Slow Cooker Turnip Greens Recipe

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Slow Cooker Turnip Greens makes easy work of a delicious Southern dish. This turnip greens recipe is a favorite and perfect for busy weeknights, Sunday suppers and New Year’s Day!

Turnip greens and cool weather go hand in hand, don’t they? And slow cooker turnip greens sure do make cooking this turnip green recipe even easier!

For Sunday suppers or lunches after church, it is just hard to beat having the slow cooker out on the countertop doing as much of the work for you as possible. As a matter of fact, most Sunday’s I’ll have more than one just working away to make our day run a whole lot more smoothly. Slow cookers are always great for that extra help in the kitchen.

Slow Cooker Turnip Greens Recipe

A few years ago, I’d planned to make a traditional Southern supper one Sunday but knew we were going to be out of the house most of the day with various activities. I knew the turnip greens needed to cook low and slow to produce tons of pot liquor like my husband likes for eating with his cornbread. Otherwise, I could’ve made quick skillet turnip greens like I’ve shared before and that we love to make for easy weeknights. But, this particular Sunday, I wanted the style my Grandmother would’ve made and cook all day.

So, I decided I’d give them a try in my slow cooker. Goodness gracious if they didn’t produce some of the best tasting, traditional Southern turnip greens I’ve ever tasted! The best part, I didn’t have to worry with them all day long. I popped them into my slow cooker, added water and seasonings and set the timer. My slow cooker did all the work.

I love it when things come together like that. Don’t you?

How to Make

Fill your sink or a large stockpot with lukewarm water. Then, chop your turnip greens and add to the water. Agitate the water to clean the turnip greens and remove any dirt or grit that may be on the greens. Drain away the water and repeat until the turnip greens are cleaned and there is no dirt in the bottom of your sink or stockpot when cleaning the greens.

Spray the insert of your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray and then add half of your turnip greens with about 1 cup of clean water. Add any peeled and quartered turnips if you are using along with a ham hock or olive oil. If you are using the sugar and red pepper flakes, add those as well. Set the timer for 1 hour at the low setting.

Once the timer has completed for the hour, add the other half of the turnip greens to the slow cooker and set the timer for 4 hours on the low setting.

Once they are done, serve with cornbread, mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas (especially for New Year’s Day) and other southern favorites! So delicious!

And remember, never discard your pot liquor from your turnip greens. For many, that is the very best part! You can always add a few more ingredients to left over turnip greens for my Pot Likker Soup or just have a simple meal of turnip greens and cornbread.

Here’s my Slow Cooker Turnip Greens recipe. I think you’ll love how easy they are to make in the slow cooker!

Slow Cooker Turnip Greens Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 pounds fresh turnip greens about 2 bunches
• 3 medium turnips peeled and cut into quarters
• 1 (½ pound) ham hock or 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar optional
• pinch red pepper flakes optional

Instructions

• Fill clean sink about halfway with lukewarm water. Chop turnip greens and place into the sink to clean. Agitate the water and turnip greens with your hands to dislodge any dirt and grit from the turnip greens. Drain water and repeat once or twice until the greens feel clean and no dirt remains in the bottom of the sink when rinsing.
• Spray insert of slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
• Add half of greens to the slow cooker with about 1 cup of water, peeled and quartered turnips, and ham hock or olive oil. If you are using the sugar and red pepper flakes, add those as well.
• Cook on low setting for about 1 hour until greens have reduced. Add remaining greens to the slow cooker and set time on low for 4 more hours.
• Note: The longer turnip greens cook, the better the flavor, in my opinion.

Nutritional Information

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Enjoy!
Robyn xo

Originally published 2012.