Tasty Cabbage Recipes That Prove It’s Great For More Than Coleslaw (2024)

If your current cabbage recipe repertoire stops at slaw alone, you’ve come to the right place. Our creations featuring the latest “it” vegetable (sorry, cauliflower and kale) include trendy roasted cabbage “steaks,” corned beef and cabbage recipes, cabbage soup recipes, stuffed cabbage rolls, and so much more.

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Cabbage and Kielbasa

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Corned beef isn’t your only pairing option for cooked cabbage. This hearty skillet dinner showcases cozy kielbasa, an easy egg spaetzle pasta, plus a luscious onion and cabbage combo. Can’t find kielbasa, or not a fan? Try this same pan-fried cabbage recipe with chicken sausage, turkey sausage, or any plant-based sausage alternative.

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Salmon and Cabbage Noodle Bowls

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From meal prep to dinner parties designed for those with different dietary preferences and intolerances, you can’t do much better than a build-your-own-bowl concept. In this snow pea and cabbage recipe, those crunchy veggies act as a fresh complement to the miso-marinated roast salmon and tender buckwheat noodles. Offer each of those building blocks with a bowl of carrot-miso dressing on the side, and everyone can construct their dream creation.

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Related: 15 Satisfying Meals in a Bowl You Can Make Instead of Soup

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Pan-Roasted Cabbage, Carrot, and Celery Root

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Carve out just 25 minutes and round up seven ingredients to recreate this red cabbage recipe, and you’ll benefit richly from that small investment. After trying the vegetable side dish as part of her holiday menu, one BHG fan raves, “Oh my gosh, this was SO good! Even family members who aren't crazy about vegetables said it was the dark horse of Thanksgiving dinner—and they wanted to take home my leftovers!”

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Roasted Cabbage with Olive Tapenade

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With everyone from Top Chef host and cookbook author Padma Lakshmi to popular food bloggers to award-winning restaurant chefs adding roasted cabbage to their menus, it’s clear that this side dish trend has some serious star power. And staying power as a cabbage recipe we turn to for casual family meals and dinner parties alike! This easy sheet pan roasted vegetable recipe gets a burst of briny, savory flavor from olive tapenade. Buy a jar or make your own olive tapenade; any and all the ways, the charred, condiment-topped leaves will leave everyone wanting to make this again ASAP.

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Haricots Verts-Cabbage Salad with Apricot-Lime Vinaigrette

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Crisp-tender blanched green beans team up with shredded cabbage to set the scene for this restaurant-quality salad. A reduction of sweet, savory, and spicy kitchen staple ingredients (plus a generous splash of white wine) star in the vinaigrette that makes each bite of this cabbage recipe shine. Try it as-is for a starter or side, or top with grilled shrimp, salmon, or drained and rinsed white beans to make it a meal.

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Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

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Sure, you could seek out those pricey egg wraps, keto tortillas, or a cauliflower-infused option. But we like to think of big, sturdy leaves as the original low-carb wrap—at a much lower price and with a few vitamins and minerals along for the ride. Wrap the cabbage around ground beef, tomatoes, and cheese, and as the cabbage rolls recipe braises in a tomato-based sauce the vegetable softens and mellows.

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Cabbage and Potato Gratin

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Potatoes au gratin is one of our favorite holiday potato sides. But you need not reserve this comfort food for special occasions alone. This red cabbage vegetable casserole can be yours after following just two simple steps; build and bake. As written, it serves eight, but a BHG reader has a smart time-saving trick to make this even easier for weeknights: “I have separated it into two smaller dishes and frozen one so that I can have it ready in a moment's notice. This is one of my favorite recipes!”

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Muenster, Cabbage, and Apple Sandwiches

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Our editors are hooked on this grown-up grilled cheese! To take your grilled cheese lunch to new flavor heights, simmer onion, cabbage, apple slices, and vinegar in apple cider. Layer that cabbage recipe between slices of rye bread with Muenster cheese, then coat the outside of the bread with cooking oil, butter, or mayo. Cook until golden brown on both sides—and devour. (You don’t have to ask us twice!)

