by Holly
Fried Cabbage is one of my favorite side dish recipes. Cabbage becomes sweet and tender and absorbs the delicious smoky salty flavor of the bacon. The result is a simple side dish great for serving with grilled chicken breasts or pork tenderloin!
Southern fried cabbage is slow-cooked and simmered in its own juices along with bacon and diced onion (I sometimes add a clove of garlic as well) and it goes with other comfort foods like pot roast, meatloaf and polish sausages.
You guys know I love any and all things with cabbage from Easy Cabbage Rolls to a healthy Cabbage Soup. Growing up with a Polish grandmother, we always had all kinds of cabbage dishes and now it just reminds me of childhood.
How to Fry Cabbage
Cabbage is so easy to fry. If you cook it low and slow, it will become tender and sweet.
- Fry bacon until crisp. Remove the cooked bacon but leave the yummy drippings in the pan.
- Add onion and cook in the bacon drippings until tender (this has max flavor).
- Finally, stir in the cabbage and cook low and slow about 20 minutes.
- Season with salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste. Top with the crispy bacon and serve hot.
Pure heaven.
Get creative with flavors and additions and think beyond just fried cabbage and bacon! Add a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Fry up chopped green peppers with the onions, add leftover baked ham or capers. The possibilities are endless!
How Long Does it Take to Fry Cabbage
Depends on the size of the pan, the amount cabbage you use and what else is in the pan. Cabbage cooks best when it is cooked on medium heat, and how tender you want it is a personal preference. The longer and slower you cook it, the more tender and sweet it will become.
To soften it slowly, it takes about 20 minutes. But, a quick stir fry style will take only 10 minutes or so! Experiment and have fun with it.
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Roasted Cabbage Steaks Recipe – a great side dish
- Braised Red Cabbage – colorful and fun!
- The Ultimate Guide to Cabbage – everything you need to know
- Colcannon Recipe (Cabbage and Potatoes) – classic!
- Crock Pot Cabbage Roll Soup – seriously easy
Fried Cabbage
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Course Side Dish
Cuisine AmericanIngredients
- 6 slices bacon chopped
- 1 small onion diced
- 6 cups cabbage core removed and chopped
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Fry bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Add onion to bacon drippings and cook until tender.
- Stir in cabbage and cook 18-20 minutes or until tender.
- Season with salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste. Stir in bacon and serve.
Nutrition Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Delicious
I’ve tried this several times, and while it is very tasty, cooking the cabbage in the bacon drippings makes the cabbage brown. It doesn’t remain white as pictured. How can I fix this?
I cook at a medium temperature so the cabbage doesn’t brown too much. A higher temperature may cause it to brown.
Recipes look delic! Can’t wait to try them.
Enjoy Beth!
Thanks for having me
I use bacon when I make fried cabbage but instead of frying the bacon I cut it into small pieces & let it cook with cabbage.
That is a yummy spin on this fried cabbage Deb! Thanks for sharing!
This recipe looks easy & delicious, so I’m definately making it soon! I noticed you mentioned using minced garlic but the recipe calls for onion. Do you use one or the other or both for this? I can’t wait to try it!
Sorry for the confusion! I always use onion and often add a small clove of garlic in with the onion. Enjoy the recipe!
Really liked the fried cabbage but had to make changes because of necessity. My precious wife had cancer 35years ago and was overdosed with chemo. Since then she was found to be allergic to Pork and Shell fish ( shrimp, lobster, clams etc., fish is ok. Recipes like this cabbage was good but substituted bacon with olive oil with butter and it satisfied the taste. Keep up the great recipes. By the way, pineapple and bananas make her mouth tingle. They got the cancer and she’s been cancer free since.
Those sound like tasty substitutions Joe. I am so glad your wife is cancer free now. Thanks for commenting!
A super easy & tasty side dish, which I like to serve with Ham Steaks. I sometimes add in a tiny amount of mustard seed, fennel seed, & a sprinkle of vinegar & sugar. If I feel like getting ‘shmancey’, I also add some re-constituted Porcini mushrooms w/the liquid.
Those sound like yummy additions to fried cabbage Angelina!