What’s Your Favourite Way to Eat Cabbage? (Main Dish & Snack)

What’s your favourite way to eat cabbage?

Steamed? Stir-fried, air fried . . . in lasagne? Or maybe as sauerkraut or in a hot ‘n spicy kimchi?

For me, the ultimate way to eat cabbage and especially purple cabbage is by making roasted cabbage steaks.

And I love, I mean love, love, eating purple cabbage steaks cold from the fridge the next day. They make the perfect snack and taste even better than they do straight from the oven.

It’s such an easy recipe and (almost) always turns out perfect and delicious.

The biggest influence on the final flavour of the dish is the size of the slices (they need to be thick) and the condition of the cabbage itself. If you have a lovely young fresh cabbage the flavour will be divine.

And the tough old cabbage may have a taste that’s slightly lacking in panache, but it will still taste okay, just don’t expect to wow your guests with it quite so much.

Troubleshooting Roasted Cabbage Steaks

There isn’t very much that can go wrong with these roasted cabbage steaks, but a small variation can cost a lot in terms of flavour.

• Cut too small – the cabbage dries out in the oven and can be tough.
• Not enough salt – the flavour of the cabbage really comes out when it’s cooked with salt.
• Too much salt – well yes, too much of a good thing can also be a bad thing of course!
• Not cooked enough – make sure they’re really soft before you turn off the oven. It makes a huge difference to the flavour and if they’re still al-dente they will lack flavour.

Cutting the Cabbage for Cabbage Steaks

Remove the outer leaf or leaves of the cabbage so that you’re left with the shiny interior ones. This normally means removing 1 or 2 leaves.

The next thing to decide is whether you prefer cabbage slices or wedges. I prefer wedges. They’re easier to cut, fit better in the roasting pan, and have a handy shape for grabbing from the fridge.

But if you’re serving this as a main attraction, both are just fine and the slices maybe look a bit more elegant, so choose whichever shape takes your fancy.

Make sure you don’t cut the pieces too thin, which will ruin their flavour. They should be at least 2.5 cm thick and even thicker than that for the outside measurement of the wedges.

Remember you need to be able to really get your teeth into them!

And thin slices will just dry out and become tough cabbage.

How to Cut the Cabbage for Slices

Stand the cabbage on its base and slice through from top to bottom, making slices that are about 2.5 cm thick or more. Each one (except maybe the very edge slices) should have the ‘tree trunk’ of the stem holding it together at the bottom.

Depending on the size of your cabbage, you should get about 4-5 slices from the cabbage.

Cabbage Wedges

Cut the cabbage in half and lay each half face down. Next, cut through diagonally, making 4 wedges from each half.

Every wedge should have a piece of the stem in it to hold it together.

How to Make Roasted Cabbage Steaks

You like easy recipes?

Then this one will earn some brownie points . . .

Lay the cabbage slices or wedges out and sprinkle each slice with salt and rub it into the flesh. Then turn them over and repeat the salt on the other side.

Preheat the oven to 200ºc.

Place the cabbage slices into a roasting tin and cook on high heat for 20 minutes. Turn the slices over and check the salt level by tasting a little piece. Add more if necessary.

Return to the heat for another 20 minutes.

Check that the slices are cooked through and turn off the oven heat, leaving the cabbage inside. The finishing touch which really brings out the flavour is to leave the cabbage slices in the oven to cool down with the oven.

You can either let them cool completely and serve later on, or just let them sit for another 20 minutes or so as the oven cools down before serving.

Optional Flavouring for Cabbage Steaks

I love roasted red cabbage. I can store it in the fridge and eat it as a snack at any time of the day. It just has something about it which I find delicious.

But I do understand that for some of you, the plain cabbage might be more exciting if it has a flavouring added to it.

No problem. Easy. Also delicious.

Simply add 1 tbs maple syrup to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and mix well. Add some black ground pepper and a pinch of salt, and mix well.

Brush on to each side of each slice/wedge before baking in the over and proceed just the same as for the plain cabbage.

Both ways are tasty and I couldn’t say which I prefer. Because of that, I tend to make it plain. Because why add to something that’s already perfect, lol?

What’s the Best Kind of Cabbage for Roasted Cabbage Steaks?

For the absolute best-tasting cabbage steaks, choose a young fresh purple cabbage. You can make the recipe with green cabbage but it won’t be as tasty as the purple in my humble opinion.

For the best results, make sure you remove all the tough outer leaves before slicing and roasting.

What to Serve with Cabbage Steaks?

Cabbage steaks can be the main event or the side dish. Or a snack straight from the fridge.

Serve the cabbage steaks as the main dish with roasted potatoes and vegetables with cashew sauce on the side, or with a vegetable rice dish and steamed broccoli with spicy peanut sauce on the side.

They go with almost anything. Perfect on the side of quinoa, served with an oil free tomato sauce or with your favourite pasta or vegan lasagne.

And for some potato on the side, try serving this cabbage alongside some delicious smashed potatoes from the air fryer.

So, once you’ve tried them, what’s YOUR favourite way to eat cabbage?