There’s something super comforting to me about sautéed cabbage with butter and I eat it a lot in the winter months when cabbage is fresh and inexpensive. And because it’s just so cheap, delicious, and filling, I love coming up with new variations on this theme. This Curried Cabbage version is full of warm savory spices, vibrant color, and plenty of texture. It’s like extra-extra comforting and perfect for winter! There are several ways you can serve this flavorful dish, so read on for some curried cabbage inspo!
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What Kind of Curry Powder Should I Use?
Curry powders can vary quite a bit from brand to brand, so you may need to do a little experimenting before you find a favorite, but you can use literally any type of curry powder for this recipe. Some curry powders are hot, some are mild, so choose the heat level according to your preferences. If you’d like to try to make your own curry powder, check out this recipe for Easy Homemade Curry Powder from Spicitupp.com
How to Serve Curried Cabbage
I had a lot of fun eating this curried cabbage different ways this week. You can serve it as-is, like sort of a low carb veggie bowl, or spoon it over a bowl of warm rice. If you’re into noodles, you can serve it like my classic Fried Cabbage and Noodles, by adding about 8 oz. of cooked egg noodles (you’ll want to add some extra butter and salt to cover the noodles). I’m also a fan of topping it with a fried egg. ;)
Can I Add Meat?
Yep! Ground beef would be an awesome compliment to this curried cabbage. Simply brown 1/2 to 1 pound ground beef in the pot before adding the garlic and ginger, then proceed with the recipe as normal.
Is This Curried Cabbage Saucy?
No, there is no sauce in this dish. It is simply sautéed cabbage with curry seasoning. If you prefer a saucy dish so you can have something to sop up with bread or to drizzle over rice, you can try adding a cup or so of vegetable broth or coconut milk.
Can I Freeze Curried Cabbage?
This recipe would probably freeze so-so. Since the vegetables are already soft from sautéing, there won’t be much more loss in texture through freezing and thawing. The main issue you may run into is that it might dry out a bit, since there isn’t any sauce to keep the dish moist in the freezer.
Can I Skip the Cilantro?
Yes. I love cilantro with curry dishes, but if you’re not into cilantro I suggest adding some sliced green onion. While their flavor is not anywhere near the same, they both offer a punch of freshness to the dish, which I find to be a lovely contrast to the deep cooked-down flavor of the cabbage.
Curried Cabbage
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger ($0.10)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 4 carrots (about 1/2 lb.) ($0.45)
- 1/2 head cabbage (about 4 cups sliced) ($1.28)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 2 Tbsp curry powder (mild or hot) ($0.60)
- 1 cup frozen peas ($0.38)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.09)
- salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
- 1 handful cilantro ($0.20)
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables before you begin, so they're ready to go when you need them. Mince the garlic, and grate the ginger. Slice the onion, and peel and slice the carrots. Remove the core from the cabbage and slice it thinly.
- Add the olive oil, garlic, and ginger to a large pot. Sauté the garlic and ginger over medium heat for about one minute, then add the curry powder and sauté for one minute more.
- Add the sliced onions to the pot and sauté for 2-3 minutes, or just until the onions begin to soften.
- Finally, add the carrots, cabbage, a 1/4 cup water, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine and dissolve any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Continue to stir and cook the cabbage and vegetables over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until the cabbage is tender. Add a tablespoon or two of water to the pot if it becomes too dry or the spices begin to stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Once the cabbage is soft, add the frozen peas. Stir and heat through (1-2 minutes). Once the peas are heated, add the butter and stir until the butter has melted and coated the vegetables. Finally, season generously with salt and pepper to taste. Top with fresh cilantro just before serving.
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How to Make Curried Cabbage – Step by Step Photos
Prepare your vegetables before you begin. Mince two cloves of garlic and grate about 1 tsp fresh ginger. Slice one yellow onion, and peel and slice 4 carrots (about 1/2 lb.). Remove the core from 1/2 head of cabbage, then slice it thinly.
Add the minced garlic, grated ginger, and 2 Tbsp olive oil to a large pot (I’m using a 6-quart dutch oven). Sauté the garlic and ginger in the olive oil over medium heat for about one minute, then add 2 Tbsp curry powder and sauté for one minute more.
Add the sliced onions and continue to sauté just until the onions begin to soften (2-3 minutes).
Add the sliced carrots and cabbage to the pot along with about 1/4 cup water and a pinch of salt. Continue to stir and cook the cabbage and vegetables until the cabbage is tender (about 15 minutes). If the pot begins to get too dry or the spices begin to stick to the bottom before the cabbage is tender, add a tablespoon or two more water.
