Overview
About Collard greens
Collard greens are the answer to the question people usually arrive with: they are a sturdy cooked green that grades clean on oxalate, which spinach and chard do not.
They also grade clean on histamine, salicylates, nickel and gluten. The only real notes are mild fructans from the cabbage family and the fact that the traditional pot of greens is rarely just greens.
Sensitivities
How Collard greens scores
Watch for
What trips people up
- Mild fructan content from being a brassica, so a very large bowl of a long simmered pot can still produce gas even though the overall FODMAP grade is clean
- The classic Southern preparation simmers them with smoked ham hock, bacon or salt pork, and cured smoked meat is a strong histamine and nitrite source. If a plate of greens sets you off, suspect the pork and the pot likker before the leaf
- The vinegar or hot sauce splash at the table adds its own histamine and salicylate load
- Collards are one of the richest vitamin K foods there is. If you take warfarin, the goal is steady intake rather than avoidance, and that is a conversation for your prescriber
Diet fit
Where it fits
Swap ideas
More alternatives
FAQ
Common questions about Collard greens
Are collard greens high in oxalate?
No. Collards grade clean on oxalate, which is the whole reason they are worth knowing about. Spinach grades at the top of the oxalate scale and chard is moderate, so if you are cutting oxalate for kidney stones and still want a hearty cooked green, collards do that job without the tradeoff.
What is the best low oxalate substitute for spinach?
Collard greens, kale and bok choy all grade clean on oxalate and all hold up to cooking. Collards are the closest in body and bite to a big braise of spinach, and unlike spinach they carry no histamine flag either.
Are collard greens low FODMAP?
Overall yes. The one caveat is a mild fructan grade that comes with being a cabbage relative, so the trigger is volume rather than the food itself. A side portion is comfortable for most sensitive guts, a whole pot eaten alone is a different question.
Why do collard greens upset my stomach if they are so clean?
Two usual culprits, and neither is the leaf. First, the cooking method: smoked ham hock, bacon or salt pork brings histamine and nitrites that the greens themselves do not have. Second, sheer fibre volume in a long simmered pot. Cook a plain batch with olive oil and see whether the reaction follows.
References
Read the background
Ratings reflect the Triggerbites ingredient database and may vary with portion size and preparation.