Fried Cabbage with Bacon

Fried Cabbage with Bacon is a delicious and economical side dish featuring green cabbage sautéed in bacon fat along with red bell peppers and onions. Try this flavourful and budget-friendly side dish today and you’ll see why it’s one of the most popular cabbage recipes.

If you’ve been reading for a while, you will already know that I love cabbage. It’s an unassuming, yet thrifty and nutritious cruciferous vegetable that finds its way into many dishes and cuisines.

This handy vegetable can be used as a filling, like in these Cabbage and Pork Dumplings while also becoming the wrapper for Cabbage Rolls. However, in this recipe, cabbage is the star of a mouth-watering side dish.

Fried Cabbage with Bacon

Fried Cabbage with Bacon is a flavourful low-carb side dish. It’s an easy ‘go anywhere’ dish, and by that, I mean you can make it and take it to a potluck or family gathering. Not only will it keep at room temperature for hours, but it’s equally as tasty at that temperature than it is hot. It can also be transported in a slow cooker and kept warm until dinner.

This easy cabbage bacon recipe takes only 25 minutes to make and is ready to accompany any main course in almost no time. It’s delicious with many mains from cast iron salmon to instant pot BBQ chicken and everything in between!

Is it a soul food? That I don’t know… it certainly is soul warming to those of us that grew up eating it. Whether you’re from the sunny South or from up north in Canada, this bacon fried cabbage recipe is a comfort food… because BACON.

Those that are indifferent to the charms of cabbage may say that if you pair anything with bacon, it’s going to taste good. That may be well and true, but I believe that the bacon-cabbage combination is a classic pairing, much like peanut butter and jelly or tomatoes and basil. However, don’t just take my word for it. Try this recipe and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Suggested Ingredients for this Dish

The ingredients list for this recipe isn’t complicated. In fact, two of the main ingredients are in the title. The seasonings are as simple as salt and freshly ground black pepper plus a few of red pepper flakes, if you want them. Other Southern fried cabbage recipes may include a touch of apple cider vinegar, white, or brown sugar for added flavour. You can adjust the seasonings and sweetness to your preference.

• Cabbage
• Olive Oil
• Bacon
• Onion
• Red Bell Pepper
• Garlic
• Salt
• Pepper

Feel free to use any variety of cabbage for this recipe. Visually, the green cabbage shows off the red bell pepper and bacon, but red cabbage will taste just as great. Shaved Brussels Sprouts also make a wonderful replacement for cabbage in this recipe.

Surprisingly two of the most important ingredients (cabbage and bacon) are also the easiest to replace. The onion, garlic, and red bell pepper aren’t going anywhere so that leaves the bacon.

This bacon cabbage recipe calls for 4 strips, or rashers of bacon. This is a very conservative amount of bacon. However, it is just enough to get everyone excited. I like to use thick cut double smoked bacon for breakfast and in recipes such as this one.

Sometimes, I’ll double up the amount of bacon and sometimes I’ll replace it with leftover chopped ham. However, ham does not have as much fat to render as bacon does, so additional olive oil may be needed. This substitution will create a ‘lightened up’ version of this dish.

Another great substitution for the bacon is sausage. Try adding crumbled cooked fresh sausage meat or sliced smoked sausage rounds to this fried cabbage recipe, you will love it! Now, the variety of sausage is up to you. I tend to use a garlic sausage, or kielbasa, but spicy or mild Italian will also be delicious. Sausages such as smoked andouille or spicy chorizo would also be delicious.

How to Make Fried Cabbage with Bacon

Let’s start by preparing the vegetables. Remove the stem and seeds from the red bell pepper then slice it into strips. Peel and slice the onion then peel and mince the garlic.

Next, use a sharp knife to remove the core from the cabbage then slice it into uniform strips. Size matters… cut the cabbage too large and it’s awkward to eat the dish. Too small and the cabbage will soften too much as it cooks.

The perfect cut is just a little larger than bite size. Discard any overly thick pieces of cabbage as they will not cook at the same rate as the other cabbage.

Heat a large skillet (one that has a lid) over medium heat, then add the olive oil. Fry the sliced onions and red bell pepper until they just begin to soften. Push the onions and peppers to the sides of the pan and add the chopped bacon. Cook bacon in the pan until it becomes rendered and slightly crispy.

Next, add the minced garlic and fry for a minute or two until it becomes fragrant, then add the cabbage. Place the lid on the skillet and allow the cabbage to soften slightly, stirring occasionally. The dish is ready when the cabbage reaches your desired doneness. I prefer cook cabbage until it reaches ‘al dente’ with just a little bit of resistance left as I bite into the cabbage.

Serve warm garnished with red pepper flakes and a squirt of fresh lime juice (optional). Any leftovers will keep 4-5 days in the fridge and reheat nicely using stovetop or microwave methods.

If you make this Fried Cabbage with Bacon recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making! Thank you so much for reading my blog.