Southern Fried Cabbage is my secret weapon for easy weeknight, family-pleasing dinners. Everything cooks in one pot, starting with crispy bacon and smoked sausage that infuse the tender cabbage and colorful bell peppers with incredible flavor. It’s the perfect example of Southern cooking at its best: Simple ingredients transformed into something utterly delicious.
My New Favorite Side
I’m always on the lookout for an interesting side dish for summer meals. Any season’s meals, really, but sometimes I get in a summer cookout rut, serving the same potato salads and slaws, week after week. Boring!
After a winter’s worth of testing, I’ve found something new-to-me to add to the rotation. Even though Southern Fried Cabbage is a hot side dish, it goes perfectly with our favorite summer proteins, such as barbecue chicken, grilled pork chops, beer brats, and steaks. Tasty and zesty, it can stand up to and complement the boldest summer flavors.
And actually, if you have room on the grill, you can easily cook this dish in a cast iron skillet, right on the grill grate. Thinking about it gets me so revved up for summer cookouts — I can’t wait!
Southern Fried Cabbage is —
- One-pot simplicity: Everything cooks in one pot, where layers of flavor build. Easy cleanup, too.
- Perfect for summer meals: This hearty veggie side complements grilled meats beautifully.
- Comfort food with a kick: It’s savory and spiced with bold Southern flavors. Comfort food with attitude!
- Easy on the wallet: Uses lots of budget-friendly cabbage, peppers, and onions for bulk and substance.
Key Ingredients
Bacon — I prefer to use thick-cut hickory-smoked bacon for this recipe, but of course, any bacon that renders fat will work. If you’re using a “regular” cut, add a slice or two to the ingredients.
Smoked Sausage — A rope of smoked sausage is not universally traditional for this dish, but it’s a delicious addition that pumps up the heartiness factor. If you’re a fan of spicy, use andouille sausage instead.
Aromatic Vegetables — Onions, green, and red bell peppers soak up the flavorful fat from the bacon and sausage and create an incredibly savory base for the cabbage.
Cabbage — Frugal green cabbage is the star here. Cabbage heads come in all shapes and sizes, so I like to chop the cabbage first and measure out heaping cups of leaves. For convenience, you can also use bagged coleslaw (even the kind with grated carrots — it’ll be delicious!). But really, don’t stress too much about measuring because the recipe is very forgiving.
Seasonings — Creole spices and smoked paprika are my go-to seasonings here. If you enjoy creating your own spice blends at home, my recipe for Creole seasoning might be helpful.
Cook’s Notes
- There’s really no wrong way to chop the cabbage, but because of my decades of making soup, I’ve learned to be mindful about the bite on the fork. Long strips of cabbage dangling off the fork will be tangly and awkward to get into people’s mouths. My preference is to keep the cabbage strips short and thin.
- Vinegar and sugar are common ingredients in Southern Fried Cabbage for flavor, but I use them for a different reason: the bacon fond. Cooking everything in one pot means that the stuck-on bits left behind by the bacon have plenty of time to scorch while the dish continues to cook. These bits are called fond, and they’re food debris that’s gone through the Maillard process, making it caramelized and deeply flavorful. A splash of vinegar while sauteeing the vegetables will loosen the fond so that they don’t char, and a sprinkle of sugar will balance the vinegar’s acid to create an extra hit of flavor.
- Variations: I love how flexible this dish is and that it can accommodate whatever is in my vegetable drawer. At its base, you can make this recipe with just bacon, onions, and cabbage. But don’t hesitate to add more veggies. Shredded carrots, thinly sliced snap pea pods, fresh corn, or chopped zucchini. Even diced tomatoes. It’s why this side dish will be on repeat throughout the summer, using up the beautiful vegetables in my backyard garden.
How to Make Southern Fried Cabbage
Ready to make the recipe? Skip to the recipe card now to see the full ingredient list, quantities, prep/cooking times, and printable, detailed instructions. Or, keep scrolling for a visual walk-through of making the dish.
