This fried cabbage recipe with bacon is quick, delicious, and transforms ordinary cabbage into something you’ll want to make again and again.
If you’ve never fried cabbage before, you’re in for a treat. As it cooks in the pan, the cabbage softens, becomes tender, and develops a naturally sweet, caramelized flavor. Add smoky, crisp bacon, and you’ve got one of our favorite easy side dishes.
For this recipe, we use the bacon fat to “fry” the cabbage. There’s just enough to coat the pan, giving the cabbage a rich, smoky flavor, without making it greasy. If you’d like a vegetarian version, try our sautéed cabbage recipe, which uses olive oil instead.
Key Ingredients
- Cabbage: I use white or green cabbage for this. It cooks down until tender but still keeps a bit of texture. You can swap in other cabbage varieties if you like, though they may wilt down a little more.
- Bacon: I love thick-cut bacon for extra flavor and texture. You can even substitute sausage if that’s what you have on hand. Fried cabbage with sausage is really delicious!
- Garlic: I like a nice kick of garlic in this dish, so I use 3 to 4 cloves.
- Dijon Mustard and Apple Cider Vinegar: These two ingredients brighten everything and balance the richness of the bacon. You only need a little of each.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Fried Cabbage
Tip 1: Cook the bacon first. I love cooking with cabbage, and this recipe is at the top of my favorites list! You’ll start by rendering bacon in a skillet until it’s crispy. Then, transfer the bacon to a plate, but leave the bacon fat in the skillet (there’s so much flavor there!).
Tip 2: Expect the cabbage to wilt. Add the cabbage to the rendered bacon fat, and cook it with garlic until it is wilted, sweet, and starting to brown around the edges. It’s going to look like a lot of cabbage at first, but trust me, it wilts down nicely.
Tip 3: Finish with mustard and vinegar. To make this dish really pop, stir in a little Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, and the cooked bacon from earlier. So easy and so delicious!
Serving Suggestions
We love serving this cabbage with roast chicken, these stuffed pork chops, baked pork tenderloin, or this simple lemon dill baked salmon. It’s also fantastic with meatloaf.
And if you happen to have leftovers, they’re amazing reheated with a poached egg on top for breakfast.
Fried Cabbage
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Bacon makes this easy fried cabbage recipe so delicious. As the cabbage cooks in the pan, it wilts, turns tender, and becomes sweet. White cabbage is our favorite for this, but other cabbage varieties will work. Remember that Napa cabbage will release more moisture and won’t brown as nicely in the pan. We love using peppered bacon for extra flavor, but your favorite type of bacon will also work.
You Will Need
3 thick slices peppered bacon, diced (3 ounces)
2 pounds white cabbage, core removed and chopped (10 cups)
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or more to taste
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Cook bacon: Add bacon, in one layer, to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat renders and the bacon is crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and then use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a bowl, setting it aside for later use.
2Cook cabbage: Remove all the bacon fat from the pan, except for one tablespoon. Then, add the cabbage, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook, occasionally stirring, until the cabbage is tender and some of it begins to turn light brown, 10 to 15 minutes. It might seem like too much cabbage for the pan, but as it cooks, the cabbage will wilt.
3To finish: Stir in the mustard, apple cider vinegar, and the reserved cooked bacon. Taste and adjust with more salt, pepper, and vinegar as needed.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- To chop the cabbage, quarter the cabbage through the core, and then cut out the core. Chop each quarter into squares or bite-size pieces. Rinse and spin or pat very dry.
- If you aren’t into bacon, no worries! Swap the bacon for sausage or go meatless and use butter or olive oil.
- This cabbage recipe is excellent with onions, add them to the pan at the same time as the cabbage.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
I grew up loving when my mom cooked cabbage and have continued cooking it the way she was taught for 30 years. I wanted to try something different and decided to give this a try. I unfortunately did not enjoy it as much as I’d hoped. The bacon was a nice addition but I wasn’t a fan of the Dijon and vinegar. I like garlic but didn’t feel it added much to the recipe. This is merely my opinion. It may be different if you use Napa cabbage, but I live in a small rural community and only have access to green unless I drive 45 minutes. I was born and raised in the south US and think I’ll stick to oven roasted and my mother’s boiled cabbage. Thank you for posting recipes and I hope others continue to enjoy them.
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, Mia! Here’s our recipe for roasted cabbage that may be more to your taste.
I always know when I made one of their recipes, it will be a big hit 👍
Can this be made ahead and reheated?
Absolutely! The bacon might lose a little crispness, but you can definitely store in the fridge and then reheat in a skillet on the stove.
OMG. Doubling up on this recipe. Right now. !!! Thanks for the share. Yum yum
YES! I totally agree – this recipe deserves a double batch! Thanks for sharing your love for it.
So good!! I made this using uncured bacon but I doubled up on it since it’s not quite as fatty. Every other part of the recipe I followed exact and it was delicious! I then cooked a grassfed burger in the pan afterwards to serve with this dish! I will definitely be making again!
I am going to try this recipe with bacon. I usually use polish kielbasa which is delicious with the cabbage. Thanks!
I’m a farmer and just harvested some cabbage and I was feeling experimental. This is the only way I will eat cabbage now. It was so very good. 10 outta 10.
My husband Rick is on his way to the store to pick up the ingredients to make this dish. I love all of the previous comments. Cannot wait to try this one out. Hamburgers off the grill and this recipe!
Wonderful, we hope that you both enjoy it.
This cabbage & bacon dish is simply delicious. Made the whole recipe & added one half white onion, sliced thinly, to the saute. Easy to make, so flavorful. My husband & I ate it all. We’ll be making this again. Thanks very much.
Tried this recipe with another recipe very good.
Wow. I’ve made this several times from other recipes and this one is by far the best. The dijon makes it. I didn’t have apple cider vinegar so I had to use red wine vinegar, and added a little sugar to make up for the sweetness missing from the ACV.
I have never fried cabbage before. This is really good! Love the vinager/mustard hit and the crushed red sends it over the top! Simple to make and quite a side dish. Had it with pork chops.
Just tried this recipe with a homegrown mini cabbage. Only one complaint from everyone – there wasn’t enough! Lovely recipe
This was amazing. Do NOT skip the Dijon and cider vinegar. We added creole seasoning (the green bottle – we put it on almost every dish we cook!). Highly recommended. I liked this more than the filet mignons I made for my wife’s bday. I love veggies BUT I love steak too so it was crazy. Also, bake your thick cut bacon at 400 for 13-16 minutes, flipping half way. Super easy/super clean (we never splatter bacon grease any more). Cheers to the chefs! Thank you for a delicious cabbage recipe.
This is the BEST bacon fried cabbage recipe I have ever tried! This is the 6th time I’ve made it in as many weeks!
Wow! This looks amazing! Total cabbage & bacon fans, here. I look forward to making this dish. Thank you so much for sharing!