Vegetarian Southern Collard Greens
“What! You didn’t use any meat in these greens? Yeah right!” is usually what I hear when I serve these vegetarian collard greens. They can stand right up to my soulful, southern-style collard greens recipe with its head held high. They are bursting with flavor and yes, even the pot liquor is bangin! : )
Watch me make these vegetarian southern collard greens from start to finish!
This is my favorite family recipe for collard greens made WITHOUT chicken broth and smoked meat. It’s healthier but doesn’t sacrifice taste! You won’t even miss the meat.
This vegetarian southern collard greens recipe is family approved which isn’t easy to do in my deep south, tell it like it is, family. Try bringing a pot of collard greens to dinner that doesn’t have a slab of smoked meat in the pot and there are bound to be some issues and major side-eye. Not with this recipe though!
These collard greens are full of southern flavor! The key to a pot of guuuud, yes guuuuud, vegetarian southern collard greens, or any kind of collard greens for that matter, is to create a savory broth to slowly simmer the collards in. This recipe starts with a broth made with rich vegetable broth for maximum flavor, fresh garlic and onions, smoked applewood salt for that smokey, bacon taste, and red pepper flakes for a kick. The collard greens just soak up all that yumminess.
I love this recipe because it’s so easy and sometimes I just want a meat-free version of soulful dishes like collard greens.
Get the Recipe: Vegan Southern Collard Greens
Ingredients
- 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2-3 cups vegetable broth, I only used 2 cups
- 1 teaspoon applewood smoked salt, or any kind of smoked salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 lbs collard greens
- black pepper
- hot sauce
Instructions
- Coat a large deep skillet or pot with vegetable oil.
- Saute onions until almost tender over medium heat and then add in garlic.
- Cook until onion and garlic are fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in vegetable broth.
- Season broth with smoked salt and red pepper flakes.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Make sure it's to your liking because this is how your greens will taste.
- Bring to a simmer and reduce heat.
- Add in the greens. Green will wilt down as they cook.
- Simmer for 1 hr to 1 hr 30 mins. Do not boil. Add more vegetable broth if needed. May need more or less time so be sure to check them after 30-45 minutes. When done, greens will be dark green, tender and will not have a raw taste.
- Add in more smoked salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and hot sauce, if desired. ( I always do!)
- Enjoy!
- Add hot sauce or vinegar if desired.
Video
Notes
Any type of smoked salt can be used.
Cooking time may vary.
Add fresh tomatoes and red peppers if desired.
Game changer!!!
My wife is pescetarian, so I have been looking for a definitive greens recipe that does not use ham hocks, etc. Only substitutions were garlic powder for the fresh garlic and smoked paprika for the smoked salt (about 1/2 t. each), added with the onion. I think using the vegetable broth was the biggest part of what gave these greens such great flavor. Simmered them the full 90 and they were the best ever!
Wow! I used this recipe as a template for cooking Joi Choi from our garden rather than collards. I added potatoes and a bit more broth than called for, so mine was more of a soup dish. It was a zingy, hearty hit! Thanks so much!
I’ve made this and it’s amazing. Best collard greens ever, better than the local southern restaurants (Portland, OR). I used a fancy alder smoked salt from the organic grocery nearby, and simmered the greens, tasting as they went, for about 4 hrs. This time, I’m putting them in the pressure cooker .
I have a couple of questions, when you say 2lbs, that’s for the whole bunch, before trimming the stems, correct? Also, how many servings would you say this recipe makes?
Forgot to rate!
Yes, about 4-6.
Awesome Recipe! Thank you!
Substituted chipotle peppers for hot sauce and it turned out great. Thanks for the recipe!
Monique,
Love your site. Your vegan collards are a staple in my home. Absolutely the best ever.
I have made this recipe so many times! It is SO good! I’ve had greens from restaurants and none of them come close to how delicious the greens are with your recipe! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Sooo obsessed with this recipe! I use liquid smoke instead of the smoke salt recommended and the taste reminds me of my childhood. I absolutely LOVE these and everyone who tries these always wants the recipe. THANK YOU for this!
