Have you ever had Turnip Greens or Collard Greens before? My father was a farmer and we had a large garden, so I grew up eating turnip greens and collard greens all the time. I didn’t think anything of that being a strange thing, but I have a feeling many people haven’t tried them or think they might not like them. I loved them as a kid and I have rediscovered how delicious they are! Don’t be afraid! They are so good and this Instant Pot Turnip Greens Recipe is so fast and easy – only about 30 minutes!
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When reading any of Dr. Fuhrman’s books, whether it be the original “Eat to Live“, “Super Immunity”, “End of Dieting“, “End of Diabetes”, or the others, you quickly find out that greens get the highest score on his ANDI scale for nutrient density.
Collard Greens, Turnip Greens, & Mustard Greens all get an ANDI score of 1000
The highest ANDI score possible is 1000 and that score goes to Kale, Watercress, Collard Greens, Turnip Greens, & Mustard Greens. So that means they are GREAT for helping prevent cancer, heart disease, diabetes, dementia, and more!
While we eat Kale often, I really wanted to re-try some greens from my childhood and see if they were as good as I remembered. Since I have never made greens I had to enlist the help of my mom.
Related Reading: Italian Crispy Kale Chips Recipe
I remember her cooking the greens in her old-timey pressure cooker that was so loud, scary, and obnoxious. Now that I have my own Instant Pot, the thought of cooking greens isn’t so scary any more. But, I’ve never made them and didn’t know if it my be challenging. So when my mom was in town, we planned on making them for dinner one night.
Instant Pot Turnip Greens is so quick and easy
Turns out, it is SUPER easy. Especially if you have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker. And the great thing with using a pressure cooker vs. steaming is that you keep more of the nutrients and flavors in the vegetables.
Turnips are a low-glycemic cruciferous root vegetables that tastes like potatoes!
I also wanted to try some turnips in the recipe because they are also a cruciferous vegetable. Cruciferous vegetables have a 2 to 1 impact on preventing diseases. Meaning if you eat 40% more cruciferous vegetables you get an 80% decrease in cancer, heart disease, and diabetes! Where as most other fruits & vegetables are a 1 to 1 ratio of prevention. Eat lots of cruciferous vegetables daily like turnips, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, turnip greens, collard greens, mustard greens, all cabbages, brussel sprouts, bok choy, radishes, rutabaga, and horseradish.
After I we made the recipe and I tried the turnips, I was SHOCKED at how delicious and soft they were. They taste like a sweeter version of a potato!!! They are SOOO GOOD! I don’t remember if we had turnips with our greens when I was little, but I think that’s because I thought they were potatoes! And, get this, they have a glycemic load of ONE!!! That means if you are trying to watch your starchy vegetable intake, you can eat turnips instead of potatoes all day long!
I’m now thinking about creating a mashed potato recipe out of turnips. I’ve never been a fan of the cauliflower version, but this could be the BEST substitution ever. I’m so surprised no one has ever thought of this.
I digress.
Mix and match your greens however you like to cook in your Instant Pot
So, you can do any greens or combination of greens you like. Turnip greens have the sweetest flavor, but I also like a little combination of the collard greens in there – they are a little more bitter. According to my mom, Mustard greens are best if they are harvested after the first freeze of the season, but unless you are growing your own, you aren’t going to know that from the supermarket. So, we didn’t buy any mustard greens.
Also, I recommend you buy your greens in the bunches NOT the bags. The bunches are so much fresher and less expensive. Plus, you are going to get so much of the ribs than greens in the bags that it is just wasted money. Bunches are about a $1 a piece and the bags are anywhere from $3-4 each.
This recipe is very inexpensive using the fresh produce and doesn’t take a long time to prep. I personally wouldn’t buy frozen either, because you are still going to get more ribs than leaves that way.
Wash the greens well and make sure you remove all the tough ribs. The ribs are bitter and you don’t want to take up space in your pressure cooker. A quick way to remove the ribs is to fold the greens length wise and then slice the rib out with a knife. Then tear the leaves into large pieces.
Tip: If you find that you can’t fit all your greens in the instant pot under the 3/4 full mark, put them in a covered dish with a tablespoon of water and steam in the microwave for about 45 seconds – 1 minute so they will shrink up. Don’t steam too long, as you will lose some of the nutrients.
Instant Pot Turnip Tips
As for the turnips, you want to pick the smaller ones. The bigger ones will sometimes have striations (lines) on the inside and they aren’t as sweet. You won’t know until you cut into them, so stick to the smaller ones and you should be safe.
As for the turnips, scrub the outside well to remove any dirt. We did not peel ours, although I suppose you could. Cut the turnips into quarters or smaller if they are larger.
Put in your vegetable broth and turnips first, then greens on top. Cover and set your Instant Pot for 20 minutes! That’s it!
If you are not 100% vegan, you could add a ham-hock to the bottom of your Instant Pot for added flavor. But this recipe does not call for it.
Pepper sauce is so good added to the Instant Pot Turnip Greens
They turned out so good. It was like heaven! I like to sprinkle a little pepper sauce like this brand (you can just buy it at any store):
I recommend you start with the mild or medium version of pepper sauce, as it can be pretty spicy! My husband prefers just a little no-salt seasoning. You could do a tiny bit of salt or pepper, also.
I hope you enjoy my Easy Instant Pot Turnip Greens Recipe! This will be a weekly staple in our household.
Related Reading:
Top 6 Reasons why you should become a Nutritarian
Find out what I ate Week 1 on the “Eat to Live” Diet
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