Southern Fried Cabbage With Bacon
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This Southern fried cabbage with bacon recipe will become an instant favorite from the very first bite. It’s simple, easy, and tastes oh-so-good!
I’m going to start this post by letting you know, in the interest of full disclosure, that while the recipe I am bringing you today serves about four or five people (give or take), I ate every blessed bit of this Southern fried cabbage recipe all by myself. So yes, it’s both a stellar side dish and a great main if you’re like me and dearly love cabbage in all forms. Raw, boiled, fried, and even sauerkraut. In fact, there would have been a lot more in this dish had I not eaten so much of it raw while I was chopping it. Out of all the ways I eat cabbage though, this is the absolute best in my eyes.
Before we dive into this Southern fried cabbage recipe, I just wanted to mention you shouldn’t let the “fried” part of this recipe scare you off. Some folks hear “fried” in relation to Southern soul food and they automatically think of vats of oil. In reality, we just don’t like to use fancy words like sauteed cabbage.
We first cook our bacon until it’s deliciously crispy, then we “fry” the cabbage and bacon in the bacon grease. Another thing about Southern cooking… we know just how tasty bacon grease is and use it all the time! Cook the cabbage until it’s as tender as you like, season with salt and pepper, and serve. This is such a simple but scrumptious Southern side dish using minimal ingredients (my favorite). I’ve included serving suggestions below, but as I said, I won’t tell if you follow in my footsteps and eat a big bowl for lunch.
Recipe Ingredients
- Cabbage
- Bacon
- Salt and pepper to taste
How to Make Southern Fried Cabbage With Bacon
Chop your cabbage up however you like to chop your cabbage up.
Personally, I do mine in medium-sized pieces but some people prefer larger or smaller, whatever cranks yer tractor! I have to quit chopping at this point because the longer I chop the more I eat and I want to have some leftovers to actually cook.
The instructions begin with my favorite sentence in the world: “First, you fry you up some bacon…”.
Anytime a recipe starts with that instead of “cooking the bacon”, you know it’s gonna be good!
So yes, fry your bacon in a skillet until it’s nice and crispy.
Next, remove the bacon from the cast iron skillet and place the strips on a paper towel-lined plate.
Then spoon out all of the except for about two tablespoons.
If you’re using turkey bacon, add in about two tablespoons of olive oil instead.
Place all of your cabbage back in the skillet.
Crumble the crispy bacon and add that, too.
Stir up the and a bit and cook over medium-high heat for about five minutes, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat to low and cover the skillet.
Continue to until it’s as tender as you like it. This is usually between 5 to 10 minutes, but feel free to “fry” it for up to 30 minutes.
When it gets as tender as you like it to be (or when you just can’t wait any longer), the final step is to add salt and black pepper to taste.
Then you’re ready to dig into your Southern fried cabbage with bacon!
Enjoy!
Storage
- While fried cabbage is definitely best served fresh, you can store cooked cabbage in an airtight container in the fridge. However, it does get soggy, so I wouldn’t leave it for more than 3 days. Just make sure the cabbage is cooled before placing it in the fridge.
Recipe Notes
Here are some variations to make this Southern fried cabbage recipe work for you:
- Saute 1 chopped onion (yellow, white, or sweet onion all work) with 2 minced garlic cloves before adding the cabbage.
- Fry 8 ounces (or 1 packet) of sliced mushrooms with the cabbage.
- If you like your cabbage with a kick, add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or paprika.
- Add some additional herbs and spices to spice this dish up a bit. I have experimented with ginger, mustard, and a touch of honey and all were really good. Other popular fried cabbage recipes also use 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar if you want a touch of sweetness to balance out the savory.
Recipe FAQs
What goes well with Southern fried cabbage?
You can add a little protein by serving this dish with ground beef, ground turkey, or sausages. I had this as a side dish with our low-carb meatloaf and boy was it good. I’d also recommend serving it with roast chicken, grilled chicken, blackened chicken, or pork chops with another one of my favorite Southern side dishes: oven-baked mac and cheese.
What meat could I use as an alternative to bacon?
While you could use ground beef, ham, prosciutto, or smoked sausage, I’d recommend using turkey bacon instead. However, keep in mind there won’t be as much oil for the fried cabbage, so a little olive oil or butter works fine instead of bacon grease.