I too used liquid smoke and it was a great substitute. These are really good. I highly recommend.
How much liquid smoke did you use?
I don’t have any smoked salt — I wonder whether smoked paprika would work.
I used smoked paprika, about a half teaspoon or so, added to the onion when it was cooking. Worked like a charm!
Life changing recipe! I love collards but I only ever find it with meat in restaurants. This was the easiest and tastiest.
YUM! This is a fantastic recipe! I followed your directions but added more garlic than stated. And in our family, we always add frozen pepper strips (Trader Joe’s fire roasted bell peppers are always in my freezer) to our greens, layering them between the layers collards. This was a big hit with the family for its flavor, and for it being vegan!
Can you make this dish in a crockpot?
I tried this recipe and was absolutely Floored at how delicious the greens turned out. The flavor was perfect. I did use both organic vegetable as well as chicken stock. I am not vegan, but also not a regular meat eater. So this recipe is perfect for me. My family loved the greens and could not stop sneaking a “little” bowl here and there. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
These are the best hands down! I added sautéed greens and red peppers, and sub salt for liquid smoke. I’m so in love and I’m going to make these ALL THE TIME. Taste just like some southern greens and it kinda taste like meat is there
This was soooo good. I love collards but not the meat. This was perfect but definitely still had that meaty flavor with the smoked salt.
This recipe was wonderful. Prepared as directed with one variation, I added a touch of brown sugar to take the bitterness away.
Tsp of vinegar we works for this, also
Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe!! My husband is the chef in the house and he cooks vegetarian and vegan. He loved this dish and we are both proud of me for making something tasty and healthy!
I’ve made these a few times now with applewood smoked salt and adding extra garlic and onions, as well as A LOT of red pepper flakes, but otherwise kept to your recipe. It’s simple and amazing. I’ve shared your website with others who’ve found equal success in preparing this. These are my favorite greens EVER!!! And guilt-free! Thanks so much for sharing this. I can’t wait to check out some of your other recipes! 🙂
Recipe was easy to follow
I like collard greens a lot but don’t eat them because I don’t eat meat and they usually include me however I won’t be making this again I didn’t come out good flavor was way off and I had a weird sourness to it and I followed the recipe so if you like that then I guess it’s a good recipe but we didn’t.
Some things you’ve got to give up as a vegan there’s not always a substitute 🙁
I had never made collards before today but I’ve eaten them many times. I’m vegan so was looking for a good recipe. This one NAILED it. Best collards i have ever had. I didnt have the smoked salt so I used liquid smoke. I had two large bowls and will go back for more.
Thanks for sharing. I recently went vegan but also oil-free (per Dr. Esselstyn) so I just cooked the onions and garlic in vegetable stock.
Good idea. Never thought of replacing oil with stock. Thanks
U can water sautée your veggies . Look it up . Changed my life
The best vegan greens recipe out there. I think the smoked salt makes the difference – better than liquid smoke.
The best vegan greens recipe out there. I think the smoked salt makes all the difference. Thank you!
This recipe has been my go-to contribution at multiple Thanksgiving and New Year celebrations. I am usually the sole vegan at such gatherings. Every time I bring these, without fail, I am asked for the recipe, secret, etc… and I’m always told that they are the best collards ever. Thank you!!!
I made these last Thanksgiving and I am making them again today! I brought San Francisco Salt Co Alderwood Smoked sea salt off Amazon for $6.00. These greens are so delicious , I cannot wait to share them with my friends on Thanksgiving.
These were great! I had to use smoked paprika and regular salt that was on-hand plus a dot of pepper sauce and they were so delicious. Thank you
Hi, I test taste the collards to see if it was ready, I had to do a little dance. Lol… Very good! The smoke wood salt helps to bring some love in this dish. Thank you for sharing your recipe. Thumbs up!
