In this article
- Collard greens fiber by form and serving
- Collard greens nutrition: what else is in the pot
- How collards compare with other leafy greens
- A Southern greens plate, counted
- What collard greens fiber does for your gut
- Collard greens on a low carb plate
- Fresh, frozen or raw: which collards to pick
- Easy ways to eat more collard greens
- The edge case: raw collard wraps
- Collard greens questions people ask
- Sources
7.6 grams. That’s how much fiber USDA lists for one cup of chopped collard greens, boiled from fresh, which is more than a quarter of the Daily Value for about 63 calories.
Collard greens fiber puts this Southern staple near the top of the leafy greens list, ahead of kale and spinach cup for cup. The exact number depends on whether your greens start fresh, frozen or raw, so the details below are worth a look.
Collard greens fiber by form and serving
USDA FoodData Central has separate records for raw, boiled fresh and boiled frozen collards. Here’s how they compare.
| Collard greens form | Serving | Fiber | % DV (28 g) | Calories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boiled from fresh, chopped | 1 cup (190 g) | 7.6 g | 27% | 63 |
| Boiled from frozen, chopped | 1 cup (170 g) | 4.8 g | 17% | 61 |
| Raw, chopped | 1 cup (36 g) | 1.4 g | 5% | 12 |
| Boiled from fresh | 100 g | 4.0 g | 14% | 33 |
| Raw | 100 g | 4.0 g | 14% | 32 |
Raw and cooked fresh collards have the same fiber by weight: 4.0 grams per 100 grams. The difference in the cup column comes from shrinkage, since a cup of raw chopped leaves weighs only 36 grams while a cup of boiled greens packs in 190 grams.
Frozen collards come in lower at 2.8 grams per 100 grams, so a cooked cup gives you about 4.8 grams. That still beats most vegetables, and it lines up with the 4.8 grams per cup the Dietary Guidelines list for cooked collards.
So if you’re comparing labels or recipes and the numbers don’t match, check which version they mean. Fresh greens cooked down give you the most fiber per cup.
Collard greens nutrition: what else is in the pot
Fiber is only the start. Based on USDA’s record for boiled fresh collards, one chopped cup (190 g) provides about:
- Vitamin K: 773 mcg, about 644% of the Daily Value
- Vitamin A: 722 mcg RAE, about 80% DV
- Manganese: 0.97 mg, about 42% DV
- Vitamin C: 35 mg, about 38% DV
- Calcium: 268 mg, about 21% DV
- Iron: 2.2 mg, about 12% DV
- Protein: about 5 grams
- Sugars: under 1 gram
The vitamin K figure is the headline. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements explains that vitamin K is important for blood clotting and healthy bones, and it names green leafy vegetables among the main food sources.
Vitamin A is the next big one. The NIH notes that vitamin A supports normal vision, the immune system, reproduction, and growth and development, and a cup of cooked collards covers most of a day’s worth.
Calcium deserves a mention too. At 268 mg per cup, boiled collards supply about a fifth of the 1,300 mg Daily Value from a single side dish.
Frozen collards bring their own strengths
Frozen collards trail fresh on fiber, but USDA’s frozen record shows more of some nutrients per cup. A cooked cup of frozen greens has about 357 mg of calcium (27% DV), 978 mcg RAE of vitamin A (109% DV) and 129 mcg DFE of folate (32% DV).
That makes frozen a fine choice when you want calcium and vitamin A on a busy night, even if fresh wins on fiber.
How collards compare with other leafy greens
The Dietary Guidelines’ Food Sources of Dietary Fiber list gives a cup by cup comparison of cooked greens. Here’s where collards sit, with USDA’s fresh boiled figure added for context.
| Cooked greens (1 cup) | Fiber | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| Collard greens, boiled from fresh (USDA) | 7.6 g | 63 |
| Turnip greens | 5.0 g | 29 |
| Collard greens (Dietary Guidelines) | 4.8 g | 63 |
| Kale | 4.7 g | 43 |
| Spinach | 4.3 g | 41 |
| Swiss chard | 3.7 g | 35 |
| Mustard greens | 2.8 g | 36 |
| Broccoli (for comparison) | 5.2 g | 54 |
Fresh-cooked collards lead the table. Even the Dietary Guidelines’ more conservative 4.8 gram figure keeps collards ahead of kale, spinach and Swiss chard.
Per 100 calories, fresh-cooked collards deliver about 12 grams of fiber. Kale lands near 10.9 grams and spinach near 10.5 grams by the same math, while turnip greens, at only 29 calories a cup, reach about 17 grams.
Mustard greens, the third member of the classic Southern greens trio, are lighter on fiber at 2.8 grams per cooked cup. Mixing them into a pot of collards adds peppery flavor while the collards carry most of the fiber.
Turnip greens, another classic Southern green, edge past the Dietary Guidelines’ collard figure with 5.0 grams and fewer calories. Cooking the two together is an easy way to mix things up without losing fiber.
Mayo Clinic suggests about 21 to 25 grams of fiber a day for women and 30 to 38 grams for men. A cup of fresh-cooked collards covers about 30 to 36% of a woman’s target and 20 to 25% of a man’s.
Curious what your own daily number should be? Our fiber calculator gives you a personalized target in seconds.
A Southern greens plate, counted
Picture a classic plate: a cup of slow-cooked collard greens, half a cup of black-eyed peas and a cup of brown rice. It’s simple, filling and built almost entirely from plants.
