Sauteed Cabbage with Bacon
Published Mar 02, 2015•Updated Apr 19, 2022
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Sauteed Cabbage with Bacon is a humble dish that cooks cabbage down until it is tender but still crisp and tops it with crispy bacon.
I’m quite drawn to humble food these days. Simple food for a weeknight that doesn’t take too much work and doesn’t remind us with too much emphasis that we don’t have a dishwasher.
As much as we love good food in our little family, we’re not terribly fancy. Well, most of us aren’t.
Frank was out of town this week, and single-parenting twin babies is not for the faint of heart. When I tucked those two sweet chickadees in at night, I took all of five minutes to decide what I would be feeding myself before curling up in sweats to watch Mindy Project reruns. (And there you have an accurate picture of what home alone Jess looks like these days.) When I’m cooking for myself, most meals are one or two vegetables with a side of rice, and a fried egg if I’m feeling up for it. Years ago I wrote about green beans for dinner, and those still make a frequent appearance.
And so it was, in a very home alone dinner sort of mood that I went out in search of a recipe for this month’s Secret Recipe Club. This month, I was matched up with Anna in Alaska, which seemed fitting. I had already spent a good bit of time in Anna’s great blog Cheese with Noodles since she cooked from my blog just last month! At the beginning of February, it was so wonderful to be reading about Anna’s chilly Alaska life from my tropical Bangkok one. And this month, I loved having the chance to cook from her blog. Anna’s food is totally my style – she comes up with amazingly creative ways to use simple ingredients, and only shares the very best on her blog. Which is where this cabbage dish comes in. Sautéed Cabbage with Bacon and Onions sounds like it should be a classic, but I’ve never cooked cabbage like this before. And what a mistake. This cabbage, cooked until tender but still crisp, becomes silky and just a bit sweet. And with the crunch of crumbled bacon…amazing.
This is one I will absolutely make again. Maybe next time I’ll even make it when Frank is home.
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Sauteed Cabbage with Bacon
Equipment
- Large Skillet
Ingredients
- 1/4 lb Bacon
- 1/2 large Onion, chopped
- 1 small Green Cabbage, quartered, cored, and sliced thinly
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- Salt and Pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to cool; then crumble. Add onions to grease in skillet and sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add cabbage, breaking it apart with your hands as you add it to the skillet. Sauté until cabbage is as tender but still crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. (You can speed things along by covering the skillet.) Add sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper. Cook until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute more. Remove from heat and add crumbled bacon.
- Serve as a side dish on its own or with grain of choice (I loved this with rice). Add an egg to make this a delicious, simple dinner!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Frank was gone for the week, but we’re all together in Chiang Mai (northern Thailand) now! The weather is fabulous, the temples are abundant, and the shopping opportunities are endless!
Great simple comforting meal. I would eat this anytime. Even fancy time.
So true Debra – “fancy” has many definitions. 😉
I completely agree with you on simple humble food – is it a sign of getting older? Such a gorgeous dish!
I’m all for super simple meals, especially when I’m home alone. I did a cabbage dish recently too, braised in a bit of white wine and butter, so simple but so delicious! Love the looks of this one, will keep it in mind for a simple dinner soon. And Chiang Mai, isn’t it fabulous?! It was probably my favourite place in Thailand.
Oh yum Katie – I’ve made note that I have to try that braise as well as your tahini on toast form the blog – YUM!
Wowee looking after the girls on your own is seriously impressive! I don’t think I could muster up something like this if I was home alone for a month. Well done Jess!
This looks like an absolutely beautiful weeknight dinner. I make these kind of things for myself when my husband is working late or having a boys night out. Wonderful SRC post (and a great idea for me to make this week)
Mmm this is a properly Irish recipe – and one of our favourites. Have never had it with egg though. Your babies are just delicious! #secretrecipeclub
You’re so sweet Helen – I find those two babies of mine to be absolutely delicious as well. 🙂
Sometimes simple is the best way to go, especially when it includes a runny egg…
Mmmm, your description of this makes the simple ingredients sound so exquisite.
Nice photos as always, and interesting narration. I like cabbage – what recipe would you recommend (pasta maybe) for feeding 4 big appetites?
I have discovered cooked cabbage also, I found a Martha recipe somewhere in a magazine that sautéed it with apples and a little brown sugar and some apple cider vinegar and I threw in some leftover asparagus and green beans too. The cabbage is totally different this way and I loved it, now I have to try your version, the bacon – which I eat very little of til I have a BLT crave I honor a couple times a year – and trying to sub in turkey bacon just doesnt get it…anyhow can’t wait to try this with the poached egg, looks wonderful. Those adorable daughters just keep growing up before our eyes on your web site, I can only imagine how you handled both of them without Frank there, it was tough for me just having one child and being alone at times with him.
Maggie
Oh yum Maggie – I absolutely love the sound of that – cabbage with apples and brown sugar – I’m in – will have to try that! Honestly, in my short few months of experience, it strikes me that the secret to parenting alone is to not think about it too much. When something goes wrong or chaos ensues, I just jump to the quickest, easiest solution. It’s hard but feels pretty triumphant too, doesn’t it?!