Looking for a quick and delicious way to up your cabbage game? This Easy Fried Cabbage with bacon-infused flavor is ready in less than 30 minutes! That’s right, we cook our cabbage and onion directly in the bacon fat to make sure this cabbage has all the flavor. Whether you serve it as a complete meal or a savory side dish, it’s sure to be devoured.
If you are looking for other sides, you may like these easy honey glazed carrots or these jalapeno garlic mashed potatoes.
Why Our Recipe
- Cabbage with bacon-infused flavor that’s ready in less than 30 minutes!
- Serve it as a complete meal or use it as a side dish.
- A little brown sugar adds a touch of sweetness to make sure there’s never any bitterness.
We like to keep the spices very simple and only use salt, pepper, and a bit of smoked paprika to add a smoky flavor. The optional brown sugar adds just the right touch of sweetness, ensuring no bitterness from the cabbage.
Ingredient Notes
- Thick-cut bacon: Thick-cut bacon works best in this recipe so you end up with nice chunks of bacon. You can use regular-cut bacon, it’ll just end up being more like crumbled bacon and cabbage rather than chunks. You’ll want to dice it before cooking either way.
- Yellow onion: A humble yellow onion is great for this recipe. You can also use white or even sweet onions.
- Green Cabbage: Be sure to remove the tough core before chopping or shredding. Keep in mind that the cabbage will cook down quite a bit, so don’t be afraid of having an entire pile. Keep an eye on the cabbage to avoid overcooking it. You want it tender with a bit of bite, not mushy. The sweet spot is usually around 7-10 minutes.
- Brown Sugar: For those worried about bitter cabbage, brown sugar is the perfect addition. If you prefer your cabbage more on the savory side, feel free to leave it out.
- Smoked Paprika: This adds a subtle smoky flavor. Regular paprika will work as a substitute, but you won’t get the smoky element.
Variations
Spice it up: If you like a little heat, sprinkle in some red pepper flakes or drizzle a bit of hot sauce for a fiery kick.
Garlic lovers: Add up to 1 tablespoon of minced garlic when sautéing the onions for all the garlicky flavor.
Sausage: Instead of bacon, you can also use sausage or use a combination of both sausage and bacon. Use a nice fatty ground pork sausage so there is plenty of grease to use for frying the cabbage.
Serving Suggestions
Serve it as a meal on its own, or serve it with rice, quinoa, or mashed potatoes for a more filling option. You could even top it with a fried egg. This is the perfect side dish for roasted chicken, pork chops, or even a baked potato. It also goes really well with barbecue meats or bratwurst.
Storage & Reheating Instructions
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Reheat in a skillet on the stove over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until warmed through.
Reheat in the microwave on a microwave-safe dish. Microwave on high in 30-second increments, stirring between, until hot.
My husband hates cabbage but, he absolutely loved this and can’t wait for me to make it again. I used the brown sugar and added a little crushed red pepper. Amazeballs.
I absolutely love this recipe. I can eat the whole Pan myself! However, I fry the bacon & onions together and add the cabbage when they are done and cook it all together without separating off the bacon, cooking the onions separately, and then adding the cabbage. Much faster and easier that way and it turns out the same
Delicious and quick
And easy to make…
I added some shredded purple cabbage and carrots to the mix…
Also fried up some big beef smoked sausage to go along with this one pan meal !
I add a couple eggs that have been scrambled while cooking. Then add a few drops of soy sauce and a pinch of red pepper flakes after it’s cooked. Delicious!
Delicious!!
Best ever cabbage I have eaten! Easy, stayed crisp, good flavor….who knew cabbage could taste so good. Having left overs with scrambled eggs for breakfast!
My new favorite dish!
I fry cabbage using a vidalia onion which gives it a the same sweet taste as the brown sugar You can’t go wrong with either ingredient.
Great recipe for cabbage! I used this as sort of a base to build on for pork fried rice. Added bok choy, chunks of leftover pork tenderloin and combined with leftover rice. It is the best pork fried rice I’ve ever made! I will use the fried cabbage recipe a lot.