"charade" collard greens salad with bacon vinaigrette

Get ready for a super easy collard greens recipe. Fresh collards are tossed in a delicious bacon vinaigrette for a quick lunch collard green salad.

This is my idea of a mixed greens salad! This is one of those times where you can enjoy a Southern collard greens style recipe but not have to cook collard greens.

For these collards there is no need for traditional long cooking. However, the vinaigrette provides the needed salty bacon flavor to replace those salty and meaty chunks of pork. This dish ain't a charade. It's absolutely the real deal.

Collard Green Salad Ingredients

• Collard Greens
• French bread
• Bacon
• Shallots
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Honey
• Apple
• Cherry tomatoes
• Salt
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Garlic

How to make a collards salad (step by step)

Step 1: Make the vinaigrette

Tear the bread into smaller pieces then fry in a skillet making sure to brown each side. Remove the bread and fry the bacon pieces. Remove bacon from the skillet. Add minced shallots and garlic to the bacon grease and cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes. Stir in the red wine vinegar, honey, paprika, salt, and pepper and mix well. Set aside

Step 2: Make the salad

Cut the greens into strips and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the sliced red onions, apple slices, and cherry tomatoes. Add the vinaigrette to the bowl and toss. Add the bacon bits and bread pieces to the salad and serve.

Serving Suggestions

Serve the dressing at room temperature or slightly warm. This is a great side salad or pre-dinner salad that pairs with any of the following:

Grilled Piri Piri Chicken

Cedar Plank Salmon w/ Hibiscus Rub

Blackened Pork Chops

Jerk Fried Chicken

Cooking Tips

• Cut the collards chiffonade style. Thinner strips will absorb the flavors of the vinaigrette better
• Be mindful of how much dripping the bacon renders. You’ll need no more than a ¼ cup, for the serving unless you want to make more for later use.
• Don’t over-cook the bacon and blacken it, otherwise the burnt flavor will appear in the vinaigrette
• The vinegar is needed to cut through the fat. If your vinaigrette seems “greasy” add a bit more vinegar
• This recipe also works with mustard greens, but be prepared for a slight kick from the spicy greens.
• Season to taste before serving
• Level up the flavor a bit by adding candied bacon.
• Pair with another soul food side like Southern green beans.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What greens make a good substitute in this collard greens recipe?

Kale and spinach are the easiest substitutes. For more of a spicy kick, mustard greens work great as an alternative.

What kind of bacon should I use?

I like center-cut smoked and cured if we’re going to get deep down into the specifics, but smoked is the key characteristic. That smokiness is what adds to the flavor.  Also, choose slices that aren’t too fatty in terms of the meat to fat ratio.

For similar collard greens recipes you might like, try these:

Brisket Collard Greens

Southern-Style Collard Greens

Curried Collard Greens

Blackeyed Peas and Collards Curry

Brazilian Collard Greens

Wine Braised Greens

For different take on this using cabbage try this fried cabbage with bacon recipe.

If you make this easy collard greens recipe or any other please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback.

Definitely take a photo of the dish and be sure to tag #foodfidelity so that I can see them.

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Collard Greens Salad w/ Bacon Vinaigrette

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 240kcal

Author: Marwin Brown

Ingredients

For the Vinaigrette

• ▢ ½ French baguette torn into pieces
• ▢ 4 strips Bacon
• ▢ 1 medium Shallot thinly sliced
• ▢ ¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Honey
• ▢ ½ tablespoon kosher salt
• ▢ ½ tablespoon black pepper
• ▢ ½ tablespoon Paprika
• ▢ 4 garlic cloves diced

For the Salad

• ▢ 1 bunch Collard Greens washed and cut into thin strips
• ▢ 1 Apple peeled, cored, and diced
• ▢ 1 cup Cherry tomatoes halved
• ▢ 1 med red onion sliced thinly

Instructions

Make the vinaigrette

• Heat skillet on medium. Add olive oil or butter and fry both sides of the pieces of bread browning the sides.
• Remove the bread and then fry the bacon pieces. Remove bacon from the skillet. Add shallots and garlic to the bacon grease and cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in the red wine vinegar, honey, paprika, salt, and pepper and mix well. Set aside

Make the salad

• Add the greens to a large mixing bowl. Add the sliced red onions, apple slices, and cherry tomatoes. Add the vinaigrette to the bowl and toss. Add the bacon bits and bread pieces to the salad and serve.

Video

Notes

• Cut the collards chiffonade style. Thinner strips will absorb the flavors of the vinaigrette better
• Be mindful of how much dripping the bacon renders. You’ll need no more than a ¼ cup, for the serving unless you want to make more for later use.
• Don’t over-cook the bacon and blacken it, otherwise the burnt flavor will appear in the vinaigrette
• The vinegar is needed to cut through the fat. If your vinaigrette seems “greasy” add a bit more vinegar
• Season to taste before serving

Nutrition

Calories: 240kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 1218mg | Potassium: 270mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 751IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg

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