The cabbage can be seen as a common ingredient that adds a bit of texture to any recipe, but as you can find different types, your options open up as you can boil, steam, and even grill it to get it to your preferred taste.
With all these options come many, so you might need help figuring out where to start, or you may be looking for recipes that can be made quickly, as you can find ways to throw some cabbage into the mix to improve a recipe vastly.
Read on to find the best recipes that don’t require too much preparation and can serve any taste.
1. Cabbage Rolls
These simple rolls can be made in batches and give you a good source of protein. With the cabbage pieces as a shell, you can add large onions, pine nuts, coriander, cumin, brown rice, green lentils, mint, tahini, garlic, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, and bouillon powder.
You can boil the cabbage leaves, so they lose that initial bitter taste, then you can fry the rice, onion, spices, and bouillon powder until the rice is almost tender and all the liquid is absorbed.
This ensures you have great flavors with every bite.
2. Vegetable Cabbage Soup
Soups are an excellent snack, but adding carrots, onions, celery, thyme, garlic, vegetable broth, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and a chopped head of cabbage can go a long way to give you a recipe that can keep you fuller for longer.
The trick is to let the soup simmer for around 6 minutes so that the cabbage will become wilted and gives it a chance to absorb all the other intense flavors, which you can turn up with some added spices and herbs.
3. Southern Fried Cabbage
If you like the idea of southern-style dishes, but none catch your attention, you could try this healthier broth with flavors you might be familiar with, so switching traditional ingredients doesn’t have to be a pain.
You can use garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne peppers, smoked paprika, vegetable broth, and vegan coconut bacon if you’re looking for crispier textures or a side dish that can be made in 30 minutes.
4. Cabbage Leak And Potato Tart
For those occasions where you need warming up, and other pie recipes don’t quite hit the spot, you can try this tart recipe that, when mixed with the puff pastry and the plentiful cabbage and leek filling, results in a dish that is perfect for preparing for a mid-week meal.
This is made even better with the added potatoes, nutmeg, garlic, and cashew sauce that is both savory and succulent, where you can use some black pepper and a few herbs to get a diverse flavor profile that you can change up each time you make it.
5. Cabbage Slaw
Dinner times or gatherings can be stressful, so if you want sides that are not only tasty but can be used with the main dish, you can try making a cabbage slaw that is free from mayonnaise and has a citrusy note to it.
This is possible by using some lime zest, thinly sliced cabbage, shredded carrot, red onion, ground cumin, olive oil, maple syrup, and sea salt.
You add all the ingredients into a bowl and get mixing, so you have an easy recipe that takes just 15 minutes to prepare.
6. Cabbage Fritters
This is another easy way to add cabbage to your recipes, as these only take 10 minutes to cook. All the ingredients get mixed in a bowl and then heated in a pan, and the key to keeping the texture is using flaxseeds instead of eggs.
For the veggies, you can use carrots, kale, spinach, beets, and many other kinds, as each one can add a note that makes each one more enjoyable.
You can serve them with some bechamel or sunflower dipping sauce, adding freshness to this recipe.
7. Roasted Cabbage
If you have whole cabbages and want more creative ways to use them, you can make some cabbage steaks, which are glazed in balsamic and garlic sauce, so you can get a lot of crunchy goodness if you’re serving up soup and want better sides.
You can use dijon mustard, minced garlic cloves, dried parsley, ground pepper, and some vegan honey, and when the cabbage halves are roasting, they can become crispy and tender, which allows them to retain so much flavor.
8. Spicy Cabbage Stirfry
For a recipe that is inspired by Asian cooking and has a nice flavorful, and light sauce, you can try this vegan side dish or main that can be made in 30 minutes and can be served with brown rice, noodles, or quinoa.
The base ingredients are cabbage, crispy tofu, red bell pepper, carrots, scallions, ginger, garlic, cilantro, tamari, rice vinegar, and red pepper flakes.
The recipe has a lot of flexibility, so you can add some spice or veggies into the mix.
9. Cabbage And Noodles
Also known as a Haluski, this recipe is great comfort food as you have an abundance of cabbage covered with a delicious layer of shaped noodles with notes of onion and garlic. And the best part is that it uses some easily found ingredients.
Those are Torchiette pasta, olive oil, yellow onion, garlic cloves, Napa cabbage, black pepper, salt, and two green onions.
You can pour this mixture into a baking dish and cook it in a preheated oven for 25 minutes, where it will become crispy and golden.
10. Tofu Cabbage Wraps
Regarding vegan sides, simple can sometimes be best, and these tofu cabbage wraps are a great example as you can use large cabbage leaves as the wrap, which is the perfect base for you to throw a fresh filling inside, which can be plentiful.
You can use extra firm tofu, salt, peanut sauce, rice vinegar, lime zest, Asian pear, cucumber, and chopped cilantro.
You can mix these ingredients up a bit as long as you have a sauce of some kind, as, without it, these might be dry to the taste.
11. Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl
Quinoa bowls are always a favorite on any vegan menu because you can make them in so many ways, and they can be served in bowls that can be stored away for later and give you a good amount of protein and fiber.
For this plentiful recipe, you can use broccoli florets, cremini mushrooms, shallots, extra-virgin olive oil, raw cashews, water, parsley leaves, cider vinegar, tamari, cooked quinoa, and some red shredded cabbage.
12. Cabbage And Blueberry Juice
With all these mains and sides, you might be looking for something to drink afterward, so you can use cabbage again to make a juice recipe loaded with anthocyanins. This gives you a pretty purple color and only takes 15 minutes to complete.
All you need is some medium sliced cabbage, cucumber, fresh blueberries, apple, and ice cubes as an extra.
You can blend and serve this immediately, where you can get a unique flavor that is hard to find in other juice recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Prepare A Cabbage?
This might be different depending on how you use the cabbage, but the best practice is to remove the damaged outer leaves, then you can wash it under cold running water, and cut the cabbage into two halves.
From here, you can cut the cabbage halves into strips or dice them into smaller pieces, so you can soak these in water with a bit of salt, then drain them, so they don’t become too soft or mushy as you prepare them.
What Can Be Served With Cabbage Recipes?
As a rule, there isn’t a correct answer. Still, cabbage works well with savory dishes or ones containing a salad so that you could serve it with mashed potatoes, other veggies, bean salad, baked potatoes, tacos, vegan garlic bread, and even some vegan mac and cheese.
You can shred up some cabbage and throw them on top of these for a balanced flavor, and there aren’t that many ingredients that don’t work with cabbage, except those that have a lot of juice that can find their way into the cabbage.
Part of this may require some experimentation, so if you have some ingredients in the kitchen that need to be used up, try something new and see what results you come up with.
Related: Vegan Cauliflower Recipes
Conclusion
As with any cabbage recipe, these are usually packed with nutrients you may find can be eaten raw.
Even if you lose some of those during the cooking process, you still get a balanced variety if you’re missing certain nutrients from your diet, which you can savor here.
The key is to prepare your cabbage so it holds it’s firmness so you get an added bit of crunch, which can make any recipe much more exciting.