Cabbage recipes don’t always get the spotlight, but they should. This budget-friendly vegetable is versatile and widely-available year round. It has fantastic flavor and crisp texture whether you roast it, grill it or keep it raw and fresh. This roundup is a collection of my favorite healthy cabbage recipes for every season, including salads, side dishes and vegan main dishes that will get you even more excited about cabbage.

Types of Cabbage

Green cabbage and red cabbage (which is really more purple) are the most common varieties. They’re round, dense heads with lots of leaves. Even though I use cabbage all the time, I’m always amazed at how much you end up with once you shred even a quarter of a head.

Other Varieties

Sometimes you have to do a little more searching at the grocery or farmers market to find napa and savoy cabbage:

• Napa cabbage, also know as Chinese cabbage, is light green and oval-shaped. Its flavor is mild and subtly sweet. 
• Savoy cabbage is round and green with crinkled leaves. It’s also mild with slightly nutty flavor. 
• Brussels sprouts are part of the cabbage family. With those tightly packed leaves, they look like cabbage in miniature. 
• Kale is technically leaf cabbage and part of the brassica family. Like its cousins, it’s great raw or sautéed and crisps up when you roast it. 

Cabbage Salad Recipes

These salads go all in on cabbage as the base instead of the usual greens. They’re crunchy with other fresh fruits and vegetables tossed into the mix with sharp dressings and additions like nuts and herbs.

Cabbage Salad Recipes Using Coleslaw Mix

Precut vegetables can be an incredible shortcut saving you time on prep and money. Often times they are closer to the amount that you need for a single recipe. Coleslaw mixes have a blend of shredded cabbage and carrots.

Noodle Salads with Cabbage

Quick-cooking noodles are great with shredded cabbage and other veggies. They are hearty and healthy and work for make-ahead lunches.

Cabbage Side Dish and Main Dish Recipes

For both side dishes and entrees, cabbage can be the main character or a supporting ingredient for vegan and vegetarian recipes.

How To Choose and Store Cabbage

I always pull off the outer leaves before I cut cabbage because they are usually soft and wilted. Cabbage should feel heavy for its size. Keep it in a crisper drawer in the refrigerator. A whole head will stay fresh for a week or so. If you have a partial head, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Store shredded cabbage in an airtight container. 

Recipes from Cabbage Cousins