This is an easy and healthy recipe for cooking cabbage. If you have never sautéed cabbage before, you need to start. As the cabbage cooks in the pan, it wilts, turns tender, and becomes sweet. Cabbage may sound like a boring side, but this is one of our favorite cabbage recipes to make. We also love roasting cabbage, making fried cabbage, and turning it into sauerkraut.
Key Ingredients
Cabbage: Cabbage is underrated and is a nutrient powerhouse. It’s good for you with high levels of vitamin C, is antioxidant-rich, and has been shown to have anti-inflammatory benefits. You can sauté most cabbage varieties, but my favorite is white cabbage (or green). Olive oil: We’ll sauté our cabbage in olive oil. Try butter, coconut oil or nut oils like walnut. You can even cook a few pieces of bacon before the cabbage and use the rendered bacon fat for extra flavor (we do this for our bacon fried cabbage recipe). Garlic: I use a tablespoon of minced garlic in this recipe and love it. Salt and red pepper flakes: Salt seasons the cabbage, and red pepper flakes add a hint of spice. If you are sensitive to spices, substitute for black pepper. Lemon: Just as the cabbage finishes cooking, I squeeze fresh lemon juice over it. I love how it brightens everything up!
How to Sauté Cabbage
I love shredded cabbage in this recipe. Here’s how I do it: Remove any tattered or bruised outer leaves. Then, cut the cabbage into quarters, and then cut out the core. Finally, slice the cabbage quarters into thin shreds. You can hand shred with a knife (like in the photos below), use a mandoline or use your food processor shredding attachment. Making this sautéed cabbage recipe is easy! Heat some fat in a skillet, add shredded cabbage (I’ve shared my tips for shredding cabbage below), minced garlic, a bit of salt and pepper flakes, and then cook until wilted and sweet. It takes 10 to 15 minutes. (I use the same method for this sautéed zucchini and sautéed Brussels sprouts.) Simply sautéed cabbage cooked with olive oil, garlic, salt and a bit of pepper is quite delicious, but when we have them in the kitchen, we love to finish with fresh lemon juice. If you don’t have a lemon, apple cider vinegar is an excellent substitute.
What to Serve with Sautéed Cabbage
This really is one of my go-to vegetable sides so I make it a lot. I especially love it with baked pork chops, pan-roasted chicken breasts, and sausages like bratwurst. It’s also lovely with lighter dishes like poached salmon and simple baked tofu. It’s also excellent served next to other easy veggie dishes like our roasted carrots and mashed potatoes. Or try with buttered noodles!
More Easy Cabbage Recipes
Roasted Cabbage (so delicious) Quick Easy Coleslaw (creamy dressing) Mayo-Free Coleslaw Easy Homemade Vegetable Soup Ham and Cabbage Soup
1 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon garlic, minced Pinch crushed red pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt or more to taste Half of a lemon, cut into wedges 2Cook, stirring occasionally until the cabbage is tender and some of the cabbage begins to turn a light brown, 10 to 15 minutes. 3Squeeze the juice from 2 lemon wedges over the cabbage. Taste then adjust with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice as needed.
