Collard greens with pancettas is a big on flavor recipe and so easy to make. With Italian bacon, pinto beans and delicious spices, these collard greens are a little sweet, a little spicy (not too much), and a little tart the way collard greens should be!
While I am not from the deep south in the U.S., I am from the East Coast and was raised around traditional Southern food growing up in Florida. When I think of traditional Southern food I think of BBQ with all the sides and my favorite is Southern collard greens.
Slow-cooked collard greens are always a side to southern BBQ along with fluffy biscuits, potato salad, Southern green beans, pinto bean salad, baked bbq chicken , pimento cheese sandwich, coleslaw. Since I live in Texas and cannot find these slow cooked greens, this is the recipe I make at home when I crave them.
Simple Ingredients for This Classic Collard Greens Recipe!
I did put my own twist on this collard green recipe by adding pancetta (Italian bacon), beans and ham. All of these ingredients impart that delicious meaty flavor that you would get from the traditional ham hocks used in Southern collard greens.
I sometimes make this recipe without the beans. Sometimes I make this as a collard greens with ham, sometimes collard greens and beans, and sometimes just collard greens and bacon. It tastes great anyway you make it!
This collard greens recipe is a little spicy, a little sweet, and a little tart all rounded out with a delicious meaty profile. The exact way collard greens should taste.
Feel free to change it up to suit you!
Best Tips
When cooking this collard greens with pancetta, it is a little bit of sautéing and then adding your ingredients into a large pot to simmer away to allow all the flavors to come together and wilt down the collard greens.
It will take a lot of collard greens to make this dish. Much like other leafy green vegetables, cooking collard greens, will cook down quite a bit in the simmering process. I will usually buy 2-3 large bags of chopped collard greens when making this dish.
Make sure to plan for that!
More Southern Classics
If you love this collard greens recipe, you may also want to try these recipes:
Collard Greens with Beans
Ingredients
- 2 large bags of chopped collard greens about 32 ounces per bag
- 32 ounces unsalted chicken stock
- 2 15 ounce cans of pinto beans rinsed
- 8 ounces diced pancetta or regular bacon
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar you can also use white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 shallot diced finely
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes You can use less if you want it less spicy.
- 1 tablespoon salt plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Optional add-Ins
- 1 ham steak cubed about 8 ounces
Instructions
- In a very large pot, heat your olive oil over medium heat.2 tablespoon olive oil
- Add your red pepper flakes and let it cook for a minute.1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Now add your shallots and add them to the heated pot and cook for 3 minutes.1 shallot diced finely
- Next add your diced pancetta or bacon and cook for about 5 minutes or until the pancetta renders some of its fat and starts to crisp up a little.8 ounces diced pancetta
- After bacon is cooked, add your garlic and then add that to your pot and cook for 2 minutes.1 clove garlic minced
- Now add your chicken stock and mix well.32 ounces unsalted chicken stock
- Start adding your collard greens to the pot. Try to fit as much in as possible and place lid on the pot.2 large bags of chopped collard greens
- Simmer on medium heat for a few minutes and if you still need to add more of your collard greens, try to do that now. You can shove them into the pot if you need to.
- Cook for another few minutes stirring and tossing the collard greens around a bit in the pot.
- Now add your sugar, vinegar, salt & pepper.¼ cup red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- If you are adding ham, add it in now and mix it in to the other ingredients.1 ham steak cubed
- Mix everything well.
- Cover your pot and turn the heat down to a simmer on low.
- Cook for about 1 hour making sure to stir occasionally (every 15 minutes).
- After 1 hour, taste for seasoning. Add more salt if needed.
- Add your beans and mix them in gently and let simmer for another 5 minutes.2 15 ounce cans of pinto beans rinsed
- Serve immediately or let come to room temperature and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer hereTried the Recipe? We Would Love To Hear From You In The Comments Below!
Cara Wahlgren says
at what point do you add the beans?
Keeping It Simple says
Hi.
You will add them in the last few minutes of cooking! Just make sure they are fully cooked before adding them in (if you are starting with dried beans).