Prep notes
Here’s a quick guide for prepping the ingredients, if you need it (not including anything that simply needs to be measured out of a container, such as dried herbs and liquids).
- Chop the bacon into half-inch pieces. Discard excess chunks of fat.
- Slice the smoked sausage into thin coins or half moons.
- Peel and chop the onion, and clean and chop bell peppers, discarding the seeds within.
- Wash well or just peel off and discard the outer leaf of the cabbage. Slice the head in half and cut out the hard triangular core. Chop the cabbage leaves into thin strips or shreds.
Cook the proteins
Saute the bacon until crispy and remove from the pot, leaving behind its rendered fat. Cook the smoked sausage slices right in the bacon grease, and then remove them, too. I usually don’t drain off any of the bacon grease left in the pot, because it will be put to good use by the cabbage. But of course you can remove some of it, leaving 1 or 2 tablespoons in the pot. Use a glug of oil later in the cook if the cabbage is too dry and shriveling up instead of wilting.
Saute the aromatic vegetables
Cook the onions and bell peppers in the bacon grease until softened. Don’t forget the vinegar/sugar trick to scrape up the bacon fond!
Wilt the cabbage
Add half of the cabbage to the pot, stirring well with the aromatics, and let it start to wilt. A cover on the pot will move things along. After a few minutes, add the remaining cabbage and cook through. Season with the smoked paprika, Creole spice blend, and a big pinch of salt.
Pull it all together
Return the sausage and bacon to the pot and give everything a good stir. I hope dinner’s ready because the house will be smelling insanely good by now!
Storing
This dish stores very well in the fridge for 3 to 5 days and makes delicious leftovers. It’s also make-ahead-friendly if you’re, say, making a big batch for a dinner party. Simply store it in a large airtight container, and reheat in a pot on the stove.
I love this side dish and the fact that it’s an easy-going cooking process that doesn’t require hovering or fussy steps. Cook this alongside your favorite protein — maybe a chicken roasting in the oven — and serve with a side of cornbread for a Southern-inspired meal. Myself, I foresee a summer of grilled beer brats, oven-baked canned baked beans, and lots of Southern Fried Cabbage.
Southern Fried Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive or avocado oil
- 4 slices thick cut bacon , chopped
- 8 ounces smoked sausage , sliced into 1/4” coins
- 1 small onion , diced
- 1 small green bell pepper , diced
- 1 small red bell pepper , diced
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (optional, see instructions)
- 1 big pinch sugar (optional, see instructions)
- 10 heaping cups green cabbage , chopped into thin shreds (about 12 ounces)
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat the oil in large skillet or braiser over medium until water flicked on the surface immediately sizzles away.
- Add the bacon and cook until crisp, stirring frequently (about 10 minutes). Transfer the bacon to a paper-towel lined plate.
- Add the sliced smoked sausage to the pot and saute until the edges are golden brown (about 8 minutes). Transfer to the container with the bacon.
- At this point, you can drain off some of the bacon grease, or leave it all in. It’s up to you. I usually take some about, leaving a tablespoon or two behind in the pot.
- Add the onions and bell peppers, and saute, stirring frequently, until starting to soften (5 to 6 minutes).
- You might notice that the fond left behind by the bacon is starting to scorch a little. If it is, add the apple cider vinegar and mix it well into the veggies. This will loosen the fond. Don’t worry about the bits remaining in the pot: they’re full of flavor! If using the vinegar, sprinkle the sugar over the veggies and stir well, to balance the acid.
- Layer half of the cabbage shreds over the veggies and stir well to mix. Let this batch wilt for 2 to 3 minutes. You can cover the pot with a lid to speed the process.
- Add the remaining the cabbage to the pot, stirring well, and let fully wilt (i.e., the cabbage strands should be limp and any bright green leaves should dull).
- Sprinkle the smoked paprika, Creole seasoning, and salt over the cabbage, mixing well.
- Return the bacon and sausage to the pot, and give everything a final stir.