Stewed Cabbage

Cabbage stewed in butter and seasonings is the cheapest and yummiest side dish you’ll ever make. If you too are a fan of all of our simple cabbage recipes, including our favorite recipes for cooked cabbage, we have yet another one to add to that list! Give it a whirl and let us know what you served it with.

Essentially this is like how to boil cabbage except you get A LOT more flavor this way. Instead of just using water we are going to get the leaves tender cooked in lots of flavor!! Big difference. Butter is the most important ingredient for a creamy outcome.

This whole cabbage recipe is super versatile, but the timing and information regarding cubing your main ingredient stand firm. Beyond that you certainly should use seasons of your choice. I will share with you below my go tos but as always, make it to your family’s liking.

Ingredient Notes

You are going to want to start off with a whole head of green chopped cabbage with outer leaves removed, core discarded and this is how to cut cabbage cubed essentially as you see here above.

Onion diced is a great add in but optional, we like small fine pieces of white or yellow

Butter or you could cut down with a bit of olive oil but for ideal flavor use “the stick”. Dairy free plant based sticks work just as well if need be.

Garlic diced if you like, we do, or finely diced bell peppers would even be a good add in to add flavor and a bit of texture with these.

Vegetable broth is better than water for liquid needed to soften the leaves, chicken or beef stock work too.

Seasonings we add are garlic or seasoned salt, salt and black pepper is optional as well as any other desired seasonings. There are many and they are subjective to your tastebuds. Others I have used are Old Bay or Lawry’s seasoned salt but use a little and taste so it doesn’t overwhelm the dish. Keep in mind that butter is typically salted so go easy.

Variations

You shouldn’t need anything beyond this once it’s done, unless you want to add some heat. You can make spicy with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes or dry Sriracha. When it comes to how to cook cabbage, you really need to add a lot of flavor to it, at least salt and pepper, otherwise it’s quite bland.

Cook time will take about 15 minutes, depending on if you saute when you add the onion, so 30 minutes total with prep and all. Timing will vary depending on how soft you want it to be of course. In the case of Instant Pot buttered cabbage (which is linked above) that is less than 5 min.

How Long to Cook Stewed Cabbage on Stove

We use the same method for Dutch Oven cabbage here as we do when making our Southern fried cabbage too. Makes it easier to eat and cooks fast in cast iron over medium high heat. You could use a large pot of your choice with a tight fitting lid. Full instructions for this method is below in the recipe card.

Pressure Cooker Stewed Cabbage

This is likely one of our easiest ways of how to cook cabbage. I first made it and shared how to make pressure cooker cabbage under high pressure here. Realizing not everyone has a pressure cooker, I added the instructions below too. If you wanted to make pressure cooker fried cabbage with soy sauce instead of butter we have that here.

How do you know when stewed cabbage is done?

It is all about texture. You don’t want to overcook this or the leaves will be wilted and mushy. Everyone is different though and some may like it more al dente than others so stay close to the pot. Once they have softened to your liking and soaked up the butter remove from the heat immediately (so it doesn’t continue getting softer) it is ready to serve!

What else can you make with a lot of cabbage?

This is fantastic served alongside your dutch oven corned beef and cabbage. Instead of adding the leaves whole at the end, make this instead in a separate pot. Our slow cooker stuffed cabbage is another great choice.

If you want other ideas using similar ingredients but cooked in the oven, try our baked cabbage steaks recipe too. Don’t want to heat up your whole house, make the same thing but follow our air fryer cabbage recipe instead.