Instant Pot collard greens are a Southern-inspired side dish made much quicker in an electric pressure cooker. These Southern greens have a ton of flavor from bacon and ham, and you'll want to drizzle the cooking liquid on everything!
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT16M
Total time: PT31M
Rating
4.69 stars (341 reviews)
Keywords
instant pot collard greens
Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
2 slices uncooked bacon (chopped)
4 oz country ham (sliced and chopped)
1 small onion (chopped)
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
16 oz collard greens (roughly chopped)
Categories
Side Dish
Cuisine
American
Steps
Rinse collard greens very well. Remove the thick center stem and roughly chop them into large bite-sized pieces.
Add olive oil to the Instant Pot. Press the "Saute" button, leaving the lid off.
Once the oil has heated, add the chopped bacon and country ham. Saute for 4-5 minutes, and then add the chopped onion. Stir everything around periodically (there still may be sticking to the bottom of the pot).
Once the bacon and country ham has cooked and the onion has become golden, deglaze the pot with about one-third cup of the chicken broth (amount doesn't need to be precise). Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the stuck-on bits from the bottom of the pot and stir.
Add the rest of the chicken broth, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes and stir to combine.
Add the chopped collard greens to the Instant Pot and pack them in well. Press the "Keep Warm/Cancel" button to shut off the Saute function. You want to allow for adequate space in the Instant Pot before cooking with pressure, so I paused for a minute or two at this point to allow for some of the collard greens to reduce in size before proceeding. Packed in, aim for the Instant Pot to be about two-thirds full.
Close and lock lid. Ensure the pressure release valve is set to "sealing".
Press the "Manual" button. Then using the down button, reduce the cooking time to 5 minutes.
The Instant Pot will take a few minutes to pressurize, during which you may hear a little hissing noise once it's almost there. Then "5" minutes will appear on the display, which will count down until it's done.
At this point you can allow the Instant Pot to naturally pressure release, or do the quick release. Do whichever one you're comfortable with. Natural pressure release for this recipe took about 20 minutes for me, and I didn't find the greens to be mushy or overdone at all.
Once the pressure is released, carefully remove the lid and stir everything up. Serve while warm.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 89 kcal
Carbohydrates: 6 g
Protein: 6 g
Fat: 5 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 13 mg
Sodium: 377 mg
Sugar: 2 g
Reviews
Carlos on 2026-01-31 (5 stars): Another 5-star rating! Yesterday I purchased a 2-lb bunch of very large & mature but not yet turning yellow collard greens, so decided to use your recipe. IMO the pressure cooker does a better job than hours of simmering tough greens. Also, I used lard in place of olive oil to stay consistent with the *southern* theme. Then I misread your instructions and set the pressure cooker on 15 minutes of high pressure instead of 5 minutes. No problem! When the timer beeped I immediately pushed the button for a quick release. The result was delicious with just the right mouth feel! The family enjoyed the greens and I will use this recipe again and again. Thanks!
Erin on 2026-01-24 (5 stars): Delicious recipe. I will add a tad less apple cider vinegar next time. other than that, it's amazing!!
Meredith Hall on 2026-01-04 (5 stars): The best and by far simplest greens I’ve ever done!! Will be the only way as long as I have a pressure cooker. I used a little more than a cup of broth including what I deglazed the pot with. I cut the sugar to 1 teaspoon and omitted the red pepper. Added 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Thank you!
Jenn Rogers on 2025-12-30 (5 stars): Alyssa,
Thank you so much for this recipe! This has become our family’s favorite & it’s the ONLY WAY we make greens now! Since my family likes theirs with a little heat, I add anywhere from 2-6 tablespoons of Frank’s Original Hot Sauce to my greens. They’re amazing alone, or with Frank’s.
Dottie Peters on 2025-12-08 (4 stars): Very good but will leave out the brown sugar next time
Ms. Canyon on 2025-10-27 (1 stars): Made this recipe as written. It burned and was ruined. Should have known the liquid was too little and the time way too short, even with using an InstaPot.
Rosemary Stephens on 2025-09-08 (5 stars): This was amazing! I added more liquid AND i added some of my BBQ rub. Also cooked a bit longer x2 and added ham hocks!!!! Perfect