Vegetable Soup with Collard Greens
Bring a little luck to your new year with this hearty vegetable soup with collard greens for prosperity and black-eyed peas and ham for luck.
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It’s a tradition in the South to eat black-eyed peas, cornbread, ham, and greens on New Year’s Day for good luck. The ham and peas supposedly bring happiness, while the greens and cornbread symbolize wealth. I can’t say whether any of that is true or not, but I don’t want to NOT eat my greens and black-eyed peas and risk it.
Luckily (pun intended), vegetable soup with collard greens covers all the bases. But … don’t just save this filling, flavorful soup for one day a year. Fresh collards are incredibly healthy. These dark leafy greens are packed full of vitamin B and have been shown to lower blood pressure.
Ingredients and tools you will need
This is one of those delicious soups that has layers of flavor that all meld together as it slowly simmers. To make my collard greens soup recipe, you will need:
- 1 bunch fresh collard greens, washed, stems removed and chopped – you can also use 1/2 of a 16-ounce bag of prewashed and chopped collards.
- 3-4 smoked ham hocks or hambone
- 4 cups of water – you can also use chicken stock or chicken broth for added flavor.
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 (15-ounce) can seasoned butter beans – you can also use lima beans.
- 1 (15-ounce) can field peas and snaps
- 1 (15-ounce) can black-eyed peas
- 1 (15-ounce) can Hoppin’ John – or you can make my homemade Instant Pot Hoppin’ John.
- 1 cup non-alcoholic Bloody Mary mix
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar – the vinegar helps break down the tough leaves of the collard greens and gives the broth a nice tang. If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, regular white vinegar can be used instead.
- 1 cup sliced fresh or frozen okra
- Large pot – I would not use a cast iron Dutch oven for this recipe as the acid from the diced tomatoes and Bloody Mary mix can eat away the seasoning. An enamel-coated Dutch oven is fine.
- Hot sauce, Creole seasoning or red pepper flakes for garnish, optional
Wash the greens
Collard greens, which are part of the same family as cabbage and broccoli, can often carry a lot of grit since they grow close to the ground. To clean them thoroughly, start by filling a clean sink with cool water and submerging the leaves completely. Let them soak for about 15–20 minutes, giving any dirt a chance to settle at the bottom. Once they’ve soaked, gently lift the leaves out of the water. For larger quantities, you may need to work in batches; if so, drain and rinse the sink between each round.
The central stem of a collard leaf is quite tough, so it’s a good idea to remove it before cooking. While a knife works fine, it’s often quicker to simply tear the leaves away from the stem by hand. The stems can be composted if you like. After removing the stems, chop the leaves into smaller, manageable pieces for cooking.
How to make vegetable soup with collard greens
- Add the ham hocks to a large stock pot.
- Cover the ham hocks with the water.
- Add the diced tomatoes, butter beans, field peas and snaps, black-eyed peas, Hoppin’ John, Bloody Mary mix, and cider vinegar. Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Add the collard greens. You will probably have to do this in batches, stirring with a wooden spoon to wilt the greens and make room for more.
- Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for 1-1/2 hours.
- Add the okra, stir to combine, and simmer for another hour.
- Remove the ham hocks from the pot and set aside to cool. Once they are cool enough to touch, pull the meat from the bones and shred it. Add the meat back to the pot and stir to combine and heat through.
- Season the hearty soup with salt and black pepper to your preference.
Storage, freezing, and reheating instructions
Storage. This is one of those meals that tastes better the next day, so don’t toss the leftovers! Transfer the cooled collard green soup to an airtight container within two hours. Store in the refrigerator and consume within four days.
Freezing. Transfer the cooled collard green soup to an airtight container or freezer bag. Be sure to leave a few inches of room at the top for expansion. Store in the refrigerator for up to three months. Thaw completely before reheating.
Reheating. Reheat the soup in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until heated through. You can also heat the soup in a covered pan over medium heat for 20-30 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can use one 28-ounce can of collards with some modifications. Since the canned collard greens are already cooked, they don’t need the extra long cooking time. Instead, add them at the same time you add the okra. Don’t drain the can first. You want the liquid, also known as pot likker, in the broth.
Yes. One 14-ounce bag of frozen collard greens can be used with some modifications. Since the frozen collard greens are already cooked, they don’t need the extra long cooking time. Instead, add them at the same time you add the okra. You do not have to thaw the greens first. You can toss them into the pot frozen.
Yes. Add everything except the okra to the slow cooker. Cook on low for five hours or on high for two hours. Stir in the okra and cook for one more hour.
Yes, turnip greens can be used as a substitute with no modifications to the recipe.
Yes, frozen black-eyed peas can be used with no modifications to the recipe. You do not need to thaw the beans first.
White beans, such as great northern Beans, navy beans, or cannellini beans, black beans or pinto beans can be substituted.
Serve collard green soup with
- Southern Skillet Cornbread
- Cracklin’ Cornbread
- Cheese and Bacon Muffins
- Toasted Cuban Reuben Sandwich
More soup recipes
Vegetable Soup with Collard Greens
Ingredients
- 1 bunch fresh collard greens
- 3-4 whole smoked ham hocks or hambone
- 4 cups cold water
- 1 can (14.5-ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (15-ounce) seasoned butter beans
- 1 can (15-ounce) field peas and snaps
- 1 can (15-ounce) black-eyed peas
- 1 can (15-ounce) Hoppin’ John
- 1 cup Bloody Mary mix
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup sliced fresh or frozen okra
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash the greens to remove any grit. Remove the center stem and tear the leaves into smaller pieces. Set aside.
- Add the ham hocks to a large stock pot.
- Cover the ham hocks with the water.
- Add the diced tomatoes, butter beans, field peas and snaps, black-eyed peas, Hoppin' John, Bloody Mary mix, and cider vinegar. Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Add the collard greens. You will probably have to do this in batches, stirring with a wooden spoon to wilt the greens and make room for more.
- Reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer for 1-1/2 hours.
- Add the okra, stir to combine, and simmer for another hour.
- Remove the ham hocks from the pot and set aside to cool. Once they are cool enough to touch, pull the meat from the bones and shred it. Add the meat back to the pot and stir to combine and heat through.
- Season the soup with salt and black pepper to your preference.
I am so glad to hear this, Sara! Thank you for coming back and leaving a review.
I loved this recipe! I always make a traditional southern New Years meal so I cheated a bit and used leftover pot likker I had from my greens, frozen black eyed peas bc I didn’t have any canned, added the cooked greens to the soup, swapped corn for lima beans (I just don’t like them!), and some of the leftover ham! It was awesome! Very easy to make and pretty true to the recipe, I think. The canned hoppin john and field peas and snaps were so delicious! This will be my go-to recipe for leftover New Years food from now on
Very interesting recipe, I am not sure I know what collard green are as I never cooked greens for hours, but I am always curious about a good pot of soup full of vegs. I will see what I found here in France.
We’ve been having heavy rain the past couple days, this soup would be perfect!
This looks (and smells I’m sure) delicious! I have to try this ASAP!
What an interesting recipe. I wouldn’t have thought about adding Bloody Mary mix to make a soup. Yummy.
This sounds so good! I actually did not know what potlikker was 🙂 What a perfect soup for a cold day!