Used this recipe to cook up a mess of fresh turnip greens vegan style a few days ago (Southern style being a vegan Southern boy!). They were awesome! Thanks so much for this easy to follow recipe. Heading to the kitchen now to clean a huge pile of baby collard greens and try this recipe again. 🙂
Read through the comments and got a couple of ideas to spice them up a bit.
This recipe is absolutely amazing. I’ve made it twice and it did not disappoint. Thank you.
I love love this recipe. Thank you so much for sharing. Now I’m gonna try using kale instead of collards.
Hi- what kind of hot sauce do you suggest for southern cooking? Frank’s? Louisiana? I have a habanero hot sauce here at hm but I think I should use one that is a little more vinegary. Any suggestions? Thanks.
I used this recipe today to cook some fresh kale from my garden. They are the BOMB!! Better than the way i have cooked my vegan greens in the past. I have printed, posted it to my Pinterest board and saved it on my computers. This is definitely a keeper!!!
Thanks for sharing.
Delicious! This is a keeper!
So delicious ! I’ve been trying different vegan versions and this is it ! First try was with smoked paprika and it was good but the smoked salt made allllll the difference . I got a thumbs up from the hubby too. I’ll have to double it next time . Oh I threw in a whole jalapeño because we like a little spice .
True vegans don’t eat any kind of oil
So good! I really didn’t care that this recipie was vegan–I just wanted to make greens but didn’t want to pay the outragous price for bacon so I was looking for an alternative way to cook them.
Some modifications to make it meatless:
-Used better than bullion chicken base instead of veggie stock
-Added 1/2 stick of butter while it was steaming
-Finished with some seasoned salt & would def add a tbsp of apple cider vinegar and cajun seasoning if I had it on hand.
Sounds good but, since you added chicken base and butter, they are no longer vegan.
If it has any kind of animal byproduct it isn’t meatless. Chicken cubes still used chicken. It wouldn’t even work for a vegetarian. However if you are neither vegan or vegetarian or pescatarian then it could work
Wow! This is amazing! I made it for New Year’s Day with black-eyed peas, and I added some smoked pepper and regular salt, and it was the best greens I’ve ever had! Thank you so much for sharing your great recipe!
Do the greens need to be chopped beforehand or put in whole?
Chopped before or you can buy them already chopped
I didn’t have the salt but had Liquid Smoke. I used 1/8 of a teaspoon and they taste great. I’ll try it with TJ’s smoked salt next time but I can’t imagine they are going to be any better! Thanks.
Where do you find smoked salt ? I’ve been to 3 markets and no luck.
I usually get mine from spice markets.
I got hickory smoked on the bottom shelf of the spice aisle at Harris Teeter but you can order from Amazon or check farmer’s markets
Im my previous comment I mentioned greens were bitter and asked what I could use to resolve it. Now today, I ate some for lunch and what a difference. The greens are delicious even without any sweetener. OMG I can’t wait to have more fir my dinner. 5 stars????????????????????
Collard greens are bitter, what do you use besides sugar
Amazing!! I used the Better Than Bouillon veg base, about 2.5 cups total plus a dash of extra H2O towards the end. I also used McCormicks smoky Montreal seasoning which has smoky salt and pepper plus addtl spices. My meat eating BF was quite skeptical about a vegan version aling with the fact that I didn’t boil it for hours. When he reached the bottom of the bowl he turned to me and said “Those greens turned out DAMN GOOD!”
Thank you Diva!! This is my new go-to greens recipe.
Me again…making these tonight for the gazillionth time. I’ve made this same recipe with curly kale and it was ridiculously good- the BF actually ate the kale. AND LIKED IT!
Thanks again, Diva!
I made this and it’s amazing!!! Took me a while to find the smoked salt but now that I have we’re eating greens every weekend fresh from the market. For 2 pounds of greens I ended up using 3 cups of broth. Thanks!
Trying the recipe this evening because I’m moving to vegetable based weekly diet with chicken and seafood om the weekends. I friend referred me to this recipe so I’m excited to see how it turns out.
