Name: Sautéed Cabbage (Easy & Healthy)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 small green cabbage; 1 small yellow onion; 2 garlic cloves (minced); 2 tablespoon ghee (or a blend of butter and olive oil); kosher salt and ground black pepper (to taste)

Sautéed cabbage is a simple vegetable side dish with more flavor than you’d imagine. Sliced cabbage is sautéed with garlic and onions, then caramelized until golden and naturally sweet. It’s absolutely delicious and I guarantee you’ll go back for seconds.

A pan of sauteed cabbage. — *Photo: Gayle McLeod*

Why You’ll Love This Sautéed Cabbage

Cabbage has long been one of my favorite vegetables to cook with. It adds a delicious crunch to salads like coleslaw, becomes meltingly tender in cabbage soup, and caramelizes beautifully when it’s sautéed. The best part? This sautéed cabbage recipe only takes about 20 minutes! Making it a side dish winner. Here’s what else you’ll love about my recipe:

It’s budget-friendly. Cabbage is a “bang for your buck” veggie, since it’s fairly inexpensive yet provides a generous amount of food.
It can easily be jazzed up. Whether it’s adding a rainbow of sliced vegetables, crispy bacon, or other protein options, I love treating this recipe as a blank canvas. I’ll share more ideas below!
It’s a holiday favorite. You can feed quite a few people with one head of cabbage! That makes this recipe a favorite for gatherings like Easter and St. Patrick’s Day.

Sautéed Cabbage Ingredients

Cabbage: Grab a head of green cabbage that feels heavy in size with tightly packed leaves. When cooked through, green cabbage becomes beautifully caramelized and naturally sweet.
Onion and Garlic: A yellow onion and a few garlic cloves add to the savory-sweet flavor.
Ghee: My favorite method is cooking the cabbage with ghee. If you sauté too long with butter it can easily burn and olive oil doesn’t have as sweet a flavor. You can do a combination of butter and oil (the higher smoke point of the oil prevents the butter from burning). But at that point, I say just use ghee. Ghee has a high smoke point, won’t burn, and you’ll get that delicious buttery flavor.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

How To Sauté Cabbage

Cook the onions and garlic. Add the ghee to a large skillet (or Dutch oven) over medium-high heat, and sauté the onions for a minute, until softened. Then, add the garlic, and stir again until fragrant.
Add the cabbage. Add the cabbage to the skillet and sauté for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until it becomes soft and beautifully caramelized.
Season to taste. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then toss to combine before serving! Note: If you’d like to see step-by-step photos, scroll below to the recipe card.

Sautéed Cabbage Variations

Add savory flavor. Turn this into fried cabbage by adding stone ground mustard and crispy bacon bits—my personal favorite!
Add earthy flavor. A dash of turmeric and red chili powder gives this a deliciously spiced and earthy twist.
Mix more vegetables in. Create a more robust dish with grated carrots, sliced bell peppers, or both!

Ways To Serve

Enjoy it as a side dish. This pairs beautifully with a variety of proteins such as crispy baked chicken thighs, meatloaf, lamb chops, pork chops, or even shepherd’s pie for an Irish-themed dinner.
Turn it into a one-pan meal. Think cooked ground meat (chicken, turkey, or beef) or shredded meat, like pulled pork or shredded chicken.
Make it part of breakfast. I love enjoying leftovers for breakfast alongside my chicken breakfast sausage or bacon, and eggs—whether they’re fried eggs, poached eggs, or soft-boiled eggs. More veggies for breakfast is a good thing!

More Easy Side Dishes

Roasted Garlic Herb Potatoes: Foolproof roasted potatoes!
Balsamic Bacon Brussels Sprouts: The best way to cook Brussels sprouts.
Green Beans with Shallots and Lemon: My go-to green beans dish.
Garlic Ginger Bok Choy: Perfect for Asian-inspired meals.
Garlic Sauteed Swiss Chard: Another delicious leafy green to saute.

If you make this sauteed cabbage recipe, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration and exclusive content, join my free newsletter here.

Sautéed Cabbage (Easy & Healthy)

Author: Lisa Bryan

4.99 from 71 votes

Read 144 Comments

Serves 6 servings

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

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Description

Sautéed cabbage is a simple side dish that's full of flavor. Sliced cabbage is tossed in garlic, butter and onions, then caramelized into a golden brown.

Equipment

Le Creuset Braiser One of my favorite cast iron stovetop pans!

Ingredients

▢ 1 small green cabbage
▢ 1 small yellow onion
▢ 2 garlic cloves, minced
▢ 2 tablespoon ghee, or a blend of butter and olive oil
▢ kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Slice the cabbage. Cut the cabbage in half, then into quarters. Remove the core from each piece and chop across into thin slices. Slice the onion in half and across into into thin slices.
Cook the onions. Melt the ghee in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté the onions for a minute or until just starting to soften. Then add in the minced garlic and stir again.
Cook the cabbage. Add the cabbage and saute for about 12 to 15 minutes. During this time, stir the cabbage occasionally until the cabbage becomes soft and caramelized.
Serve. Before serving, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Lisa’s Tips

Storage tips: Let the cabbage cool completely before storing it in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. You can also freeze it in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months. Just keep in mind that it may soften when reheated from frozen.

Because the cabbage may take up most of your pan, it’s easiest to stir the cabbage with tongs. You could also saute the cabbage in batches if your pan isn’t big enough. But cabbage, similar to spinach, will wilt down once it cooks.

Nutrition

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Recipe originally posted February 2020, but updated to include new photos and information for your benefit!

About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.

144 Comments