Quick Bacony Collard Greens Recipe

Who said that you can't eat bacon with your greens? It's called balance, duh! This recipe for collard greens serves up the perfect balance of greens and crispy bacon — making for a side dish that will undoubtedly leave you satisfied. Collard greens are super popular down South, but they can be hard to come by in other parts of the United States. So, why not learn how to save yourself the trouble and make them on your own? It's not hard and the result is a simply delicious batch of collard greens. What's not to love?

Tasting with Tina's Christina Musgrave developed this easy recipe that makes a great side at Thanksgiving or basically any dinner in general. "I like this dish because it comes together in under 30 minutes and is so good," Musgrave raves. She also explains why she likes her version better than something that you'd order out. "This version is super affordable with just a few ingredients, and it tastes just as good!" she adds.

As Musgrave mentioned, you only need a few ingredients to make this dish. Start with bacon, and then grab olive oil, garlic cloves, collard greens, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper.

Once you have those things, you can fix these quick bacony collard greens.

Take out a pan and place it on your stove. Add in the chopped pieces of bacon and sauté until it gets nice and crispy. Trust us — the crispier the bacon, the better!

There is one thing to note. "Make sure you don't overcook the bacon, and it doesn't burn," Musgrave warns.

Once the bacon crisps up, go ahead and add the olive oil and garlic. Cook everything together for about a minute. 

By now, your kitchen should smell pretty darn good.

Now, it's time to add in the main ingredient — the collard greens. You can also sprinkle in the red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.

Sauté everything until the greens are nice and tender. It should only take 10 to 15 minutes, and the end result is so delicious. "The bitterness of the collard greens is balanced out with the fat of the bacon and the tanginess of the garlic," Musgrave shares. "Plus, red pepper flakes give this a hint of spice."

Spoon the collard greens from the pan onto your plate and dig in! 

These make a great side dish, and Musgrave shares a few of her favorite ways to serve them. "This dish is great with any protein — chicken, fish, or shrimp would all be great," she shares. 

As for any extras? "Leftovers will be good for 3 to 5 days," Musgrave notes. We hope you love this tasty side!