The first time I tried collard greens was right after I moved to South Carolina. At the end of a long work day, I asked my co-workers where should I go for dinner. They said you need to check out the food at the gas station. Now I was pretty sure the guys were pulling my leg, but the other gal in the office chimed in and agreed.
Safe to say I was pretty skeptical! But I went anyway and got a plate. Fried chicken, mashed taters & gravy with a side of collard greens. Oh my, I thought I died & went to heaven, talk about comfort food! Ever since then I've been a big fan of collard greens!
Slow Cooker Collard Green Stew is an easy recipe using great ingredients from the South, ham hocks, collard greens and hominy. This is my kinda comfort food - the big bonus is it's made in your slow cooker! Can't get/don't like collard greens? Instead try another hearty green like curly kale, mustard greens or swiss chard. All of them are a delicious substitute. Just a little bit of chopping for prep and into the slow cooker it goes. When you get home, dinner is ready! Gotta love it when the slow cooker does all of the work!
What's your favorite comfort food? I'd love to hear it!
Collard Green Stew
Ingredients
- 1 ham hock
- 8 cups collard greens chopped
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 14.5 oz can Italian style stewed tomatoes
- 1 30 oz can hominy drained
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- good pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Start by putting a large bowl on the counter. You're going to mix several of the ingredients before putting them into the slow cooker. First, wash and clean the collard greens. Remove the stem and discard (as they are quite tough) and chop the leaves into bite sized pieces, add to the bowl.
- Peel & chop the onions. Add them to the bowl with the stewed tomatoes and drained can of hominy. (if you're not a hominy lover, you can substitute with the beans of your choice....but you really should try the hominy. 🙂 )
- Add the spices to the bowl also, black pepper, cumin, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Give everything in the bowl a good stir to combine.
- Put the ham hock in the slow cooker and add the bowl full of ingredients over the ham hock. Add the chicken broth & water. Put the lid on the slow cooker, set on high and cook for 8 hours.
- That's it - go to work, do your workout, take a nap, you name it. 8 hours later remove the ham hock and allow it to cool. When it's cool enough to handle, remove the meat and shred with a fork. Add the meat back to the stew (discarding the bones and fat). Taste to adjust seasonings. You may need to add some salt, but because the ham hock is salty, I encourage you to wait until the end to add it.
Karen says
I have never thought to add collard greens to my stews but I think I will have to try it. Thanks for sharing this recipe on Let's Get Real Link Up.
Bowl Me Over says
I hope you do Karen - so yummy and a great addition to stew.
Healing Tomato says
I think I would have been skeptical about eating collard greens at a gas station. I can only imagine how great it would have tasted. Your recipe sounds so delicious and very soothing for a rainy day.
Bowl Me Over says
Oh yes, I was skeptical but those collard greens were crazy good and I've loved them ever since! 😀