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.
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.