This fried cabbage is cooked to tender perfection with bacon and onions. A super easy low carb side dish that’s perfect for any occasion!
Cabbage is such an underrated vegetable in my opinion – it’s inexpensive, available year round, and totally delicious! I also love to make other cabbage dishes like my flavorful cabbage roll soup and my tender and savory braised cabbage.
Cabbage is one of those things that most people never think to cook. Either you buy a bag of coleslaw mix or pick up a head of cabbage once a year on St. Patrick’s Day and make corned beef and cabbage, but otherwise the humble cabbage doesn’t typically make it onto the dinner table. I’m about to change that with this delicious fried cabbage. This simple preparation of is a classic Southern recipe that pairs green cabbage with bacon. After you try it, you’ll be eating cabbage every week!
If you whip up this side dish for St. Patrick’s day, try serving it with corned beef hash, an Irish mule or a shamrock shake.
Table of Contents
Fried Cabbage Ingredients
To cook fried cabbage you will need green cabbage, bacon, white onion, salt, black pepper, sugar and parsley.
How Do You Make Fried Cabbage?
This fried cabbage with bacon recipe starts with bacon. Chop up bacon and cook it in a large pan or skillet until crisp. A pile of diced onions go in with the bacon to cook in the bacon fat. Next, add chopped cabbage to the mix. Season with sugar, salt and black pepper. Cook everything together making sure to stir occasionally until the cabbage is tender. Add a little parsley and you’re ready to eat!
Tips For Fried Cabbage
- Don’t be tempted to buy a bag of pre-shredded cabbage for this dish. The cabbage should be cut into bite-size 1 inch pieces for the most authentic results.
- You can make Southern fried cabbage with different varieties of the vegetable, such as purple cabbage, Savoy cabbage and the traditional green cabbage.
- Fried cabbage makes great leftovers, so make a double batch and save some for the next day!
Quick Tip
Use a large pan or large skillet so that you can stir the cabbage as it cooks.
RECIPE FAQS
A cabbage core is typically tough and not optimal for eating, so you’ll want to remove your cabbage core before proceeding with the recipe. To core the cabbage, cut your cabbage head in half and use a knife to slice around the core to remove it.
Yes you should wash a cabbage before frying it. Remove the outer leaves and wash the cabbage in cold water. Make sure you dry the cabbage before cooking it!
To cut a cabbage for frying, remove the cabbage core and cut your cabbage into slices. Then further chop those slices into pieces that are about one inch squares. Try to cut the cabbage into pieces that are the same size so they cook evenly.
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Flavor Variations
- Spicy: Feel free to add a little spice by tossing in some crushed red pepper flakes while the cabbage is cooking.
- Flavorings: You might want to try a splash of apple cider vinegar on the cabbage for some extra zing! You can also add a little extra savory flavor by mixing in some garlic powder or onion powder when you place the cabbage in the skillet.
- Tender: You can soften the cabbage by adding a little chicken broth or water as it cooks.
- Bacon: Feel free to make this dish with turkey bacon or vegan bacon if you prefer. Make sure to add some oil to the pan if you choose those options.
- Meat: Don’t have bacon on hand? You can try another meat such as ham or smoked sausage. You’ll need to add some oil to the pan to compensate for the lack of bacon grease if you go that route.
This fried cabbage is so good that it’s earned a regular spot on our dinner rotation, even the kids devour it. Your family is sure to love it too!
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Fried Cabbage with Bacon
Ingredients
- 8 slices bacon coarsely chopped
- 1 white onion finely diced
- 1 head green cabbage cored and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon sugar optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until browned, 4-5 minutes.
- Add the onions to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes or until they are translucent.
- Add the cabbage, sugar, salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is wilted. You may need to add a bit of water to help the cabbage along.
- Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Notes
- You can make fried cabbage with different varieties of the vegetable, such as purple cabbage, Savory cabbage and the traditional green cabbage.
- Don’t be tempted to buy a bag of pre-shredded cabbage for this dish. The cabbage should be cut into bite-size 1 inch pieces for the most authentic results.
- Use a large pan or large skillet so that you can stir the cabbage as it cooks.
This looks so yummy! I love cabbage and who could say no to bacon! I am going to try this out next week for sure. Thanks so much for sharing!
This sounds delicious! I’d try it with purple cabbage which is my favourite!
I’ve never had Fried Cabbage before, but anything with bacon is awesome! I would love to try this sometime.
This is actually a very old Hungarian dish! I have eaten it all my life ! You can also add some cooked wide flat egg noodles to add to the dish … we eat it as a main meal that way !
Great idea I’ll try it that way!
Cabbage is actually one of my favorite veggies. If I’m feeling kind of constipated, I will request my Mom fir a cabbage dish and it really helps with digestion.
Fried cabbage is such an inexpensive way to eat deliciously! I love that you’ve added the spin of bacon for flavor, and even vegans can still do this with liquid aminos or plant based bacon. This dish is such a treat!
This is a simple yet delicious dish. I agree with you, cabbage is highly underrated and such a versatile vegetable. Another great recipe.
This looks like it would be so delicious. I absolutely love cabbage!
This looks delicious and tasty. What a great recipe, would love to try this out.
Looks a nice and easy recipe to prepare during the weekends. Seems delicious.
I’ve made this myself quite often. it’s great when you add different flavored bacon as well
This is nice, the ingredients are simple and the procedure is so easy to do and it looks so tasty and im sure my kids will love this too.
I don’t cook much with cabbage, but this recipe sounds great. It is good to add some new recipes into my routine. This is easy enough too, I could make it on a weeknight.
You had me at healthy and delicious. Ny boys would absolutely love this and will disappear at home in no time.
I love cabbage and eat almost every week but never knew that I can do it with bacon. You have given me another choice to eat cabbage and I will try it out next week.
the only way to eat cabbage (sprouts, kale etc) is to fry it, I think most people don’t like this type of veg because they’ve only had it boiled! lovely recipe
I like the additional notes on Cabbages that you included in this post. Cabbage is one of the favourite vegetables we use over here. Thanks for sharing this post.
One of the traditional recipes of my home country is fried cabbage. We do add tomato sauce to it and the meat is more consistent, such as pork chops. I haven’t had it in years! Your post made me crave it. 🙂
What a great recipe for upcoming St. Patrick’s Day. I’ve never tried to make fried cabbage before but can’t wait to try it.
Everything about this is amazing! I love cabbage to begin with. I put it in my vegetable soup all the time. You really kicked it up with the bacon.