For my broth I used better than bouillon vegetable base. These were the best greens I’ve ever had! That smoked salt really sets them apart!
Oh my goodness, these greens were so good. I am on the Daniel Fast and was looking for a vegan alternative to your other recipe which includes chicken broth and smoked turkey. I never thought they would be as good as the other greens, but honey, I was happily wrong. That is two for two, so I am bookmarking Divas can Cook, to help me as I try to find healthy, yet tasty ways to eat better.
My husband has requested (more like demanded) these greens 3 times between Thanksgiving and New Years! He’s eating them as a meal by itself. However I use 2lbs of vegetable stock so the greens simmer completely in the juice. I end up pouring some of it off when I store them but it’s amazing!
These are amazing!!!! Just finished eating and loved them! Perfect, perfect, perfect!
I have been looking for a good greens recipe without the meat. My boyfriend and I have been working towards a vegan lifestyle plus he is southern ( I am a Northern gal that loves greens!) so this recipe is perfect and awesome!! It’s a keeper.
I added a little vegetable oil to the broth as well. That gave the greens even more of a realistic meat feel without the meat.
Awesome tip!
I added a little vegetable oil to the broth as well. That gave the greens even more of a realistic meat feel without the meat.
I must say this was awesome!! I’ve never made greens in my life, but these right here had my family going back for seconds and thirds 🙂 I did OD on the red pepper flakes bc of course I didn’t measure a thing BUT they were still delish! Thanks for sharing!!!
I cooked these collards for New Year’s Day and followed your recipe to a tee. They were perfect! My family couldn’t get enough and we had none leftover. I found the smoked salt on Amazon.com. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Thank you for this excellent recipe. I made these using a small red onion, half a teaspoon smoked paprika instead of smoked salt, after sauteing onion and garlic in good extra virgin olive oil. They taste as if cooked with ham hock. Delicious!
I added vegetable bullion cubes and some liquid smoke
This recipe saved the day. I bought collards at the Farmer’s Market thinking it was kale (what can I say) and wondered what to do with them. I’m off to the grocery store to purchase the ingredients.
Thank you, it looks delicious and easy! I’m purchasing smoked salt (which I’m happy to learn about!) and cooking up a mess of these!
I wasn’t sure how I was going to cook the huge, beautiful Collards I picked up at the store yesterday. On sale for $1.00 I could not leave without them because I know they are good for you. Anyway I found this recipe and they turned out Great! My family liked them even went back for seconds.
Thank you for this recipe! My husband and I have been pescatarian for some time, and I’m pregnant! It’s so hard craving southern food! So excited to try this recipe tonight!
I used this recipe as a guide for some frozen collard greens. Soooooo delish! Thank you!!!!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I never knew how to cook greens, and I went vegan this year. I was nervous about what I would bring for Thanksgiving. This recipe is a lifesaver!
We are not vegan but this is still smokey deliciousness for anyone! Great recipe and super easy.
How many does this recipe serve?
I can’t wait to try this!!! Thank you!!!
Wow, this was good. And it got better and better as the days went by. I was so sad to take the last portion for lunch. I’ll have to make them again soon!
How many servings does this yield? I’m making for Christmas– help!
this was awesome! I am so grateful. I used the applewood salt OMG!!!! what else can I use this salt for? can I use it with tofu? it smells so good and when I sampled my greens that salt made the dish. thanks! thanks! thanks!
I’ve made this recipe a couple times and it’s AMAZING. I used smoked paprika instead of smoked salt, and added half a can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes.
Oh wow these were great!! I have a tip for you too!! My husband has high blood pressure so adding smokey salt was not an option….I added 1/8 of a teaspoon of liquid smoke!! I used only a bunch of greens so I didnt have to add much smoke…in fact the less you add the better….for the amount of green you made I would say start with 1/4 teaspoon and go up from there you could ruin your food if you use too much. My husband loved them so much he said that they tasted like his moms Mississippi greens!! Thank you!