Can you freeze cabbage?
Yes, place leftover cabbage leaves in a sealed bag and freeze them for up to one month. It won’t be as crisp as fresh cabbage, but it still works in dishes like this one!
Ingredients
- 6 oz bacon that's about 5-6 slices, add more or less depending on your preference
- 1 cabbage head, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Place bacon on a paper towel-lined plate and remove all of the bacon grease from the pan except for about two tablespoons (add two tablespoons of olive oil if using turkey bacon).6 oz bacon
- Place chopped cabbage in the skillet and crumble cooked bacon on top of it. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for about five minutes.1 cabbage head, chopped
- Reduce heat to low and cover. Continue cooking until the cabbage is done to your desired tenderness, which is usually about five to ten minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.salt and pepper to taste
Nutrition
You may also like these other cabbage recipes:
Sheet Pan Cabbage and Beef Tips
Chow Chow Recipe (Southern Relish)
Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples,
don’t count on harvesting Golden Delicious.
~Bill Meyer
Oh Christy, love this dish! Add some leftover boiled/cubed potatoes and you have what the English call “bubble and squeak” — many versions of this dish, but this is my favorite — so good and definitely what I will be fixin’ tonight for supper!
I love fried cabbage, too. On weeknights (to save time), I often just buy a bag of “coleslaw” mix (or shredded cabbage) in the produce department. When I’m being “good” and eating healthier, I’ll cook it in a non-stick skillet with just enough chicken broth to keep it from sticking to the pan. I keep adding a little broth as it dries and starts sticking. Season it with garlic, onion, salt, & pepper. My husband absolutely loves it this way as well as the fried. Yum!!
Thanks, Rhonda. My hubby loves fried cabbage, but we are trying to cut down on the fat. I never even thought of using chicken broth, I don’t know why, I use it for everything else. I will have to try this for him.
This recipe is awesome! Our family cooks two batches every time we go camping! One just like this recipe and another we add bell pepper and onion to it . Both are really good!!!!
add some onions and shredded carrots and YUMMMMM!!!
with Stewed Tomatoes,,,,YUUUMMMMM
Oh I love stewed tomatoes!
Fried cabbage is my favorite way to eat cabbage too, Christy. But… I grew up in a household with four kids…. two of which were boys. We could put away some food now. LOL My mama had to stretch a meal with cheap groceries that would go a long way…. dried beans, potatoes and cabbage were some of the things she used. She could turn the simplest of ingredient into a meal fit for a king.
One of those meals she prepared we called Spanish Cabbage. I don’t know where the recipe came from, and I certainly don’t think it’s truly a Spanish dish… but that’s what we called it. My mother made it, her mama made it, and her mama’s mama made it. It’s a one pot mix of browned hamburger, onions, green bell pepper, cabbage and tomatoes. We always ate it with cornbread.
We were really in high cotton if mama added a pot of ham and beans with it, and a big bowl of sliced cucumbers and onions in vinegar. LOL That was her favorite meal in the whole world. To this day… if my brothers, sister and I want a comfort meal… that’s what we fix.
Thanks for reminding me of that, Christy. i think I know what I’m having for supper tonight. 😉
Hey put that recipe in your comments. It sound yummy!
Here you go, RobbieAnn. I don’t have a written down recipe with real measurements…. so I approximated. You can’t screw it up, tho. 🙂 This is great with cornbread.
1 to 1.5 lbs ground beef
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large can diced tomatoes with juice (sometimes I use one regular size can of tomatoes and add a cup of tomato juice if I have it.)
chopped cabbage, about half a head…. maybe 5 cups
In a dutch oven, brown your ground beef, onion and bell pepper til the meat is done and veggies are tender. Drain off excess fat. Add in the cabbage, salt & pepper to taste and tomatoes. Sometimes I add a little bit of water or chicken broth if there wasn’t much juice in the tomatoes. Cover and simmer about 20 minutes, until the cabbage is wilted down. Stir it a couple times during cooking to mix everything up good.
I love fried cabbage. My Mother-in-law had never heard of it until I fixed it once when she was visiting. Converted her right over.
Cabbage is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world. I would eat this entire thing too. 🙂
Smooches!