Savory Cabbage and Bacon with Onion

5 from 9 votes

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This foodie was recently challenged to come up with a cooked cabbage recipe.  I was looking for something new, something different, and something that I could put together.  I found that in the recipe from Emeril, it’s his favorite cabbage recipe and we are calling it Savory Cabbage and Bacon with Onion.

A close up of bowl of red cabbage and bacon
Savory Cabbage and Bacon with Onion

About this side dish

We’ve used cabbage before, notably in the Golumpki (Gołąbki, Stuffed Cabbage) that Scott put together some time ago from a recipe that had been handed down on his mom’s side for generations.   Since its publication on Platter Talk, it has been one of the most viewed recipes on the site.

Raw head of red cabbage cut on bias on board
Add some color and health to your diet with this cabbage recipe.

While I was putting this super simple and savory side dish together, I was struck with the reality of just how much I love food.  Obviously I love to eat good food.  I enjoy the taste, the texture, the memories it evokes from the days of my youth and of those who were a part of it.  My mom, my dad, my aunts and uncles.  Those are days and times I can’t ever get back yet I can still connect to them, even tangibly through my love of food.   Then, I was struck with how thankful I am to have a passion such as the one that I possess for food.

A close up of a bowl of noodles and onion
Sauteed onions add an extra savory element to this cabbage and bacon dish.

It’s probably pretty obvious to you that I like to take photographs.  It’s something that I have enjoyed since second grade when my mom gifted to me an ancient plastic box of a camera that had been lying dormant in a cupboard above the oven in her farmhouse kitchen.  Somewhere along the line I picked up a love of writing.  I still remember clunking out “stories” on our old manual typewriter and having my sister (Chef Kathy) do the illustrations for me.

Cooked red cabbage in white dish
Looking for cooked cabbage recipes? Here’s an easy one!

Fast forward a few decades.  The Internet.  Computers.  Digital cameras.  Food blogging.  I didn’t even know what a food blog was when we started Platter Talk a short 24 months ago.  I am just starting to understand that whole concept.

Bacon and Cabbage is a Match Made in Heaven

Make this cabbage and bacon side dish soon.
This cabbage and bacon side dish can be made in about 15 or 20 minutes

The color of this cabbage, the broad scope of flavors, the taste and how it all comes together so that I can relay it to you in words and photos thrills the heck out of me.  Admittedly, this post may say little about this dish but let me assure you, it is fantastic.  Is it one of my favorites?  Yes.  Remember though, as I tell our six kids, I have many favorites.

Cabbage and bacon recipe on Platter Talk
This cabbage and bacon side dish is a great side for pork.

It took some time before I could admit that I was a foodie.  I always thought that was an overstatement, to describe me.  In reality, I was the one understating my affinity for food.  I guess I wasn’t sure what a foodie was at the time.  Perhaps I equated the term with that of a food expert.  That would hardly be the case for me.  Food lover, yes.  If that makes me a foodie then I happily claim the title.

Looking for cooked cabbage recipes? You’re going to like this one!

In all earnestness, give this recipe for cabbage a try.  It’s colorful and full of savory goodness.  It’s perfect for a cold winter’s day and perfect for the savory braised pork with which I chose to serve this as a side dish.  Find your passion, then share it.

A close up of a bowl of food on a plate, with Cabbage and Platter
Cabbage and bacon is a wonderfully simple and savory side dish.

Similar recipes

Savory Cabbage with Onion and Bacon

5 from 9 votes
Recipe from Emeril Lagasse
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 pound bacon, coarsely chopped
  • 2 cups thinly sliced onions
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 head green or white cabbage, about 3 pounds, cored and thinly sliced
  • 1 12-ounce bottle beer

Instructions 

  • Cook the bacon in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, until browned and slightly crispy, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the onions, salt, cayenne, black pepper, sugar, and bay leaves. Cook, stirring, until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the cabbage and stir to mix well. Cook, stirring, until the cabbage just begins to wilt or soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
  • Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the beer. Stir to mix.

Nutrition

Calories: 401kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 37g, Saturated Fat: 14g, Cholesterol: 35mg, Sodium: 570mg, Potassium: 335mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 185IU, Vitamin C: 59.3mg, Calcium: 73mg, Iron: 0.8mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Savory
Tried this recipe?Mention @plattertalk or tag #plattertalk!

This recipe was updated from February 25, 2015

A plate of food, with Cabbage
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Meet the Platter Talk Guys

Dan & Scott split their time between Wisconsin and Southwest Florida and are dads to six boys. Good food runs through their veins, and they love showing others how to cook easy recipes.

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5 from 9 votes

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27 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Everything tastes better with bacon — especially cabbage. It just seems like something is missing if bacon isn’t there. And I like how you take it up a notch by adding the cayenne – just the right amount of spice.