This post contains affiliate links. Click here to see what that means!
That being said, we only promote authors, products, and services that we wholeheartedly stand by!
I cook a lot of dark leafy greens. Not only do they allow us to pack in the nutrients but they are excellent for improving methylation pathways, something that commonly needs addressing with autoimmune conditions. Stress control, inflammation management, energy production, elimination of toxins and so much more can be helped by eating frequent portions of these healing greens.
Because we eat so many, I like to search out ways to switch them up a bit with different flavors and textures. I’m willing to bet most people reach for kale so I’m using collards in this tasty version — which I actually love cold, warm or hot. The sauce is so versatile you could do that on its own and spoon over a griddled chicken breast, a lamb chop or piece of firm, white fish. Also think about interchanging the collards with Swiss chard, spinach (you’ll need a lot more than the recipe calls for) and yes, kale. Whilst I haven’t actually tried this myself, my tastebuds and I think it would be a really good idea!
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1 large cinnamon stick, broken in half
- ½ cup pumpkin purée
- ¼ cup coconut cream *see notes
- ½ large bunch collard greens, rolled and thinly shredded
- Pinch Himalayan pink salt
- Lemon or lime wedges (I used Meyer lemons)
- Melt the coconut oil in a medium, deep pan and add the sliced onion. Cook on a low heat for 6 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for another 3-4 minutes until lightly colored.
- Sprinkle the spices into the oil, throw in the cinnamon stick halves and stir for 1 minute.
- Now add the pumpkin purée and coconut cream, together with ½ cup filtered water and mix well. Turn the heat up to medium and allow the mixture to simmer briskly for 3 minutes until it is starting to thicken.
- Now add the collards and cook for a further 5 minutes or until wilted and tender. Taste the sauce and add salt to your liking.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and squeeze the lemon or lime wedges over the top.
14 comments
How many cups would 1/2 a large bunch of collard greens be?
This looks absolutely delicious! I am in the uk and cannot find collard greens. Can you clarify collard greens, do we have another nane for it in the U.K….my local farmers market say ‘any leafy green’ ? Thank you so much for all you fantastic recipes.
Hi Denise, look for Spring Greens in your local Waitrose or Farmers’ Market. If you can’t find them, kale will do nicely 🙂
[…] Find the recipe here at Autoimmune Wellness. […]
Just got done preparing this dish and wow its delicious!! Thank you for a great recipe. 🙂
Thanks Beth, I’m so thrilled you enjoyed it 🙂
Could you do this with brussels sprouts?
This is utterly delicious. Putting it on weekly basis! I personally like to cook the greens for longer, I found them to still be quite chewy, so I put a lid on medium low for about 20 min.
Hello! I’m from Russia and have no idea what collard greens are ) Can I replace them with spinach or beet greens?
Hi Anya! I think you’d have better luck with beet greens, but I do think spinach could work too – the cooking time will just be shorter for both of those options.
Made this last night with a marinated pork tenderloin and it was amazing! I added a little more pumpkin and coconut cream towards the end because I left the greens on a bit longer and it started to dry out, but it didn’t seem to affect the flavor. I want to try this sauce with other veggies in the future, it was so good!
These were so good, I’ll definitely be making this again. I upped the sauce measurements a bit (on accident at first due to doing half a cup of the coconut milk), used butternut purée instead of pumpkin as that’s what I had on hand, put a lid on low once the greens were in and let it cook for ~30 minutes while I went on a walk, and then had them with leftover meatloaf (recipe also from this site). Great combo!
Wow to this recipe. I have honestly never eaten collard greens before. I am new to AIP eating and gave this recipe a try. Why did I like it so much?! The flavors all together made me want to eat it all. I didn’t tho bc I wasn’t sure what my stomach would do with that much collard greens but I did lick my plate. So delicious! My 9 year old ate it up too- high praise!
Kerry, I’m so happy it was a win for you!