Pork Chops with Collard Greens
and honey butter carrots
Collard greens are sturdy, so they can hold up to a long, slow simmer, which helps them to tenderize and build flavor. We cook them with bacon which is inspired by the method for cooking these greens in the Southern United States. While the greens simmer, roast sweet and savory carrots and sear pork chops.
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
29 reviews
Agreed, 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 HelpfulThe honey butter carrots were the star of the show for this meal at our house. So good! I couldn't find collards so I just sauted kale with coconut oil and granulated garlic. I used some penzey's seasoning on the pork chops. My family really enjoyed this meal!
0 HelpfulRecipe was good as is. Next time I may use smoked bacon/smoked turkey or maybe splurge with a smoked ham hock.
0 HelpfulSomething felt a little off for me, I’d make it again but it just seemed a little bland this time. I only used 4c of stock and ended up removing almost 1.5c just to have it be less soupy in the end. Also I made a different vegan cornbread recipe and had the muffins with coconut honey “butter” for a plant based meal :)
0 Helpful