• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

She Paused 4 Thought

Food, Fun and Travel

  • Home
  • Recipes by Category
    • Listed Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast / Brunch
    • Dessert
    • Fruit & Veggies
    • Healthy
    • Main Dishes
    • Meat
      • Chicken
      • Fish & Seafood
        • Shrimp
    • Super Easy
    • Party Food
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • Holiday
    • Ethnic
    • Side Dishes
    • Vegetarian
    • Good Information
      • Product Review
      • Food Photography
    • Snacks
    • Simply FUN!
    • Cooking School
    • Recipes
  • About
  • Travel
  • Contact
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter

Coconut Creamed Greens

December 1, 2015 by Cathy Arkle 16 Comments

Coconut Creamed Greens incorporates the sweet flavor of coconut milk with a touch of honey to mask the pleasantly bitter greens in this tropical twist of a southern favorite.

Coconut Creamed Greens | She Paused 4 Thought

This is not your typical southern greens recipe, nor is it served in your typical style. A recipe this unique deserves its own serving portion. Even someone who doesn’t like slightly bitter greens will be pleasantly surprised by this tropical twist on a southern classic. Where did I find such a recipe? From MasterChef’s Season One Winner.

Imagine if you could take a Southern Great Grandma’s culinary mantle, add a healthy dose of mother’s wisdom, and fold in the culinary curiosity of a young girl, then put them all in a kitchen, you’d find yourself with Whitney Miller. She is a marvel at creating traditional favorites with a contemporary spin.

Whitney Miller at Melissa's Produce

I recently met Whitney at Melissa’s Produce’s cookbook launch for local food bloggers and journalists. We were so excited to hear Whitney talk about recipes from her latest book New Southern Table. The event was excellent, and both food and recipes expanded my current knowledge of Southern Food.

Whitney Miller at Melissa's Produce

So much wisdom and passion came from this talented lady when she talked about family, food, and hospitality.

We were treated to a few of Whitney’s dishes full of fresh ingredients.

Whitney Miller | She Paused 4 Thought

Creole Succatash Salad (pg. 98) Chopped Green Beans & Mushroom Saute (p.148) Mississippi Banh Mi (pg.111) with Seared Beef Tips (pg. 174) & Sriracha Spread (pg. 289)

Whitney Miller desserts | She Paused 4 Thought

Baked Apple Hand Pies (pg. 238) Brownie Cookies (pg. 270)

Whitney Miller greens| She Paused 4 Thought

At home I made a version of the Coconut Creamed Greens using swiss chard and the Spiced Roasted Okra (pg. 141)
Absolutely delicious.

Today’s Recipe: Coconut Creamed Greens

This recipe is for an 8″ casserole dish. I chose to make individual 2-ounce servings to lure in the toughest green-haters with this manageable portion. Success.

Coconut Creamed Greens | She Paused 4 Thought

Print

Coconut Creamed Greens

The sweet and creamy flavor of the coconut milk masks the slightly bitter flavor of the greens and mimics creamed spinach, a dish sure to please.
Cuisine Southern
Author Whitney Miller

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons coconut or olive oil
  • 12 cups packed chopped turnip greens or kale ribs removed
  • 2 14-ounce cans coconut milk (I used regular, not light)
  • 6 cloves roasted garlic see recipe below
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • Honey optional
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shaved coconut roughly chopped

Roasted Garlic

  • 1 head garlic
  • 1/ 4 teaspoon olive oil

Instructions

  1. Place the oil in a large saute pan and heat over medium heat. Add the greens and cook, stirring and tossing occasionally, until slightly wilted, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the coconut milk and Roasted Garlic. Stir until well mixed. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the salt, and cook, uncovered, for an additional 30 minutes, stir ring occasionally.
  2. Transfer the greens to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the greens are

  3. broken down into chunky small pieces, about 30 seconds. Do not puree. Stir in the honey to cut any remaining bitterness from the greens. Pour into a shallow 8-inch casserole dish. Season the creamed greens with additional salt to taste. Sprinkle the coconut in an even layer over the greens.
  4. Preheat the broiler. Broil the greens until the coconut is golden brown. Serve warm.

Roasted Garlic Instruction

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Remove the outer layers of the skin from the head of garlic and cut off about l/4 inch from the top, exposing the cloves. Place the garlic on a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle the olive oil over the exposed cloves. Bring the edges of the aluminum foil together and crimp to close. Bake the garlic for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until fragrant and softened.

