This simple side dish brings country style comfort food to your table any night of the week.
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Table of Contents
❤️ Why you'll love it
- It doesn't get any easier than a three-ingredient recipe!
- Never watery or bland like boiled cabbage sometimes is.
- Use pre-shredded cabbage or fresh—whatever you like.
This delicious side dish is the perfect accompaniment to a heavy roast dinner any time of the year. Creamed cabbage is buttery, luscious, and surprisingly craveable—it might just upstage your main course!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Stir in the shredded green cabbage and cover. Cook over medium heat.
- After about ten minutes, add the salt and black pepper.
- Stir in the heavy cream and simmer for four or five more minutes.
🥫 Storage
Southern cabbage recipes are best served fresh, and creamed cabbage is no different! Piping hot out of the pan is ideal.
However, if you have some leftovers, don't you dare toss 'em! Put the creamed cabbage in a storage container with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate for up to three days.
Then, heat up the leftovers in the microwave until steaming hot, and enjoy your great side dish—again!
📖 Variations
Easy recipes that use simple ingredients are the best! However, here are a few ways you can add some variety to the dish.
- Instead of green cabbage, you can use Savoy cabbage or Napa cabbage. Avoid red/purple cabbage varieties for this recipe.
- Stir in some chopped bacon pieces, pancetta, or crispy Proscuitto.
- If you're out of heavy cream, half and half will also work, though it's not as luscious that way.
- Staying away from dairy? You can use dairy-free butter and unsweetened coconut milk. (Hint: a bit of freshly grated ginger really ties the cabbage and coconut milk flavors together!)
- Finish the delicious creamy sauce with a pinch of lemon zest and a small squeeze of lemon juice just before serving.
- If you really love savory flavors, you can sprinkle in some garlic powder, or sautee some onions in the butter before adding the cabbage.
- Cheese, please? We like to add a little parmesan on top.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: To clean your cabbage, peel back the soft outer layers. Then, cut the head into wedges and run each under cold water, gently rubbing to remove any dirt. Dry them well before cooking, though!
- When choosing a head of cabbage, try to find one that's a little heavier than the others. Avoid cabbage that has a lot of loose, wilted leaves.
- If you opt to buy pre-shredded cabbage, make sure it only contains cabbage. Sometimes, they'll add other ingredients (like carrots) to the cabbage mixture.
- Green cabbage and white cabbage are generally the same, so don't be confused if the light green head you pick rings up as "white cabbage" in the checkout line!
- You can use a large food processor to easily and quickly chop the cabbage. Otherwise, a heavy chef's knife will do just fine.
- Cut your cabbage into halves through the core. Next, cut each half in half again, through the core. Then, trim the cores off and slice each quarter into strips. Trim the cabbage strips in half lengthwise to finish!
- Creamed cabbage is a perfect side dish for those following a low carb diet!
👩🍳 FAQs
You can, technically—whether you want to, however, is another story. Heavy cream has a tendency to separate when thawing, so I don't recommend freezing creaming cabbage.
Yum, I never turn down breadcrumbs! To add them to this easy creamed cabbage recipe, toast the breadcrumbs in a small fry pan with some butter until they're golden brown. Sprinkle them on top of the cabbage just before serving!
Nope, but they are "relatives" from the same food family. I love brussels sprouts but recommend sticking with cabbage for this recipe.
📚 Related recipes
- Full of bacon, onions, and love, Southern Fried Cabbage is the perfect accompaniment to a special family dinner or regular weeknight meal!
- With a delicious creamy sauce made from sour cream and tender ground meat, Lazy Cabbage Rolls is quick, super-tasty comfort food.
- KFC Copycat Southern Coleslaw is the side dish that goes first at my house! Plus, it's great with just about any protein you can make!
🍽️ Serve with...
🥄 Restless Chipotle recommends
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📞 The last word
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📖 Recipe
Creamed Cabbage
Print Pin Recipe SaveIngredients
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 5 cups shredded green cabbage, one head
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
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Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat
- Add shredded cabbage, stir, and cover.
- Reduce heat to medium.
- Stir occasionally for 10 minutes, or until soft.
- Add cream, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Cover and simmer for 4-5 minutes, or until the texture is the way you like. Don’t overcook or the texture will be gross.
Notes
- To clean your cabbage, peel back the soft outer layers. Then, cut the head into wedges and run each under cold water, gently rubbing to remove any dirt. Dry them well before cooking, though!
- When choosing a head of cabbage, try to find one that's a little heavier than the others. Avoid cabbage that has a lot of loose, wilted leaves.
- If you opt to buy pre-shredded cabbage, make sure it only contains cabbage. Sometimes, they'll add other ingredients (like carrots) to the cabbage mixture.
- Green cabbage and white cabbage are generally the same, so don't be confused if the light green head you pick rings up as "white cabbage" in the checkout line!
- You can use a large food processor to easily and quickly chop the cabbage. Otherwise, a heavy chef's knife will do just fine.
- Cut your cabbage into halves through the core. Next, cut each half in half again, through the core. Then, trim the cores off and slice each quarter into strips. Trim the cabbage strips in half lengthwise to finish!
- Creamed cabbage is a perfect side dish for those following a low carb diet!
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Heidi
Stunning! We have a glut of home-grown sugar cone cabbages and this was a great way to use a couple. Superb flavours and texture. Thanks for posting.
Marye
So glad you liked it.
LynnD
This is quick, simple and SOOO delicious.
I crumbled in a few strips of bacon leftover from breakfast, at the same time as the cream.
Seriously - Add the bacon!