Ever wondered how to cut cabbage? You’re in the right place! Today, I’m breaking down my favorite easy methods for how to cut cabbage for salads, slaws, soups, and more. This post is part of my mission to get everyone to eat cabbage more often. This humble vegetable is nutritious, delicious, and versatile (not to mention cheap!), but I’ll admit, from the outside, it can be intimidating. Where do you start with a veggie that looks like a miniature globe? I hope that the step-by-step instructions and tips below make preparing cabbage feel simple. And if you need an idea for how to use it after you chop it up, find some of my favorite cabbage recipes at the bottom of this post!
Types of Cabbage
When you head to the produce section of your grocery store, you’ll likely see one or more of these types of cabbage:
Green cabbage (pictured above) – Its crisp, pale leaves pack densely into heavy round heads. Left raw, green cabbage is perfect for classic coleslaw, but it also cooks up nicely into soups and sautés. Red cabbage (pictured above) – From the outside, it looks just like green cabbage, except it’s, well…red. Add it to a slaw or grain bowl, or roast it. Napa cabbage – This variety of Chinese cabbage has a long, ovular shape. Its leaves have crisp white stems and soft, frilly pale green edges. I love napa cabbage raw or cooked in dishes like stir fries and sautés. Savoy cabbage – A whole Savoy cabbage and a whole green cabbage have a lot in common. Both are round; both are green. But Savoy cabbage’s leaves are much more loosely packed, and they have a softer, rufflier texture. Though this cabbage variety hails from the French Alps, its tender texture makes it a great sub for napa cabbage in many recipes.
These types of cabbage all look different from the outside, but you can learn how to cut any of them using the guide below!
How to Cut Cabbage Into Wedges
Cutting cabbage into wedges can be your end goal OR the first step towards cutting it into another shape, like shreds or squares. It breaks down a large, unwieldy head of cabbage into more manageable pieces. Are wedges your stopping point? Continue to slice the cabbage pieces through the core until the wedges are your desired thickness. I think 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick is a great size for searing or roasting. Want to learn how to cut cabbage into thin slices or squares? Keep reading!
How to Cut Shredded Cabbage
First thing’s first: see the section above to learn how to cut a cabbage into wedges. That’s it! Use the shredded cabbage in coleslaw, tacos, and more.
Variation 1: For longer shreds, cut the cabbage lengthwise instead of crosswise. Thinly slice it along one of the cut edges of each wedge. Variation 2: For very finely shredded cabbage, use a mandoline slicer. Hold a cabbage wedge at the core end and run the tip over the mandoline blade to slice it. Be sure to use the safety guard! Variation 3: For chopped cabbage, like I use in my cabbage soup, cut each wedge lengthwise into 1-inch uniform slices. Then, cut 1-inch slices crosswise to form a grid. The leaves will separate into squares.
Favorite Cabbage Recipes
So, you learned how to cut a cabbage. How are you going to cook it? If you need some inspo, try making one of these recipes:
Cabbage Soup Creamy Coleslaw Vinegar Coleslaw Broccoli Slaw Cabbage and Cauliflower Tacos Okonomiyaki Mango Ginger Rice Bowl Or any of these 17 Best Cabbage Recipes!
You can find even more delicious cabbage recipes in my new cookbook, Love & Lemons Simple Feel Good Food. In fact, it includes a 3-day meal plan that’s designed to use a whole head of cabbage! The plan recipes—Seared Cabbage Wedges, Loaded Pita Nachos (pictured below), and Chickpea Tacos with Pickled Cabbage (pictured below)—are some of my favorites in the book. Pre-order it now to get a free BONUS e-book! Pre-order Love & Lemons Simple Feel Good Food
