Slow Cooker Collard Greens

Slow Cooker Collard Greens is a delicious side dish full of ham flavor and pot likker. This fuss-free classic southern side dish goes perfectly with hot cornbread and a glass of sweet tea. 

Southerners love their greens, and this easy recipe allows you to free up your stove while using your slow cooker to prepare a delectable side dish. Collards are tender, cooked perfectly, and go nicely with fried pork chops, cornbread, and sweet potato casserole—a delicious recipe with tender greens and a slightly smoky flavor.

What Are Collard Greens

Collards are large leafy green vegetables considered a staple to southerners. Collards have big leaves and tough, thick stems. Therefore, the stems should be removed before cooking. However, collards are relatively easy to cook. They need some prep before cooking-but worth the time and effort.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This is truly an easy slow cooker collard greens recipe and a great side dish for any night of the week.

No Babysitting– Load your Slow Cooker with Fresh or Frozen Collard Greens and let them go. Slow Cooking is my personal preference.

Frees Up Your Stovetop– Using your slow cooker is a great way to free up your stovetop. This is especially handy during the holiday season when preparing multiple side dishes.

Easy to Prepare-Place all ingredients in the slow cooker and turn it on. If you’re using fresh collards, see below how to prepare them before cooking, but if you’re using frozen, it’s even easier.

Ingredients for Slow Cooker Collard Greens with Ham

For correct measurements, see the recipe card below.

This slow cooker method requires only a few ingredients to make collard greens.

Collard Greens, fresh or frozen– I used a 3-pound bag of freshly frozen, washed, and chopped collards. You can certainly use fresh for this recipe; follow the instructions in the link to prepare collards for cooking.

Ham Pieces– I used leftover ham from the freezer for this recipe. Other choices might be smoked turkey, salt meat, bacon, or smoked sausage.

Water– Use enough water to cover the collards. Feel free to use chicken broth instead or half water and half broth.

Seasonings of Choice– Salt and pepper were my choices. No additional salt may be needed if you are using salty meat such as ham or salt pork. Black pepper and brown sugar (just a spoonful) are excellent choices.

How to Make Crockpot Collard Greens

For more detailed steps, see the recipe card below.

This recipe will need a large crock pot (6-8 quarts). Keep in mind collards will cook down and reduce quite a bit. So you will start with a full pot of fresh collards, and they will more than likely reduce by half.

If you are using fresh collards, wash and chop. See below for how to clean fresh collards. I used frozen collards for this recipe, which is the easiest way to prepare them.

1. Place collards in the crock pot, add ham pieces and seasonings and cover with water or broth.
2. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours. 

For an easy stovetop recipe, check out my Southern Style Collard Greens with Bacon. This method is prepared on the stovetop, is a wonderful side dish, and is quite delicious.

Should I Thaw Collard Greens Before Cooking

If you are using frozen collards, there is no need to thaw them before adding them to the slow cooker or pot.

Where to Buy Collard Greens

When collards are in season, they can be found in the produce section (usually wrapped in bunches of collards) at the local grocery store, farmer’s markets, or perhaps, your neighbor’s backyard garden. 

During the off-season, they can be found in the local supermarket’s freezer section with the vegetables.

Can I Grow Fresh Collard Greens?

In the south, collards can be grown in the late fall and early winter months. Collards are tiny seeds, so just a few will go a long way. You will need to check your area and zone for growing collards to see what time of the year is best for you.

Can I Use Bagged Collards?

I like to use bagged collards because most of the time-consuming process has already been done, making this recipe easier to prepare. 

I find these in the produce section at my local grocery store. They are often washed, chopped, and ready to cook, but I still give them a quick rinse and sort through them (looking for bad leaves) before cooking.

Frozen Bagged Collards are also wonderful to cook. These can be found in the freezer section at your local grocery store. They have also been washed, chopped, and are ready to be cooked. For this recipe, I used a 3-pound bag of frozen collards. 

How To Clean and Prepare Fresh Collard Greens

Check out the link for Southern Style Collard Greens for how to clean collards before cooking.

What is Pot Likker?

Pot Likker, Potlikker, and sometimes spelled Pot Liquor, is simply the liquid left behind after cooking greens such as collards and turnips. Pot Likker is the liquid in which the greens cook. It is infused with flavor from the ham, tastes great over hot cornbread, and makes a delicious soup base.

Expert Tips for Making the Best Collard Greens

• Add a few dashes of pepper sauce or hot sauce to the top of each serving.

• If you are using fresh collards, they should be washed and cleaned well before cooking.

• Frozen Collards work nicely for this recipe. 

• Cover the collards well with liquid.

• If you like a sweet flavor, add a spoonful of white or brown sugar to the slow cooker with the seasonings.

• Cooking low and slow is the best way to make this perfect side dish.

Can I Freeze Cooked Collard Greens?

Yes. Collards can be frozen, thawed, and reheated. After the collards have cooled, place them in a freezer zip-top bag and freeze them. Then, thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stovetop.

Reheat leftovers in a saucepan on the stove until hot.

For More Slow Cooker Recipes:

Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup

Slow Cooker Purple Hull Peas

Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup

Other Meats for Crock Pot Collard Greens:

Ham/ Ham Bone / Ham Pieces

Smoked Turkey Wings

Smoked Ham Hocks

Smoked Sausage

Cooked bacon, bacon grease, bacon drippings

Salt Meat

Other Add-Ins:

For more flavor, you might also add:

Red Pepper Flakes

A dash of Apple Cider Vinegar

A diced yellow onion or red onion

A few minced garlic cloves

Can I Use Other Greens for This Recipe?

Suppose you are not a collard greens fan; no worries. Kale greens, mustard greens, and turnip greens added to the slow cooker (together), using this recipe, would turn out tasty. No need to adjust the cooking time. If you like greens, be sure to check out my Crockpot Turnip Greens Soup.

How to Store Leftover Slow-Cooker Collard Greens

Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. 

Other Side Dishes to Serve with this Crock Pot Collard Greens Recipe

Purple Hull Peas

Jalapeno Cornbread

Fried Potatoes and Onions

Candied Sweet Potatoes

Many southerners serve collards as a side dish on Thanksgiving Day. Here are a few Southern Side Dishes for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

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