Sauteed red cabbage on stove is so easy to do in a Dutch Oven! Buttered and a wonderful vegetable side dish, this easy cabbage recipe goes with anything for dinner.

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. (affiliate links present)
Buttered Purple Cabbage
Chopped up and thrown in it is one of many easy 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.
FIRST – You should sign up for my free newsletter so you get new posts emailed to you twice a week and never miss out on anything! If you’re new to using this enclosed cast iron pot, let me share a little information:
- This is the dutch oven I have and love.
- I recommend having a good set of oven mitts to lift it in and out of your oven.
- You need a good trivet if you’re going to put this directly on the table to serve.
- For more ideas, grab this dutch oven cookbook here.


Sauteed Purple Cabbage
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 buttered cabbage steaks that I just used those as the main ingredients. Many times simple is the best bet of all right?
- 1 medium red cabbage sliced
- 1/2 c butter salted
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- Chicken broth
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
- salt and pepper to taste
As far as how to cut cabbage for this one I like to just slice it in half and then in 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.

How to Saute Cabbage
I make the same slices to make red cabbage steaks except I don’t cut it in half first. For that I want the pieces to stay together like a steak whereas this should be 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.

Steamed Red Cabbage
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.
- 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 the cabbage 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.
- could add small sliced onions if you wanted to now
- some prefer half bacon fat and half broth
- Put lid on and reduce heat to low.
- Cook cabbage 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.
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Sauteed Red Cabbage
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 medium red cabbage sliced
- 1/2 c butter salted
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 c chicken broth
- 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
- salt and pepper 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. 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.