Southern Stewed Cabbage

This super yummy recipe for stewed cabbage has just a few ingredients and is so simple to make! I love this on a weeknight for a quick veggie side dish with some grilled maple chicken, but we've made this for Thanksgiving and everyone loves it as a holiday side dish as well!

Oh hey!  There are a few teeny tidbits you should know.  First, last night I dreamed that my incredibly tiny sister Emily had decided to lose some weight because she met some PhD (?) students who were very thin but younger than her and she decided that she needed to lose weight.  We were in some sort of a convenience store and I went full WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU and she got really mad and yelled to our grandparents (?) that I am so mean to her.  Then she proceeded to say "it's just the best because once I lose this weight I can set a new goal and lose more!" and then in this convenience store with our grandparents I made her repeat the word anorexia to me the same way I do with Beck when we are working on new words.  I'm going to have to call Emily and work....something...out. 

All that to say.  My sister married a guy named Ben who has a similar essence to Jay.  Buzzed head, hipster glasses, casual style.  And when Beck was learning to talk and figuring out that more people than just Mama and Daddy existed she referred to Ben as DAH!!! in pictures.  Because they look the same but not. 

And so now that you know that, you can know that when I did some kind of "what do we eat with cabbage?" query online a few weeks ago when I had 3 heads inexplicably in my fridge, Emily chimed in with BEN LOVES CABBAGE, he chimed in with a link to a recipe similar to this, and that is the story of why we are having a very simple but flavorful and delicious stewed cabbage side dish today.  

It's a pretty classic southern thing, and everyone has their own version of it, but the short and sweet is that you chop up cabbage, cook it down in some flavorful liquid, and when it's super tender and flavorful douse it with salt and pepper.  Some people steam theirs for health purposes, some people add spices or herbs, use different kinds of cabbage, tons of options.  I think anything cooked with onion, butter, salt, and pepper is a winner, so I went that route. 

How to make stewed cabbage

You need!  Chicken broth for the stewing.  Cabbage, obviously.  I think half a medium-to-large head is perfect for 4 servings, but make a whole head if you're super into cabbage (?). Then it's just butter, onion, salt, and pepper.  If you're vegetarian you can of course use vegetable broth, and you can sub olive oil to make this vegan, but if you're not vegan I do think that using real butter here makes a big difference in the end flavor. 

Like most of my recipes, this is more of a method than strict measurements, but there are some instructions below if you'd like.  First, chop the cabbage and thinly slice the onion.  Then, add the veggies to a medium skillet over medium-high heat with the stock.  

Let the mixture come to a bubble, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let the cabbage simmer for 20 minutes or so until the liquid is nearly all reduced and the cabbage is very tender.  When the cabbage is cooked through, stir the rest of the butter into the mixture and season with lots of salt and pepper to your preference.  

I wait until the end to add salt and pepper because the stock can taste like both, but don't be shy seasoning the dish when you do! Any time you cook, stewed cabbage or anything else, the end result should taste fabulous - anything less than probably requires a few more pinches of salt and pepper.

Make It A Meal

Here are some other dishes that I love with this cabbage!

• Hibachi Vegetables - sauteed zucchini and onions cook super fast!
• Vidalia Onion Casserole - seriously so, so good.
• Asparagus Casserole - Because, um, duh.

And there we have it. A lovely, simple, healthy side dish perfect for your favorite meal.  This stewed cabbage is so affordable and good for you that it's a great addition to play around with often - add some fresh herbs or other spices to change it up each time. 

Try some soon!

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