I just love cabbage any way, but this is probably one of my favorite ways to make it. Like with my Squash and Onions a few weeks ago, I made this and then proceeded to eat about half of it all by myself after I shot these images. I suppose there are worse things to eat half of.
When I was growing up, mom made cabbage quite often. It was cheap and we all liked it a lot. I remember she would always cut out the core and leave it for Dad and me. And while it’s not like we would eat the stem, we would race to see who could get to the core first. We both love the crunch and flavor of that core. Sometimes it even had a little heat to it. Such weirdos, right? Have you every tried eating the raw core?
This recipe starts by cooking bacon pieces until crisp. Next, you add in some onion and cook it until tender. Then add in the cabbage and with a little help from some chicken broth (which gives it even more flavor) cook it down to perfection.
It’s a super savory, smoky side dish that pairs well with just about any menu.
A few things to note on this recipe:
- This is a recipe that you can cook to suit your taste. If you like the cabbage with a little more texture, you’ll want to cook it for less time. Those of you who like it super tender will cook it more. It’s just a matter of tasting a bite or two every little bit and cooking it until you get it where you like it.
- While I’m always a fan of timesavers, using pre-shredded bagged cabbage (like for coleslaw) isn’t a great idea. It’ll cook to mush pretty quickly. You’ll want to get a whole head of cabbage and chop it up. It’s pretty easy to do, though.
Southern Fried Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1 small green cabbage (about 2 pounds), cored and chopped
- 5 slices bacon, coarsely chopped
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan using a slotted spoon and allow the bacon fat to remain in the skillet.
- Add the onion to the pan. Cook until translucent - about 5 minutes.
- Add the cabbage and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Add the chicken broth, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender to your liking. Add the bacon back to the skillet and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
YUMMMM! Stacey, this is right up my alley! LOL! I absolutely love cabbage any way it can be fixed. I never thought about adding chicken broth to the recipe, but after trying this it does make it very tasty. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Claudine in Fort Worth, TX
Thanks, Claudine! I think the chicken broth just gives the savory flavors a bit more umph!
“Southern”Fried?? I don’t think so. My Mother was born (1909) and raised in New Hampshire – nearly as Yankee as you can get,and she cooked this all the time when I was growing up!
Whew. Glad you got that cleared up for us.
Love cabbage any way. My brothers and I used to see who got to the core first, also. Thanks for the recipe.
So happy to hear we’re not the only ones! Hope you’ll enjoy!
Try frying the cabbage in some butter with onions and a ham steak chopped into bite size pieces. This recipe from Michigan and Colorado!
Good eating!
Katherine
Sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing, Katherine!
The core has always been my favorite part! Love it Love fried cabbage too!
Cabbage core lovers unite!! 🙂
I love this recipe!! I like to add a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil. It gives it another level of flavor.
Love the vinegar idea! Thanks for sharing, Brandi!!
I’m. Going to try this recipe. Here in the South, is how we make Southern fried cabbage, some with chicken broth, some not. Kathy’s post didn’t clear nothing up for me, it’s just the name of a recipe, regardless where one prepares it. 😉
Hope you’ll enjoy it, Kathy!
Stacy, I see where your recipe says to remove the bacon, but it never says to put it back in. Do you add it back in when adding the chicken broth and seasonings or reserve it to sprinkle over each serving? Whichever way you go with that bacon, the recipe sounds yummy! I like to go pretty deep into the cabbage core, but leave the big, gnarly bottom middle mess for compost. Bugs ‘n worms gotta eat, too! 🙂
Great catch! So sorry for that error. I’ve got it updated. You add it back right at the end, otherwise it can get a little soggy. Hope you’ll enjoy it!
Have made the fried cabbage for a long time, but never used onions and chicken broth. It adds another layer of flavor and it was SO GOOD! Hubby won’t eat cooked cabbage but will ask for the core. Go figure!!!!!
I think they both ad a great deal of flavor! Love that core! 🙂
I only went to the site just to get a good look at it because I love cabbage and fry it all the time as well as bake it and wrap it with cheese and bacon and foil and grill it and put it in soup and eat it raw and just about anything you can think of and now I am wishing that I had a couple of heads in the fridge. But I also got a couple of new ideas from your recipe and from the comments. So glad that you posted and I read it and the comments. Thank you for sharing.
So glad you found the site useful today, Kelly!
Loved this recipe and the the red banded spoon in the photo.
Thank you!!
Oh, my goodness! THIS is the recipe that I’ve been searching to find. In fact, I have a head of cabbage in my refrigerator that’s been waiting a few days as I’ve searched for a simple recipe like this – like my Mom used to make. I don’t recall her adding onion, but that sounds like a perfect addition. I’ll be making this VERY soon. Thanks so much, Stacey!
Sure hope you’ll enjoy it!
So good a little red pepper flakes tastes good too.
Yum!
The only thing that is missing is some mined garlic and red pepper flakes.
Sounds like some solid additions!
Made this tonight it was very good will make this again..definitely a keeper.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Oh my goodness, I will definitely be trying this. Looks great!
Thanks, Jenna! Hope you’ll enjoy it!