Our buttered sauteed red cabbage in a Dutch Oven is so easy make. It’s a wonderful vegetable side dish we serve with dinner often because we love it so much. This simple cabbage recipe goes with anything and is a pretty color to boot.
You can decide just how tender you want your sauteed cabbage to be if you make it yourself. Just one of many reasons why I love this purple vegetable. Besides that it is just so pretty don’t you think? Kid you not even my kids love this when we serve it with meals.
Chopped up and thrown in it is one of many Dutch Oven recipes here on our site you’ll love. If you don’t have one of these babies it is a game changer. The cast iron traps the heat, you can use it on a stovetop, oven or over a campfire. I mean mine is too pretty to get coal dust on it but you know what I mean. 😉
If you have only used a head of this to make cold dishes like red cabbage cole slaw you’re in for a treat. I mean it is great that way too loaded on slider buns with some pulled pork on there too but just wait. I have to be honest and say this was my first go around for this one, and it worked so well I had to share it.
That isn’t always the case when I make something new, sometimes I have to test it out several times but not this one. I had such great luck with my baked cabbage steaks that I just used those as the main ingredients. Many times simple is the best bet of all right?
How Long do you Saute Red Cabbage?
Now there is a pretty big range as far as this goes depending on your preferences. If you want there to be a bit of a “bite” to it still, you’d saute for less time. I would say the range is from 10-20 minutes depending on how soft you want it to be, and the thickness of the slices too.
Why do you add vinegar to red cabbage?
Vinegar, being acidic, helps maintain the bright purple or red color of the cabbage, preventing it from turning a dull blue or gray during cooking. It also adds a tangy, sharp flavor that complements the natural sweetness.
Ingredient Notes
You are going to want to start with a head of medium red cabbage sliced. Remember that the smaller the pieces are the faster they will soften. If you want to keep the texture more on the al dente side then slice thicker.
To make it buttery well of course do you do need some butter, salted, to cook this in. If you need a plant based dairy free alternative Country Crock has a great one though it isn’t salted so you may want to add a pinch.
We literally add minced garlic in to almost all of our dishes. I buy a huge container at Costco that is already in small pieces but you could dice from fresh cloves if you want to go from scratch.
Chicken broth is better than water for obvious reasons, more flavor. Vegetable broth works too if you want a vegetarian option.
You will want to add a dash of rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar too which will give it just a slight zing, great with this veggie.
How thick should your pieces be?
As far as how to cut cabbage for this one I like to just slice it in half and then in 1/2 inch slices from there. You can see what I mean by that here. Of course you will want to slice the end off to remove the hard stem that isn’t edible first. The thinner the pieces the softer it will get. I like it wilted but a little “bite” to it still so it isn’t mushy.
Sauteed Red Cabbage Recipe
Equipment
- 1 dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1 medium red cabbage, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1/2 cup butter, salted
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 cup chicken broth, or stock
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar
- 1 pinch salt, to taste
Instructions
- Allow butter to melt with garlic in dutch oven on stovetop over medium heat. Remove and discard outer leaves and stem of cabbage.
- Cut in half and then slice into 1/2" slices. When butter is melted add into pot breaking up pieces. Stir to fold together and allow to simmer this way for 10 minutes.
- Add chicken broth and sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. Put lid on and reduce heat to low. Simmer this way for 20 minutes stirring twice in this time.
- Lift lid and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes or until leaves as as tender as you'd like them to be. Turn heat off, fold in vinegar and taste. Add more salt and pepper to taste until just right. Serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Is sauteed red cabbage good for you?
Of course. Whether you saute or make red cabbage steaks there is a lot of nutrition in every bite. Basically the darker the produce color the more vitamins are in it. Therefore, this type is better for you than the lighter green counterpart, but both nutritious nontheless.
I also love keeping pieces together like a steak and baking, those are fabulous as well. In this case you need the strands broken apart in pieces so it can soften easier. There seriously are so many possibilities when it comes to this inexpensive vegetable. Whether your head is green or purple it really doesn’t matter.
Yes the flavor is slightly different but I typically use the same ingredients; salted butter, salt and pepper. From there you can add others that are your favorites like garlic salt and/or Old Bay too. Sauteed, grilled, air fried cabbage, raw in a salad or baked you could literally make it different every night of the week.
I do love using a Dutch Oven for this one because essentially it’s being steamed until tender to your liking. If you don’t have one of these you can use a larger pot with a lid that fits snug.
Like I said, you could do this same thing with green cabbage. We in fact did with our Dutch Oven cabbage here that is buttered to perfection and hard to stop eating. 😉 Both have great health benefits but slightly different flavors so just rotate between the two depending on the price at that time.
