Best Canned Collard Greens at the Grocery Store

It’s tradition in the South to eat collard greens on New Year’s Day, but a nice thing about the best canned collard greens is that they’re very much an everyday food. See, cooking collards is a production. You need to clean and trim several pounds of greens, then simmer them for at least a couple of hours with a ham hock to get a good, authentic flavor and plenty of tasty pot likker, too. Do the best collard greens in a can taste like they were made with love in a granny’s kitchen or at your favorite BBQ restaurant? Not quite, but they’re tender, pleasantly bitter, and even a little bit tangy if vinegar is in the mix.

While collards are obviously popular outside of the South, it was slim pickings at our local grocery stores. We all tasted the three canned collards we were able to find and we all agreed: Canned collard greens taste so much better than canned spinach. Maybe it’s the way they’re seasoned, but canned collards are way less tinny tasting than canned spinach. What I’m saying is that if you like leafy greens, the best canned collard greens should be in your pantry at all times. Now you just need some cornbread for sopping.

The following article contains affiliate links that may generate a small commission to us when you make a purchase through the link. Learn more about how we work with affiliates here.

Best Smoky

Glory Seasoned Mixed Greens

Walmart

If you like very pork-forward greens, these are the best canned collard greens to buy. Glory Seasoned Mixed Greens are smoky with a capital S. There is big, big hickory smoke flavor in this can. If that sounds delicious to you, you’re going to love these. By virtue of their smoky flavor, these taste (kind of) like the collards you get at a BBQ restaurant. I will say that there was some…extra stuff in this can of greens. Little tough stems that looked like pine needles. Anyway, I picked them out and survived! Oh, and fun fact! These aren’t even collards! You’re getting leaf turnip, mustard greens, and kale. That’s a lot of veggies, but the bacon fat, pork broth, and ham broth in this can make them awfully decadent.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Overall Flavor

Sylvia’s Specially Seasoned Collard Greens

Amazon

Sylvia’s is a soul food restaurant in Harlem, New York, and now it is a goal of mine to visit. These canned collards are excellent. If you like your collards doused with pepper vinegar, these taste like they already have some in the mix. There’s a very nice briny tang and I even picked a pepper seed out of my mouth. They’re a little bit smoky, but not overpoweringly so. They’re made with some rendered pork fat, which really adds a lot of flavor without making them taste acrid. If Sylvia’s canned collard greens are this good, I can only imagine how delicious they are at her restaurant.

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Glory Simply Seasoned Collard Greens

Ralphs

If you like super porky tasting collard greens, these aren’t the best canned collard greens for you. Buy #2 or #3 on this list. But if you actually want to taste greens rather than pork fat, these are the best collard greens in a can. They’re a little grassy. They don’t have much bite, but more bite than spinach. They have enough salt and onion powder to taste like something. Add a dash of pepper vinegar to these and you’re in business. I would also try subbing these in recipes that call for spinach. They’re really good! And based on the ingredient list, they appear to be vegetarian. Collards for everyone!

Credit: Liv Averett / Ralphs

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks