Collard greens and black eyed peas served over cheesy grits turn a New Year's Day tradition into an everyday hearty breakfast with my Collard Greens and Black Eyed Peas with Cheesy Grits.
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I grew up a child of two cultures; South Korea and the American South. At no time is that more apparent than New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. As long as I can remember I've served Korean Rice Cake and Dumpling Soup on New Year's Eve, and Grits with Collard Greens on New Year's Day.
Although I make my Korean soup at other times during the year, for some reason I have kept my collards as an annual treat. No more! In this recipe, I'm bringing my love of smoky greens and black eyed peas to the breakfast table and you're going to love them!
I'm serving them over easy cheesy grits for an actual stick-to-your-ribs breakfast or brunch. And see that broth around the grits? That's called pot likker, and it's liquid ambrosia! I want you to feel the South in your bones, y'all!
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❤️ What you'll love about this recipe:
- INEXPENSIVE - All of the ingredients are affordable and delicious, a combo that will put this recipe on repeat in your kitchen, all year long.
- EASY - This recipe is simple to prepare and, if you use instant grits, you can be sitting down to eat in less than 30 minutes.
- FLEXIBLE - Whether you want to swap out ingredients, make this vegetarian or vegan, or change the number of people you're serving, this recipe has you covered!
Ingredients in Collard Greens & Black Eyed Peas Grits Bowl
- Water and milk Most grits recipes tell you to start with water and maybe finish with a little milk. Not me. I go half and half with water and milk because I like my grits extra creamy.
- Cheddar cheese This adds additional creaminess and flavor to the grits that really pairs well with the collards and the black eyed peas.
- Andouille sausage This is a smoked sausage that is very popular in the Deep South. I add this to bring in the smoky flavor normally found in collard greens, without having to use a big ham hock or smoked turkey wings.
- Shallots and garlic Unless you're allergic, there aren't many savory dishes that can't be improved with a little shallots and garlic.
- Collard greens Closely related to cabbage and kale, collard greens are a very large leafy vegetable that is normally slowly braised. I've cracked the code on making them tender and delicious without the wait.
- Black eyed Peas You can definitely used canned black eyed peas, there are some with jalapeño that are amazing, but I like to use leftovers of my Grandma's Southern black eyed peas for authentic flavor.
- Chicken broth I usually cook my collards in broth. In this recipe it helps to tenderize them as well as give you the flavor of a pot likker without a long cooking time.
- Fresh thyme This adds a bright herbaceous note to the pot likker broth.
- Tomatoes To brighten the deep, rich pot likker, and all the other amazing flavors in this bowl, I added a bit of fresh tomato at the end.
See recipe card for measurements.
Substitutions
Possible ingredient substitutions
- Use any neutral oil to sauté your sausage, like vegetable, canola, peanut, or safflower.
- You can use bacon or any other sausage in place of andouille sausage. Try kielbasa!
- This recipe would be equally delicious with kale or Swiss chard!
- If you don't have fresh thyme, use ⅓ the amount of dried thyme.
- If using instant grits, start cooking them after all your other prep is done. Cook for 5 minutes, or per box directions, add butter and cheese, and cover to keep warm.
- You can use all water or even broth in your grits, if you'd like.
- Instead of cheddar cheese, try monterey jack or even pepper jack.
Vegetarian Options: If you want to make this vegetarian, you can use a meat substitute or skip the sausage all together, then use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth. You can even make this vegan by using your favorite alternative milk, vegan butter, and vegan cheese shreds in your grits. A tablespoon of nutritional yeast will bump up the cheesy flavor of your grits as well.
Be sure to keep ingredient measurements the same when making changes.
Recipe Instructions
- Prep Preparing everything ahead of time (called "mise en place" in French) is a huge help when following a recipe that cooks so quickly. Finely dice your shallots and mince your garlic. Slice your andouille sausage into discs and then each disc into quarters. Drain and rinse your black eyed peas. Thoroughly wash your collard greens and remove the hard center stems from each leaf. Stack a few leaves on top of each other, roll them up, and slice into ½ to 1 inch ribbons.
- Make grits Bring water and milk, seasoned with salt and pepper, to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add in grits while whisking constantly with a large whisk. Reduce heat and let cook while covered until thickened, whisking occasionally. Stir in butter and cheese. Adjust seasoning to taste. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
- Sauté Add oil to a 12 inch cast iron skillet set over medium-high heat. Sauté until browned, 5-7 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.
- Greens and Black Eyed Peas Add collard greens and broth to the pan and cook until the greens are wilted and the broth has reduced a bit - another 2 to 3 minutes. Add thyme leaves, black eyed peas, and tomatoes and warm through.
- Serve Place a serving of cheesy grits in the bottom of your bowl. Add Collard greens and black eyed peas mixture and drizzle all over with the pot likker from the bottom of the pan. Top with a fried egg, if desired.
Want traditional collards? If you want to make slow cooked, traditional Southern-style collard greens, I've got the recipe for you! My Grandmother made it seem like she stood over the hot stove for hours to make them, but it's a lot easier than she led me to believe. No one else needs to know that 🤫
Storage and reheating instructions
- Storage Store grits and greens mixtures in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Reheating grits Grits are best reheated on the stovetop. Place grits in a nonstick pan with a small amount of water, broth, or milk. Reheat on low, stirring frequently to break up any large chunks. Add more liquid if needed. Whisk to smooth texture before serving hot. You can also use the microwave, adding liquid and reheating in 30 second bursts, stirring each time, until smooth and hot.
- Reheating collard greens and black eyed peas These can be reheated on the stove, or in a microwave, until hot, stirring occasionally to ensure even heating.
More savory breakfast recipes
📖 Recipe
Collard Greens and Beans Grits Bowl
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
Grits
- 2 cups (480 g) water
- 2 cups (480 g) whole milk
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup (156 g) stone ground grits Can use instant grits. See note.
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ¼ cup (60 g) heavy cream or milk
- 1 cup (113 g) cheddar cheese grated
Collard Greens & Black Eyed Peas
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 12 oz Andouille sausage diced
- 1 shallot minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 bunches collard greens stems cut out, leaves sliced in ribbons (5-6 cups)
- 1 cup (240 g) chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves can substitute with 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 15-ounce can black eyed peas drained and rinsed
- 1 cup fresh tomato diced
Instructions
Grits
- Add water, milk, salt, and pepper to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Whisk constantly while pouring in grits. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Whisk occasionally. Cook for about 20 to 30 minutes. Add more water if grits get too thick. See note below if using instant grits.
- Add butter, heavy cream and cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
Greens & Peas
- Heat oil in a 12 inch cast iron skillet or large heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high. Add sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 2 minutes.
- Add collard greens and chicken broth. Toss to wilt greens and reduce broth, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the thyme, black-eyed peas and tomatoes and toss to warm through. Season again with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over the cheesy grits.
Save This Recipe! 💌
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!
just made the grits for the first time, lost my mind over how good it was! can't wait to make it with collards and black eyed peas next time! 🙂
I’m so so glad you loved them!! 🙌
Made this for New Year’s Day for a creative way to eat black eyed peas and greens and it was delicious! Since I don’t like grits, I paired this with eggs in addition to grits. Everyone raved about it. Will definitely make again.
That’s amazing! I’m glad you started your New Year with all the good luck and delicious food!