Recipe Notes

Serves 6 as appetizer, or side dish for two.
To serve this as an individual serving fill up six 2-ounce dessert glasses with the greens. Toast the coconut separately and place them on top right before serving.

You can purchase her cookbook New Southern Table – My Favorite Family Recipes with a Modern Twist on Amazon.

I am excited to add some wonderful southern recipes to my repertoire.
…and then, she paused for thought.

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. I was given a copy of New Southern Table cookbook to cook with. All opinions are my own.
Yum

Filed Under: Appetizers, Fruit & Veggies, Healthy, Party Food, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Coconut Creamed Greens, cookbook review, creamed greens, healthy appetizers, kale, shepaused4thought, southern recipes, toasted coconut, vegan, Whitney Miller

Previous Post: « Fresh Grape Mocktail
Next Post: Gingerbread Bon-Bons »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Natalie

    December 1, 2015 at 8:29 pm

    Cathy, this sounds absolutely amazing! Never thought of pairing coconut cream with greens.

    Reply
    • Cathy Arkle

      December 1, 2015 at 9:01 pm

      Natalie it is very good, I highly recommend trying it.

      Reply
  2. sippitysup

    December 2, 2015 at 10:47 am

    I’ve been making greens with coconut milk lately too. They’re so good. GREG

    Reply
    • Cathy Arkle

      December 2, 2015 at 10:08 pm

      I agree with you Greg!

      Reply
  3. Susan Herrmann Loomis

    December 3, 2015 at 10:15 am

    Cathy, this sounds soo delicious!!

    Reply
    • Cathy Arkle

      December 3, 2015 at 7:04 pm

      Susan, it is the perfect recipe to introduce people to greens. I know you would love it.

      Reply
  4. shockinglydelicious

    December 3, 2015 at 4:55 pm

    OK, I’ve never used coconut milk for this, and now I MUST! Thank you for the inspiration!

    Reply
    • Cathy Arkle

      December 3, 2015 at 7:04 pm

      Thanks Dorothy! Whitney Miller’s new cookbook is full of inspiration to me. Enjoy!

      Reply
  5. Erika Kerekes

    December 4, 2015 at 12:04 pm

    I can’t wait to try this!

    Reply
    • Cathy Arkle

      December 4, 2015 at 12:18 pm

      Erika, I think you will really like this. The roasted garlic adds the depth and the coconut milk and honey and the sweetness. Hint: if there is any leftovers, remove the coconut off the top as it gets soggy. Add freshly toasted coconut before serving next.

      Reply
  6. Lentil Breakdown

    December 4, 2015 at 5:30 pm

    Thanks for the inspiration. This is right up my alley. I might even add fresh ginger, too!

    Reply
    • Cathy Arkle

      December 4, 2015 at 9:03 pm

      Yes to the ginger!!!

      Reply
  7. CHERI NEWELL

    December 6, 2015 at 8:53 pm

    This is a must try for me… and I like ginger on anything… will throw that in too!!!

    Reply
    • Cathy Arkle

      December 6, 2015 at 9:51 pm

      I love ginger as well, what a great idea Cheri!

      Reply
  8. Kelly Page (@TastingPage)

    December 11, 2015 at 5:16 pm

    I took one look at the creamed greens and of course I thought there would be cream or yogurt, but love that these are dairy free and great idea to make them single serve. Makes for a really nice presentation!

    Reply
    • Cathy Arkle

      December 11, 2015 at 6:45 pm

      Thanks Kelly, it is a really great way to get people to try greens.

      Reply

I would love to hear from you! Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Who is She?

Welcome to She Paused 4 Thought! I’m Cathy - a farm girl from Iowa living in Los Angeles. Let’s cook, laugh, travel & have fun together. Read More…

Subscribe and Connect

Get new posts via email.

Recent Posts

  • Barbara Hansen’s Lemon Bread
  • Rosemary – Onion Mac and Cheese
  • Hatch Pecan Brownies
  • Raspberry Crumble Bars
  • Passover Celery Root Salad
  • Kiwano Melon, Smoked Trout and Avocado Salad

Categories

Follow Me On:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Other Favorites

RASPBERRY CRUMBLE BARS

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Cathy Arkle