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, itโs 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. Youโll 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 donโt 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 sautรฉing 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.
I will never boil cabbage again. This was so tasty (no bacon). Thank you for this awesome low calorie recipe.
Love this recipe. I am vegan and used Bratwurst Beyond Meat instead of bacon and added 1 TB of Cashew butter and stuck with the rest of the recipe. We loved this!
Iโve made this, as is and its really good!! Iโve also made this and added a bottle of dark beer with the cabbage!! Spectacular! Can also add cooked kluski noodles at the end, also spectacular!!!
Added smoked sausage & doubled it for my family of 5. Even my pickiest eater (husband) got 2nds. Barely have any leftovers so will do 3x the recipe next time. Super yummy.
Purchased a beautiful cellophane cabbage. Had no idea what to do with it. This recipe is delicious, served as a side with anything.
Easy to prepare. Loved it!
Thank you,
Just made this and it turned out really nice. I wasn’t certain the level of heat to use when I added the cabbage. I didn’t cook it on high, I tried med heat and it turned out great. Will try the balsamic vinegar next time.
I made this fried cabbage last night for my family, and they absolutely loved it! The flavor was amazing and both my kids gobbled it up! Canโt wait to make more of your recipes!
Made this twice now. It is now my go to cabbage dish! Absolutely delicious! Made a large batch using 1 lb bacon, 1 1/2 cabbages, etc.
To make this vegan, I omitted the bacon and sautรฉed onions in butter and added a can of seasoned black beans. Otherwise followed the recipe. Quite tasty !
I made this fried cabbage for dinner.omg it was so delicious.will definitely make this again.