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–+ servings
Collard greens in a white bowl with a slow cooker in the background
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Slow Cooker Collard Greens and Ham Hocks

These tender and flavorful collards flavored with smoky ham hocks are slow cooked to perfection in your crock pot.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 10 hours
Total Time 10 hours 30 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1 large bunch collard greens about 2 pounds, large stem portion removed (if desired) and rinsed well (discard any yellow leaves)
  • 2 ham hocks about 1 ¼ pounds
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 4 cups chicken broth low sodium
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Stack 3 to 4 collard leaves on top of one another and chop into approximately 2-inch pieces.
  • Place the collard greens in your slow cooker insert (6-quart capacity or larger) and add remaining ingredients.  Stir to incorporate and coat leaves with the chicken broth.
  • Cover and cook on high heat for 5 hours or low heat for 10 hours, or until collards are tender to your liking.  Quickly stir 2 to 3 times (as evenly spaced out as possible) throughout cooking time.
  • Remove ham hocks and place on a cutting board.  Remove meat from bone and roughly chop or shred (be sure to remove all pieces of bone; some can be very small).  Discard bone and skin.
  • Return meat to slow cooker and stir to combine.
  • Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Notes

This recipe was tested using a 6-quart slow cooker.