Awesome! This recipe was a lifesaver. I went to the grocery store to purchase some smoked turkey necks. When I got home I noticed that instead up picking up the smoked turkey necks, I picked up the raw turkey necks. So I searched the web to find out if it were possible to cook collards without smoked meat and these came up. The collards are absolutely delicious! I didn’t even use smoked salt, just regular coarse sea salt, chipotle pepper and garlic….awesome!!!!!
Had no smoked salt, but had smoked paprika and smoked chipotle powder. Also used onion powder and garlic powder and the results were delicious.
I cooked the collard greens today and they were delicious.
On the stove right now. Just about done. The smell is incredible…just filling the kitchen. Thanks so much for posting this. I am one happy vegan. 🙂
On the stove right now. The smell is incredible. I know it’s going to be great. Thanks so much for posting. I am one happy vegan. 🙂
I am a new vegan, it’s delicious recipes like this that made me so happy that I became vegan, Thank u Diva these greens are Devine I had to order the applewood salt so glad I did! These greens Rock, don’t miss the meat at all, thanks a million!!
I am a recent vegan convert and this recipe is really working for me and my honey!
This was a surprising hit at yesterday’s chicken and waffles party!
I’m drooling! Going to make this right now!!!
Just wanted to say that these greens were fabulous! I made them for Easter and added a combination of Trader Joes Smoked Sea Salt and Their South African Smoke Seasoning blend and the flavor was outrageous! I did add a splash of vinegar and everyone who tried them could not believe that there was no meat in them. Thanks for a fabulous recipe. AND you are absolutely right about the pot liquor! It pained me to get rid of it.
Being from GA, I was having trouble finding a bacon/hamless collards recipe that would get approval from my husband!! THANK YOU!!!!!!
Omg, I love me some greens! I have been a vegetarian for 2 years now. I cannot wait to try this! May you please do MORE veggie dishes??? Please? Lol again thanks a lot for this, I have tried a good size of your recipes and so far they have all came out perfect! I taught myself how to cook and your website and youtube channel has helped me SO much! <3
Peace and Love
These green were delicious! I added sliced red bell peppers half way through cooking. Thanks so much for this recipe! It’s a refreshing change from the usual collards.
Yes ma’am!!! This recipe is AMAZING!!! I’ll definitely be using this again:)
I made this recipe for the first time on New Year and had my meat loving family over for dinner and it was a HIT!!!! I made it like this for my husband who has decided to become a pescetarian and he absolutely loved it.
Just going through ya videos and I just love how u show the video on how to cook this stuff. I will be trying collards soon. Trying to cook more veggies for hubby me and the kids.
Can you use a vegetable bouillon if you don’t have vegetable broth?
We add quinoa to this great recipe to turn it into a full dinner meal for our family. It’s become one of our very favorites. So flavorful and healthy. We never feel “gross” after this great meal! 🙂
Made greens this way earlier this week. They were great.Love the idea of using broth instead of plain water. Thanks once again. 🙂
I will be trying this over the weekend …. I made your Rosemary, lemon garlic chicken, your Grandma.’s cabbage & the mac/cheese w/ smokes cheddar tonight & I LOVED everything….my 12yr old picky eater loved the chicken & Mac to my surprise! Keep up the good work so we can keep eating good…lol…thanks
This was really really good! I did not have smoked salt so I just used sea salt and hickory smoke flavoring separately. The hot sauce really gives it a kick. Thanks for sharing! I’m serving mine with BBQ tofu…yum! : )
Another winner Mo. I have been making my greens like this for sometime except with chicken broth so good. Thanks again.
Love the vegan version- and I’m not vegan! That smoked salt makes all the difference. I got my applewood smoked salt at Wegmans. Thanks for the updated version. Keep the recipes coming:)
you dang right about washing your greens again b/c “somebody could’ve been having a bad day”, lol . you crack me up. I can’t wait to give this recipe a try…it looks really heathy