27 Cabbage Recipes You'll Actually Crave

Whether you're a cabbage newbie and need a few tips for cooking it perfectly or an expert who knows how to grow cabbage and use your harvest in everything from coleslaw to vegetarian mains, this crunchy, cruciferous gem deserves a spot on your menu. That's why we've rounded up our favorite ways to enjoy it, with options for every kind of cook and palate.

You'll find all our best recipe ideas for both green and red cabbage right here, starting with one that gives humble cabbage a luxurious treatment by smothering it in a creamy, cheesy Alfredo sauce. Savoy cabbage has crinkly leaves that soak up the sauce exceptionally well, but you can also use regular green cabbage. Giving cabbage a quick boil is a perfect way to tenderize it slightly while keeping it crunchy and preserving its attractive leafy appearance and color. Serve the dish as a fabulous side with crusty country bread or use it to top pasta or polenta for a satisfying meatless main course.

This saucy stuffed cabbage recipe is a must-make. It's deeply flavorful and comforting — and so easy to make. For the perfect shape, don't forget to slice off the rib on each piece before you roll — giving yourself a nice, flat leaf to work with.

For a hearty and healthy meatless dinner that’s on the table in under an hour, we caramelize cabbage wedges until golden, then oven-braise them in a classic piccata sauce until they're melt-in-your-mouth tender. A swirl of butter at the end makes the lemony sauce extra luscious and perfect for spooning over the cabbage and parsley-studded rice.

Sometimes you just need a sweet and salty crunch to munch on. Here's one that's full of good-for-you cabbage!

Need something healthy that's warm and satisfying? Try a bowl of this comforting soup – it's low on fat and calories!

This method of cooking the humble green cabbage is inspired by creamed spinach. Chopped green cabbage is cooked in butter with shallot and garlic until soft. Then the cabbage simmers in a bechamel flavored with Parmesan and nutmeg until meltingly tender, making it a perfectly decadent vegetable side.

These smoky cabbage steaks make a hearty side dish, but they're also substantial enough to serve as a vegetarian main dish if you add a grain or some beans. Our easy herb sauce made in the blender is light, bright and very versatile. If you have any leftover, it can serve as a salad dressing or a drizzle for other grilled foods.

A sweet and simple salad is a brilliant way to turn two nutritious veggies (Brussels sprouts and cabbage) into a vibrant and radiant dish.

This easy vegetarian cabbage dish has a wonderfully contrasting texture of crunchy outer leaves and melty, soft inner layers. The cabbage is first seared to give it flavor and then roasted alongside garlic, ginger and onion plus a Fresno chile for some heat before being simmered with a mouthwatering salty, sweet umami sauce that gets lathered over the top at the end. Serve with steamed rice or crusty bread to really soak up the sauce. When prepping your cabbage, be sure to remove the two or three tough outer layers—this will help keep your cabbage intact when cooking.

This Thai-inspired salad using tinned squid is packed with crunchiness from shredded cabbage, carrots, and chopped peanuts, spice from Fresno chilies, freshness from the scallions and cilantro and nice acidity and saltiness from fresh lime juice and fish sauce. This comes together so quickly as there is no cooking involved, just a matter of chopping and cutting. It can be a stand-alone salad or a nice summer side salad to your meal.

In Haiti, it's a must to have pikliz with fried foods and pork. But this spicy, crunchy slaw-like condiment is also excellent with rice, meats, poultry — in fact it’s on the table for just about every Haitian meal. The crunchiness of the vegetables and the sweet, tangy and fiery liquid is famous for heightening the flavors and cutting the fat of the foods around it. Pikliz is traditionally made with only green cabbage, and Scotch bonnet pepper is added to the mix and given time to sit. The twist in this recipe is the addition of purple cabbage.

This sweet, tangy and crunchy health salad (aka "vitamin salad", or "Claremont salad" — named for the famed Claremont deli in Verona, NJ), is named as such because it lacks creamy mayonnaise or sour cream commonly found in most Russian and Eastern European salads, creating a lighter, slaw-like dish. The crunchy staple is beloved in New York City Jewish delis, and makes a perfect appetizer year-round.

Recipe developer Jackie Park says, "Napa cabbage kimchi is truly an iconic Korean food, yet there are so many different recipe variations. Almost every Korean will profess that their mother or grandmother's version is the best and I am no different. This recipe is my attempt to emulate my grandmother’s perfect kimchi, since she has kept the recipe a secret from me so far. It uses humble ingredients and a low-tech method, as kimchi was once buried in the ground to ferment before refrigeration. It is not quick and easy — but my grandmother has said many times that kimchi is a labor of love and there should be no shortcuts. With a bit of planning and preparation, you can salt the cabbage and make the dasima anchovy broth and glue a day before, then leave the rest of the preparation for the next day. Either way, you will achieve a pungent, effervescent, spicy, sour kimchi that you are sure to agree is, well, the best."

The combo of sweet cabbage and creamy mashed potatoes makes for a comforting and savory side.

Raw cabbage is often the star of coleslaw, but when slow-cooked in a tomato-y white wine sauce, this vegetable is transformed into something else entirely—it's melt-in-your-mouth delicious! A bit of Parmesan rind adds umami to the sauce (it's a classic Italian trick). Serve this quick one-skillet recipe as a side dish or the main event.

Grapes make a great addition to this salad making it both sweet and savory. Don’t forget to let this sit for at least 20 minutes before serving to help marry all the flavors and also soften the cabbage slightly.

Celebrate Oktoberfest any month of the year with this one-pan recipe that’s easy to cook (and even easier to cleanup).

This simple cabbage salad is crunchy, crisp, savory and subtly sweet — just massage everything together for a quick side that you will not stop eating. Instant dash powder, which can be purchased in Asian grocery stores or online, adds a pleasant fishy flavor. The more you massage the cabbage, the more tender it will be.

An explosion of herbs, spices and salty bacon gives this hearty, Hungarian-style dish a flavor that is impossible to resist.

This spicy cabbage slaw is typically added as a topping for pupusas but it makes a great addition to any savory dish. Added bonus: the flavors of curtido deepen the longer you allow it to marinate, so leftovers get better by the day. 

This simple recipe might just be the best way to showcase the natural flavors of red cabbage. Just a simple sauté with onions, cider vinegar, a touch of sugar and mustard seeds leaves you with a perfect side dish to any meal.

To curb your crunchy-salty craving, reach for cabbage. Yes, cabbage! This crispy version is drizzled with duck-skin cracklings!

Cabbage, beets, carrots — oh my! This trio of color serves up a delicious, earthy meal with vinegar, mustard and honey flavors bursting through the slaw. Yum!

Robert really lets the cabbage shine in this classic recipe. He keeps it simple and uses just a handful of ingredients. Shredded cabbage is mixed with carrot and dressed in a sweet-and-tangy, mayo-based dressing. Don’t skip the celery seeds in this recipe. They’re small —but add big flavor!

Don’t know what to do with a head of cabbage? Slice it up and boil it for a dish with a fun, rippled, crunchy texture.

To brighten up a dinner table, cook this colorful dish. It's as easy as sauteing until tender and seasoning with salt and pepper.