Southern Fried Cabbage With Bacon
This Southern fried cabbage with bacon recipe will become an instant favorite from the very first bite. It’s simple, easy, and tastes oh-so-good!
I’m going to start this post by letting you know, in the interest of full disclosure, that while the recipe I am bringing you today serves about four or five people (give or take), I ate every blessed bit of this Southern fried cabbage recipe all by myself. So yes, it’s both a stellar side dish and a great main if you’re like me and dearly love cabbage in all forms. Raw, boiled, fried, and even sauerkraut. In fact, there would have been a lot more in this dish had I not eaten so much of it raw while I was chopping it. Out of all the ways I eat cabbage though, this is the absolute best in my eyes.
Before we dive into this Southern fried cabbage recipe, I just wanted to mention you shouldn’t let the “fried” part of this recipe scare you off. Some folks hear “fried” in relation to Southern soul food and they automatically think of vats of oil. In reality, we just don’t like to use fancy words like sauteed cabbage.
We first cook our bacon until it’s deliciously crispy, then we “fry” the cabbage and bacon in the bacon grease. Another thing about Southern cooking… we know just how tasty bacon grease is and use it all the time! Cook the cabbage until it’s as tender as you like, season with salt and pepper, and serve. This is such a simple but scrumptious Southern side dish using minimal ingredients (my favorite). I’ve included serving suggestions below, but as I said, I won’t tell if you follow in my footsteps and eat a big bowl for lunch.
Recipe Ingredients
- Cabbage
- Bacon
- Salt and pepper to taste
How to Make Southern Fried Cabbage With Bacon
Chop your cabbage up however you like to chop your cabbage up.
Personally, I do mine in medium-sized pieces but some people prefer larger or smaller, whatever cranks yer tractor! I have to quit chopping at this point because the longer I chop the more I eat and I want to have some leftovers to actually cook.
The instructions begin with my favorite sentence in the world: “First, you fry you up some bacon…”.
Anytime a recipe starts with that instead of “cooking the bacon”, you know it’s gonna be good!
So yes, fry your bacon in a skillet until it’s nice and crispy.
Next, remove the bacon from the cast iron skillet and place the strips on a paper towel-lined plate.
Then spoon out all of the except for about two tablespoons.
If you’re using turkey bacon, add in about two tablespoons of olive oil instead.
Place all of your cabbage back in the skillet.
Crumble the crispy bacon and add that, too.
Stir up the and a bit and cook over medium-high heat for about five minutes, stirring constantly.
Reduce heat to low and cover the skillet.
Continue to until it’s as tender as you like it. This is usually between 5 to 10 minutes, but feel free to “fry” it for up to 30 minutes.
When it gets as tender as you like it to be (or when you just can’t wait any longer), the final step is to add salt and black pepper to taste.
Then you’re ready to dig into your Southern fried cabbage with bacon!
Enjoy!
Storage
- While fried cabbage is definitely best served fresh, you can store cooked cabbage in an airtight container in the fridge. However, it does get soggy, so I wouldn’t leave it for more than 3 days. Just make sure the cabbage is cooled before placing it in the fridge.
Recipe Notes
Here are some variations to make this Southern fried cabbage recipe work for you:
- Saute 1 chopped onion (yellow, white, or sweet onion all work) with 2 minced garlic cloves before adding the cabbage.
- Fry 8 ounces (or 1 packet) of sliced mushrooms with the cabbage.
- If you like your cabbage with a kick, add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or paprika.
- Add some additional herbs and spices to spice this dish up a bit. I have experimented with ginger, mustard, and a touch of honey and all were really good. Other popular fried cabbage recipes also use 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar if you want a touch of sweetness to balance out the savory.
Recipe FAQs
What goes well with Southern fried cabbage?
You can add a little protein by serving this dish with ground beef, ground turkey, or sausages. I had this as a side dish with our low-carb meatloaf and boy was it good. I’d also recommend serving it with roast chicken, grilled chicken, blackened chicken, or pork chops with another one of my favorite Southern side dishes: oven-baked mac and cheese.
What meat could I use as an alternative to bacon?
While you could use ground beef, ham, prosciutto, or smoked sausage, I’d recommend using turkey bacon instead. However, keep in mind there won’t be as much oil for the fried cabbage, so a little olive oil or butter works fine instead of bacon grease.
Can you freeze cabbage?
Yes, place leftover cabbage leaves in a sealed bag and freeze them for up to one month. It won’t be as crisp as fresh cabbage, but it still works in dishes like this one!
Ingredients
- 6 oz bacon that's about 5-6 slices, add more or less depending on your preference
- 1 cabbage head, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet, fry bacon until crisp. Place bacon on a paper towel-lined plate and remove all of the bacon grease from the pan except for about two tablespoons (add two tablespoons of olive oil if using turkey bacon).6 oz bacon
- Place chopped cabbage in the skillet and crumble cooked bacon on top of it. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, for about five minutes.1 cabbage head, chopped
- Reduce heat to low and cover. Continue cooking until the cabbage is done to your desired tenderness, which is usually about five to ten minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.salt and pepper to taste
Video
Nutrition
You may also like these other cabbage recipes:
Sheet Pan Cabbage and Beef Tips
Chow Chow Recipe (Southern Relish)
Every thought is a seed. If you plant crab apples,
don’t count on harvesting Golden Delicious.
~Bill Meyer
THIS RECIPE IS ONE MY HUSBAND LOVES BUT INSTEAD OF BACON, I USE A GOOD SPICY SMOKED SAUSAGE AND LOTS OF ONIONS. MAIN COURSE FOR SURE!!
We liked to add smoked sausage to ours. Slice in small rounds and brown it up a bit. Add to the cooked cabbage. Love it!
Hi Linda, that sounds delicious!
I love this recipe I added diced onions to the bacon and added all the rest of the ingredients and roll them into egg rolls very delish thank you very much for this recipe
I love fried cabbage cooked in a little bacon grease with salt and pepper and a little bit of sugar, my mom always cooked it like that and I do too. BUT every now and then if I have an apple, I will chop it up and cook it in with the cabbage, it’s good that way and gives it a little sweetness from the apple. Try it sometime. I love your website.
I will have to give it a try, thank you so much for sharing!!!
You can add. Milk too!! Yum!!!
I used to run accounts and other things at an Italian restaurant, the old Italian was a great cook and staff had pasta & sauce for staff meals, when just us two he used to make fried green cabbage as a side dish. Olive oil, garlic and chilli in pan, when hot tip in shredded cabbage that had been steamed for couple of minutes and left to drain, it was a great dish. I am old and alone so I some times do it for myself, will have to try things some of your comments suggest. Always looking for simple healthy things to cook with few ingredients, not a lover of ready meals. Thanks.
I have a few (only need one!) organic cabbage heads growing beautifully in my garden, this year. Can’t wait to go buy some bacon (wish I had an organic pig, lol) to make this recipe. It sounds delicious! Everything I eat and drink is organic! It’s so healthy! And I love growing all my organic vegetables, in my garden, so I don’t have to eat all those pesticides, herbicides, and other nasty chemicals, they spray on grocery store veggies, while their growing!
Organic pork sure drew a laugh out of me today 🙂 lol. We enjoy turkey bacon these days, no more pork at all for us, but your garden sounds delicious from start to finish! Have a blessed day!