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Corned Beef and Cabbage

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Corned beef and cabbage recipes aren’t just for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. This 5-ingredient dinner is as simple as “add all ingredients to the slow cooker and press ‘on.’” Cook for 10 hours on low or 5 hours on high, and the succulent meat, potatoes, and veggies meal is ready to make its debut as the centerpiece of your table.

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Fermented Apple-Caraway Sauerkraut

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Packed with salty, sour flavor and gut-healthy probiotics, sauerkraut has become one of our go-to refrigerator staples. If you’re curious about how to ferment foods, this apple and cabbage recipe is a terrific place to start. After just 15 minutes of prep time and a few weeks of “marination,” the caraway-seasoned condiment is ready to shine in sandwiches, on top of hot dogs, in grain bowls or salads, as part of potato salad, and so much more.

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Spicy Asian Pork Cabbage Rolls

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The classic stuffed cabbage rolls recipes in many cookbooks are of Eastern European origin; the dish is believed to have roots in the Middle East as well as Romania, Poland, and Ukraine. These warm, hearty, and flavor-packed pork-stuffed cabbage rolls are a unique and globe-trotting remix. Asian-inspired condiments like soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, and Sriracha team up for a recipe that you’ll want to add to your regular dinner rotation.

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Wilted Cabbage and Brats

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Sure you could serve those brats in buns. Again. Or you could dress them up in this well-balanced speedy weeknight dinner. Start the pan-fried cabbage recipe in a skillet, then simultaneously steam the brats and apples in a combo of mustard and water. Stir together the sage-scented sour cream, finish that with the rest of the pan sauce, and the 20-minute meal is all set to serve.

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Cabbage Roll Soup

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Ready to clean out your crisper drawer? A full 4 cups of leaves simmer down beautifully in this cabbage soup recipe alongside punchy pantry staples like beef broth, tomato paste, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and hot-style vegetable juice. This slow cooker soup is also one of our favorite ways to stretch a package of ground beef. Thanks to all those veggies and an assist from leftover or store-bought cooked rice, just 12 ounces of meat is plenty to feed six.

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Classic Creamy Coleslaw

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No round-up of cabbage recipes would be complete without coleslaw, of course. And this classic coleslaw is the only version of this potluck favorite you’ll need, our Test Kitchen pros confirm. If creamy slaw isn’t your style, we also explain how to dress up your cabbage, carrots, and green onions with a lighter vinaigrette.

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Tasty Cabbage Recipes That Prove It’s Great For More Than Coleslaw (2024)

FAQs

What is the tastiest cabbage? ›

Napa cabbage has gorgeous long, pale green leaves and a mellow, slightly sweet flavour. Not only does it look amazing, but it also tastes great. The texture is significantly softer than other varieties, making for a satisfying bite when you bite into it. It's simple to incorporate into stir-fry recipes or salads.

What happens to the flavor of cabbage when it is cooked? ›

As it approaches the boiling point, the enzymes will be inactivated, so no more pungent, bitter compounds will form. Cook only until the cabbage is tender, but no longer. The hot water will leach a lot of the unwanted compounds from the cabbage, making it taste milder than either stir-frying or steaming.

What kind of cabbage is best for salad? ›

We use green cabbage for this salad, the most common variety of cabbage. Green cabbage is a cruciferous vegetable that's versatile and inexpensive. Green cabbage is round and compact with tightly packed smooth leaves and a mild flavor.

How do you cook cabbage without making it soggy? ›

Steaming is a gentle cooking method that helps retain the cabbage's crispiness and nutrients. To steam cabbage, place it in a steamer basket over simmering water and cover with a lid. Steam until it's tender yet still slightly crunchy. If you plan to sauté or stir-fry cabbage, consider blanching it first.

