do with them… then I found this recipe. They were awesome and honestly I could eat them like they were popcorn or tortilla chips but sooooo much healthier. Very quick and easy a so so delicious.
This is the first year I’ve grown Collard, and I had no idea what to do with it. Your recipe is AMAZING! I wanted to eat all of it myself. I didn’t have lemon, so I served it without. And instead of olive oil, I used grease from frying my bacon-sausage. Absolutely will make again…and again… and again. Thank you for sharing.
Fresh from the garden, it doesn’t get better! Thank you for sharing, Patty.
Only one word: Chiffonade. When you look it up you’ll know what I mean.
First time ever cooking collard greens.Clean eating, easy recipe, yummy!!
Hi, I am from the South & used to collards prepared in the pressure cooker. I’ve never made them myself & don’t like the pressure cooker so this recipe definitely appealed to me. Let me tell you, these are delicious & I could have them everyday! Thank you for this recipe & all the details involved!
I wasn’t sure I’d like collard greens, and as I was cutting them they smelled just like grass… needless to say, I didn’t have high hopes. But wowie! These are soooo good. I hope my husband likes them, too, because they’re going to show up on our dinner table again!
This has been our family’s favorite meal. I add Marcona Almonds (from Costco) to the greens before the garlic goes in. Then I make cauliflower rice with black beans and cumin as a side. The greens absolutely are the star of this dish.I have made it with Kale too and it was just as fantastic. Thank you!!!
These came out absolutely delicious. Also seems healthier than cooking greens for hours. I used just a bit of Tony’s original creole seasoning in place of the salt and red pepper. I’m holding on to this recipe, it’s a real winner!
Love it!!! So tasty!
Contrary to some other greens, these cooked up quickly and were delicious. I have the Love Real Food cookbook, and have found it filled with equally wonderful recipes. Thanks, Kate!
You’re welcome! I’m excited you loved it.
Turned out great as a side for a lasagna!
I’ve never cooked collards before but had a bunch to use up- this was the perfect introduction to them! I can’t stand soggy cooked greens so was pleasantly surprised at how nicely these crisp. I did substitute garlic powder instead of fresh garlic.
Just used this method with savoy cabbage. Superb! Also added some summer savory flowers, great flavour pairing. The herb flower is a rich purple colour this time of year, looks wonderful alongside the vibrant green which is preserved in this cooking method.
Thank you for sharing! I appreciate your review.
Loved these!! So fast and delicious! They would be really good with some toasted walnuts.
Thank you for sharing, Jessica! I appreciate you sharing. Toasted nuts would be delicious.
It was absolutely delicious!!!!
I think I may try it with kale, what do you think?
That’s a great option! Thank you for your review.
Kate, Although I eat a lot of kale, I haven’t had collards since I was a kid. Recently, when looking for collard green recipes, all I could find were ones that required a lot of time. Your recipe fixes that. Thank you for that.
Never ate a collard green in my life until about 2 days ago when my wife pointed out this gigundo green plant in our garden. I asked what I could do with those enormous leaves, and she told me to NOT put them in a salad raw…”They need to be cooked.” After a very short search on my iPad, I hit your website and this recipe. Great stuff! Made it as a side the other night and with pasta last night. Tonight it will probably be a side again…there’s a lot of collard green out there.
I’m happy you liked this versions, Jim! Thank you for your review.
I just made the collards this way. It was soooo good! It is a very quick and easy way to prepare these nutritious greens! Kate, I love your recipes and thank you so much for sharing your great cooking ideas with us!
Amazing and so eas!! it only took a few minutes. The lemon on top really makes this pop. Thanks for the recipe, this is the first time I’ve cooked collards
You’re welcome, Cassandra! Thank you for your review.
is it necessary to soak the collard greens before cooking?
Hi cat, this one doesn’t require a soak. Are you referring to something else?
The best collards I have ever had. I have made this twice and was amazing each time. Something about the cut of them this way makes them so fantastic. Never grey in color. Always still vibrant on the plate. Super yum thank you!
I used collards straight from my garden and these were the best collards I’ve ever had!
Best ever? Wonderful! Thank you for your review, Donna.
These were delicious! I bought collards on my last trip to the grocery and kept putting off cooking them – until I found this recipe. I doubt that I will ever cook them any other way. That little splash of lemon is perfection. The hubs even gave them a thumbs up :)
Thank you, Dena! I’m glad you loved it.
This article is so good. We have collards at home grown on their own every year with fallen seeds. We do not know what do with them. This article is so helpful in making a simple, delicious and healthy recipe. Thank you Kate for enriching our greens cooking knowledge.
Homegrown, sounds even better! Thank you for your review.
It was great!
I’m so excited to try this recipe! Making these on New Year’s Day 2021 for my husband, mom, and sister! Happy New Year!
You’re recipes are amazing, and the greens were no exception. I’ve made greens so many times I can’t count, often with the same ingredients, but I’ve never enjoyed greens as much as these. Your process is what sets the recipes apart. It’s forgiving but spot on. These were fab!
Thank you, Jess! I’m glad you loved them.
Had to leave a comment about this recipe….we traditionally do a post Christmas honey ham a few days after Christmas and I was looking for a green side that hadn’t been cooked recently, and came upon this recipe. I made it exactly as described, and squeezed half a lemon over entire dish prior to serving. ALL of the adults raved about this recipe…my mom said “of course everything is good, the mac and cheese, the scalloped potatoes, but I EXPECT those to be good…these collards are SHOCKINGLY good!” Thanks for another winner!
Many thanks. First time for me to eat c greens. It’s because I need calcium and c g give more calcium than spinach. Anyway, tried recipe. Taste was awesome. Great mix of salt garlic hear and lemon.
But, it turned out a wee bit tough and chewy. I may have erred in cooking at medium low heat instead of higher. Any advice?
This was delicious! I left out the lemon because I forgot and it was still amazing. I thought it was weird rolling the leaves into cigar shapes to cut but I tried it anyway and it was so cool!
I had never even eaten collard greens before making this recipe. We served it with a rare grilled fillet mignon. It was lovely, so flavourful with a delightful texture. Cooked greens are my new discovery and my body is so happy eating them. My mouth is too! Thanks a big bunch (of collards!)
I’m glad you tried it! Thank you for sharing, Bianca.
Made tonight. Amazing!
Thanks for the recipe, tasty! A friend gave us a large bunch of very fresh Collards. I used your same cutting technique. Very clever for some tough vegetables. I used one large shallot cut in the same fashion very thin and minced garlic that I sweated ahead of time because the last time I made this recipe the garlic never cooked down. Then I added the collards, a little salt and some pepper flakes. I released the pan with a splash of white wine and a squeeze of lemon and let it simmer half covered for a couple of minutes to break down the tough fibrous collards. They turned out delicious
Thank you for sharing, Geneva! I appreciate your review.
This worked great for me, a big improvement over my technique in the past. Rolling and slicing makes a great tangly structure; holding garlic/chili til the last phase lets you fully cook the greens; salt as you go and lemon at the end brighten it perfectly. I added a handful of chopped orange cherry tomatoes and it was just perfect.
Very nice recipe. Only thing I would add is that you can chop up the ribs/stems and saute those first because they take a little longer (I use salt, pepper, and an acid like lemon juice or a splash of vinegar.) No reason to throw out the ribs.