Slow Cooker Greens with Smoked Turkey

Slow cooker greens with smoked turkey  is an easy greens recipe that swaps poultry for the pork. Greens are a stable in households throughout the South; this crockpot version makes cooking greens foolproof! Collard greens, turnips, mustards, or kale…use your preferred greens! Instructions to make this classic Southern side dish in the Instant Pot are also included. 

Ingredients For Slow Cooker Greens With Smoked Turkey

• Greens
• Smoked Turkey
• Onion & Garlic
• Broth
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Brown Mustard
• Salt & Pepper

How To Make Greens With Smoked Turkey In The Crockpot

Slow Cooker

1. Add greens to the slow cooker. Press them down if needed.
2. Place the chopped onions & garlic on top. Pour in the broth.
3. Add the mustard, salt, pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce evenly, over the top. Place the smoked meat on top. Press down with your hands if needed.
4. Cook HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 6-8. Stir the food halfway through. 
5. Remove turkey, shred meat, and place meat back in the slow cooker.

Instant Pot

1. Turn on the pressure cooker and select sauté. Once hot, add the oil to the pot. Add the onion and cook 2-3 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute. Turn off the pressure cooker. 
2. Add the broth and using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom to remove any bits that stuck to it.
3. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, mustard, salt & pepper.
4. Add smoked turkey. Add the greens on top. Do not stir.
5. Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook for 35 minutes. Natural release pressure for 15 minutes then manually the remaining pressure. Remove turkey, shred meat, and place meat back in the pot.

What Are Greens

Leafy greens is a broad term that refers to a lot of foods like collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, kale, spinach, swiss chard, etc. They have different tastes & textures. This recipe is meant for tough, sturdy greens like collard greens. Greens are a superfood; they’re high fiber, rich in vitamins and minerals, and low in calories.

Choosing The Greens

As mentioned earlier, greens comes in different forms. Collard greens are my personal favorite but I honestly enjoy all greens whether they be collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens or kale greens. What you see in the pictures here are mixed greens which is a mixture of different types of greens. I combined 16-ounces of collards greens and 16-ounces of mustard greens. How you get to your 32 ounces of greens is up to you. You can use all of one type or a combination.

Prepping Your Greens

To make greens in the slow cooker or Instant Pot, you will need loose leaf bunches of greens or use prepackaged bags greens:

Bagged greens are usually pre-washed & pre-cut. Even if the greens you buy says they are pre-washed, I recommend you wash them again. I also recommend removing any large stems you might see. After you wash the bagged greens, they’re ready to be added to the slow cooker or Instant Pot.

Loose leaf greens will sometimes have a lot of dirt on them so you will need to clean them properly before you cook them. The way I learned to clean Hattie’s greens is to fill a clean sink with cold water and add the greens. Mix them around with your hands for a few minutes. Remove the greens, drain the water and clean out any dirt that’s leftover in the sink. Repeat the process until the greens are clean and there’s no more dirt. One they’re clean, rinse & pat dry the greens. Next cut off the tough stem & main vein and then chop the greens into one-inch pieces. Now they’re ready to be added to the slow cooker or Instant Pot.

What Cut Of Smoked Turkey To Use

Feel free to use your preferred cut of smoked turkey in this recipe. I like to use smoked turkey wings which is what you see here in the pictures. Use as little or as much meat as you want. I like my greens meaty so I like to use a full pound of smoked turkey meat.

FAQs & Tips

• Store leftover greens in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or the freezer for 3 months. 
• Don’t like mustard? Omit it. Tailor this recipe to work for you.
• The greens will reduce down significantly so don’t worry if your slow cooker is full when cooking starts.

Crock-Pot Southern Side Dishes

• Greens with Ham Hocks
• Sweet Potatoes
• Cornbread Dressing

Crockpot Greens with Smoked Turkey

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Slow cooker greens with smoked turkey  is an easy greens recipe that swaps poultry for the pork. Greens are a stable in households throughout the South; this crockpot version makes cooking greens foolproof! Collard greens, turnips, mustards, or kale…use your preferred greens! Instructions to make this classic Southern side dish in the Instant Pot are also included.

• Author: Shannon Epstein
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 4 hours
• Total Time: 4 hours 10 mins
• Yield: 6 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 32 ounces greens, cleaned & chopped
• 1 pound smoked turkey
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (omit for whole 30)
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce (or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes)
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt (or more)
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon oil (for Instant Pot only)

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Instructions

Slow Cooker

1. Add greens to the slow cooker. Press them down if needed.
2. Place the chopped onions & garlic on top. Pour in the broth.
3. Add the mustard, salt, pepper, hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce evenly, over the top. Place the smoked meat on top. Press down with your hands if needed.
4. Cook HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 6-8. Stir the food halfway through.
5. Remove turkey, shred meat, and place meat back in the slow cooker.

Instant Pot

1. Turn on the pressure cooker and select sauté. Once hot, add the oil to the pot. Add the onion and cook 2-3 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute. Turn off the pressure cooker.
2. Add the broth and using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom to remove any bits that stuck to it.
3. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, mustard, salt & pepper.
4. Add smoked turkey. Add the greens on top. Do not stir.
5. Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook for 35 minutes. Natural release pressure for 15 minutes then manually the remaining pressure. Remove turkey, shred meat, and place meat back in the pot.

Nutrition

• Serving Size:
• Calories: 84
• Sugar: 3.7 g
• Sodium: 662.7 mg
• Fat: 1.8 g
• Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
• Carbohydrates: 12.6 g
• Fiber: 4.5 g
• Protein: 7.7 g
• Cholesterol: 5.7 mg

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