Pork Chops with Collard Greens
and honey butter carrots
Smarts #2: This recipe could be made in the Instant Pot. For tips, join the Cook Smarts Instant Pot Facebook Group.
Ingredients
- Onions, medium - 1, diced
- Collard greens - 5 leaves, stems discarded, leaves roughly chopped
- Bacon, thick-sliced - 1/3 lb, chopped
- Pork chops, boneless or bone-in - 4
- Thyme, dried - 1 tsp
- Red pepper flakes (opt) - 1/4 tsp
- Stock, any type - 3 cups
- Oil, cooking - 2 Tbsp
- Vinegar, apple cider - 1 Tbsp
- Carrots - 1 1/2 lbs, sliced
- Butter - 2 Tbsp
- Honey - 1 tsp
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Carrots / Onions / Collard greens / Bacon - Prep as directed. Store separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Pork chops - Tenderize with a fork. Season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
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Make
- Heat oven to 400F / 204C.
- While oven is heating, heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bacon and saute until it has released some grease but is not yet browning, ~2 minutes.
- Add onions to bacon and saute until onions are very soft, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add thyme and red pepper flakes and stir for 1 minute.
- Stir in collard greens and stock. Bring to a simmer. Simmer collard greens uncovered, until very tender, ~30 minutes. (Note: Keep an eye on the pan and add some more stock, if needed.)
- Once collards are simmering, melt butter in the microwave. Toss carrots with butter, honey, and some salt and pepper. Spread out on a sheet pan. Roast carrots, shaking the pan halfway through cooking, until tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
- When collards are nearly tender and carrots are almost finished roasting, heat a large skillet with oil over medium-high heat. Add pork chops and sear on each side for ~3 minutes. For thin pork chops, this should be enough heat to cook them through. If you’re using thicker pork chops, lower heat and cover with a piece of foil until pork reaches 145F / 63C degrees.
- Transfer pork to a cutting board and cover. Let rest for 5 minutes.
- When collard greens are tender, stir in vinegar. Taste and season with some salt and pepper.
- Serve pork chops over collard greens with carrots on the side. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
32 reviews
Awesome Southern comfort food. Other commenters suggested cutting down the liquid, but I actually had to add broth back to the original recipe’s proportions, so YMMV. Maybe start with 1 cup less and look out for the dish drying up too much when you hit the halfway point.
0 HelpfulI loooooved this. Made it exactly as the recipe listed, Altho somehow my corn muffins ended up as 9 muffins and not 5 (?). The only modification I may make is 1/2c-1c less broth next time, as it was a little soupy even after simmering 1hr15. SO delicious. I’m a Californian so I’d never had this before; what a treat.
0 HelpfulAgreed, this was really an amazing meal. And while it took time, it didn't feel complicated.
0 HelpfulThis was wonderful. I've never had black-eyed peas before. Apparently I love them. Ended up inviting some friends over the following week and made it again.
0 HelpfulGreat and would have been better if I hadn't tried to use corn flour instead of corn meal. Learn from my mistakes. They are NOT interchangeable. I did not realize until this meal how wonderful black eye peas and collards were. Recommend using pre-chopped collards as a timesaver.
0 Helpful