Healthy beef and cabbage stew recipe on the stove top is easy to make. A one pot dinner made with freshly cooked chuck roast or leftover beef stew meat for more protein and flavor.
Looking for the best recipe for a healthy beef and cabbage recipe? We use leftover stew meat when we have it for a second meal that doesn’t take long at all to make. Of course you can start with fresh meat too and cook at the beginning but it’s a great night after simple cabbage recipe one pot meal. (affiliate links present)
Cabbage Stew with Beef Recipe
If you have only made Dutch oven stew in the past, this is much lighter. You don’t even have to add protein into the mix and it is still great. Sometimes I’ll make this on the side with our corned beef brisket if I don’t want to cook it all together.
Unlike our fried cabbage that has more of a soy sauce flavor to it, this just uses broth and light seasonings. Typically I’m adding diced sausage, pork, ground turkey or shredded beef into the mix that has already been coated with a dry rub I rarely add any salt or pepper.
Ingredient Notes
You are going to need to start with a medium cabbage head with the stem removed, cut into 2″ squares. You will want to break them apart a bit with your hands so the leaves can get tender. If you want more of an al dente texture then keep them together. Many times I will make this the day after cabbage rolls for dinner since I only use the few larger leaves for that meal.
I like to add at least one large carrot peeled, and sliced into dials with a stalk or two of celery chopped into large chunks. Onion sliced thick is another great vegetable add-in there but use whichever you love the most and omit the others.
We add minced garlic to literally everything. You can dice yourself from fresh cloves or do as I do and buy a huge container at Costco every few months and just blop some of it in there (I generally don’t even measure we love it so much).
The olive oil will allow for some sauteeing. If you wanted something else you could use avocado oil instead, my second favorite type.
Beef broth is better than water for the liquid needed to get all the veggies tender and the meat melt in your mouth consistency. You can add more if desired for more of a soup texture.
In this case I used stew meat that was precooked and left over from the night before to add to this. A great recipe using beef stew meat I will say but any bite sized pieces that are already browned on the outside will work.
Substitutions and Variations
1 can of diced tomatoes can be added in there with all of the other things. This is optional if you want to add another vegetable and have more juice to make it more like a soup. This makes a great lean ground beef and cabbage recipe too if you have that meat to use up, or I have added beef arm roast before for a beefier taste.
What kind of vegetables go with cabbage?
You really could add more than just one carrot, onion and celery for this. If it is left vegetarian then you would have room for twice that. Timing will vary slightly depending on how thick you slice each piece and how tender you want your ingredients to be.
Beef with Cabbage Stew
Equipment
- 1 dutch oven
- 1 cutting board
- 1 knife
Ingredients
- 1 medium cabbage, head, stem removed, cut into 2" squares
- How to cut cabbage
- 1 medium carrot, peeled, sliced into dials
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 stalk celery, chopped into large chunks, optional
- 3 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2-1 cup broth, add more if desired for more broth
- 1 pinch salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 pound stew meat, precooked to already tender, or use leftover meat chopped into bite size pieces.
- 1 can diced tomatoes, *optional if you want to add tomatoes and have more juice to make it more like a soup*
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven. Add chopped garlic, onion and carrots. Fry for 3-4 minutes on low heat to soften, stirring occasionally. Add chopped cabbage, fry everything together for another 2 more minutes.
- Add precooked stew meat (or any leftover protein) if you're adding meat, salt, pepper and pour the broth in. (if you want to add a can of diced tomatoes for a richer flavor add that now)
- Stir and cook covered over low heat for 15 – 20 minutes or until contents are as tender as you'd like them to be. Serve stewed cabbage with fresh herbs.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you make cabbage stew in Instant Pot?
If you wanted to make this as an amped up pressure cooker cabbage recipe, you could. I would suggest that you just use the same ingredients explained down below but it will just take 2-3 minutes! That is right since it is under high pressure and the meat is already cooked you don’t need long.
What can you add to cabbage stew to make it taste better?
Other items you could add if you wanted to amp it up even further. You could dice up a bell pepper, green onions and/or scallions too. For an Asian flare a splash of soy sauce or stir fry sauce can be mixed in. Add 1 tbsp at a time, incorporate, taste, and adjust if you want even more.
If you’re making ground beef and cabbage with fresh meat you can brown it right in the same pot at the beginning. There are so many different tweaks you can make to make this healthy dinner in no time. Naturally gluten free ingredients are used and it can be reheated the next day if you have any leftovers too.
What to do with leftovers
If you want to save your leftover stewed cabbage it is quite easy. You will want to get out smaller sealed containers first. Allow what’s left to cool completely and then package it up tight. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days but it is really best 24 hours later. Just reheat on a new dish in your microwave for 1 minute or so until warmed.
If you wanted to add a bit of crisp since it will have wilted more as it sits you could throw it into an air fryer basket preheated to 380 F for a few minutes too.
FAQ
Corned beef is the most common of course but that is not all! We will cook chuck roast or stew meat until it reached fall-apart tender status and then add chopped leaves until softened to soak up the juices for dinner.
Yes and no. Because meat takes a lot longer to get tender you need to cook that first. Then incorporate the chopped vegetable into the pot to saute almost like you would a beef and cabbage stir fry of sorts. Vegetables don’t need as long but go really well together!
I made this cabbage stew for dinner last night and it was incredible! So glad to have found a healthier option that the whole family likes!
You just can’t beat a hearty stew recipe like this one! Easy to make and delish!
It doesn’t get much more comforting than this. This was SO good. I will definitely be making it again.
This was such a hearty and satisfying easy family dinner! Loved that it was healthier too but tasted like total comfort food!
This is the perfect comfort food recipe to make on a cold and rainy day like today! 🙂 I know my family would love this.
Enjoyed this for dinner last night and it was a savory success! Quick, easy, and delicious; definitely, a new favorite recipe!
This is a great way to utilize leftover meat! I’ve been looking for some good soup recipes to combat this cold weather and I’m excited to give this one a try, thanks for sharing!
I loved the flavors of this stew! Thanks so much for sharing.
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John C
Can the cabbage stew be made in a crockpot?
I would use the timing in my slow cooker cabbage recipe for that