It only takes 3 Minutes in the Instant Pot to make a huge pot of perfectly cooked and tender Kale! You can also use this technique for Collards or Chard!
Having cooked greens tucked into the fridge is a must for me when the weather is cooler. I love salad but honestly, I have a hard time choosing salad as frequently when it’s cold out. I just want warm foods that I can eat from a bowl.
I’ve been experimenting with cooked greens in my Instant Pot ever since I got it last year and I finally nailed the quick, easy and tasty formula that will allow us to stay stocked in greens all Fall and Winter!
The Instant Pot manual and many recipe sites will tell you that you should never cook anything without at least one cup of water and for the most part that is true. But, and the big BUT is – that when it comes cooking greens, too much water ruins the taste and texture.
Since Kale, Collards and Chard are naturally very high in water content, as long as you keep the vent “sealed”, you can add minimal liquid to the IP and still wind up with perfectly cooked greens every single time!
My recipe below is very basic and more about the technique. If you have extra time, play around with adding sliced garlic, ginger, shallot, onions, or even some chopped bacon. It all works and is great but for me, I like to keep this simple so that I can come home from the grocery store and get the greens into the pot in minutes without any extra work!
I can’t wait to hear how this works for you and if, in turn, it ups your consumption of cooked greens!
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
It only takes 3 Minutes in the Instant Pot to make a huge pot of perfectly cooked and tender Kale! You can also use this technique for Collards or Chard!
- 2 large heads kale or collards or chard, ribs removed and chopped into bite sized pieces
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/3 cup water
- squeeze lemon juice
- Clean kale and remove leaves from stems. Cut leaves into bite sized pieces and place into the Instant Pot along with olive oil, salt, red pepper and water.
- Lock lid and make sure the knob is set to "SEALED" Set to "Manual" for 3 Minutes.
- You can use manual release or slow pressure release - either works just fine! Squeeze lemon juice, stir and adjust salt and red pepper flakes if necessary.
- Store in a covered glass container in the fridge and Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
Do you select low pressure or high pressure for this recipe?
Hi CJK, I select manual, high pressure. Hope you love it!
Can you tell me approximately how many cups 2 heads would be equal to? I purchased a 5oz Organic Girl package of prepared, prewashed kale mix. If this is equal to less than 2 heads, what other adjustments would I need to make?
Hi Terri,
A “head” or “bunch” is pretty subjective – I should update this post to be more specific. I would say that I usually get about 2 cups of greens from each bunch. As for the Organic Girl prewashed kale mix, I believe that is baby kale so it would naturally be lighter (no big stems) and cook much quicker. I would recommend setting the Instant Pot to “0” minutes as the pressure-time alone will sufficiently cook baby greens. Hope that helps!
I just got my IP and want to try this kale recipe and subscribe to your recipe site.
Hope you love it Sandi! The subscribe box is on my homepage and sidebar 🙂
I went by the recipe minus the red pepper. It turned out great and was so easy. Next time I might try the onion sauted in bacon grease that someone suggested.
That is awesome Ann! So glad you like it!
Going to try adding the garlic and onions, but I love the recipes and hint s that you have given us. Love my instant pot. At first it was too much. But I have the rhythm on the order of cooking the items I have.
Thanks to instant pot. I nearly cook on the stove. No standing over food.
Hope you love it!!
How do you adjust for frozen greens?
Great question Phyllis! I haven’t tried frozen but I think the cook time will be similar since frozen greens are usually chopped into small pieces.
Quick question. If one chooses npr over qr, won’t the kale continue cooking, possibly becoming overcooked?
Hi Amy – Yes! Some people like their greens more cooked than others though. Personally, I do a QR for this recipe.
This recipe turned out great, I sautéed diced onions and garlic in some bacon fat in my IP then added the kale with 1/3 cup water. cooked on manual for three minutes QR. Then I splashed on some balsamic vinegar. Yumm!
YES! That sounds fantastic 🙂
I did this tonight and it turned out perfect. I loved it. Will do again.
Perfect!! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Perfect
3 min low or high manual pressure?
High Pressure!
I don’t know what QR means as Helene posted. Can I cook spinach for less time, maybe one minute. Love my new instant pot. Just made Cauliflower mash. 6 min, perfect! Thank you
QR means quick release. No waiting. Immediatelynrelease the valve when time is up.
I would cook spinach or baby greens for 0 zero minutes. The heat of bringing to pressure cooks them.
Hi Sue!
QR means “Quick Release”
So great. I love how the Kale is still crunchy. I sauteéd Onion and Garlic first and used Smoked Serrano Chili Flakes. I mixed it with Whole Wheat Gnocchi and topped it with Parmesan. Perfect meal.
Sounds like a perfect dish!
I do baby greens and tender greens like, spinach, beet and dandelion greens, for zero min on Manual, QR. I use 1/2c water for 1lb greens. Hearty greens, like collards, turnip and mustard greens, need 2/3c-3/4c water and cook for 5-6min, QR. Kale I only cook for 5 min.
I often combine greens, incl tender with hearty after theyre cooked. We put them in smoothies often, so no seasoning. I put a dish in the fridge when Im making up several lbs at once. We take them out to add to things n season then. The rest I portion n freeze. I often have them for brkfst. Like 5 days a week :0
Love, love, love having greens ready to go!
Such great tips!
I do a lot of precooking and freezing when prepping for trips in our RV. For smoothies, I simply put the greens in my blender with a little liquid or juice, then freeze. I never bother to cook those.
How should I modify if I only have 1 head of kale available?
I curious too!
Ì have found that my instant pot cooks a pot roast perfectly. And when I cook a stew I always cook it with the steamer on. The meat just falls apart as you eat it.
This is a great idea. I prefer chard (especially red) over kale. The nice thing about chard is you can eat the rib/stems and just chop it up along with the leaves, so it actually takes less time than kale or collards as you don’t have to trim out the ribs!
When we made this tonight, we used only 1 Tbl of bacon fat instead of olive oil and added dehyrdrated garlic and onion as well. Also, didn’t have lemon juice so added lemon zest to the pot. Topped with chopped bacon and pomegranates when we plated it. Delish!
Prep time for this recipe compared to one serving is not that much different, so instead of one serving we get 4 in just a bit more prep time.
Thanks for this recipe!
Sounds amazing Shari!
I just ordered the IP you recommended! Please post more IP recipes!
I will! I use it all the time 🙂
Thanks!
I just ordered an Instant Pot and should have it by Friday. I am excited to try this and other recipes using my new toy!!
Ann – you are going to LOVE having an IP!!
Three minute greens not bad. I cook chard in a pot with three tbls of water plus 2 tbls of olive oil or if you are into butter use that instead.
In away it’s like stirfrying them. Cut the chard stems into 1/2 inch pieces across the stems and slice up the green part
put a tight fitting lid on the pot so as your steaming the chard as well. You will find that it cooks in know time at all. So don’t walk away.
Which Instant Pot do you have? I would love to try this!
I have this Instant Pot!