How to Use Cabbage and Cabbage Recipes: Lots of Recipes and Ideas for Dishes and Preserving Cabbage

What to do with fresh cabbage?  Now that is the question of the hour!

Let me tell you a little secret – cabbage is probably my favorite veggie.  Not my family’s per se but mine for sure! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! I always try to find ways to get my family to eat it, and for the most part, they do, but it can be a challenge.

However, hand me a head of cabbage and I will devour it raw as I love the raw taste and crunch, like a natural chip! I can seriously eat it all day like this!

But not many can, including my own family.  So we wanted to share a post that gives ideas on how to prepare and use cabbage  – including perserving ideas.

This is all part of our Ideas for Using Fresh Garden Veggies series.

Recipe #1 Using Cabbage – Curried Roasted Purple Cabbage

So for the first idea, we wanted to share this great recipe for Curried Roasted Purple Cabbage. Check out the recipe.

Recipe #2 Using Cabbage – Healthier Taco Salad 

Another favorite use is for a healthier taco salad idea. This recipe not only includes replacing the fried shell with a cabbage shell, but healthier homemade taco seasoning and swaps for half the beef to save money and health!

 Healthier Taco Salad recipe HERE

Recipe #3 Using Cabbage – Hawaiian Haystacks

Another favorite use is on one of our kids’ favorite dishes – Hawaiian Haystacks! This is our go to meal as it cleans out the fridge, is healthy, frugal and fun!  It uses raw cut up cabbage as a feature topping! 

Hawaiian Haystacks Recipe HERE

Recipe #4 and #5 Using Cabbage – It’s a Guy Stir-fry and Cabbage Sauté’ 

Also, cabbage is stir-fry is a main highlight and feature of a healthier stir-fry.  Some special spices, coconut oil or olive oil, meat and cabbage is more than enough for a wonderful stir-fry.  Of course, celery, onion and carrots are also wonderful additions.  Even a vegetarian stir-fry is amazing!

It’s a Guy Stir-Fry recipe HERE

You can also just simply make cabbage saute’ just like the simple and healthy stir-fry recipe – omitting all of the meat and other veggies.  Just this weekend, I ate a heaping plate of cabbage saute’! My family thought I was a little crazy that I was satisfied eating just this, but they enjoyed it as a side with the rest of the meal. 🙂

Recipe #6 Using Cabbage – Pan Fried Brussels Sprouts

Pan Fried Brussels Sprouts Recipe HERE

Also, Brussels Sprouts are in the cabbage family.  I cannot rave enough about how amazing Pan-Fried Brussel Sprouts are! AMAZING! So don’t miss that recipe either!

Recipe #7 Using Cabbage – Homemade Sauerkraut

We would also like to share with you this week another favorite, healthful, easy and important diet addition that can also double as a method of preserving cabbage is homemade sauerkraut! We will be posting this recipe this week separately, and then we will link it here too! So watch for that recipe soon! 

Recipe #8 Using Cabbage – Homemade Coleslaw

Another great recipe is homemade coleslaw.  It is so incredibly easy that this can be a go-to emergency use! I can whip up the dressing in 2 minutes and have the cabbage sliced up in 2 minutes for a salad in 4 minutes! It’s that easy! This recipe also works well with the store-bough, pre-cut coleslaw kit.

How to make homemade coleslaw

• 1 head of cabbage thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of mayo
• 2 TBSP of balsamic vinegar (white distilled or apple cider also works – each vinegar providing a slightly different taste)
• 1 TBSP of sugar
• 1 tsp of celery seed

Mix up the mayo, vinegar, sugar and celery seed until well blended, then add the cut up cabbage and mix together.  This is best served immediately.  It will stay okay in the fridge for leftovers, but it can get more sour and mushy.  Our recommendation if serving at a gathering or potluck is to make the dressing and store in a separate container.  Then right before serving, add the dressing and mix!

Recipe #9 Using Cabbage – How to Freeze Cabbage for future use

Finally, just like we have shared the process with the previous veggies in our series, we do also want to share the easy process of freezing cabbage as well so that you have all of your options available to you so that you do not waste any awesome cabbage! In order to freeze them, you need to blanch them first.

How to freeze cabbage:

1. Wash the cabbage and rip off the tough outer leaves.
2. Then rip off leaves or cut into wedges or shreds – whatever you prefer.
3. Blanch the cabbage – either blanch in a pot of boiling water or a steamer for 90 seconds
4. Pull them out and then throw them in a bowl of ice water for 90 seconds
5. Then drain them and let them dry for a few minutes.  A salad spinner will also help speed up drying time. Even dabbing with a paper towel will help!
6. Finally, bag them up and label them with the date! Freeze and enjoy later!

Remember, you cannot eat defrosted raw veggies – they taste awful and the consistency is mushy and gross.  But you can use them in cooking and frying recipes!

What do you plan to do with your cabbage?

Keep watching for more ideas on using your garden veggies as we have many more veggies recipes and ideas to share this summer with you as you make the most of your garden and farmer’s market finds! 

For actual garden ideas, we wanted to remind you that we have been sharing so many gardening ideas on our Garden Gallery of Ideas HERE, Pinterest HERE and Facebook HERE that we hope you are seeing some incredible results with your homegrown food supply.  And, as always, we will continue to share gardening tips and ideas on all our site.

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