Collard greens and beans make for an incredibly nourishing and satisfying dish, people! Collard greens are a southern, soul food staple, and they’re delicious. I am not a southerner, just a humble mid-westerner-turned-Canadian, and collard greens are relatively new to me. I urge you to check out Sweet Potato Soul for great collard greens recipes. Jenné Claiborne has been cooking up collard greens for a lot longer than I have. She’s an incredible chef and I’m certain her content will delight you.
This version of Collard Greens and Beans is a staple in our home. Part of my meal prep routine is to prepare a whole grain, a green, a bean and an all-purpose sauce over the weekend. That way I have some versatile basics on hand, and it makes dinner throughout the week much easier. This week I cooked up a big batch of kidney beans, a pot of barley, and some Herby Cashew Cream Sauce (recipe coming soon!). If you have precooked beans ready-to-go in the fridge, this dish is a snap to put together on a weeknight.
Collard greens and beans might be the most nutritious dish on the planet.
Hyperbole? Perhaps. But seriously, it doesn’t get much more nutrient dense than this.
Before we get to the recipe, let me just say that collard greens are an excellent source of plant-based calcium. They’re very high in Vitamins K, C and A, they’re loaded up with folate and fiber, and they come packaged with a strong dose of antioxidants. They even come with a fair dose of iron. If all of that wasn’t enough, collards are in the cruciferous family! Cruciferous vegetables are the focus of a lot of scientific study because of their potential cancer-fighting power. They’re the only class of vegetables that provide the magical compound that is sulphorophane.
So we have all that nutrition and we haven’t even mentioned the BEANS. Beans people! Now we’ve got even more iron, fiber, micronutrients, and plant-based protein. Tomatoes make this dish juicy and succulent, and their high vitamin C content makes the iron in the beans and greens more absorbable. A little bit of olive oil makes the fat-soluble vitamins more absorbable, and some spices take the antioxidant levels (and flavour) up a notch. Seriously, you just can’t beat this! I’m eating the leftovers cold as I type this.
Finally, if you can’t find collard greens, sub in another dark, leafy green of choice. In my opinion, however, it’s worth shopping around to see if you can find the real thing.
Garlicky Collard Greens and Beans
Approximately 4 servings, depending on how hungry you are and what you're serving it with!
- 1 bunch collard greens (rough stems removed. Roughly chopped.)
- 3 cups cooked red kidney beans ((or beans from 2 cans, drained and rinsed))
- 1 can of diced tomatoes – 796 ml
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 3 cloves of garlic (minced – Or more to taste!)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ((optional) or 1 tsp chipotle pepper powder (optional))
- Heat the oil in a large, wide-bottomed pot and fry the cumin seeds and turmeric for about 30 seconds. Then add the garlic cloves and sauté briefly, being careful not to brown the garlic.
- De-stem and roughly chop the collard greens and add them to the pot. Sauté for a couple of minutes, until they’re bright green in colour.
- Now add the can of chopped tomatoes, the 3 cups of cooked kidney beans, and a fat pinch of salt. If you want to add a bit of smokey flavour, add 1 tsp smoked paprika or 1 tsp chipotle pepper powder. Simmer everything together until the flavours meld, about 20 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with your favourite whole grain, alongside some roasted sweet potatoes, or over a thick slick of crusty sourdough bread. Enjoy!
Are you looking for more recipes that incorporate beans and greens? Try out these White Bean and Spinach Enchiladas.
