My Sautéed Cabbage with Sauerkraut is an even tastier version of my Grandma's Southern Fried Cabbage. Delicious with corned beef, roast chicken, pork, and more, it's an easy way to add so much flavor to your plate!
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This Southern Fried Cabbage is not really fried, it's more of a saute, but everyone calls it fried. My recipe comes from the Southern half of my family tree. Before my Grandma, Olga Mae, left for church she'd always put up a ham or roast, some fried catfish, cornbread sticks, and, if I was very lucky, she would fry up some cabbage in bacon grease. Don't wrinkle up your nose. Fried cabbage was inexpensive, easy to make, and filled bellies. A true staple of the Southern table.
This is my homage to that dish. I am not afraid to use bacon fat for flavor (see my Skillet Cornbread, made with bacon fat), but this time I decided to fancy it up (just a bit) with butter and olive oil and up the flavor ante with the addition of salty, briny sauerkraut. You'll be glad I did. It doesn't make it too salty or too sour. Sauerkraut actually sweetens and caramelizes the longer you cook it. It does amazing things here!
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❤️ What you'll love about this recipe
- Cheap - Even with rising grocery costs, a head of cabbage remains a bargain and a small can of sauerkraut is too.
- Easy - No fancy cooking methods here, just a slow saute.
- Versatile - This recipe for Southern fried cabbage is great with a traditional St. Patrick's Day corned beef, for your New Year's Day dinner, alongside some pork chops, or served with roast chicken.
- Feeds a crowd - As Olga Mae might say, this recipe makes a mess of fried cabbage (a mess is a lot!)
Ingredients
Very few ingredients, and all of them affordable and easy to find. My kind of recipe!
See recipe card below for quantities.
Substitutions
If you know how to make the recipe fit a certain diet, let the reader know here. Don't fake it - only provide guidance on topics you have actual experience with.
- Sauerkraut - If you don't like sauerkraut, feel free to leave it out. Olga Mae never used it and I ate her cabbage up!
- Chicken broth - If you don't want to use chicken broth you can always replace it with vegetable broth or even water.
- Butter - You can make this a whole vegan Southern fried cabbage by replacing the butter with more olive oil or any other oil you prefer.
Variations
Part of the fun of savory cooking (unlike baking) is that you can play with the amounts of ingredients, or even change them out. Here are a few playful takes on SOuthern Fried Cabbage with sauerkraut:
- Spicy - Adding in some cajun seasoning will take this fried cabbage to the deep South, like my Louisiana family south.
- Bacon deluxe - Bring back the bacon and back that bacon up! Start by sauteing some bacon, setting it aside and cutting it up for later. Next saute everything in that bacon fat. When done, fold the bacon pieces in. You WON"T be sorry!
- Kid friendly - Maybe all kids don't want sauerkraut. No hard feelings. Just leave it out, but add a couple of teaspoons of sugar when caramelizing your onions, to bring a sweetness that will compliment the cabbage flavor.
Equipment
Southern Fried Cabbage cooks best in a cast iron skillet. The way it retains constant heat on the bottom and sides ensures you get the best caramelization of all the ingredients. And caramelization equals flavor, full stop. I usually use my 12 inch cast iron pan, but any heavy bottomed pan or skillet that holds and retains heat well will do the trick.
Instructions
Southern Fried Cabbage is such an easy recipe to pull off. The main thing you need to have is patience. There are going to be long moments where you just need to walk away and let the food and the heat do their thing. Take a breath and walk away. Sigh.
Step 1: Slice your onion and your cabbage in half and then into about ¼ inch slices. Drain and rinse your sauerkraut.
Step 2: Over medium-high heat, saute the onions in melted butter and olive oil until just starting to soften, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Step 3: Add in the drained and rinsed sauerkraut and continue sauteing until the onions are soft and the sauerkraut begins to take on color, about another 3 to 4 minutes.
Step 4: Add in your chicken broth and cabbage, seasoning with salt and pepper. It will look like too much, but will wilt as it cooks. Reduce heat to medium and mix everything together.
Step 5: This is where that patience comes into play. Walk away. Every 5 minutes or so, come back and stir so that what was on the bottom of the pan swaps places with the top stuff. The cabbage will start to wilt and caramelize more and more each time you let it do its thing.
15 to 20 minutes later, the result is softly tender bits of Southern fried cabbage with the sweet and tangy flavor of sauerkraut brightening everything. Cook longer if you want it even softer. Taste and season with more salt and pepper to your liking and serve!
Recipe FAQs
Place into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
You can microwave individual portions in the microwave or, my favorite, pop it right back into a cast iron pan and heat some up for everyone!
Other than just microwaving it and eating it hot out of the container (guilty), I like to serve it with an egg on top for breakfast. I've also added it to leftover mashed potatoes, formed it into patties, and fried it in some butter in a pan, for an easy version of Irish colcannon!
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-Cynthia
📖 Recipe
Southern Fried Cabbage
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 small head white cabbage about 2-2 ½ lbs
- 1 medium onion
- 2 tbs butter
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 8 oz can sauerkraut drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Cut cabbage in half, though the core. Making a v-cut into the base, remove core and discard. With the cut-side down on the cutting board, slice the cabbage in about ¼ inch strips.
- Cut the onion in half, through the root, and remove thin, papery outer layers. Slice onion in half moons, about ¼ inch thick. Separate the rings.
- Rinse and drain sauerkraut, squeezing to remove as much liquid as possible.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter and heat oil. Add onion and sauté for a couple of minutes, just to start to soften it. Add the sauerkraut and sauté another minute or two.
- Add in cabbage, chicken broth, and salt and pepper. It will look like it won’t all fit, but it will wilt and reduce in size. Reduce heat to medium.
- Stir occasionally, as the chicken broth reduces and the bottom layer of cabbage softens and takes on color. Keep cooking, and turning occasionally, until the cabbage is tender and begins to brown on the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste.
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I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later, plus you'll get great new recipes from me every week!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional and caloric information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It does not assert or suggest that readers should or should not count calories, and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s or doctor’s counseling.
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