The collards bring about 7.6 grams of fiber if you cooked them from fresh. Brown rice adds about 3.5 grams, and the Dietary Guidelines list half a cup of cooked black-eyed peas (cowpeas) among their high fiber legumes at about 5.6 grams.
That’s roughly 16.7 grams of fiber on one plate, well over half a woman’s daily target. Swap the black-eyed peas for half a cup of navy beans and the total climbs past 20 grams.
What collard greens fiber does for your gut
Leafy greens fiber helps your digestion the same way fiber from other plants does. Mayo Clinic explains that fiber adds bulk to stool and softens it, which makes it easier to pass and helps prevent constipation.
Mayo Clinic also links fiber rich eating with healthier cholesterol, steadier blood sugar and a lower risk of heart disease. A bowl of greens with almost no fat and under a gram of sugar is an easy way to build toward those benefits.
If you’re not used to eating much fiber, a big serving of greens can feel like a lot at once. Mayo Clinic recommends increasing fiber gradually over a few weeks and drinking plenty of water.
Want a gentle plan for building a gut friendly routine? Our guides walk you through it step by step.
Collard greens on a low carb plate
Collards are very carb-friendly. A cup of boiled fresh greens has about 10.7 grams of carbohydrate, and 7.6 grams of that is fiber, leaving roughly 3.1 grams of net carbs.
Compare that with a cup of cooked brown rice, which carries about 3.5 grams of fiber. A cup of fresh-cooked greens gives you more than twice that, for about 3 grams of net carbs.
That’s a lot of food for very few digestible carbs. A heaping cup of greens next to chicken, fish or eggs fills the plate without moving your carb count much.
Even the frozen version stays light, at about 7.3 grams of net carbs per cup (12.1 grams of carbohydrate minus 4.8 grams of fiber).
Fresh, frozen or raw: which collards to pick
Each form has a job. A simple way to decide:
- For the most fiber per cup: buy fresh bunches and cook them down
- For calcium, vitamin A and folate on a busy night: reach for frozen chopped collards
- For salads and wraps: use raw leaves, knowing a cup is light on fiber because it weighs so little
- For a bigger fiber boost: pair any version with beans or peas
Looking for more ways to cook greens that go beyond the classic pot? Our recipe eBooks are packed with easy, high fiber dishes.
Easy ways to eat more collard greens
- Simmer chopped greens with onion, garlic and broth until tender
- Saute thin ribbons in olive oil with a squeeze of lemon
- Stir chopped greens into bean soups, stews and chili
- Blend a handful into a smoothie or pesto
- Use large raw leaves as wraps in place of tortillas
Whichever method you choose, the cooked cup is where collards shine. A cooked cup weighs about 190 grams while a raw cup weighs 36, so it takes roughly five cups of raw chopped leaves to make one cup of cooked greens. Buy more than you think you need, because the pot shrinks everything down fast.
The edge case: raw collard wraps
Raw collard leaves make a handy swap for tortillas, and they’re a smart low carb choice. Just don’t expect them to carry your fiber for the day.
A cup of chopped raw collards weighs only 36 grams and holds about 1.4 grams of fiber. One or two leaves around a filling add fiber, but nowhere near the 7.6 grams in a cup of cooked greens, so let the beans, vegetables or hummus inside do some of the work.
Fill a couple of leaves with half a cup of black-eyed peas, for example, and you add 5.6 grams of fiber before you even count the wrap itself.
Collard greens questions people ask
Are collard greens high in fiber?
Yes. A cup of chopped collard greens boiled from fresh has about 7.6 grams of fiber, about 27% of the 28 gram Daily Value, according to USDA.
Do frozen collard greens have as much fiber as fresh?
Not quite. Cooked frozen collards have about 4.8 grams of fiber per cup compared with 7.6 grams for fresh, but they contain more calcium and vitamin A per cup.
Do collard greens have more fiber than kale?
Yes. The Dietary Guidelines list cooked collards at 4.8 grams per cup and kale at 4.7 grams, and fresh-cooked collards reach 7.6 grams in USDA’s data.
What vitamins are in collard greens?
Collards are rich in vitamin K, vitamin A and vitamin C. A cooked cup has about 644% of the Daily Value for vitamin K and 80% for vitamin A.
Are collard greens a good source of calcium?
Yes, for a vegetable. A cup of boiled fresh collards has about 268 mg of calcium, roughly 21% of the Daily Value, and frozen has about 357 mg.
Are collard greens low carb?
Yes. A cooked cup has about 10.7 grams of carbohydrate, 7.6 grams of which is fiber, for roughly 3.1 grams of net carbs.
How many calories are in collard greens?
About 63 calories in a cup of boiled fresh collards and about 12 in a cup of chopped raw leaves, according to USDA.
Sources
- USDA Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central: SR Legacy Collards, raw (170406); Collards, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt (170407); Collards, frozen, chopped, cooked, boiled, drained, without salt (169996). 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov
- U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Food Sources of Dietary Fiber.” Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020 to 2025. dietaryguidelines.gov
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels.” 2024. fda.gov
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. “Vitamin K: Fact Sheet for Consumers.” 2021. ods.od.nih.gov
- National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. “Vitamin A and Carotenoids: Fact Sheet for Consumers.” 2025. ods.od.nih.gov
- Mayo Clinic Staff. “Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet.” Mayo Clinic. 2025. mayoclinic.org
