Southern-Style Turnip Greens - The Spruce Eats

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Southern Turnip Greens By Diana Rattray Diana Rattray Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer. Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process Updated on 11/7/23 Tested by Victoria Heydt Tested by Victoria Heydt Victoria Heydt is a food photographer, stylist, and the Editorial Operations Director for The Spruce Eats. An Institute of Culinary Education grad, she also develops and tests recipes. Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process (173) Save Write a Review Print Prep: 35 mins Cook: 60 mins Total: 95 mins Servings: 8 to 10 servings 173 ratings Write a Review Add a comment SaveRecipe

Turnip greens have long been a favorite vegetable in the South, where cooks save the leaves of the turnip roots and prepare them similarly to collard greens and mustard greens, often with ham or pork. This version contains salt pork, but you can use another kind of pork cut—bacon, streaky bacon (pork belly), ham hocks, hog jowl, smoked pork chops, or similar meat. Even though turnip greens are not as bitter as collards, many people like to add a small amount of sugar to their turnip greens, but that is entirely optional.

Cleaning the greens is an essential step when you are using fresh greens. Even if packaged greens state "cleaned," you should rinse them again to be sure, as sandy greens are very unpleasant.

To serve any Southern greens, make sure you offer plenty of hot, freshly baked cornbread or cornbread muffins. Hot pepper sauce (hot pepper vinegar) is a wonderful accompaniment or serve the greens with plain apple cider vinegar.

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"If you're looking for a true Southern dish, this is it. I couldn’t find turnip greens, so I used collard greens. Once you get through cleaning and removing the stems, you are golden. You can essentially use one large Dutch oven for rendering the salt pork, sautéing the onions, and adding the remaining ingredients. Very tasty!" —Victoria Heydt

A Note From Our Recipe Tester Keep Screen Awake

• 4 pounds turnip greens

• 1 pound salt pork (or similar fatty pork)

• 1 cup finely chopped onion

• 1 1/2 cups water

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, optional

• 1 dash crushed red pepper, or more to taste, optional

1. Gather the ingredients.

2. Wash the greens thoroughly in the sink or a large bowl; drain and wash again. Repeat the cleaning until you can't feel any grit on the greens or the bottom of the sink or container.

3. Cut off and discard tough stems and discolored leaves from greens. For large leaves with big tough stems, fold the leaf in half and cut or tear the stem out. Stack several leaves and slice them crosswise into 1-inch-thick pieces.

4. Scrape the salt off of the salt pork or rinse it under cold running water to remove the excess salt. The salt pork has a tough skin that needs to be removed. Carefully run a sharp knife between the tough skin and the softer fat. Discard the tough skin and dice the fat. 

5. In a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat, cook the salt pork until it is crisp and browned. Add the chopped onion and cook for 2 minutes longer.

6. To the salt pork and onion, add the water, cleaned turnip greens, black pepper, salt, and the optional sugar and crushed red pepper flakes, if using. You may need to add the greens in batches until they wilt down a bit, similar to how spinach wilts down.

7. Bring the greens to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and simmer the greens for 40 to 50 minutes, or until they are tender. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.

8. When the greens are ready, transfer them to a serving bowl.

9. Enjoy.

How to Clean Turnip Greens

Put the trimmed greens in a clean sink and cover them with cold water. Shake them and swish them around, drain them, and then repeat a few more times until you no longer feel grit in the bottom of the sink.

How to Make Pepper Sauce

To make pepper sauce (pepper vinegar sauce), begin by sterilizing a canning jar. Pack the jar with cleaned small hot peppers. Pour boiling white vinegar over the peppers, covering them completely, leaving a little headspace in the jar. Cover and refrigerate the pepper sauce for a few weeks before using.

Recipe Variations

• Add 1 or 2 minced cloves of garlic to the greens along with the chopped onion.
• Use thick slices of bacon in place of the salt pork.

Greens With Onion, Ginger, and Black Pepper

• Southern Sides
• American Food
• Southern Food
• Vegetable Recipes

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
386	Calories
37g	Fat
10g	Carbs
5g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label ×

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories	386
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 37g	47%
Saturated Fat 13g	67%
Cholesterol 39mg	13%
Sodium 1335mg	58%
Total Carbohydrate 10g	4%
Dietary Fiber 7g	24%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 51mg	254%
Calcium 258mg	20%
Iron 2mg	10%
Potassium 437mg	9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

• turnip
• turnip greens
• side dish
• southern

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