Cabbage

Best Cabbage Recipes and Meal Ideas

Give new life to the old, forgotten cabbage with these HelloFresh recipes with cabbage. Tasty, delicious and full of goodness, see new ways to enjoy this staple vegetable.

Cabbage Recipes from HelloFresh

Red Cabbage Recipes

Savoy Cabbage Recipes

White Cabbage Recipes

Braised Red Cabbage Recipes

Roasted Cabbage Recipes

Fried Cabbage Recipes

Sauteed Cabbage Recipes

Why choose cabbage?

The popularity of cabbage

The cultivated Brassica oleracea or “wild cabbage” is grown annually. It’s a popular vegetable throughout the world, with densely packed leaves, vibrant green or purple colours, and an impressive nutritional profile.

This versatile vegetable is believed to have been first cultivated in Europe some 3,000 years ago. In China, records of its use date back to 4,000 BC. The three biggest producers of cabbage are China, India and Russia - and Russia is its biggest consumer. The heaviest on record weighed a whopping 127lbs!

Cooking with cabbage around the world

Although this vegetable is humble in nature, you'll find it as the star ingredient in recipes all across the world. In India, Gujarati cabbage uses salt to extract moisture before cooking it with spices, lime and coriander for a healthy and fragrant dish. In Ireland, it combines with mashed potatoes, bacon and cream for the ultimate in comfort food; Colcannon. Across Asia, it is also used to make sweet Halwa with ghee, sugar, cardamom, milk and pistachio nuts.

You can also use this vegetable to make gut-loving probiotic-heavy dishes, like sauerkraut and kimchi. From Eastern Europe and Korea respectively, these traditionally fermented dishes use lactic bacterial acid to create a highly nutritious (and tasty) accompaniment to any savoury meal. Sauerkraut is very easy to make and it only requires your basic cabbage, salt and some caraway seeds for flavour. Shred the veg in a food processor, massage salt into it until a brine begins to form and it reduces, then store the mix in a sealed, sterile jar for several days until fermentation occurs. It tastes especially good with sausages and mustard.

How many different types of cabbage are there in the UK?

Whilst there are many types of cabbage available across the globe, there are four main types that dominate British cabbage recipes. These are:

Red cabbage: The brightest type of cabbage used, the red cabbage is often eaten raw, added into salads or pickled as the ideal side dish
Green cabbage: The common cabbage, one you're most likely to see on plates across the country
Chinese cabbage: The wombok cabbage is the more oblong-shaped type that is the star of many Asian dishes
Savoy cabbage: Often mistaken for the green cabbage, this one offers sweet flavours with crispy leaves the closer to the centre you reach

How to: Cabbage - FAQs

How to cook cabbage?

Wondering how to cook cabbage? The beauty of this hard-working vegetable is that you can use it in so many ways. Grate up a green cabbage or finely chop it to serve in a crunchy coleslaw with homemade mayonnaise, carrot, onion and sprinkle with crushed cashew nuts. You can also steam it, stir-fry it, sautée it, braise it or roast it - simply slice, rub with garlic, season generously and drizzle with oil beforehand for a dish that tastes far greater than the sum of its parts.

How to store cabbage?

Choose a cabbage that is bright in colour, heavy and firm to the touch. Leaves should be crisp and dense to suggest a freshness. If you are getting used to the flavour, choose a larger head which will be milder. When buying a locally sourced version of the vegetable, remember that cabbages picked after the frost will be sweeter than those picked before. When you get it home, store it in the vegetable crisper of your fridge - whole, as the vitamin C content begins to deteriorate once it is cut. If you do use half, store the rest covered in plastic wrap for up to two days. Whole cabbages should last for up to two weeks, with the exception of Savoy varieties which should last for one week.

Can you freeze cabbage?

Yes, like most vegetables, you can freeze cabbage to keep it fresher for longer. The best way to freeze cabbage is to blanch it first, that is to emerge it in boiling water for a short amount of time - about 90 seconds - this is enough time not to cook the cabbage but to lock in the flavour. Then you can freeze the cabbage and reduce the chances of diluting the taste.

How to shred cabbage?

Shredding cabbage is simple, easy and doesn't have to be neat! After washing your cabbage and removing the core, cut the cabbage into four and then thinly slice - roughly. Ta-da, you now have shredded cabbage perfect for a range of recipes.