Southern Fried Cabbage With Bacon

Do you love greens, but don’t have hours to simmer collards or turnips? Try Southern fried cabbage with bacon! This quick and easy recipe will bring some much-needed fiber to your plate and help fill your belly.

Cabbage is a super versatile green that is used both raw and cooked. Shredded cabbage is the core ingredient in coleslaw, and also a topping for things like fish tacos. Whether fried, steamed, or boiled, cooked cabbage is found in multiple cuisines. You will even find it in entrees such as stuffed cabbage. Give this green a chance!

Ingredients

• head of cabbage
• 2-3 strips of bacon
• 1 onion
• tbsp lard
• 2 cloves of garlic
• salt
• pepper

Prepping Southern Fried Cabbage

Most of the prep for Southern fried cabbage is simply cutting up the vegetables. The size of the cuts is up to your preference. I like my cabbage to be between 1-2 square inches.

To cut the cabbage, you will need a large chef’s knife. Start by cutting the cabbage in half vertically. Go ahead and cut right through the stem. Next, cut each of the two pieces in half vertically. At this point, you should have four roughly equal pieces of cabbage.

On a diagonal slice, cut the stem off each piece of cabbage. Proceed to cut each of the remaining pieces in half until you reach your desired leaf size. For me, it’s usually 2 or 3 more cuts. Once the cabbage is done, set it aside.

The onions are next. Again, this comes down to preference. I prefer my onions to be diced, but you can cut them into strips or run them through a food processor and pulverize them. I like mine diced because I want to know they are there, but I don’t want a mouth full of onion.

The final steps involve mincing the garlic and chopping up the bacon. You can leave it whole if you don’t want to eat the bacon in the final product. I love the little bites of bacon and want some in as many bites as I can get, so I chop the bacon into pieces similar in size to the onion.

Cooking Southern Fried Cabbage With Bacon

Get a pan with deep sides and put it on medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the bacon. Cook the bacon until it is mostly done and the fat has been rendered. Now you can add the tablespoons of lard.

When the lard has melted, remove the bacon and add the onions. Saute for a few minutes until they start to become translucent. Next up add the garlic. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

After the garlic has cooked for a minute or so, lower the heat to medium-low and start to add the cabbage. Season with salt and pepper, and then gently toss the cabbage so it gets coated with the grease and mixes with the onions and garlic. As the cabbage wilts, add more and repeat the process until the desired amount has been added.

Continue cooking the cabbage until it is tender. Periodically toss the cabbage and adjust the seasoning. Add salt and pepper to your taste. The cabbage should only take 5-10 minutes to cook.

What Goes Good With Cabbage?

Cabbage is a versatile side that goes with numerous dishes. It can be a direct replacement for turnip greens or collards in any meal. It is my go-to side dish when I want greens but does not have hours for prep and cooking.

Fried cabbage pairs excellently with traditional Southern meals like fried chicken or pork chops. You can serve it with fried fish as well. Cabbage goes excellently with non-fried dishes as well, such as meatloaf or chicken and dumplings.

You can pair cabbage with multiple different sides. I love cabbage with black-eyed peas, lima beans, and cornbread. Other good options include rutabagas, air fryer roasted sweet potatoes, and carrots.

Cabbage is a frequent addition to Southern Sunday dinners. For other dinner ideas, check out my Ultimate Southern Sunday dinner ideas guide.

Nutritional Value Of Cabbage

While this recipe is not the healthiest of options, cabbage itself is a very healthy vegetable. According to the USDA, a half cup of cooked shredded cabbage contains 17 calories, 4 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of protein.

That half-cup of cabbage will also provide you with 30-35% of your daily vitamin C needs. Vitamin C is important in the repair of all body tissues and helps in the proper functioning of the immune system. You will also get 81.5 micrograms of vitamin K in that half cup.

Cabbage is high in fiber. That high fiber content will help aid digestion and increase beneficial bacteria in your gut. Adding fiber to your diet will also help control your blood sugar levels.

What Are Some Healthier Ways To Eat Cabbage?

If you are looking for a healthier recipe for cabbage, simply sub out the bacon and lard for olive oil. Saute the onions and garlic in olive oil instead of bacon fat and lard. Make sure to season the garlic and onions with salt and pepper since we will be losing flavor by subtracting the animal fat.

Add the cabbage in portions and gently toss in the olive oil. Be sure that the onions and garlic are being spread evenly throughout the cabbage, as they are the primary flavor agents. Once all the cabbage is added and cooked until tender, the recipe is completed.

Alternatively, you can boil cabbage. In this case, I would switch to garlic and onion powder in place of the real thing. I would still add some olive oil to give the veggies some fat content. You can add chicken bouillon or chicken stock if you are not going vegetarian with this dish. This will add some flavor.

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Southern Fried Potatoes Recipe Southern Fried Pork Chops Recipe Crispy Southern Fried Chicken Recipe How To Cook Rutabagas Southern Style