Once the cabbage is tender, add 1 cup of frozen peas. Stir to combine and heat through (1-2 minutes).
Add one tablespoon of butter and season with salt and pepper. Stir until the butter is melted and coating the vegetables. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Top with a handful of fresh cilantro just before serving!
Good recipe, but I like my vegies aldente. I put the carrot in at the beginning after the onon & garlic then only cooked for 5 mins or less after the cabbage went in, otherwise the cabbage would be mush
This came out so tasty!! My boyfriend isn’t vegan and doesn’t like cabbage but he still enjoyed this dish! We added some vegetable broth to moisten it instead of water. I also feel like no matter how much seasoning we added.. it was still lacking color and taste. Next time we may try out a different curry powder and maybe even add some curry paste +more vegetable broth to up the flavor and make it more saucey.
This recipe is going in our dinner rotation list! Thanks for sharing!
I think I’ll start with a teaspoon of curry powder and work up to more, given our usual tastes. Sounds delicious!
I made this with the recipe’s recommended 2 TABLESPOONS of curry powder ( I used Penzey’s Sweet Curry powder;, the first ingredient is tumeric) and the recipe had an overpowering turmeric flavor– the finished dish was inedible and I threw it out.
Is it possible that the recipe should have stated to add 2 TEASPOONS of curry oowder? Did anyone else on this thread use a lesser amount of spice, or are my tastebuds overly sensitive LOL?
I have made many versions of this over the years but this is my favorite. I think that butter at the end makes it. So good! I slightly prefer it with purple cabbage. I add cashews to it and serve it over jasmine rice. A perfect meal…or 3!
This was delicious, and great for meal prep! Very cozy and comforting while being packed with vegetables. I added a pound of ground turkey but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I’ll definitely be making this one again!
Oh that’s a great idea to add turkey!
Would purple cabbage work as well?
Yes, you can do it with purple cabbage, just keep in mind that it probably will not look nice. Purple and yellow make brown. :)
I like this a lot. I made it with a 16oz bag of shredded coleslaw and half a 16oz bag of shredded carrots. Doubled the peas and mixed in 8oz of cooked spaghetti as suggested. With some extra butter, olive oil, and black pepper, it was delicious and a complete meal. It’s also really good cold, like a noodle salad as I barely cooked the carrots so they have texture. Thanks, this will be lunch this week.
Oh those pre-shredded bags are great! Thanks for sharing Tina.
Made this last night for meal prep. Love it. Paired it with rice as pictured. I grated my carrots just to make prep a little quicker, and added a little more garlic… because… garlic. :)
Always more garlic ;)
Tried this the other night as a side to some brisket I had frozen (leftover from Thanksgiving). Husband is a notoriously picky eater and scraped the bowl with this one. It kind of reminds me of the filling for the egg rolls you would get at your local Asian restaurant. Will make again for sure.
Oh that’s AMAZING! Happy to hear it Carrie!
Absolutely delicious, and super easy!! I added ground beef to mine.
Delicious Shelley!
your cajun cabbage noodles is my favourite weekday meal, and i have to say i screamed when i got the email that budget bytes had a new cabbage recipe
Love this Emilie! Thanks for sharing!
I think I will try this with tempeh. I’m try to transition to a vegan diet and that seems like a great way to get some protein.
Oh yes that would be a great addition!
You could also use TVP (Texturized Vegetable Protein). It’s what I use in her cabbage beef stir fry in place of meat, and it works great! Maybe even better, it’ll already be in ground crumble form after you hydrate it, so it’s super easy. I find my TVP at a couple of international grocery stores.
Thanks for sharing Aimee!
This is a fairly traditional dry curry, and a version of a dish I encountered first in a South Indian restaurant in Saudi Arabia–it’s been a frequent side dish on our table for more than 35 years. I use garam masala instead of an American style curry powder, and shred both the cabbage and carrots. You can now find garam masala in many supermarkets–no tumeric, just sweet spices, and it isn’t “hot.” For this amount of veg, I use about 1 heaping tablespoon of garam masala, 1/2 tsp of tumeric, 1/4 tsp cayenne. This is a really delicious recipe, just as written–great with chicken or pork. It’s also a great way to use cole slaw mix if you find it on sale. We all know that we need to include more super healthy cruciform veggies in our diets!
Thanks for sharing Janet!
One of my favorite cheap meals on your site! This was even better cold the next day. Next time, I’ll have it with some naan and your palak paneer recipe!
This sounds like my kind of meal! Making this for dinner tonight!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Let us know what you think!