What is caraflex cabbage? ›

It's Caraflex cabbage, a sweeter Bantam variety with lettuce-like crunch that has recently found favor among chefs and farmers alike. The immediately recognizable coneheaded cabbage tends to be harvested at just a pound or so, though these narrow romaine-heart-size heads can easily grow much larger.

Which cabbage is bitter? ›

Radicchio has a strong bitter taste with thinner and less waxy leaves than cabbage. Red cabbage has a milder taste and thicker, crunchier leaves with a more uniform purple color. You can sometimes swap one for the other in raw and cooked recipes, but the flavor will be markedly different.

What does baking soda do to cabbage? ›

You don't add baking soda. Adding baking soda to your boiling cabbage can help reduce the objectionable smell and maintain the green color long after when it typically turns grayish from cooking for too long. However, this may rid the cabbage of its nutritional value.

Why do you soak cabbage before cooking? ›

Crisp it up: Shredded cabbage stays perky if it's soaked in cold water. This also helps cut the pungent edge. Drain well before combining with other ingredients.

What makes cabbage taste sweet? ›

This is because as the temperatures drop, the cold causes the plants to break down the energy and convert it into sugar, leading to a sweeter, tastier flavor. There are different types of cabbage; light green, dark green, red and purple are the most common. They are all versatile in the way you can prepare them.

What is the best companion for cabbage? ›

Alliums, including onions, chives, and leeks, contain sulfur, which is partly responsible for their intensely pungent flavor and aroma. Those sulfur compounds also make alliums fantastic companion plants for many vegetables, including cabbage.

Which cabbage is healthiest? ›

It tastes similar to green cabbage. However, the purple variety is richer in beneficial plant compounds that have been linked to health benefits, such as stronger bones and a healthier heart. Purple cabbage is also thought to lower inflammation and protect against certain types of cancers.

Which cabbage is sweeter? ›

Napa Cabbage

Its flavor is a little sweeter than green and red cabbage, and the leaves are far more tender, so it's a great choice if you're looking for something more mild. It's a classic addition when filling dumplings or making stir-fries, and it's also great raw in salads and slaws.

Why does my cabbage taste bland? ›

Harvesting the cabbage when young will be more tender and sweeter. Also, when cooking the cabbage don't omit salt as this tends to mellow bitter flavours in greens. I find that overcooking kills the natural sweetness of greens, I always eat them at most 'aldente' or raw.

Why is my cabbage bitter after cooking? ›

One common reason is that the cabbage may have been overcooked. Overcooking cabbage releases sulfur compounds that can give it a bitter taste.

Can you cook cabbage too long? ›

Shredded cabbage will be done in around 5 minutes; for wedges, it'll be done around 10. You want to cook until tender, but err on the side of caution—overcooked cabbage will turn limp and give off a less-than-pleasant smell. Tip: Make sure to drain your cabbage to prevent overcooking!

Which cabbage is sweetest? ›

When you want to shake things up, savoy cabbage is a versatile category with crinkly, ruffly leaves. These cabbages tend to be looser, more tender, and the sweetest of all types.

What is the best type of cabbage to cook? ›

Savoy Cabbage

It's less satisfyingly crunchy than the hardier cabbage varieties, but does well when cooked. Savoy cabbage can stand up to your usual braises and low-and-slow varieties, but owing to its softer texture, it works in quick-cooking preparations, like sautéeing or stir-frying.

What kind of cabbage is best for you? ›

While both green and red cabbage are excellent sources of this potent antioxidant, red cabbage contains significantly more ( 2 , 22 ). One cup (89 g) of chopped red cabbage packs in 56% of the recommended intake for vitamin C, which is the same amount found in a small orange ( 22 , 23 ).

Which is better cabbage or napa cabbage? ›

Both are excellent sources of important vitamins and minerals. Regular cabbage contains more calcium, zinc and potassium than napa, but napa cabbage contains higher levels of vitamins A, B3, iron and copper. Napa is also lower in sodium than regular cabbage.

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