Caramelized Cabbage with Bacon (Keto, Paleo, Whole30)

Caramelized Cabbage with bacon is a flavorful, addicting healthy side dish perfect for serving with just about anything. Caramelizing Cabbage will turn even the biggest Cabbage naysayer into a believer! This easy cabbage recipe is paleo, keto, whole30, easy to prepare, and a crowd pleaser!

We’ve all had caramelized onions, but have you ever tried caramelized cabbage??

It’s so easy to prepare! If you can caramelize an onion (which we will be doing in this recipe, too), then you can caramelize a cabbage!

The way I see it, caramelized cabbage can be used in all sorts of ways – as a vegetable side dish, a condiment, topping for sandwiches, burgers, steak, or chicken. I would even use it in burritos, grilled cheese sandwiches of breakfast sandwiches. Go wild!

Cabbage is neutral in flavor, making it ideal for dishes using big bold flavors like onion, garlic, and bacon. It doesn’t take much to spruce it up and make it extra palatable.

Let’s dive into the simple ingredients.

Ingredients for Caramelized Cabbage with Bacon:

Bacon: Used as the fat source for caramelizing the cabbage, we cook thick cut bacon to render fat. These drippings are used for cooking and the bacon itself gets chopped up and added to the cabbage at the end.

The bacon provides a great deal of flavor! Use a sugar-free, nitrate-free bacon for a paleo and whole30 friendly side dish.

Avocado oil: Only necessary if your bacon doesn’t yield enough fat to cook your cabbage. Because bacon varies in its fat content and cabbages vary in size, we may need an extra 1 to 2 tablespoons of avocado oil. Don’t use olive oil in this application, as it will burn.

Onion: In addition to caramelizing cabbage, we caramelize an onion simultaneously. This adds rich flavor to the cabbage! 

Garlic Cloves: Providing even more delicious flavor, we toss in some minced garlic. Because cabbage has a subtle flavor, the onion and garlic flavors shine through very nicely.

Cabbage: The star of the show! Pick up a medium-sized cabbage from your grocery store. Any type works, but for this recipe, I went with a regular green cabbage. If you use a red cabbage, it won’t get quite as soft as green cabbage, but will still be lovely.

Sea salt and pepper: Enhancing the flavors all the way around, we add sea salt and pepper to make the whole thing come together in deliciousness.

Recipe Customizations:

• For a vegetarian option, replace the bacon with 3 tablespoons of avocado oil.
• Add mushrooms, fresh or dried herbs, coconut milk to make it creamy, or wine to make it sultry.
• For a little heat, add red pepper flakes.
• Add in fresh lemon zest or fresh lemon juice for some acidity and citrus flair.
• For some sweetness, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of brown sugar.

Recipe Tips:

1. Cook the bacon, chop the onion while cooking bacon.
2. Sauté onion, chop cabbage while sautéing onion.
3. Mill around while the cabbage cooks and caramelizes – you’ll have plenty of time to multi-task!

How to Make Caramelized Cabbage with Bacon:

Begin by slicing the cabbage in half using a sharp knife. Then, slice the cabbage wedges into thin strips. Remove the tough white inner core. Chop it such that the shreds are all very close to the same size.

Cook the bacon over medium-high heat in a large skillet until crispy. A Dutch oven or a large cast iron pan works great. Set bacon on a plate and leave the drippings in the skillet.

Reduce to medium heat. Transfer cabbage and sliced onions to the skillet, stir well, and cover.

Cook with cover on. After about 5 minutes, the cabbage will begin to wilt. Keep cooking, covered, stirring occasionally for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the cover, sprinkle with sea salt and finish cooking the rest of the way, uncovered.

Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until cabbage has wilted completely and has lost much of its water, about 40 minutes. If the vegetables begin sticking to the pan at any point, add a splash of water to deglaze the pan.

Add the garlic, black pepper, nutmeg and cooked bacon and continue cooking another 10 to 20 minutes, until cabbage turns golden brown and has a similar consistency to caramelized onions.

Serve alongside your main dish on a serving platter, and enjoy!

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Serve this easy caramelized cabbage recipe with salmon, pork chops, steak, chicken, and more!

I love making it during the holiday season as an impressive side dish. In addition, this is such an easy recipe that it is great for everyday enjoyment as well – no special occasion needed.

On the prowl for more healthy side dishes? Try these out!

More Healthy Side Dishes:

• Warm Brussel Sprout Salad with Kale Quinoa and Bacon Vinaigrette
• Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole
• Healthy Green Bean Casserole
• Apple Cider Glazed Roasted Carrots with Rosemary
• Dairy-Free Creamed Spinach 
• Creamy Mashed Rutabaga with Caramelized Onions
• Maple Bourbon mashed Sweet Potatoes

May all your cabbage be caramelized 😉

Caramelized Cabbage Recipe

4.60 from 40 votes

Caramelized Cabbage and Onions with Bacon and garlic is a flavorful, simple, healthy side dish! Perfect for pairing with any meal. You can also use it as a condiment for burgers, sandwiches, wraps, etc.

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Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 4 slices thick-cut bacon
• 1 large yellow onion sliced
• 1 medium-sized head cabbage thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg optional
• 1/2 tsp sea salt to taste

Instructions

• Begin by slicing the cabbage into strips. Remove the tough white inner core. Chop it such that the shreds are all very close to the same size.
• Cook the bacon over medium-high heat in a large skillet until crispy. Set bacon on a plate and leave the drippings in the skillet.
• Add the cabbage and onion to the skillet, stir well, and cover.
• Cook with cover on. After about 5 minutes, cabbage will begin to wilt. Keep cooking, covered, stirring occasionally for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the cover, sprinkle with sea salt and finish cooking the rest of the way, uncovered.
• Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until cabbage has wilted completely and has lost much of its water, about 40 minutes
• Add the garlic, black pepper, nutmeg and cooked bacon and continue cooking another 10 to 20 minutes, until cabbage turns slightly brown and has a similar consistency to caramelized onions.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1serving · Calories: 86kcal · Carbohydrates: 9g · Protein: 5g · Fat: 5g · Saturated Fat: 2g · Cholesterol: 10mg · Sodium: 302mg · Fiber: 4g · Sugar: 6g

Author: Julia

Course: Side Dishes & Snacks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bacon, cabbage, garlic, gluten free, healthy side dish, keto, low-carb, onions, paleo, whole30

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