One Pot Braised Cabbage Recipe with Bacon

Braised Cabbage recipe is comfort food at its finest that you can easily whip up at home. The cabbage is braised with smoked bacon or sausage, tomatoes, caramelized onions, and carrots over low heat until the most tender perfection.

And the best way to eat cabbage? With a dollop of sour cream and a slice of crusty bread, of course! Add protein on the side if you wish, but this braised cabbage is great on its own as well.

So what is braising?

Braising involves a two-step process of cooking where the ingredient is first browned and then cooked in some liquid, slowly, and often in a dutch oven.

In this cabbage recipe, the bacon and vegetables are first caramelized in bacon fat, then cooked slowly in the cabbage juices that the cabbage releases as it cooks down. As the cabbage cooks, the moisture evaporates and it turns the braised cabbage a beautiful dark color which intensifies the flavors.

How to chop the cabbage:

For this braised cabbage recipe, you can cut the cabbage into 1-inch squares as I did in this recipe or slice with a knife or a mandoline into 1/2 inch strips that you will then roughly chop to make pieces that are no longer than 2 inches.

I prefer cutting the cabbage into 1-inch squares using the method below as it uses minimal equipment (knife and cutting board that you’ll already be using for other steps) and is a lot quicker.

Here’s how you’ll do it –

• Cut the cabbage into quarters. Now set each wedge on its flat side and cut out the core and discard.
• Next, cut the wedges into 1-inch strips and then into 1-inch squares or bite-sized pieces.

Braised Cabbage Ingredients

• Cabbage – winter cabbage that is firm and heavy for its size is the best for braised cabbage recipe as it will retain its shape while cooking better than softer summer cabbage. This recipe uses one large (4.5 lbs) cabbage, or you can use two small to medium-sized cabbages that amount to about the same weight.
• Smoked thick-cut bacon – using smoked bacon infuses the cabbage with a beautiful smoky aroma. You’ll love it! Alternatively, for a more filling meal, you can replace it with 1-2 lbs of smoked sausage sliced into rounds.
• Tomatoes – the tomatoes will add acidity to balance out the sweetness of the cabbage. Use fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce; both will work well. If you like the flavor of sauerkraut, you can replace the tomatoes with about 1 cup of drained sauerkraut.
• Carrots & onions – both add sweetness and flavor.
• Spices – black pepper, garlic, and bay leaf will add lots of flavor to the final dish.

How to make Braised Cabbage Recipe (overview)

You can precut all your ingredients before starting this recipe, or cut them as you cook. Here’s the way I prefer to do it –

• Crisp up bacon: In a large dutch oven cook bacon until crispy.
• Caramelize onions: dice onions and add them to the bacon. Cook until golden.
• Add carrots & tomatoes: Shred carrots, dice tomatoes & add to the onions. Cook for 5-7 minutes.
• Chop cabbage and add it to the rest of the ingredients.

Tip: if you do not have a big enough pot to fit all cabbage at once, just add the cabbage in thirds or quarters, allowing the first addition to cook down before adding the next. The cabbage will reduce to only 1/3 of the original amount at the end of cooking.

• Add the spices & stir well.
• Reduce: Cover with lid and cook until reduced by 1/2, stirring several times throughout.
• Braise in the oven: Transfer to the oven and braise for 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes until the cabbage is cooked through, the liquid has mostly evaporated, and the cabbage has darkened in color.

How to serve the braised cabbage with bacon –

Serve it with a dollop of sour cream, sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs and a crusty piece of bread alongside some protein like chicken, pork, beef.

Variations of the recipe:

If you would rather have more meat with the cabbage, there are several things you can add in place of bacon or in addition to bacon.

• Sausage or Kielbasa – adding smoked sausage or kielbasa is a great way to take it from a side dish to a complete meal. Cut the smoked sausage into rounds and brown it in some oil in place of bacon (or in addition to bacon) before continuing with step 3 in the recipe as written.
• Vegetarian Braised cabbage – replace the bacon with 3-4 tablespoons of butter, then proceed with the recipe as written.

If you love cabbage you’ll love these other cabbage recipes:

• Cabbage Rolls Recipe  – my mom’s recipe for the most delicious and buttery cabbage rolls.
• Lazy Cabbage Rolls – want cabbage rolls but short on time? This recipe is for you!