Brazilian Collard Greens Recipe (2024)

I grew up in the south and I now live in Brazil, married to a Brazilian for twenty-two years. I hated collard greens growing up, but now love them cooked this way. There is simply no better way to make them.

Excellent way to get the greens into the family. Nice with a squuze of lemon. Or when ready, top with breadcrumb-parmigiana mix and broil for a few minutes.

I used this recipe as a guide/inspiration and proceeded to season it korean-spinach-banchan style. Prepped and cooked the greens the same way as in the recipe, but used toasted sesame oil instead of olive, and then removed to a bowl to mix with some miso paste, ground black pepper, and some toasted sesame seeds (half of them crushed). Add a sprinkle of rice vinegar and then mixed it with my hand (miso is thick, needs hands on to mix well). Great way to cook collards, however you season them!

Alternatively, dice up some bacon (4-6 slices) and cook until crisp, remove bacon and cook collards in the bacon grease until lightly scorched. This makes a nice alternative if you don't want to use garlic. Whichever way you go, this is hands down the best way to cook collard greens.

A fresh, different, fast way to make collards. Very good.

Super tasty with a fruity hot sauce - I like Bee Sting Mango Passion Pepper Sauce but there are other flavors and other brands or you can also make your own. Or, use coconut oil instead of olive oil and then add a spike of lime and red pepper flakes.

Loved the crunch. I added a squeeze of lemon juice and drizzle of honey while cooking because they were too bitter for me.

Excellent technique for collard greens - these were simple but so delicious! I also finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. You could take this in a lot of different flavor directions!

Lovely this way without the bitterness of long-cooked greens. Better yet with salty fatback and no additional salt, plus a pinch of chili flakes and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to finish.

Followed instructions with 5 huge leaves from the late autumn garden, using 2 fat garlic cloves from this years harvest. Dressed with a squeeze of lemon and the remainder of some lemon-garlic-anchovy sauce from a salmon recipe in NYT. Lovely.

I feel like this technique should work for all the robust leafy greens - kale, chard, etc. Any suggestions for what needs changed if the vege is changed?

I added lime juice to take away the bitter. The dish was a major hit at our Brazilian dinner party.

Excellent. Along with the garlic, added a roughly equal volume of minced fresh ginger and a few good shakes of dried Turkish chile. Lemon juice on top of the cooked greens.

My favorite way to prepare young collard greens. Runner-up method: throwing a similar chiffonade of young collard greens into a hearty, garlicky bean soup or stew.

I remember when I first tasted this in a Brazilian restaurant: OMG, collard greens are delicious! And they're easy to cook this way.

It says young collard greens. Have people been making this with just young collard greens or can you make it with the larger ones?

This can be made with Brazilian “sea kale”.

I made this last night and was very pleased with how easy and tasty it was. I used it as part of a bowl with mashed potatoes, roasted broccoli, and sliced sausages.

I have never cooked collard greens..is there a certain amount of time to cook to maintain color and crunch?

I am currently in Brazil and I had no idea how differently they cooked collard greens. I have made these 3 times in the past 2 weeks. Simple, quick and truly delicious. The longest part is drying the leaves. I doubt I will ever boil them again.

Delicious!!

Really fantastic, simple preparation for collards. Will certainly make again!