Hi, my name is Beth and sometimes I eat weird things. But if ten years of blogging has taught me anything it’s that a surprising number of you also like to eat weird things. After all, getting experimental in the kitchen leads to some of the most amazing flavor discoveries! So this slightly unusual BBQ Beef and Cabbage concoction is for all of you recipe risk takers out there. I hope you find it as uniquely satisfying as I did!
This simple skillet meal starts with one of my favorite combos, beef and cabbage, adds a sweet and tangy homemade BBQ-like sauce, and ends with creamy cheddar and fresh green onion. It’s kind of like a cross between Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry, Sloppy Joes, and my Monterey Chicken Skillet. It’s not a “pretty” dish, but it’s flavorful, very filling, and gets you a good dose of vegetables. And, if you want to stretch this meal even further, you can always serve it over cooked rice.
P.S. While I was editing these photos the green onion started to look like jalapeño and I had to kick myself for not thinking of adding jalapeño while I was making it. Super thinly sliced jalapeño would be absolutely KILLER on this dish! Also, this recipe is very flexible. If you want to use a whole pound of beef there should be plenty of sauce to accommodate.
BBQ Beef and Cabbage
Servings 3 About 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1/2 lb. lean ground beef ($2.65)
- 1 small onion ($0.32)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 3/4 tsp salt, divided ($0.04)
- 4-6 cups shredded cabbage (about one pound) ($0.60)
- 8 oz. tomato sauce ($0.47)
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar ($0.06)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.08)
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.06)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard ($0.03)
- 2 oz. shredded cheddar ($0.50)
- 1 green onion, sliced ($0.10)
Instructions
- Add the olive oil and ground beef to a large skillet and cook over medium heat. Begin to break up the beef as it browns.
- While the beef is browning, finely dice the onion. Add the onion, paprika, garlic powder, and salt to the skillet with the ground beef and continue to cook over medium heat until the onions are soft.
- While the onions and beef are cooking, finely shred the cabbage. Once the onions are soft, add 1/4 cup water to the skillet and stir to dissolve any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Add the shredded cabbage and stir to combine. Place a lid on the skillet and let simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage has wilted.
- Add the tomato sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon to the skillet. Stir to combine and let simmer a few more minutes without the lid, or until the liquid in the skillet has reduced slightly. Taste the sauce and add more salt if needed (I added 1/4 tsp).
- Finally, top the beef and cabbage with the shredded cheddar, place the lid back on the skillet for 1-2 minutes, or until the cheese has melted. Top with sliced green onions then serve.
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Nutrition
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How to Make BBQ Beef and Cabbage – Step by Step Photos
Start by browning 1/2 lb. lean ground beef in a large skillet with 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. While the beef is browning, finely dice an onion. Add the onion to the skillet along with 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Continue to cook over medium until the onions are soft.
While the onions are cooking with the beef, shred the cabbage. You’ll need about 4-6 cups shredded, or about 1 lb. (this was 1/2 head of cabbage for me). Before adding the cabbage, add 1/4 cup water to the skillet and stir to dissolve any browned bits from the bottom, then add the cabbage and stir to combine.
Place a lid on the skillet and let it simmer for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the cabbage is wilted. The lid is important because it holds in the steam and helps wilt the cabbage faster.
Finally, add 8oz. tomato sauce, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tsp Dijon mustard. Stir to combine and let the sauce simmer for a few minutes without the lid, or until it’s not so liquidy in the bottom of the skillet.
Taste the sauce and add more salt if needed (I added an additional 1/4 tsp). Top the skillet with 2 oz. shredded cheddar cheese, place the lid back on top, and let it heat until the cheese is melted.
Then, top with sliced green onions just before serving. :)
What do you think? BBQ Beef and Cabbage yay or nay?
I tend to get burnt out on putting rice in the bottom of my meal preps — even though most guides recommend a certain protein/vegetable/grain ratio. But cabbage is, hands-down, my favorite substitute for rice. It takes on the flavor of whatever you put in the container with it, and it’s mild and filling! I’ve sauteed cabbage with herbs and placed it under your garden meatloaves, too! I can’t wait to try this recipe! It sounds freakin’ delicious!
This is the exact reason I read this blog so religiously. Great new idea Beth! we all loved it.
…boyfriend just suggested a Korean barbecue version of this with kimchi…woah. Will be trying this and that stat.
Oooh, I love that idea!!
Yay!
This looks really good – I am pinning it to try it. I have a chunk of purple cabbage in the fridge that needs to be used – not going to make a *pretty* dish – but I bet it will taste good :)
Want to try Beth, sounds both fast and delicious!
This recipe sounds great. However, I’m concerned that between the cabbage and the barbecue no one would want to be in the same room with me for 15 or 18 hours after I finished dinner.
Oh, gurl….another recipe like Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry (which I just made for probably the 10th time last week. It’s one of my all-time favorites from you.)! This is going right in my queue. I love recipes that use only 1/2 pound of ground beef because my grocery always seems to package beef in 1/2 lb. increments. Will update when I’ve eaten up the BBQ beef-cabbage-y goodness. And definitely doing the jalapeno suggestion.
Oh man, I WISH my grocery sold beef in 1/2 lb. portions! Haha, I always have to freeze half. :)
Yay! DUH! Yay!
Your barbecue sauce is nearly identical to one I have been using to top meatloaf for decades–a recipe that originated in Iowa, although that recipe used plain old yellow ball park style mustard since none of us in that part of the world had yet seen a bottle of Dijon mustard. To spice up this recipe, I would vote for chipotle instead of jalapeno. Chipotles can be very hot–I open a can and put 1 pepper and a bit of the adobo sauce in a snack sized plastic bag and throw them into the freezer, so even one of those tiny 8 oz cans goes a long way. I often use less than one pepper, shaving some of the frozen pepper and sauce into a recipe for some smoky zip. They truly are the original barbecue flavor, and it doesn’t take much to add character. I might add a whole one, minced, to a 3-4 quart pot of chili, 1/4th of a single pepper to a pint of barbecue sauce, a batch of mac and cheese, or a couple of quarts of chicken broth for tortilla soup. Chipotles are jalapenos, but ripened and smoked so the flavor profile is quite different.
I personally hate scallions, but have potted chives so will garnish with either those or chopped cilantro.
Thank you Beth for the dry spice mix recipes and now the barbeque sauce recipe. (I think I will figure it out from this one-pot recipe. I am now doing no grains. so prepared sauces are often pitfalls. Also the bulking up with canbage is an idea I will keep. :-)
Do you think this would work with ground turkey? I can’t have red meat but LOVE BBQ flavours and tjos sounds awesome.
Sure! :)
We just bought a half a pig, so I’m going to try it with ground pork.
This looks amazing! Who would’ve thought cabbage + BBQ?!
P.S. I eat weird things too ;)
If you make this for meal prep, don’t do the cheese until you portion it out. Took me like four recipes like this one too figure that out.
If anyone is interested in a vegetarian alternative, I make barbeque cabbage and serve it over oven fries, topped with cheddar curds!
Nice!!