Turnip Greens don’t have to be cooked to death to be delicious. These spicy skillet turnip greens are perfect for a quick weeknight meal.

Spicy Skillet Turnip Greens

One of Bart’s favorite things to eat is turnip greens. Add roast beef, skillet cornbread, and maybe even some mashed potatoes and his rating of supper would most certainly be a 10.

The other night, I decided I would make his favorite meal to welcome him home for a long week of meetings, meetings and more meetings. I remember what those are like from my corporate days and immediately knew he needed some comfort food.

I remembered to start the roast cooking earlier during the day, but totally forgot the turnip greens while Sam and I were outside working spreading pine straw around the flower beds in the back yard.

Not realizing what time it was, it finally hit me as I heard the diesel engine of my husband’s truck lumbering down our long driveway.

Determined not to let my plans for a welcoming, comforting meal fall by the wayside, my mind quickly kicked into gear and I decided I’d make these spicy skillet turnip greens for him instead. It was my only shot at pulling the meal together with a little pizzazz.

I knew they had to be done fairly quickly.

I heated up my skillet, drizzled a bit of olive oil in the bottom and got busy peeling my onion. In the onion went and I started cutting up my turnip greens. I knew I needed a lot, because as they cook, turnip greens will cook down a lot. Not quite as bad as spinach, but they will cook down a good bit.

I added half of my pound of turnip greens to the skillet as the onions became tender and cooked them down before I added the remainder of my greens. Then, I added a little bit of water and a pinch or two of red pepper flakes for the heat.

In the same amount of time it took my cornbread to bake in the oven, my turnip greens were ready and my husband loved them.

I think you need to give them a try the next time you need a comforting meal. A plate full of turnip greens, cornbread, and roast beef definitely feels like home to me.

Spicy Skillet Turnip Greens Recipe

4.94 from 16 votes
A quick recipe for spicy skillet turnip greens for a comforting, home-cooked meal.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients 

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 onion, cut into wedges
  • 1 pound turnip greens, cleaned and chopped
  • 1/4 cup water
  • pinch brown sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes, adjust to preference

Instructions 

  • Drizzle olive oil into skillet over medium heat.
  • Add onion and cook until just tender, about 3 minutes. Then add 1/2 of turnip greens. Allow to cook down and add the remainder of the greens.
  • Add water, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. Adjust the amount of red pepper to your personal taste.

Nutrition

Calories: 52kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 32mg | Potassium: 251mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 8772IU | Vitamin C: 47mg | Calcium: 148mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Enjoy!
Robyn xo

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About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

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Recipe Review




72 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Such a simple and DELICIOUS recipe! I added some radishes to bulk mine up, and they complemented this dish very well. The brown sugar and red pepper combination was LOVELY and I will be doing this with all my greens going forward! Thank you so much!

    1. 5 stars
      Spot on! This is a winner! I just collected fresh turnips with greens attached at a local farmers market (curb-side pick up only at this time). Came home, cleaned and prepped, and cooked as instructed. It barely made in my bowl before I devoured it!

    2. Lucky you! I would love to have some fresh turnips and greens right now. I’m so happy you liked this, Nalini.

  2. 5 stars
    I made this recipe. I altered it a bit. I used a purple/red onion and added yellow, orange,& red mini peppers and more than a dash of brown sugar since my greens were bitter. My greens cooked longer until they were tender to my liking and I added a little salt. VERY YUMMY!!!!! I’ll by a larger batch of greens next time. Today I was experimenting.

  3. I like the sound of these. I’m more of a collard greens fan because turnip greens are more bitter. The brown sugar should help and a little red pepper…why…yes! Pinned it!

  4. 5 stars
    I had never made greens before, but love them at the employee cafeteria at the local hospital. This was super easy and tasty–and so healthy!! Thanks for a great recipe!

  5. This recipe is delicious. I used leeks rather than onions (because I had them) and stock rather than water (because I was making it at the time) and they were delicious. I used the turnip greens that were attached to four turnips and that seemed to be the right amount. Yielded about a quart of cooked greens. Loved the texture. I think I am going to try this with collards next time.

  6. Made this last night – picked the turnip greens fresh out of my garden. I love greens, but turnip greens always have a bitter taste that I don’t care for, BUT the pinch of brown sugar cut that bitter taste and they were DELICIOUS! The dish looks EXACTLY like the pic too! Wonderful! Thank you for a great recipe!!!!

  7. Thanks for the recipe. I added a bit of spaghetti squash and jerk marinade. It came out magnificent and very filling.