A meat-free take on this Southern favorite that is full of flavor. Omnivores and vegans alike will enjoy this recipe for collard greens.
Collard greens are a Southern staple. I’ve waxed poetic before in my recipe for collard greens with smoked pork neck bones, so I’ll save you from doing it again here. (But you should check it out for any general questions you might have about how to cook collard greens.) Today I’m here with a meat-free take—that’s vegetarian and vegan—on this Southern favorite that is full of flavor. Omnivores and vegans alike will be clamoring for more.
Southern-style collard greens recipes are all about the broth. To make this vegetarian version nice and hearty, I fortify (unsalted or low-sodium) store-bought vegetable stock with a charred onion to add depth and just a hint of smokiness. That along with a few spices really works wonders to give the collard green potlikker the depth it requires.
I mean just look at it! There’s no way you can look at these photos and not want to dive head-first into a bowl of these greens for yourself.
Aside from this delicious recipe for greens, this post is also for the annual Black History Month virtual potluck where a group of Black food bloggers collaborate to share a bunch of great recipes with each of our audiences. (You can check out previous potlucks here, here, and here.) This year we decided to go with a theme to feature only vegetarian and vegan recipes. So be sure to check out some of the links below to show my fellow participants a little love.
Black History Month Virtual Potluck 2020—Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes
Beautiful Eats & Things | Honey Herb Roasted Sweet Potatoes
D.M.R. Fine Foods | Vegetarian Chili
Dash of Jazz |Vegan Buttermilk Biscuits with Spiced Pear Compote
Dish it with Tisha | Mushroom and Okra Po’ Boy
Food Fidelity | Vegan Curry Cauliflower
Marisa Moore Nutrition | Spicy Black-Eyed Pea Fritters
Savory Thoughts | Haitian Black Rice (Diri Djon Djon)
Whisk it Real Gud | Vegan Jollof Rice
A Little Food | Southern Sweet Fried Corn
Baum Ass Foods | Slow–Cooked Black-Eyed Peas + Greens
Collards Are the Old Kale | Red Beans and Tri-Color Quinoa
Meiko and the Dish | Cajun Shrooms & Grits
FoodLoveTog | Black-Eyed Pea Hummus
Her Mise En Place | Rice Pudding
Kalisha Blair | Yeasted Cornmeal Dinner Rolls
Kenya Rae | Sweet Potato Biscuits
On Ty’s Plate | Collard Greens Salad with Orange Vinaigrette
Rosalynn Daniels | Vegan Bread Pudding
Orchids + Sweet Tea | Banana Cake + Cinnamon Browned Butter Buttercream
Razzle Dazzle Life | Roasted Garlic White Veggie Lasagna
Sweet Tea and Thyme | Sweet Potato Casserole with Brown Sugar Topping
Orchids + Sweet Tea | Southerner’s Banana Pudding Cheesecake Bites
Marisa Moore Nutrition | Crispy Roasted Okra with Peanut Sauce
Kenneth Temple | Vegan File Gumbo
Meiko and the Dish | Sweet Potato Pancakes
Vegetarian Southern-Style Collard Greens
A meat-free take on this Southern favorite that is full of flavor. Omnivores and vegans alike will enjoy this recipe for collard greens.
Ingredients
- vegetable oil
- 1 onion, halved
- 1 quart unsalted or low sodium vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 pounds collard greens, stems removed (if desired), washed, and cut into strips
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- Heat a little bit of oil in a large pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onion cut-side down and cook until charred.
- Add the vegetable stock, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to the pot and bring to a boil.
- Add the cut collard greens to the vegetable broth, cover, and let simmer until nice and silky, anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours (or more).
- Add the vinegar, taste, and adjust the seasonings as you see fit. Serve.
I stopped eating pork this year and have been looking for vegan recipes for greens. Just stumbled upon yours and can’t wait to try it out. Thank you!!
WOW! Just made this. This is so good and I would even advertise it as vegan, not just vegetarian. Not an ounce of bacon or animal product and it is divine. Nice and bitter greens and salty goodness. I will use this recipe always and forever when making collard greens. BTW prep time in way less than 30 minutes! I’d say more like 5.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
These were very yummy. I was craving some greens, but I didn’t have any meat to add in them. I added a bit of chipotle chile powder and paprika. So yummy!
Great recipe! The charred onion is really a stroke of genius for that smoky background flavor. And you’re right about the how important the broth is for Southern collards – gotta mop it up with some cornbread. So yummy. Thank you.
Awesome. The recipe is so unique. Very nutritious, tasty, quick and easy.
Awesome, just awesome. The char onion in recipe Hungry Hutch/Vegetarian- Southern Style Collard Greens is amazing. Used this recipe yesterday with family, and it was found to be a win, win, all around.
I made this recipe twice! I basically eyeballed everything and the ONLY thing I omitted/forgot war the vinegar, so now I have an excuse to make it a 3rd time. It really has some amazing flavor to it and it’s hard to stop eating! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoy it!!!
Thank you! I was trying to find a recipe without the smoked turkey and came across yours. I put it in the instant pot for about 15-20 minutes because we still like a little more firm texture to it to go with our catfish, omitted the salt and used regular veggie broth (trying to get my hubby to eat less salt because of PKD)
They’re cooking now. I can’t wait to try it once it’s done!