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Although it had a brief revival with the viral TikTok Green Goddess Salad, cabbage is generally relegated to three camps: diet food staple, crunchy potluck side dish, or only-useful-around-March-17 (for Corned Beef and Cabbage, of course).
Much like its cousins, cauliflower and kale, the chefs we spoke to believe it’s about time to revise the reputation of cabbage.
“Cabbage might be one of the most underappreciated vegetables in our produce drawers,” admits Chef James DiBella of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Widely affordable, long-lasting, versatile, and packed with nutrition, cabbage can be a menu MVP—if you don’t mess it up. So we tapped a panel of culinary pros from coast to coast to help us overcome the most common cabbage recipe mistakes—and conquer how to cook cabbage so it will be something we all actually look forward to eating.
Meet the Cabbage-Savvy Chefs
- Erin Clarke, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based recipe developer and the author of “Well Plated Everyday”
- James DiBella, corporate executive chef at Link & Pin, The Cellar, and Duckworth’s in Charlotte, North Carolina
- George Guzman, chef at Carta Wine Bar in New York City
- Yumna Jawad, the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based CEO and founder of Feel Good Foodie and the author of “The Feel Good Foodie Cookbook”
- Ji Hye Kim, chef-owner of Miss Kim in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Mary Payne Moran, chef and owner of The Silver Lake Kitchen cooking school in Los Angeles and the author of “The Vita Gang Mysteries: Who Stole Vita D?”
- Sabrina Rudin, owner of Spring Cafe Aspen in New York City
- Peter Som, a New York City-based award-winning fashion designer, culinary creator, lifestyle expert, and the author of the upcoming cookbook “Family Style”
The Biggest Cabbage Mistakes (and What to Do Instead)
Meredith Food Studios
Although it might seem easy to prepare cabbage—it’s basically like supersized Brussels sprouts, right?—there are a few common foes to fantastic cabbage. To prep your best cabbage recipe yet, try to avoid these common pitfalls:
- Overcooking. Many people tend to overcook cabbage, says cafe-owner Sabrina Rudin of New York City, “which causes it to be mushy and lose its vibrant taste, color, and texture.” She adds, “One way to ensure you always have perfectly cooked cabbage is to check the color. It should never lose its bright green or purple hue, even when cooked.”
- Under-seasoning. Cabbage is lightly sweet and bitter when raw and slightly nutty when cooked. In either case, cabbage’s mild flavor is certainly an asset in terms of its adaptability in recipes. However, the fact that it’s fairly tame means that it’s important to season more aggressively than you would many other vegetables, explains cookbook author Yumna Jawad. “I recommend generously seasoning with salt, pepper, and spices like garlic powder, cumin, or smoked paprika,” Jawad advises. An acidic element like lemon juice, vinegar, or wine can also help cabbage shine, added Chef George Guzman of New York City.
- Using too little fat. Pairing butter or oil with cabbage not only layers on more flavor but also promotes caramelization. Unless you’re steaming cabbage, cooking it without fat can cause it to shrivel and stay pale. “Cabbage sings—both in terms of flavor and texture—when it begins to brown,” says cookbook author Peter Som of New York City.
- Cutting it inconsistently. Similar to other vegetables, having inconsistent sizes of cabbage will result in uneven cooking times and textures, DiBella says. As tedious as it may be, try to slice, shred, or dice it into as consistent pieces as possible.
- Overcrowding the pan. No matter if you’re using a skillet, a sheet pan, or a Dutch oven, packing a vessel too full can generate steam that may make cabbage soggy. Allow for enough space for the cabbage to release moisture and have even access to the heat.
How to Buy and Store Cabbage
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
Before you can master the best ways to cook cabbage, it’s important to start with the highest-quality produce you can find. When selecting cabbage, our chefs recommend looking for heads that:
- Are heavy for their size
- Appear blemish-free (or close to it)
- Are firm
- Feature tightly packed leaves as opposed to loose or wilted ones
Since moisture can speed up spoilage, store cabbage unwashed. Tuck whole cabbage inside a plastic bag and place it in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer for up to two months (although the sooner you use it, the better in terms of flavor and nutrition). Rinse well before using.
The Best Ways to Cook Cabbage, According to Chefs
Options abound for winning ways to cook cabbage. But when we asked the chefs to spill about the best way to cook cabbage, two techniques tied at the top with three votes each:
Roast cabbage for sweeter flavors
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
If you ask recipe developer and cookbook author Erin Clarke of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, “comparing steamed or boiled cabbage to roasted cabbage is practically like eating two different vegetables. The oven's high heat caramelizes the cabbage to bring out its natural sweetness, and the ruffly edges get a delectable char that's my absolute favorite part. The result is a mix of crispy, charred bits, and soft, buttery layers,” she explains. “Roasting adds a texture, robustness, and depth with which steaming or boiling can't hope to compete.”
Jawad and Som swear by roasted cabbage wedges, too. Here’s how to follow their lead:
Heat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Wash a small head of cabbage. Use a chef’s knife to cut it into wedges that are about 1-inch thick, keeping the core intact so the wedges stay together. Brush a sheet pan generously with oil or line it with parchment paper. Add the cabbage wedges, then brush them with one of the following:
- Melted butter + white miso paste + soy sauce + honey
- Olive oil + cumin + garlic powder + salt + black pepper
- Avocado oil + honey + salt + pepper
Roast for 25 to 35 minutes, flipping once halfway, until the edges are deeply golden and crisp. Finish with lemon juice or zest and a generous pinch of flaky sea salt, and enjoy warm.
Sauté cabbage to highlight its earthiness
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
DiBella, Rudin, and Chef Mary Payne Moran of Los Angeles rave about sautéed cabbage for similar reasons: The result is tender-crisp, and the “high heat helps to brown and caramelize the sugars in the vegetables,” DiBella says. “This creates a depth of flavor that boiling or steaming cannot achieve. Plus, “sautéing typically uses less water than boiling, which helps preserve water-soluble vitamins (like vitamin C and some B vitamins) that can be lost in cooking water,” he continues.
Rudin chimes in to note that braising and roasting cabbage tends to bring out the natural sweetness of cabbage, while “sautéing reveals its earthy flavor.”
To sauté cabbage, wash a small cabbage, then use a chef’s knife to cut the head in half from the top down through its core. Place the cut sides down on your cutting board, then slice each half as thinly as possible around the core so that you have fine ribbons. Discard the core.
In a large skillet over medium-high to high heat, add butter or oil, then the cabbage ribbons. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cabbage is soft, translucent, and starting to brown. Add minced garlic, cook for 1 minute more, then finish with salt, black pepper, and one or more of the following before enjoying:
- Grated fresh ginger
- Apple cider vinegar
- Fresh thyme
- Tamari
- Fresh lemon juice or zest
- Crushed red pepper flakes
“Cabbage is one of my favorite vegetables, and it lends itself to so many ways of cooking,” Som says. In addition to these top two ways to cook cabbage, steaming can be a win if you prefer to “let cabbage be cabbage and shine in its natural sweetness,” according to Chef Ji Hye Kim of Ann Arbor, Michigan. For a more hands-off approach, braising is your best bet, yielding “perfectly tender texture without being mushy,” Guzman says.
There are so many ways to make cabbage shine. If you’ve ever been on the fence about this versatile vegetable, take this as your signal to give it a try. To save you the time of combing through cabbage recipes to find the right one, here’s our popular recipe for roasted cabbage wedges—it’s simple, quick, and you probably already have all the other ingredients for it at home right now.
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