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.
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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?
Made this vegan by replacing the beef with finely chopped tempeh and it was delicious!!! Highly recommend
Oh that’s awesome to know! Thank you so much for sharing Luce!
Can you give me the Brand and size and model of skillet you use for this recipe? Is it OXO?
Yes, that is the OXO 3 quart deep sauté pan. :)
Thank You! I used my Le Creuset Dutch Oven bc my skillet wasn’t deep enough. It was delicious! Will make this again.
This wasn’t on the menu, but the motor on my ebike broke down on the way to the grocery store and I had to stop and push it back up (about 300 elevation gain)… I had to work with what I had at home which was cabbage and 1/2 lb ground beef… definitely didn’t love it, but it was so awesome to have a home-cooked meal ready before my husband came home from work. Full bellies. Money saved. Priorities were taken care of!
That’s what it’s all about! :)
The photos of your step by step recipe makes my tummy grumble. Now I know what to cook for tomorrow’s dinner. :)
I make your Beef Cabbage Stir Fry and Monterray Chicken Skillet regularly. This sounds awesome!
I made this! I ended up with about a pound of ground beef defrosted, and I just chopped up the entire small head of cabbage – it was more like 8 cups of cabbage – but I had enough sauce to cover it all.
I messed up the sauce – somehow read 2T of Worchestershire instead of 1 – so my sauce wasn’t tangy at all – I ended up throwing a tablespoon or so of some Woody’s “Cook-in” BBQ marinade that I had in the fridge – gave it a bit of spice, and a deep smoky bbq flavour!
Definitely a keeper – next time I will try the sauce *correctly* – but I like a tangy bbq sauce, so I may need more vinegar :)
I really enjoyed this recipe! It definitely sounds a little strange at first, but they taste like health-ified sloppy joes.
It seems delicious and I will try to serve it to my family. Thanks for the recipe
Super yummy, as always with your creations! I’m doing low-carb and love any meal with cabbage as the base. I used a full pound of beef and there was plenty of sauce. I added the jalapeno as suggested and used only half an onion to reduce carbs. I also used a natural sugar substitute (swerve). My husband loved it too – we divided it into 4 servings. This will be great for meal prep! Thanks for thinking outside the box on your recipes, Beth!
Hi Beth, do you have any suggested recipes for using the other 1/2 lb of meat? Thank you!
I usually freeze the other half for later, but you can browse my ground beef recipes to look for more ideas. :) Most of my recipes only use 1/2 lb.
Was good but next time I will try cutting back on the brown sugar as it was a bit too sweet for our tastes. Otherwise quite tasty!
This was so delightful, with a definite undercurrent of, “hmm.. this is weird but I love it.” It sort of tasted like a cheeseburger? Or maybe like what Hamburger Helper wants to be on its best day. I had a tiny bit left over, not enough for a full meal, and mixed it with pasta for lunch. Super yum, will be making again for sure.
Not weird in this house! Looks yum☺️
I make shredded BBQ (any meat) in the slow cooker and always add onion, mushroom, carrot, and cabbage. Then we often use this concoction for nachos! The cabbage is barely noticeable and carrots slow cooked in BBQ sauce is amazing. Plus I’m adding a decent volume of ingredients that are much cheaper than meat.
I have learned though, if you have people over…….you should probably warn them that you put carrots on your nachos 😂
Hahaha that’s a good lesson. :D Do you do regular carrots on your tacos or pickled carrots? Pickled carrots are AWESOME on tacos!
I LOVED this. I added some chipotle along with just a touch of the adobo sauce, and it was a very tasty addition. This dish is going into my regular rotation along with your beef and cabbage recipe!
I also tried a bit version (believe it or not) some leftover cocktail meatballs – you know the ones that so many people make as appetizers over the holidays? They’ve been simmered in a combination of grape jelly and chili sauce, which was a little scary. I used those instead of the ground beef, and used the sauce they had been simmered in instead of the tomato sauce. It turned out great. Ugly, but great!
What are your thoughts about freezing this?
I probably wouldn’t freeze this one because it will cause the cabbage to break down even more and seep more water.